John Dwyer and the Osees save their crazy for the stage

When the opportunity came up to talk to Jonn Dwyer from the Osees (a.k.a Oh Sees/Ocees/Thee Oh Sees, etc.) on Labor Day, of all days, I had to jump at it. This guy seemingly never takes a day off.

“Labor Day is such a meaningless holiday that I don’t put any stock into as a federal holiday,” Dwyer says over the phone from San Francisco, where Osees played that night.

Osees hit Phoenix on Monday, Oct. 14, at Walter Studios with amazing locals Jade Helm as the supporting act. The show promises to be one of the best of 2024.

One of the busiest bands in the world, Osees have averaged almost two albums a year since 2020 (just as Osees) and 22 more since the inception of the band in 1997. There have been name changes, yes, but they are all in some variation on the original moniker, Orinoka Crash Suite (OCS).

For Dwyer, though, the pace is just business as usual.

“I do take days off. We only tour two and a half, three tops, months out of the year. I think people think we are on the road all year long. That would fucking kill me. We tour a lot, but we keep it under a quarter of the year. In the downtime, I’m working on music and stuff, but that, to me, is like relaxing. But you’re right: sitting on a beach drinking a beer, which I also enjoy … I have to force myself to do that,” Dwyer says.

Considering that he also works on solo projects and collaborations, all that “relaxing” time recording from home must keep his stress down and his soul fulfilled, but he’s not the one interested in keeping track of his output.

“I honestly don’t know (how many releases I have), but I’m often reminded by the press, so somebody’s keeping track, you know?” Dwyer says with a tinge of chagrin.

I feel compelled to ask if he might be writing a song while we were chatting, but that's not the case.

“Right now, the coffers are bare. I have a bunch of stuff that I have been slowly mixing for years. At the present moment, I am working on the live show only. I will say, though, we’ve been working on some new jams live, hammering them out and trying to revisit nice little areas we found in some new material live, which has been really fun,” Dwyer says.

Dwyer is a fan of improvisation during the live show, so fans of Osees can often expect to see and hear something that has never been done before.

“I love improv. That, to me, is the glue that keeps a band interested in songs we’ve had to play a million times. We call it ‘free swim’ in the band. It’s sort of like a set parameter of when and where we do it, but there is a lot of openness and figuring things out as you go,” he says.

Dwyer goes on to say that he loves how famed guitarist John Abercrombie looks at improvisation.

“(Abercrombie) is like this really easygoing guy. He says, ‘I don’t know, man. How about this? If you are comfortable with what you’re doing, you’re doing it wrong. Never fall back on something you already know. You always want to find yourself in new territory, just like driving to the horizon.’ I can appreciate that. When we find something on stage that is spontaneous, out of the ether, and we lose ourselves in the moment, that’s really great,” he adds.

The current lineup, according to Dwyer, have been playing together for “fucking ages,” so they're comfortable with playing together. Today, Dwyer is joined by Tim Hellman (bass), Dan Rincon (drums), Paul Quattrone (drums) and Tomas Dolas (keyboards).

One thing that's not surprising about the Osees' latest record, based on the energy Dwyer seems to generate, is the frenetic pace of the songs themselves. On "Sorcs 80" (of which there is also a live release), the Osees channel bands such as Devo, Dayglo Abortions and Brainiac while staying true to their garage/punk roots. It’s a noisy affair with blasts of '80s fun and tons of fuzz.

“Pixelated Moon,” for example,the second track on "Sorcs 80," could have easily been a lost Devo track or have been found on the '80s TV show "Square Pegs: as a song that Johnny Slash would have loved. “Blimp” is another killer track with a seriously (and wonderfully) warped bass line that's just fat as hell. Listening on a pair of really good headphones or through some great speakers is highly recommended.

Dwyer is something of a gear guy, too, but not in the way more technically-minded fans might think. He comes up with great sounds on his records, but has figured out a way to do that without breaking the bank.

“I like to keep it pretty simple with microphones. I know people who have spent $10,000 or $20,000 on mics, that shit’s cool, but I’m never going for the ‘perfect sound.’ I like things like SM-57s. Everybody knows that microphone. It’s like the Ford Escort of economy mics,” Dwyer says.

Later in the conversation, he does share that he also uses a set of Coles rib mics from the 1960s that were used as “overheads for Pink Floyd and shit like that.” On "Sorcs 80," there's a huge amount of effects on the vocals and instrument as well. Dwyer cops to using an Accuverb, made by Accutronics.

“They only made, I think, 700 of them, but they’re not expensive. They’re just rare. I had to wait, like, four years to get one on eBay,” Dwyer says.

As a live band, though, Osees are hard to match. Their shows have a ton of energy and the band, as mentioned, can really play. It's Dwyer’s goal to give the audience a good time.

“It’s all about coming out of the gate hard and getting people whipped up. The drummers refer to it as ‘sport drumming,’ which I totally agree with. I’m all about that. I come from Providence (Rhode Island) and there were a lot of extremely active bands who were kind of nuts. We don’t really rely on a lot of lights or haze or any of that shit. Our show is all about what is happening on stage. It’s not like I'm running around, flipping out all day. We save it for the stage,” Dwyer says, before adding, “I’m all about the hot bath after the show, now.”

Let’s hope Dwyer and Osees all deserve a nice hot bath after their show in Phoenix. I’m guessing we'll all need one. See you there.

Osees. With Jade Helm. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show, Monday, Oct. 14. Walter Studios, 747 W. Roosevelt St. Visit the Walter Studios website for information and tickets.