Owls & Aliens Joins the MVK Music Group Roster

Hailing from a rural suburban area in Southern Oregon, just 25 miles from the California state border, is a band by the name of Owls & Aliens. This eclectic and passionate group of musicians may not yet be on your favorite playlist, but they will be soon enough. MVK Music Group has officially added the Klamath Falls, OR hard rock outfit to its roster of managed artists. This is the first roster addition since the addition of Seattle / Tacoma, WA Hard rock group Dead Rebel Saints and Modern Rock group Lotus Crush, which is led by former Driveblind (Geffen Records) and ABC’s The Voice Season 3 runner up, Terry McDermott (also managed by MVK), since January.

When asked about what led to MVK adding O&A to the roster, MVK Owner & Co-Founder Brian Paul stated, “We recently had one of our groups disband, which created an opening on the roster. We weren’t really looking to add another band specifically, but I had been having communication with the O&A guys and the more we discussed everything, it just felt like a good opportunity for both us and them”.  He went on to add, “We felt like they added yet another aspect of variety to our roster…they definitely have a fun, unique sound, and a lot of potential so they definitely fit well into our family of managed artists. Through our conversations leading up to adding them to the roster, we really connected and hit it off…the guys are really passionate about making music and brought a level of energy and enthusiasm to the discussions that I really appreciated”.

Best described as an amalgamation of the world’s most quintessential styles of rock and metal over the last half century, Owls & Aliens seamlessly merges the driving vocals of today’s rock and metalcore over punk and grunge rhythms reminiscent of the 90’s, with explosive Classic Metal riffs and solos sprinkled throughout. Having just begun their journey as a band in late 2018, O&A is composed of 5 completely different musicians, separated by 12 years in age, but connected by their mutual love for creating honest, genuine music.

MVK Music Group Owner & Co-Founder Brian Paul spoke about the band’s sound, explaining “When you listen to their music, whether it is their released single Mercy or any of their other tracks in the works, you hear snippets of influences from a wide range of genres and musical influences. That is part of what creates their unique style and sound that I feel can and does appeal to a wide audience of music fans”.

Ultimately seeking solace from their rural lives of Southern Oregon, O&A is comprised of Dustin Carter (clean/unclean vocals), Travis Siebecke (rhythm guitar, clean vocals), Jeffry Martinez (lead guitar, backup vocals), Nicholi Ohbronovich (bass, unclean vocals), and Dakotah Webb (drums, backup vocals).  All 5 members come from diverse music backgrounds that create each of their individual styles, with various levels of previous experience. Although different in style, each member has dealt with harsh upbringings, addiction, mental illness, homelessness, etc. that is apparent in their playing because of their own personal understandings of these topics. The O&A writing process is completely organic, never forced, and unable to comply with a certain genre.

Being from a small, isolated town in the middle of the high desert has not stopped Owls & Aliens from playing live shows. In the 8 months they had together prior to the pandemic, O&A managed to play over a several dozen shows, both with local favorites and touring bands. Due to the lack of opportunity throughout their area, O&A has often had to bring the venue to their own home by hosting shows with other bands in the garage. Moving forward, Owls & Aliens has already begun booking shows for 2021, and with the end of regulations in sight, are ready to play as many shows as humanly possible.

Riddled with untapped potential, O&A released their first and only single thus far, Mercy, on May 8th, 2020. The song was recorded with Sean Stack of Fat Cat Recordings Studios in Sacramento, CA, where they also managed to get half of their debut album recorded before restrictions completely shut down the studio. Consequently, Sean has since relocated to Austin, TX, and O&A already has plans to finish recording the album, with hopes of it being released by the end of 2021. Owls & Aliens are currently planning the release of their first official music video for their new song You Can’t Save Everyone, under their new management team, MVK Music Group. The song and video is set to debut this summer.

We interviewed O&A regarding them being added to MVK’s roster and what’s in store for them going forward:

What does this announcement and working with and under the guidance of MVK Music Group mean to you guys?

O&A: You know, when the pandemic hit we were still a relatively new band and didn’t even have a song officially released yet, and all of a sudden we couldn’t play shows or anything like that anymore so we just lost all of our momentum we had. But in the meantime, we did a lot of preparation and research so that when things began opening back up, we would be ready to go. We got our first single released and half of our debut album recorded, and got our first professional music video all shot and finished around the beginning of this year. With that, we were looking for the right label or management to help us get our new content to as many people as possible. But we wanted to make sure that we were working with a team that actually cared about us and believed in what we have and that could see the potential in us. Somehow, I (Dakotah) stumbled upon MVK during my search and right away just felt like it would be a good fit and we were lucky enough to be selected by them. With the whirlwind of a year we’ve just had, words can’t explain how excited we are to be working with MVK, and honestly the feeling is still sinking in. Their emphasis in supporting mental health issues with their artists is also incredible, and is something that is really important to us as it’s something we have all had to deal with in our lives.

