Interview by: Laura DeSantis-Olsson
Cover image by: Tessa Barton
Article Images: Oh, Be Clever’s official Facebook page
1. Why do you think music is important?
Brittney: “Music is everything a person is feeling without saying a word. Music is what gets people up in the morning. Music is what helps people keep breathing when it feels like it’s too hard. Music, as cliche´as it sounds, really does save lives. I think that if I didn’t have music, I would probably be a homeless bum. Music’s literally all I have. Music is the only thing I want to do in this life. I don’t want to do anything else. If I have to starve every day until I go somewhere with it, then I will. Music I just think is everything.”
Cory: “The only thing I think I could add to that is that music is a very effective communication tool. It’s a great way for you to explain how you feel to somebody else and they instantly just get it. So, that’s why I love it. It give me goosebumps every time I hear my favorite song. I love that feeling. I want to give that to other people.”
2. Introduce us to Oh, Be Clever. Give us a history of the band.
Brittney: “Well, Cory and I both met when we were sixteen. We met when we were in high school. We both had little crappy emo bands… you know how high school kids will do. We played a couple of shows together and our bands eventually developed a rivalry with each other because we were always fighting for slot times. It was getting a little competitive and egos were getting in the way. Then, one night we came out into the parking lot and our bands were fist fighting, literally brawling with each other. So, we looked at each other and we were like, “lets just leave, lets get out of here.” So we left, and actually ended up jamming that night. We decided, “we should just be in a band together.” So, we told our bands, “We’re out of here, we’re done with your drama.” Then Corey and I started making music and that’s kind of how that started. It actually took us a few bands to figure out that we wanted to just keep it simple with two members.
“Our name? We went though a few different names, but when we came up with, Oh, Be Clever, it was actually just in the shower. (laughs) It came out of nowhere. I usually get my best ideas in the shower.”
Cory: “She called me immediately.”
Brittney: “Yeah, I didn’t even wash the conditioner out of my hair. I was like, “I gotta call him!”
3. Growing up in Utah, what was the energy you felt toward music in general? Did you feel it was it was harder to create the music you wanted?
Brittney: “We both grew up in really small towns. For me, it was really hard. I grew up singing country and a lot of people can kind of sense that vibe when I sing. I guess I just naturally have that country vibe. (laughs) As I got older I kind of got more into heavier music, darker music. I got into the emo scene a little bit, and the goth scene. Making the kind of music I wanted to make, my parents were pretty hard pressed to like it, but they were still supportive. However, it was kind of hard to branch out and play the kind of music I wanted and get support for it. However, when you’re in that rebellious state you don’t really care.
Cory: “Actually, I had kind of a different experience because when it comes to music, I’m very dominant and I know exactly what I want to do. In previous bands I was always kind of the director of where the music was going. I never really felt like I wasn’t making the music I wanted to make. I’ve always knew how I wanted things to sound. As a result, I had a little bit of a different take on it than Brittney did. Prior to us working together, and us making music, she had to sing to whatever instruments she had.
“I’ve never had a negative experience here in Utah. The music scene here is actually made up of two total separate genres and scenes. There a scene in Provo that is very folkie, very indie. Then, in Salt Lake City, it’s very metal and very hardcore. Then, there’s us, and we’re just happy. (laughs)
4. If you were going to describe your music with just a string of single words, what would those words be?
Brittney: “I would say, “soul” meets “dance”, meets “movement”, meets “electronic”, meets “indie”, meets more “soul”.
Cory: “I would say we are “emotional-dance-pop”. They’re songs you can actually listen to and be like, “Ok, I know exactly what she’s feeling, I’ve been there!” I’m even the one sitting right next to her while she’s writing it and I’m like, “YES!”
Oh, Be Clever: “Next To You”
5. Why is it important that people get this feeling of “emotional-pop-dance” in their lives?
Brittney: “First of all, dancing makes people immediately feel happy. You have a banging beat and you have some really cool things that just immediately catch your attention. That’s already getting your endorphins going. It makes you feel good, it makes you want to move. Once you add powerful lyrics and vocals that match your emotions, hopefully it can reach a part of you that’s hard for you to vocalize. People have a hard time being vulnerable so that’s where music comes in. I think it’s important for us to convey that message through our music. I think we do that both with our instruments and with our lyrics.”
