Oscar The Wild On Prioritising Friendship Over Fame

Oscar The Wild has been slowly making their way up the ranks since 2019, starting off with a small community in South Australia and slowly taking over the rest of the country. Their unique brand of brutally honest grunge/indie-pop has become a staple in the underground scene, seeing them become bigger and better with each passing day.

Joining Ruby Gazzola (vocals/guitar), Nicola Willsmore (guitar) and Ariya Gabell (drums) on Zoom, we get talking about The Smashing Pumpkins tour that was making its way down the East Coast of Australia. Willsmore mentions that she’s going that night and how excited she is to see an idol in the flesh.

“I didn't think I'd ever see Smashing Pumpkins in my lifetime. And then I saw their announcement come up, and I didn't even think before I bought tickets. I just had to go.” The others nodded enthusiastically.

Joining ranks in high school, the bandmates were instantly drawn to one another; Nic and Gemma (the band's bassist) are sisters, and Ruby and Ariya have been “friends forever”. Despite coming from different musical backgrounds, they quickly found a sound that worked for them, blending their alternative styles into an indie-pop-punk dynamic that suited them as a team.

“It's really interesting to have everybody's influences come in once we start kind of songwriting because I guess it takes our songs into this completely different realm.

“Like, I'll write the bones of a song, but then you'll notice everyone's separate interests really influence the way that it comes together in the end,” says Gazzola.

Growing up in Adelaide, they were spoilt with support, becoming a crowd favourite from the moment they started playing gigs. They released their first single, Hey, in 2019 and quickly followed it up with the slow-burn indie pop number, Movie.

“It's not very cliquey. Everyone in the Adelaide scene is just super supportive and wants everyone to do their best. Like, we'll come out and support each other at gigs all the time.” Willsmore explains.

Gabell adds, “There are so many Adelaide musicians who are part of six, seven bands. I'm sure this is the same across the world, but like, every single new group is met with the same amount of hype as a band that's been playing for years and years.”

The band continued testing the waters and finding their sound, eventually releasing AAA in July 2021. It became one of the biggest songs to date for the lifelong friends, getting heavy rotation on Unearthed and also scoring a few plays on triple j. It seemingly cemented their upward slope to stardom.

Despite the newfound attention, the band decided to take some time off to reconvene and re-image what success meant to them, with Gazzola, in particular, wanting to take a break.

“I wasn't feeling too mentally well, to be honest." Gazolla admits, "So we kind of just decided we would take a year and kind of slow down and really think about what kind of sound and - I dunno if this makes sense - but what kind of ‘package’ we are.

“I wrote a bunch of songs for an EP that we're hoping to release, which now has been completely replaced with a whole other bunch of songs. But that's, I think, just part of the process, really.”

Out of that time, the band conjured up their latest release, Pinch Me Please, a fast-paced pop-punk jaunt that begs the listener to get up and dance. Written by Gazolla and finessed by the rest of the band, the song is an ode to feeling like you’re living outside of yourself and slowly losing touch with reality.

“I wrote the song when I was feeling quite stuck, and I was feeling as though I wasn't really in touch with myself and who I was and my identity,” Gazolla explains.

“Like I just wanted to say ‘Fuck this. I wish I could just live in some fantasy inside of my brain where everything is happy and everything is easy and comfortable and safe instead of actually existing in reality.’

“And it’s really interesting playing gigs when you're in that kind of state because you're like performing to a whole crowd when you are questioning whether you are even real. It's quite a lot to be that vulnerable on stage, especially with the lyrics of Pinch Me Please”

Despite the difficult nature of the song, it’s one the band's best yet, winning them the triple j unearthed comp to play the South Australian festival Vintage Vibes, where they shared the stage with the likes of Tash Sultana, Gang of Youths, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Angus and Julia Stone.

“Being in the hills, you can't beat it. I think the moment you get like a festival outside any city centre, it just creates the coolest vibe.”

While this was one of their biggest gigs to date, the band seemed surprisingly chill about playing the festival - no nerves to be found.

It's clear that they all have a quiet confidence that comes from tackling big stages with your best mates, which many musicians don’t get to experience. I ask if there is anyone on the lineup that they’d like to emulate career-wise, and they go quiet.

“I sometimes wonder if we're kind of at the best level right now,” Gazolla says.

Gabell nods, adding, “Our shows are pretty silly, goofy, fun, energetic, but also have created a really lovely and kind and sweet community. I think that's something that we're really good at doing is reading the crowd and reading where to go with the songs.”

This jovial and communal sense that fans naturally gravitate towards could easily be attributed to the band members' friendship. Throughout the entire interview, it’s clear that their care for each other goes way beyond any desire to be the best or the most popular. Each other's mental health is always the top priority, even when it might cost them a gig.

“These guys support me more than anyone else has. Like, I fucking love this band so much. So I think that for us, a really good part of being independent is that we only have us four to make the decisions.” Gazolla explains.

Willsmore agrees, saying, “We've all gotten really good at being honest when we're struggling or when we're really wanting to say no to something.”

“We know each other's boundaries, and we're happy to turn down gigs or rehearsals if it's not going to work out, but we can still be very successful in what we do.”

“That's the key. If you've got a really good support network within your workplace surrounding you, then you can survive being mentally ill and being in the music industry.”

Acknowledging their privilege to be a part of the industry while also admitting that it can be a hard slog, the band consider their position more.

“It's easy for it [the industry] to swallow you. And you know, then you get focused on like numbers and how well you're doing, and you equate it to your own personal worth, and it's just not worth it, is it?”

“And it's stunning creatively. Like how are you supposed to write a song about your life if you're not living your life at the same time?”

You can purchase tickets here to see Oscar The Wild support Slowly Slowly in Adelaide on May 18.

Listen to their latest release, Pinch Me Please, in the SA Underground Playlist here, powered by Mountain Goat.

Oscar The Wild On Prioritising Friendship Over Fame

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