We are definitely looking forward to our future with MVK and building a close relationship with them as we begin to get our music out to the world and build our brand. We are excited for them to push us and for the upcoming opportunities and connections to be created. Like we said, we have a lot of potential with so many ideas and songs already written, and we are ready and willing to put in the work. Now we have the right guidance with MVK so it feels like it’s all coming together.

How did you guys meet & how did Owls & Aliens form?  

O&A: It’s kind of a long story actually and everybody in the band kind of met each other at different points in time and then one day it all came crashing together. I (Dakotah) was in a college band called Box Brothers around the same time that Dustin was performing as a solo singer-songwriter. We wound up playing a few local shows together throughout 2017-2018 and got to know each other. Around the same time, Jeff had just moved back to Klamath Falls from the Salem area, and got introduced to Travis because it’s a small town and they both played guitar and liked to skateboard. When they first started hanging out, they didn’t even really think about playing music together because their styles were so different – Jeff more into the Classic Metal and Rock of the 70’s and 80’s and Travis more into the Punk, Grunge, and Alternative styles of the 90’s and 00’s. Eventually, the two started jamming and realized quite quickly how unique of a dynamic they had. Mind you that Dustin and Travis had met about 10 years prior to any of this, as they were both members of bands belonging to the now-forgotten punk and metal scene of the area, but weren’t necessarily super close to one another. I also got to know Jeff separately while playing as the house band with Box Brothers for one of the only venues in town. But by the end of 2018, me and my Box Brother’s bandmates graduated college, and unfortunately our original plans to continue the band post-graduation came crumbling down. Unsure with what I was supposed to do next, I messaged Dustin if he wanted to start a band because it was the only thing that felt right (not to mention he was one of the only youthful, available musicians in town that I knew). Immediately, Dustin thought of Jeff and Travis to bring in as guitar players, as he had heard them play together during one of his famous Open Jam Garage Shows just a few months prior. It took a couple more months for the 4 of us to all meet up, but by the end of our first jam session, we had the guts of our first song written – Romanticize the Sorrow. One night, Jeff invited his neighbor and fellow musician friend, Nicholi, to come over to practice. Most of us were familiar with Nich, who was a young and soulful guitar player you would commonly see busking the streets of our town. Sadly his Dad had just passed away the day before and Jeff felt like he could really use some love and energy from other musicians. Also a guitar player, Nich was too antsy to just sit there and asked if we had something he could play too. So I slapped this crummy little bass I owned on him and hooked it up to the PA system. He asked what the chord changes of the song were, and then just started jamming out with us like he knew the song. Before we knew it, Romanticize the Sorrow was a complete song and we knew we found our bassist. It was that moment that we became a band.

What is the ultimate direction for Owls & Aliens?

O&A: Honestly, our ultimate direction is to bring hope to people that hear our music. As beautiful as life is, it isn’t always easy, and music has been the only thing to constantly give us hope along the way. We know what it is like to feel as if life is kicking you down and you have barely anything to hold on to. The only way we knew how to cope with the fear, the anger, the chaos was by playing music, and you can feel that in our songs. We want to share our experiences with people and let them know they aren’t alone and that despite when everyone might tell you, it’s ok to be yourself. We want our music to be honest and pure and for it to relate to people as they understand our struggles. With that, we want our music to have longevity and to bridge the gap between all generations. Ultimately, we want to connect people together.

It’s almost like we didn’t choose to be in this band, but rather we had to do it, for our sake and everyone else’s. This band is making us be the best that we can possibly be and we have no limitations for ourselves. This is only the beginning for us.

Who has influenced you guys the most musically?  

O&A: To say who has influenced us the most would be basically impossible as we all come from so many different music backgrounds. If we did try, it would probably be an endless debate between all of us. All of our influences share importance and it would be tough to be some above/below others. Part of our whole thing is that we don’t really sound like one band or even one particular style/genre of rock. It’s more like that kid at the soda fountain who puts a splash of everything in his drink, but then miraculously it tastes like the best soda you’ve ever had. However, if we had to name a few (in no particular order):

Asking Alexandria, Beartooth, Alice In Chains, Deftones, Van Halen, Dance Gavin Dance, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Green Day, Glassjaw, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Judas Priest, A Day To Remember, U2, My Chemical Romance, Royal Blood, FIDLAR, Linkin Park, Blind Melon, Billy Talent, Falling In Reverse, Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, Twenty One Pilots, AFI, Incubus, Boston, Prince, Radiohead, Iron Maiden, Dio, Rush, Sum 41, Queen, System Of A Down, Third Eye Blind, Oasis, Avenged Sevenfold, Guns N’ Roses, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Billie Eilish, MGK, Trippie Redd, The Cult, August Burns Red, Pearl Jam, Polaris, Black Sabbath, Blink-182, The Amity Affliction, Led Zeppelin, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Police, The Goo Good Dolls, Tenacious D, Snoop Dogg, Twelve Foot Ninja, Good Charlotte, Sublime, Neck Deep, Weezer, Atreyu, Every Time I Die, Underoath, Architects, Bring Me The Horizon, Pantera, Slayer, Stone Sour, Of Mice & Men, Aerosmith, HIM, Bullet For My Valentine, Killswitch Engage, Misfits, Ramones, Transplants, Travis Barker, Tom Delonge, Angels & Airwaves, Boxcar Racer, +44, As I Lay Dying, We Came As Romans, Stepson, Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra, He Is Legend, Def Leppard, Rise Against…. And the list goes on and on baby…

How would you describe the music that you typically create?  

