Oklahoma indie rock act Other Lives has stumbled into an incredibly unique opportunity: opening for Radiohead on their US tour, which rolls into Glendale’s Jobing.com Arena this Thursday (the show is sold out). I talked to frontman Jesse Tabish, while his band was getting ready to kick off their first taste of touring arenas:
DG: These arena shows with Radiohead are the largest shows Other Lives have played. Do you have a different approach to playing these shows?
JT: The room we’re playing tonight is about a hundred and twenty in Chapel Hill, so there’s a big jump in audience size, but our show doesn’t really change. The mindset is more a trip, that here we are in front of a bigger audience. The whole psychological thing will be the challenge, if anything. I look forward to it. I love playing club dates, enjoying the homey feel, but this is a new challenge and it’s a good thing to stretch the band in different ways. It’s a subtle thing, the band shifts a bit. There isn’t a lightbulb that goes off, but different things and ideas seem into our mind.
DG: How would you describe Other Lives to the Radiohead fan that hasn’t heard you yet?
JT: I’d say we’re orchestral, classically influenced with pop elements. Heavily percussive, with a lot of instruments on stage. Really, I just hope it’s a positive experience for people who get there early [laughs].
DG: Other Lives has a really interesting website and a strong social media presence, but somewhat retro-leaning music. How has the experience of marketing classically influenced music in a highly technological world worked out for you?
JT: I generally manage to keep my head outside of those things. I’m not going to fight it, but I personally can’t really go there. Our music is sort of old and primitive, and I’m really at my least creative in the marketing realm. Maybe I just choose to be.
DG: What comes next for the band after the stint with Radiohead?
JT: We’ll take a half a month off or so and in April, we’ll record an EP to release this fall. We’re doing a lot of writing, getting ready for the next record. Going into 2013, we like to know where we’re at.
This article appears in Mar 15-21, 2012.
So happy for these guys. Their albums are great and their live show is breathtaking – I was lucky enough to see them at Club Congress and Solar Culture recently. True musicians. Very excited to see them and Radiohead tonight, both for the 3rd time!