No compensation was received for this post. I did this interview because I felt it would be interesting, and out of love for the album, the music and the band.
As I have mentioned a gazillion times, we love music. I love listening to music and will usually prefer to do that over watching television. As many of you know, particularly if you follow me on Twitter, I love the band Oleander. I have since I first heard an album of theirs back in 1999. When they released their newest and fourth album, Something Beautiful, earlier this year, I bought it immediately. I fell in love hard the first time I listened to it. If you would like the details of my thoughts on the album, read my Something Beautiful album review, published back in April.
Anyway. In May I decided to treat myself to a graduation present and take a trip out to Ohio. I wanted to visit my brother and his family. I also wanted to attend the Rock On The Range concert, an outdoor festival that had over 105,000 attendees this year. I went to Rock On The Range on Friday with my brother, where we were able to watch Oleander perform live. It was packed. The band put on an amazing performance that I absolutely loved. My brother and I returned on Saturday with his now-fiance for some more shows. It was a weekend I’ll never forget.
A few days later I grabbed a girlfriend and we took a road trip to Rhode Island, where I was able to see Oleander perform in a smaller venue. I loved that show too, truthfully more then Rock On The Range. My friend, who’d never been to a concert before, fell in love with them too.
What impressed me when asked how the two shows compared is that this band gives the same performance no matter what the size of the crowd. Not all bands do. Oleander enjoys making music and having fun. Pretty simple. At the end of their show I called home to check on my son. After all I was over four hours away, and had been gone for many, many hours already. It was at that moment that I wondered what family life was like for a musician.
Since returning home from that show I’ve been in communication with Oleander’s singer, Thomas. Thomas has two young children, a daughter and a son. I asked him if I could ask him some questions about family life. The kind of stuff you won’t find in your typical interview. As a parent myself I was curious what he’d have to say. Having a child who wants to be a musician made me even more curious what he’d have to say. Thomas was gracious enough to say yes. So I asked some friends and readers to tell me things that they’d be interested in knowing about the family life of a musician. I put together a list of the questions and selected the most commonly asked ones.
And so, here is my interview with Thomas Flowers of Oleander.
How do you juggle career, family and personal time?
TF – “I’m a “family first” guy who happens to require very little personal time, which I get from time to time. My career in music, while important to me, has taken a backseat in priority to my home life. I consider it a bonus to every time I hit the stage or get to record with the band.”
Would you want your children to have your career?
TF – “Sure. . . If following in my footsteps makes them happy. I will always support them pursuing their dreams and passions.”
Is it difficult to maintain family traditions with a busy career?
TF – “Yes, being away from home and away from family is by far the most challenging aspect of what I do. We adapt and adjust and take advantage of every opportunity to be together.”
What type of music do your children listen to and what do they think of your music?
TF – “While they love Oleander, they adore pop music. We listen to a lot of Maroon 5, Demi Lovato and Pink. I’m ok with that . . . for now :-)”
Do your children ask you to sing to them?
TF – “They do. . . and I do. . . and we laugh. I enjoy listening to them sing far more though.”
What is the most important thing you want your kids to learn from you?
TF – “That I will always love them.”
Do you think your career environment is a good one for children to be exposed to and if not, do you try to shelter your children from it?
TF – “Limited exposure in certain circumstances, with certain bands is ok. I prefer other environments for them.”
Oleander is:
- Thomas Flowers – vocals
- Doug Eldridge – bass guitar
- Ric Ivanisevich – guitar
- Steve Brown – drums
- Rich Mouser – guitar
Something Beautiful has become my favorite of their four albums. It’s also become one of my favorite albums ever. Yep, ever. No matter if you love ballads or hard driving rock, there’s something on this album for everyone. The songs are not only amazing, but they are all relevant. The title song and current single, Something Beautiful, has a lot of personal relevance for me, that is a topic for another post that you will see very soon.
The album is available for purchase on the Oleander website and through iTunes. The widget below contains a short sampling of each track on the album. To hear the sampling, just press the small arrow next to the song’s name.
