Richard J Oliver

Last updated

Richard J Oliver
Birth nameRichard James Oliver
Also known asJamie Oliver [1]
Born (1975-07-16) 16 July 1975 (age 48) [1]
Origin Pontypridd, Wales [2] [3]
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Artist
  • musician
Instrument(s)
Years active2000–2017 (as a musician) 2017-present (as an artist)
Website https://www.richardjoliver.com/

Richard James Oliver (born 16 July 1975), formerly known as Jamie Oliver, is a Welsh artist and former musician. He is known as the former keyboardist of No Devotion and former keyboardist, turntablist and supporting vocalist for the Welsh rock band Lostprophets. [4] Oliver quit the music industry in 2017 in order to focus on his art career.

Contents

Early life

Oliver and the band remotely knew each other, as they were part of the same music scene. Oliver used to play bass guitar in small local bands in his late teens, and was offered a place of the lead vocalist in Lee Gaze's first band, Fleshbind; he declined the offer as he had to go to university. [5]

Career

Musician career

The band have stated that Oliver was only added to the band so he could go on tour with them as a photographer, for they were impressed by his work. [1] The band asked their management if they could bring Oliver on tour with them in 2000. They were told they could not afford to take someone who was not part of the band or their crew with them, so Oliver bought a set of turntables and quickly learnt what he needed to play. [1] It is unclear how this occurrence coincides with ex-turntablist DJ Stepzak's departure from the band. [6] As the band themselves worked on the remastered The Fake Sound of Progress , it can be assumed that the notably larger changes in the turntable and sample parts (recorded by Stepzak) compared to the other instruments is due to Oliver's influence on the record. [7]

Oliver was also the keyboard and synthesizer player and founding member of the Welsh/American alternative rock band, No Devotion, whose debut album was released in September 2015 and won the Kerrang! Award for Best Album. He departed the band in 2017 to focus on his art career.

Artist career

Oliver is also an artist and had made quite a successful career before joining Lostprophets. Some of his works have been known to sell for up to £5,000 each. [1] He studied fine art at the University of the West of England, Bristol. [8] As an adolescent he used to take photos of small-town life in his Welsh village of Cilfynydd, in the community of Pontypridd, and painted them back on canvas. [1] [2] [5] Then, as a student, he took interest in adapting the Tales of Mabinogion, traditional Welsh tales, into modern scenes. Oliver has worked with Ian Watkins on all of Lostprophets' artwork since 2003, possibly before, and he drew the pictures found in the booklet of the album Start Something (also used on covers for the "Burn Burn" single) personally. [9]

From 2009, he started to paint again, stating that his new works allowed him to express himself much better as an artist than his older works did. His newer works mostly represent children finding themselves alone in landscapes of war or desolation. Oliver attributes this recurring theme to the fears brought by fatherhood in our current world state. He also mentioned the study of Taoism and meditation helped him develop the new expression technique. [2]

In 2012, Oliver was shortlisted for the Welsh Artist of the Year Award. [10]

Oliver's first showing in America opened in Los Angeles at the Known Gallery, in January 2013, displaying most of his newer works. [11] Oliver also collaborated with the association skate4cancer, painting the piece "Dream, Love, Cure" and selling prints for the charity. [2]

Personal life

Oliver currently resides in Los Angeles [12] with his wife, Michelle. [13]

Discography

Lostprophets
No Devotion

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turntablism</span> Art of manipulating sound using turntables

Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system and/or broadcasting equipment so that a wider audience can hear the turntablist's music. Turntablists typically manipulate records on a turntable by moving the record with their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on a record, and by touching or moving the platter or record to stop, slow down, speed up or, spin the record backwards, or moving the turntable platter back and forth, all while using a DJ mixer's crossfader control and the mixer's gain and equalization controls to adjust the sound and level of each turntable. Turntablists typically use two or more turntables and headphones to cue up desired start points on different records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lostprophets</span> Welsh rock band

Lostprophets were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The group was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruited Mike Lewis on guitars, Stuart Richardson on bass and Mike Chiplin on drums.

<i>Start Something</i> 2004 studio album by Lostprophets

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<i>The Fake Sound of Progress</i> 2000 studio album by Lostprophets

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Lee James Gaze is a Welsh musician. He is the lead guitarist, and also one of the founding members, of the Welsh/American alternative rock band No Devotion and previously a member of the Welsh rock band Lostprophets.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Watkins (Lostprophets singer)</span> Welsh musician and child sex offender

Ian David Karslake Watkins is a Welsh former musician and convicted child sex offender. He was the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Lostprophets, which he co-founded with Lee Gaze in 1997. In 2013, he was sentenced to 29 years imprisonment for multiple sexual offences, including the sexual assault of young children and infants, a sentence later increased by ten months for having a mobile phone in prison. His bandmates disbanded Lostprophets shortly after his conviction and formed No Devotion with American singer Geoff Rickly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last Train Home (Lostprophets song)</span> 2003 single by Lostprophets

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burn Burn (song)</span> 2003 single by Lostprophets

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake Up (Make a Move)</span> 2004 single by Lostprophets

"Wake Up (Make a Move)" is the third single from Start Something, the second album by the Welsh rock band Lostprophets. "Wake Up (Make a Move)" was released to radio on 1 June 2004. This single was under much debate up to its release; both Lostprophets and their management wanted the dark, brooding "Make a Move" as a single, whereas the label wanted the poppier, catchier "I Don't Know". The band and their management walked away victorious and the song was released as a single with the modified title "Wake Up (Make a Move)". However, "I Don't Know" was later released for radio airplay in the U.S. and made it to #11 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lostprophets - Jamie Oliver". BBC.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Buy Fine Art Paintings Online | USA | Richard J Oliver". Richard J Oliver Art. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  3. ↑ "Homecoming gig". WalesOnline. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "BBC - Lostprophets biography". BBC.co.uk.
  5. 1 2 "Interview with Lost Prophets". Outline Magazine. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "BBC - Lostprophets family tree". Bbc.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "The Fake Sound of Progress - Lostprophets - Credits". AllMusic .
  8. ↑ Art, New Wave. "Richard J. Oliver". New Wave Art.
  9. ↑ Start Something (liner notes). Lostprophets. UK: Visible Noise. 2004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ↑ Owens, David (24 June 2012). "Lostprophets' Jamie Oliver shortlisted for Welsh Artist of the Year Award". WalesOnline. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  11. ↑ "Home » Known Gallery". Knowngallery.com.
  12. ↑ WOW, WOW x (10 October 2016). "Richard J Oliver - Artist Interview". WOW x WOW.
  13. ↑ "COMMISSIONS". Richard J Oliver Art.
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