Q&A: Okey Dokey Transcends Expectations With EP 'Leaky Sealing'

☆ By SAHAR GHADIRIAN☆

 
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WITH A MIXTURE OF INVITING INDIE ROCK LACED WITH PSYCHEDELIC POP — blending genres is an effortless feat for Okey Dokey. The band’s sound gleams with joy and hope, even in their most wistful of tracks. The Nashville trio has an impressive catalogue of music behind them, dating back to 2016. It comes as no surprise then that their latest EP, Leaky Sealing, is a project that includes a fusion of rarities, reworked versions, and a cover track. 

Comprised of Aaron Martin, Johny Fisher, and Jeremy Clark, the indie-pop outfit pride themselves on the community they have been able to build through their music. Okey Dokey is so much more than just three guys in a band — they are the collaborative effort of all who are involved. From the musicians they have worked with on their projects and albums to their crew, photographers, and fans, Okey Dokey values the importance of everyone on this journey with them. 

Releasing their debut album, Love You, Mean It, in 2017 and their latest collaborative LP in October, Once Upon One Time, the group have gone from strength to strength, showcasing their sterling songwriting and sonic diversity. With each project, the band has continued to amass a devoted fanbase, and with Leaky Sealing, it is no different.

The EP ignites contemplation and sparks vulnerability in its musical reinterpretations. The swelling Generationals remix of “Delicious” adds a fanfare of soulful excitement to this new project. A refreshing and fitting follow on from Once Upon One Time, the EP emphasizes the band’s commitment to the music and their fans. 

With the release of Leaky Sealing, the band has adapted to playing socially distanced shows in the last few months, which we spoke to frontman Aaron Martin about in our interview.  

Okey Dokey’s latest EP, Leaky Sealing, will be out tomorrow via Park The Van records. Read on to hear about the backstory of the B-side style EP, the decision to cover a Roger Miller track, and what the band hope their EP will bring listeners.

LUNA: Hey guys, hope you’re all well! A few of the tracks from your next EP Leaky Sealing, are out for everyone to enjoy, and I’ve been listening to the “Delicious” remix a lot! This version has an amplified optimism that I enjoy so much. What made you want the Generationals to do the remix? 

MARTIN: Hello there, Aaron speaking to you now. I won’t lie to anyone here. I hadn’t listened to Genrationals before this collaboration started. So many things can come together once ideas begin rolling out, and they were proposed by someone in one of our chats as a great group to do a remix. We had never done that, and I am always open to experimentation. Opening the door to other ideas — and the creative process of others — is one of the foundational components of what makes us what we are. It went just as expected. I love the spin on the song; I’m happy to call myself a new fan of their music, and I can’t wait to thank them for their work in person. There will definitely be more of this in the future.

LUNA: I noticed the play on words for the EP’s title, how did you come up with Leaky Sealing?

MARTIN: I am going to put myself out there now as someone who loves talking alchemy. I’m not talking about cloaked men turning blue from mercury poisoning — I’m speaking of Magick (with the “k”), for sure. I believe there is an older than old — and less time-centered — process, in which human beings can unlock their real potential, and by doing that change things. This involves quiet and losing the need for separatist ideals. It involves so much empathy. It involves considering thoughts as matter and consciousness as a precedent to experience. When you get into this kind of historical view, figures like King Soloman start to pop up a lot. The title is based on the 44 Seals of Solomon, a history that feels contained, a much bigger picture for humanity that I think exists, and how much I believe is going to be commonplace “When The Levee Breaks.” ;)

LUNA: What made you want to release a sort of B-side style EP?

MARTIN: I think every album has more to it than what you get. To me, being open about the extra work you did with people is just a deeper exercise in building a bond. I want you to see my golden moments, but I would also like to share the pieces that didn’t fit so neatly. Also, we are songwriters. To call oneself anything must mean A proficiency in that thing, like a little bit, yeah? In the year 2020, in a GD pandemic, 47,000 songs were released a day. In 2021, I hope to have at least about 100 of those tied to Okey Dokey. 

LUNA: “Are You Up” is a sweet song which seems to follow a dreamlike narrative. Can you share a favorite memory or backstory from writing and recording this song?