The album is available on the Oleander website and iTunes.
The track names are:
- “Fight”
- “Something Beautiful”
- “Bulletproof”
- “Until It’s Over”
- “Never Too Late”
- “Save The Best”
- “Save Me”
- “You Are The One”
- “Daylight”
- “Where Do We Go From Here”
- “How Do We Say Goodbye”
Oleander is currently out on tour with 3 Doors Down and Daughtry. Check the Oleander website or the Oleander Facebook page for dates and venues. I highly recommend catching them live if at all possible, the show is that good. And if you’re on Twitter, follow @OleanderBand on Twitter, they love hearing from people.
A big thanks to Thomas from Oleander, for taking the time to answer everyone’s questions. It is greatly appreciated.
What a fun treat for you!!!! Too cute about his kids and pop music. 🙂
Liz, I thought that was cute too!
Glad you had a chance to enjoy the concert! We too love music but this is truly a great opportunity being able to interview Mr. Flowers. There’s nothing like a good band and great lead vocalist!
LisaLisa – Agreed. So glad I got to go to both shows. Will definitely go to more if they’re within driving distrance. Or if a rich uncle appears from nowhere and wants to fly me out, LOL. They’re all very talented. And he is a phenomenal vocalist.
Great interview! And lucky you to meet in person, yay!
Mel, thank you! They love meeting fans, probably as much as fans like me enjoy the meetings.
Great interview, though I’m not familiar with that group, I will have to check them out!
Jennifer, thanks! I recommend them highly, great music!
Thanks for introducing me to Oleander – they weren’t on my radar before, but I’m listening to them now! Great interview – I always wonder how people with busy travel schedules juggle all of their world.
Acting Balanced Mom – My pleasure, love them! Careful, they’re like Pringles. Once you start listening you won’t stop!
How cool that he agreed to do a slightly nontraditional interview with you!
Meg, very cool indeed! And I’m grateful! I get to share products all the time, I wanted to do something different. I enjoyed it, am pondering doing more of them.
Ummm, that is so totally cool that you interviewed him! 🙂 I love how he loves hearing his kids sing, don’t we all? 🙂
Nancy, agreed. I love hearing my youngest sing anything. It’s a blast watching him listening to Oleander. He can’t get all the words but he tries to sing along and I love it.
Such an interesting interview! I’ve always wonderd how musicians balance family life and their career. Such a unique lifestyle.
Emily, agreed. I enjoy going on the occasional junket for Mom Knows It All, but those are only for 2-3 days. I enjoy the trips but do miss my boys while I’m away. It’s got to be really hard to balance a career involving lots of travel with family. I’d be Facetiming every day, LOL.
Wow, that is such an awesome opportunity! I think a lot of people forget that entertainers and athletes are normal people too with values, family, etc. It’s nice to see them in a normal light with regular questions. Thank you for sharing.
Amy, great point. It was very interesting to me to have the opportunity to ask “regular” questions and awesome that he would take the time to answer them.
That is so cool that you got to interview him!!!! Totally awesome!
Mel, to be truthful this is the second time Thomas has answered questions for me, the other was for an article in the college paper. But this is the first time the questions asked haven’t appeared ANYWHERE else in any other interview. Very awesome indeed!
I’m not actually familiar with the band, but I LOVE music, and I think it’s so great that you got to do such an interesting interview. I’ll definitely check out the clips!
Melanie, check them out! The album is amazing and offers something for everyone, from ballads to real rockers. Hope you enjoy them!
Looks like a really fun time! Loved the pictures.
Beth, both shows were wonderful and memorable in different ways. I have many pictures, I love taking them.
I love how you got to interview him and from the sounds of it, he seems so down to earth still. Gotta love that about artists! And he even talked about his kids, cute!
Cinny, I’ve hung out with a good number of artists after shows over the years. I remain in touch with some even when they’re not on the road.While Thomas is not the artist I’ve spent the most time with (yet, you never know), he is definitely the nicest of the lot so far.
He sounds like a normal guy who just happens to be a great musician – so cool!