Cory: “Yes. I would like to elaborate on that. I would say music is very much like a person you are attracted to instantly. The music draws you in. Then, the lyrics, that’s the personality, that’s what you get to know. So, you hear the song for the first time and it’s like, “I really like that.” Then you listen to it a few times and then you start to catch on to the lyrics and what it’s saying. Then, you latch onto it even harder at that point if you can relate to the lyrics, much like an attractive person.
6. How long did it take to develop your identity / look for your band? Doesn’t that come naturally, or is it created by stylists?
Brittney: “It took me a long time to find my niche and my identity. I went through a period of time where I don’t even know what the hell I was trying to wear. I saw these old pictures and I’m like, “Why didn’t anyone stop me from trying to wear that?” I don’t even know what I was thinking. However, I don’t think that people help to shape the way I dress, but I finally found an identity and what I like. I’m constantly exploring different styles. So, I think that us, as Oh, Be Clever, are finding our identity. It was definitely a process. It definitely didn’t happen over night, and we’re still working on it. We’re still progressing and trying to find new ideas and find new creative outlets for how we appear to people.”
Cory: “For each day that Brittney has worked on her style, Cory has probably worked about five minutes. Honestly, if I see a pair of tight black pants I get them. Add a pair of converse and a t-shirt and I’m good to go. I just try not to clash with whatever Brittney’s wearing, and then it usually works out.
7. Brittney, how do you decide the look you want to go for at a particular time? Do you just feel it out?
Brittney: “I mostly feel it out. Sometimes I want to look hard and other times I want to look cute. I go from gothic biker girl to wearing a dress with a dainty flower. I try on like a thousand outfits before I actually decide on what to wear. So I don’t know, it depends solely on my mood or if I’m having a bad day.
8. In working together, when times get tough, how do you get through it if you’re not in agreement about something? How do you embrace each other’s ideas?
Cory: “Well, if we don’t agree, I think Brittney will choke me until I agree.” (laughs) That was a joke by the way.”
Brittney: “Cory and I have a very “brother and sister” relationship. We hate each other sometimes but we love each other so we’ll do anything for each other.”
“When we were on tour, we were in this tiny little Ford Fiesta. So, times definitely do get tough. I’m a very strong personality, Cory’s a very strong personality, we’re both always right. So, sometimes we have to kind of back off our own pride a little bit. Eventually, maybe we’ll have a little bit of a tiff here an there but eventually we’ll come around and be like, “You know what, you’re right, your idea was really cool.” I think it’s more about us taking time to think about it. We usually don’t stay mad at each other for more than a couple hours. We kind of say, “Ok, this isn’t worth it, lets move on.”
Cory: “Exactly. It can’t just be all my idea, because then it would just be the Cory project. Oh, Be Clever, we’re fifty-fifty partners in this endeavor we have chosen.”
Brittney: “We’re actually pretty similar when it comes to ideas, especially with songs. Most of the time, if I don’t like something, or if I don’t like a way Cory’s producing something, he’s very openminded and real easy to work with usually. I’m a little harder to work with, I’ll be honest. I’m a bit of a diva when it comes to my lyrics because that’s me spilling my soul. If Cory doesn’t like something, sometimes I’m like, “What, that was the perfect lyric, what are you talking about!?” Songs like “Lost You” come out of nowhere, I don’t even know how that happens. It subconsciously just falls out of my mouth, it’s awesome. I love it when that happens.”
9. Brittney, where did you get the idea for the song “Lost You”? Where did that generate from?
Brittney: “I kind of was in this weird emotional, snarky place. Its almost kind of like me being sarcastic, “like how could I have lost you, how could that have ever happened, I was such a little shit?” I decided to be supper snarky and sarcastic but at the same time admitting that I really screwed things up. It really sucks to look at it and think, “Wow, this whole this is so messed up because of me.” It’s like, “We break up and I drunk dial you and just make a complete fool out of myself.” So, I don’t know, it was one of those songs that just literally fell out. I think I was just really in this place where I needed to get that out of my system and just talk about it. I’m one of those people that don’t really like to talk about my feelings. That’s why music’s so awesome because I can get it out and sound cool instead of lame. So yeah, I don’t know, I think I was in this place where I needed some therapy and that was kind of like where that came from.”