O&A: Our music is pretty much an amalgamation of the world’s most quintessential styles of rock and metal over the last half century. It merges vocals of today’s rock and metalcore over punk and grunge rhythms reminiscent of the 90’s, with explosive Classic Metal like riffs and solos sprinkled throughout. Our music is never trying to comply or fit in with a certain genre. We try to bring a lot of intensity and energy to our sound, while making sure that it is pure. The music is honest in that you can hear our struggles of dealing with harsh upringings, mental illness, substance abuse, heartache, and what have you, but also you hear and feel our continued optimism that everything is going to be ok, it just takes perseverance and time to push past those things and carry on. We are all completely different musicians, but each one of us brings our special something to the table and being separated by 12 years in age from youngest to oldest really helps provide a bunch of different elements.

We’ve only really just begun playing and writing music together, but we already have a whole album written and another one in the works and we are seeing how our music is shaping out to be. We know so far that our music is much more than just sound, it brings an energy that you can feel and relate with. It will be fun to see what directions the future will have in store for us too.

How would you describe your creative songwriting process?

O&A: Our songwriting process is very much collaborative, everyone is involved and is crucial to getting the song done. It usually starts with an idea, like a riff or rhythm from one of our guitarists, and then we build the song from there. We never try to force anything or comply with a certain person’s style, so what happens is we find a way to make all of our different styles work together. All 5 of us can play guitar too so that keeps the ideas neverending and helps everyone understand the flow of the song. Lyrically, Dustin is constantly coming up with ideas and writing them down in a notebook throughout the day. Then from time to time, he has these sessions where he basically locks himself in the upstairs part of our house and writes a bunch more lyrics and puts all the ideas for songs together. When we first start writing a song, it’s usually in an acoustic environment, where you’ll see the guitarists figuring out how to make the parts of their contrasting styles work together, Dustin flipping through his bible of lyrics figuring out which ones go with the feeling of the song and what the melody is, and me (Dakotah) pacing back and forth and acting as the conductor, guiding them through the tempo and transitions of the song. Then we bring it to the garage where the rest of the song and the full structure comes together.

Are there any other bands or artists that you guys would love to collaborate with?

O&A: As of right now, we are more focused on getting our first album recorded and continuing to work on our new songs. We have a lot of different ideas in the works and are still developing and discovering our own sound so at the moment, that’s more of a priority. That being said, if/when the right opportunity presents itself, why not?

Dua Lipa for sure though.

If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?

O&A: All we can really do is be ourselves and focus on what we can do to inspire people given the current industry.

What’s next for Owls & Aliens?  Anything you would like fans / new fans to know?

O&A: Oh you know, doing band stuff!

The next biggest thing is getting our new music video and song You Can’t Save Everyone released. It’s the first music video that any of us had ever been a part of, and it was shot in our beautiful hometown. We had a blast working with Scotty of Sleeper Studios based in Portland, OR, and we are really proud of what we made and can’t wait for people to see it.  We also have some shows coming up this summer and are in the process of filling up the rest of our dates for the year. Around September, we plan on going to Texas to finish recording our debut album with Sean, who we had been working with in Sacramento prior to covid restrictions shutting him down and forcing him to relocate. We also have a bunch of sweet new merch on our website owlsandaliens.com/merch and plan on coming up with even more designs with our new merch endorsement, Maverick Apparel Co.

We would like to thank anyone who has ever or whoever will listen to our music and speak our name. We love this band more than anything and are determined to make it our full time lifestyle.

When people try to put you in a box or tell you what you should be, don’t let it tear you down and just remember to be yourself, be kind, and love everyone–including yourself.

Listen to Mercy now:

Owls & Aliens become the 15th  member of MVK’s managed artists roster, joining the ranks of SoulSwitch, Young Other, 7 Stone Riot, Cody Weaver, Lotus Crush, THE DEV, Dead Rebel Saints, Ventruss, Seasons, Terry McDermott, The Strongbacks, Devils Envy, Brendan Maier, & Isabella Snow.

You can find more info regarding Owls & Aliens including their EPK here:  https://www.mvkmusicgroup.com/mvk-artists/owls-and-aliens/

Owls & Aliens on Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/owlsandaliensband
Owls & Aliens on Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/owlsandaliensband/

Owls & Aliens on Apple Music:  https://apple.co/3yBEase
Owls & Aliens on Spotify:  https://spoti.fi/3wuBD12

Owls & Aliens is managed by MVK Music Group.
For booking inquiries, please contact MVK Music Group at booking@mvkmusicgroup.com