Krista, he is a very talented musician, he has a beautiful voice. And yes he is a very down to earth guy.
Awesome interview!!
Thank you Mrs B!
Maroon 5 and rock – his family playlist sounds a lot like my own, haha! 🙂 Great interview!
Beeb, My son is finally at the point where he’s moved away from wanting to listen to the Wiggles 24/7. It’s been interesting to watch, so far his taste is similar to mine, and Oleander became his favorite a couple of weeks ago. He now loads the album on his iPod in the morning when getting on the bus.
It must be nice to have a break from the Wiggles! LOL!
Great interview! There is nothing more sexier than a man who is a family man. I love how you treated yourself to not one, but two concerts.
Catherine, thanks! I’d treat myself to more if they were playing a little closer. 🙂 They put on an excellent show.
awesome interview and how lucky to have that opportunity!
Kristyn – Thanks! I’m very grateful I had the opportunity indeed.
Great interview! I had to laugh at his kid’s liking pop music, which he is okay with….for now! We love music at our house and realized pretty quickly that while we can play our favs in hopes our kids will love it, they will seek out what they like so I have gotten in to finding fun and family kids music we can all enjoy. It’s working for now, but I imagine the tween/teenage years will bring all kinds of interesting music into our lives. Le sigh!
Mommabacon, I laughed too. It reminds me of how different musical tastes often are between parents and children. My parents didn’t like my music growing up. Now my Mom likes Oleander. My youngest son is finally moving away from Wiggles and Barney. He now listens to 3 real bands regularly. Oleander is one of those three and recently surpassed his previous two favorites and now he plays them constantly.
It has to be hard to be away from home for long periods, I know I would go insane!
Sofia, I’d be Facetiming my youngest all the time. And texting my oldest. Well, he claims I do that already some days, LOL.
haven’t heard of him and that’s nice that he puts family first in his bio. i love rock music too.
Mel C – I love rock music, it’s my favorite genre of music by far. If you like rock definitely check them out!
Values make the man or woman. Glad to see that some music heroes in the spotlight espouse values that those who follow should emulate.
Mom, excellent point. Love you.
Sounds like you enjoyed the trip and to see a great performer 🙂
Mel, I did enjoy both trips. And yes the band does give a great performance, I’d see them 100 times over and don’t imagine I’d ever get sick of it.
Wow I bet that would be hard! Glad to hear you guys make it work!
Cindy B – Agreed!
Wonderful interview. Nice to see how he makes family first!
Thank you! I agree, and it’s nice to see since it doesn’t seem to always be the case with some celebrities.
you looked like you had a great time… 😀
Andi – Yes I did have a great time!
What a great interview is right. That must of been fun for you as well. Great post!
Michele D – Thanks very much, appreciate the kind words!http://www.valmg.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php?comment_status=moderated#comments-form
What a laid-back, interview. I loved his point of view on family. Sounds like he’s got his priorities in order. I’ve seen his name popping up quite a bit on Twitter and wish him well!
Rosey – It was fun being able to ask more laid back, personal questions and have them answered.
That would be hard away from your family.
Oh that’s so cool that you got to meet him! And it’s awesome that he’s such a family man… good guy!
Danielle – I am very happy I got to meet with him and grateful for him answering my questions. And yes he is a very good guy.
Great interview! I don’t really know how musicians can juggle everything in their lives. Thanks for sharing this
Cynthia L- Thank you! And you’re welcome, my pleasure to share it completely!
Interesting, I have never heard of him before, looks like you had a nice interview!
Mama to 5 Blessings – It was very gracious of him to answer my questions, I’m very pleased with the way it turned out.
This was really neat to read. It’s definitely not the perspective you usually get in an interview, so I found it fascinating.
Elisebet – That’s what I was hoping for, something you wouldn’t find somewhere else that was more family related. I’d love to do more of these, actually.
He will always support them <3 What a great daddy!!!
Awesome interview!
McDonuts – Thank you. Agreed, always wonderful to see fathers who aren’t afraid to show they care for their children.
It would be difficult to be a performer who is on the road so much of the time.