Oh, Be Clever: “Lost You”
10. How do you keep your music connected to the rest of the country / world, while living in smaller towns in Utah?
Brittney: “We both love Utah. You can’t even compare it to any other place. It’s so unique, it’s so beautiful. The nature and the landscape is just absolutely stunning. However, I do have the feeling, sometimes, of being creatively stifled because this place is so small. There are so many incredibly talented people in this city. It’s a mecca for crazy talented people. I think that a lot of people here, though, kind of get comfortable being here. As a result, a lot of them never leave. However, for me, I want to be in that buzz, I want to be in that hubbub, I want to be where the craziness is. That keeps me motivated and it keeps me constantly inspired. I love places like L.A. and New York because you’re constantly seeing people that are just super into their own world, and weird, and cool, and constantly chasing dreams. Whereas, in Utah, it’s more of like, “Well I love to do music, but I also want to have a family and get married and settle down.” So, for me, I do feel like it’s a little too small for me. Eventually, we’d like to get out. However, for now, Utah’s great. We love it. It’s nice and beautiful, so for now it will do.”
Cory: “Now, you’re going to get an almost completely different spiel. (laughs) I feel that I’m very connected. I have a lot of friends that make music too and they’re in different states. I collaborate with people over the internet. I feel very connected. I don’t feel stifled at all. I think I could do this from any location. So I feel, weather I’m in Salt Lake, or anywhere, I’m going to have the same amount of creativity flowing around me. I do like Utah, but I could do this anywhere.”
11. How do you keep you’re music fresh within your genre, as much of what’s out there is becoming stronger and making the game more competitive?
Cory: “We listen to everything.”
Brittney: “We’re constantly writing too. We listen to every genre out there. I mean, I listen to anything from Pink Floyd, to Temples, to Kacey Musgraves, and Sia. I listen to every end of the spectrum. Cory does as well. So, we’re both constantly keeping up to date on new things and revisiting things from the past to try and blend elements. As far as lyrical content goes, my brain is always on. Of my waking hours, 99.9% are spent constantly writing lyrics in my head, and I thinking of new ways to come up with things. So it’s a matter of keeping that muscle exercised. If you want to stay new and fresh you have to constantly be writing, and just practicing your skill and your art. At least that’s how I stay fresh.”
Cory: “We probably write about three to four songs per month. If you’re a songwriter, and this is your career, and your business, you need to always be writing. If you’re not writing then you’re dead in the water. We try to write at least once a week, if not we do it a lot more.”
12. How do you decide who to collaborate with in the making of your music videos? Conceptually, visually, etc.?
Cory: “For our first video, “Next To You,” we worked with a friend of mine who’s local. He’s from Provo. He’s done a music video for one of my friends and I really, really, really like his style. It’s really cool. So I just contacted him and sent him a song and asked him if he’d be willing to help us come up with a concept for a video. He was down to work with us, he immediately liked our music. So, I found him out of the local pool of talent. Snatched him right up.”
“Then, we had our manager find us another videographer, Rory Kramer, to do our “Lost You” video in L.A. He just followed us around for a couple of days. He actually recorded for Krewella a few weeks before he recorded for us. So, it was our manager who hooked us up with him.”
“As far as the music production, I do most of the music production. From time to time, I’ll need to get a fresh ear and I’ll have a couple of my friends help me out with some tracks. I had a friend of mine help us on “Next To You”. We actually had a completely different version that was way, way, way more “dancey”. Then, I hooked up with my friend, to kind of get a different take on it. That’s where the current version of “Next To You” came from. Also, from time to time, I’ll also work with other people just to keep things fresh. However, for the most part, I’m producing all of the music.
13. How do your fans respond to your music?
Brittney: “In Utah, like Cory was saying, there’s not really much of a fan base as far as our style and our genre of music. We have our friends and our fans that come out and support us, and we have a few people. Our fans love us and they really jive with the music. We’ve had a lot of people tell us our music inspires them and helps them get through rough days, and that’s pretty much why I’m a musician. I remember begin a kid, and music making my life just a million times better than it was. I was bullied in high school and music was kind of the only friend I really had. So, I want to be that rock and that inspiration for people. When we play out of state and we get that reaction, that just makes everything worth it. All the days of playing in tiny little clubs to four people, and spending all our money on tour, makes all of that so worth it when you have those people that really connect with your music and really feel inspired to live and be happy from our music. So, that’s kind of a reaction we get and it’s such an awesome feeling.”