MARTIN: This is one of the songs where Jeremy and Johnny cut me loose in the studio and let me track all night — apologies to Mikayla. Making it was soul-serving and delightful. I was diving into a new relationship at the time, and I let myself be open about it. The words came to me as I was waking up next to my partner. She was sleeping and I was feeling impatient. I will just start blurting words in those moments, so I run outside and start singing into my phone. I ended up with three and a half minutes of something that felt right, and I tracked it. There’s no better memory than that.

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LUNA: I love the reflective rendition of Roger Miller’s 1969 tune, “Where Have All The Average People Gone.” What drew you to cover it and include it on the EP?

MARTIN: The song itself resonates so much with me as an affirmation of my life choices — lots of synchronicity. Every line describes something I know, I guess.  I think everyone has a song that says, “Hey, I absolutely see what you are. I am one of those, too.” Bob Dylan did this to people. The song “Imagine” did this to people. Roger Miller did this to me. He’s not the only one, but he’s a great example. Alejandro Jodorowsky does this to me as well, with his words on human poetry and psychomagic. I don’t believe that we live once or even once at a time. I think we try to figure it out as much as conceivable, and it clicks in an ultimate fashion. I think life can be Silly Putty and when a song knows you like you do, or an occurrence is too strange to be strange, or your dreams start to become realities all the time, life is reminding you of yourself.

LUNA: The reimagined “Wine Friends” is a gleaming, melodious track which feels wistful. What does the slower, acoustic version of the song mean to you?

MARTIN: We’re dead!!! Nah for real, this is the dead. The song is about getting to know life and death, as they are just us again. To personify means to give life — once you do that you should let it live some more. I did that with ether  in “Wine Friends.” The gust of potential energy that we call a ghost or an orb or a thought form. The space that isn’t space at all. This version is meant to be the whispering of the song that I must have heard when I was dreaming. It’s the ether singing back and — in that ether — multiple versions of myself are unifying so that I might hear the words through the third dimensional static. This version is like organizing timelines to me. 

LUNA: You’ve been doing a few socially distanced live shows — how has it been playing music to actual crowds again? 

MARTIN: Interesting. I’m never not contemplating the potential injustice of it, but seeing our big family and making new friends is what I absolutely live for. I put so much consideration into the comfort of those who are at our shows. I will literally kick assholes out myself before ever getting security involved, because they are not at a venue causing a shit show at that moment. They are at OUR show making OUR family uncomfortable and who better to end disrespect than the person they had to invest in to cause such a ruckus in the first place. That’s what a person on a stage should be. A stage is like a big false divide to people. I refuse to hide behind it, and if I could, I’d play all shows in the middle of the audience. That said, being aware of all of those pieces makes a person weary of being painted apathetic. I am not, which is why I am really trying to listen to the needs of all of our people and do what I think is right. I’ve said “no” to a lot this year — I appreciate everyone in our community for staying positive, and I am truly inspired by the joy I have seen in those who HAVE attended the few shows we have played this year. All we have to do is make respect a given, and convince millions of people to dig that concept. (laughs)

LUNA: I attended a few last year as England started them in summer, it was a little strange but great to have live music back! What was the atmosphere like at the recent shows?

MARTIN: The atmosphere so far has been a joy, based on our community being our guide through this. Venues created protocols that we could agree with, our team stayed on their game, our audience — who I prefer to address as our family — supported us as they have done before: showed up, looked out for each other, and gave us more memorable experiences. Still keeping our eyes peeled for red flags.

LUNA: Thank you so much for speaking with me and good luck with the EP in May! 

To round things up, what do you hope the release of Leaky Sealing will bring the band, fans and new listeners?

MARTIN: I have a growing appreciation for the word “unconditional.” For instance, unconditional love is way way easier than any church ever put it. It means “I love you because we are the same.” You send all the compassion you have for yourself to whoever it is, cause they’re just you, after all. What they don’t tell you is that you’re supposed to do something truly epic after that. Stop giving a fuck. To have expectations for what someone does with all that love makes it conditional. I love the music we make. I love our big fat family. I love John Boy and Jerome. I love myself very, very much. We’ve done all the hard work. It’s time for the easy part. So, thank you for the questions. It’s been a great day over here. I wish everyone in our quantum self all of the love I can imagine, and I say to you now — with the BEST kind of peace I’ve ever known and more excitement than I ever thought to be available — I do not give a fuck, and I will see you there.

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