Rock band Ovtlier talks about recent releases

Hello Ovtlier. Thanks so much for taking time to chat with me! Could you please introduce your band to our readers? I'm quite curious and also wonder where your band's name comes from... :) Hey Valentine! We are OVTLIER, pronounced: Outlier. I (Joey Arena) was in the studio upon making the EP and was about to name the album, “Outlier”. I fell in love with the definition of outlier so much that it felt more at home being the name of the band. Because I always felt different from society and more like an independent or misfit. I always walked my own path and to the beat of my own drum. I always thought my way of thinking was so awkward compared to popular belief, in general.

Let's talk about your latest music video for single “Set the World in Flames”. How was the shooting experience? Any funny story happened on set? “Set the World in Flames” was an awesome experience. Director, Jesse Conti did a great job of capturing the message we were looking to portray, given that we have approximately under 4 minutes to tell a story and paint the picture. I wouldn’t say anything necessarily funny happened but a “fun” fact; the lead actor stuck himself with a real needle more than a few times. Jesse great at capturing the raw image, making things as realistic as possible. Poor guy hates needles but he was a trooper and took it for the team. Unbelievable...

You released a few weeks ago a surprising cover of Taylor Swift's song "... Ready for It?". I have to admit that this cover is amazing! What prompted you to choose such an artist for this cover? Are you happy with the reactions you got so far? Regardless if people love or hate her, Taylor Swift has talent and she kills the game when she puts anything out. I felt that it was outside of my comfort zone and when i sent it to producer, Justin “JD” De Blieck to get his opinion, it only solidified that it would be a fun and creative one to tackle. It left room for a lot of instrumentation and vocals to be built upon. We have been fortunate to receive nothing but positive feedback and reactions. Truly awesome!

You just released your debut EP "What Doesn't Kill You". Can you tell us more about it? Are the songs going to be similar to the ones your released this year? “What Doesn’t Kill You” is available worldwide since 12/8/
17. The EP takes you on a journey through the mental and emotional vibrations that we experience through loss, self-doubt, anger and animosity, betrayal and overcoming through it all. Musically, all the songs travel through the genres of rock and metal that make up our desired identity.

How would you describe the hard rock scene here, at Rochester, NY? According to you, what are its strengths, and its weak points? We have a strong, loyal fan base and support system in our city and within the hard rock community. Our audience continues to grow every show and we are eternally grateful. Musically, Rochester is slowly becoming more diverse over the short recent years but for a while, it was over flooded with hardcore and metal but it’s always had a home for hardcore and metal. The music scene used to be incredible when i was growing up in my teens. Very diverse but not cliquey. Diverse shows brought a diverse audience and it allows the artists to play in front of a new audience, thus possibly making new fans.

Joey, thank you so much for your time! I hope that this interview made you want to discover this amazing rock band. You can now listen to the band's debut EP here: http://www.2lin.cc/WDKY!