jive talk kicks off “potions” tour at donna’s bar
In goggles, black robes and a band of creatures come to life; this is how Jive Talk introduced themselves in their latest era after the release of the music video of their latest single, “Potions.”
Described as a “retro nerd-core” genre on their Spotify page, Jive Talk is known for their experimental dreamy synth-pop and their energetic performances. “The Killers meets the Talking Heads” said Brooklyn Magazine Reporter Joshua Encinias about Jive Talk’s sound. Nashville’s Mike Grimes, owner of Grimey’s Records & The Basement East, called them “the next big thing out of Nashville.”
Nashville band, Jive Talk, performed at Donna’s Bar on Friday night as the first show on their Potions Tour which will be taking them to Tennessee, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
Before “Potions,” Jive Talk started from humble beginnings at Western Kentucky University where two of the founding members met. Lead singer Olivier Pierce and Isaac Middleton who plays guitar, synthesizer and backup vocals met on the first day of orientation from their shared interest in the musical theater program. The musical theater still plays a big role in Jive Talk even today.
“I’m not who I am on stage in real life,” said Pierce. Pierce is very active onstage for concerts, running into the crowd, banging on the stage, and dancing around enthusiastically while singing are some trademarks of Oliver Pierce onstage.
“I'm usually very soft-spoken and kind of low energy so it does feel like from the world of theatrical performance you're playing a character for this hour and a half.”
Pierce said the band thinks of each performance as telling a story by starting with chiller energy and ramping up to a climax as the show goes on.
Pierce and Middleton met bassist Ben Dunn after forming Jive Talk together and had jam sessions while recording some demos at 4115 Studio in Nashville where Dunn was working at the time. Later on, drummer Phil Walker and guitarist and synth player Andrés Ahogado joined the band.
Jive Talk has released two EPs and eight singles on Spotify since 2018 with their most successful singles being “Peach,” “Sue” and “This Town.”
“We’re still trying to find our sound five years in,” said Pierce. Jive Talk has been experimenting with more angsty subject matter within their newer songs.
“There are darker motifs throughout the new releases. I think that is what kind of unifies them together. I think that songs like “Sue” and “Peach” and “Wallflowers” are kind of bubbly and dancy a little bit. And this is not so much that but it definitely still has elements of that,” Pierce said. “I think the seasonal depression has got a hold of everybody.”
They’ve also been working on creating music that is more suited for live shows, working with more acoustical sounds rather than strictly electronic.
“I think we dug ourselves into a hole before because we would go create computer software instruments that we could never replicate live, we can get close. But we couldn't absolutely nail it,” Pierce said. He said they want the live sound to be the core sound of their songs so they can get to know their instruments and what they can do.
Jive Talk’s first show of the tour at Donna’s brought out a dancing and energetic crowd that will be the beginning of 16 shows around the South featuring opening acts Wim Tapley, Doom Flamingo and Okey Dokey.
Pierce said that a lot of writing inspiration comes from touring.
“I love after a show in a city that I've been to once or not familiar with observing the night debauchery. I'm a people watcher. I like you know, just observing every new city and geographical location. getting all of these memories and it's also great fodder for writing lyrics. Experiencing all these things and meeting all of these awesome local bands, I don't know, I just love traveling. There's nothing like it.”
“Potions” photo courtesy of Red Light Management
Gallery photos by Georgia Mallett