Cory: “We’re talking with our fans on twitter almost daily. We have people contact us and we’re writing back and forth like almost all the time. It’s awesome to have that actual, personal connection. Now, instead of me being the fan of some band that I really like, it’s the opposite. That’s a first for me. So, it’s really cool to have people look up to us in that sort of a way and have them like our music. I know that every band says that, but it’s totally different when it’s actually something that you created.”
14. Do you think in some rare cases you can follow your career as a musician and also have a family?
Cory: “The way that I look at it….. I feel personally that I would need to have the career first. I would need to become successful as a musician before I’d ever even think about having any sort of family or slowing down. I think it would be very, very difficult. We’re in our mid twenties, so if either one of us were married, and since we haven’t quite gotten to where we wanted to go, I think that it would be very easy for us to just kind of slow down and stop.
“I mean, I’m sure there are people out there, and they’re married, and they’re able to do it. However, I don’t think if I were in their situation that I’d be able to do both. You can only really be focused on one thing that takes all of your energy, whether it’s a wife, kids, a family. Or, for me, the musical career that I’ve chosen. That’s where I stand.”
Brittney: “You know, honestly, I feel the same way in a certain aspect. Even just relationships, you try to have a girlfriend or boyfriend, but being in a band is super intimidating to a lot of people. They don’t like the idea of you being out on tour, insecurities get in the way, jealously, all that stuff. So I mean, you can’t even get to the family thing because you can’t even really have a relationship with somebody without them freaking out over, “Oh, well are you flirting with somebody?” My boyfriend of four and a half years hated that I was in a band. He would get so jealous. Right now, at this point, I don’t think there is a balance. It’s kind of like music or settle down. I do not feel ready to settle down. Music is my boyfriend. Music is my family. Music is everything.”
15. What would you say your greatest accomplishments to date regarding your music? What are you most proud of?
Brittney: “Oh my god, ok, I just have to go first on this one because we’ve had so many awesome things happen. I’ve had this ultimate, musical bucket list ever since I was even old enough to understand music and understand what happens in the music industry, as much as a fourteen year old can. My bucket list items were to play at South by South West, which we did, which was awesome. I always wanted to play at The House of Blues. We got to do that in Texas, which was awesome. We also got to play at the venue across the street from Capital Records, The Avalon. That was really cool. Then we got to play in New York, and I had never even been to New York, so that was incredible. I can go on and on and on, but we just had so many cool things happen to us. Oh, and we also go featured in AP Magazine; like a little online feature, which was cool. My fourteen year old self was freaking out, which was awesome. It’s been such cool year.”
Cory: “I’m going to word it in such a way it sounds epic. Speaking of the show in Dallas, Texas, our very first time ever being to Dallas, Texas, we played a sold out show at The House of Blues opening for Tove Lo, and who showed up to watch us? Oh, it was our friend, Tom Higgenson from Plain White T’s. So, I mean, we’re pretty cool right? That’s my humble brag. One of the best nights we’ve had.”
Then everything else that Brittney said, like going to New York, man that was so cool. Just everything, I love every aspect of it.
16. In closing, if you were giving this interview, what would you guys ask yourselves?
Brittney: “I think I would ask us what our goals are because I think it’s important to always remind ourselves about our goals. Right Cory?”
Cory: “Very much so.”
“If I were in your position, interviewing a band, I think my last question would be: Are you happy?”
Brittney’s answer to her question: “Well, my goal for us…. we’re about to potentially release a song in the U.K., hopefully in January. So my goal is to get us over to the U.K. and try to book some shows and network with people over there. I think mostly, I just want to get on the road again. I want to start touring again.
Cory’s answer to his question: “I would say definitely. I’m doing what I love to do. Whether I get paid, or recognition, I don’t care. I will do this for the rest of my life weather or not anything comes of it. Yes, I am happy, I love doing this. I’ve always done this, and I will continue doing this whether or not I am successful because I just love to do it. It makes me feel good.”
“I know that Macklemore just blew up, and this may be cliché, but he’s got a lyric that says, “A life lived for art, is never a life wasted.” I love that lyric. That’s how I feel like I’m living. I’m living for my art.
