The Olivia Tremor Control

The Olivia Tremor Control is an American rock band that was

prominent in the mid-to-late 1990s. It was, along with The Apples in
The Olivia Tremor Control
Stereo and Neutral Milk Hotel, one of the three original projects of
The Elephant 6 Recording Company.[3] The band was founded by
the remnants of the group Synthetic Flying Machine (Jeff Mangum,
Bill Doss, and Will Cullen Hart) in 1994. The band went on hiatus in
early 2000,[4] and later reformed in 2009.

Bill Doss died on July 31, 2012 (according to some sources, due to
an aneurysm, however no official cause of death has been released).
[5][6]
Olivia Tremor Control live in 2005
(reunion)
Background information
Contents
Origin Ruston, Louisiana
Synthetic Flying Machine
Genres Indie rock[1] ·
Sound and history experimental pop[2]
Other projects · psychedelic
Reunion rock[1]

Members Years active 1992–2000 · 2009–

present
Discography
Studio albums Labels Cloud Recordings
Other albums Website Official Website (htt
Compilations p://oliviatremorcont
EPs and singles rol.com/)
Compilation appearances
Members Will Cullen Hart
References Eric Harris
External links John Fernandes
Peter Erchick
Derek Almstead
Synthetic Flying Machine Past members Bill Doss
Jeff Mangum
Synthetic Flying Machine was an early project of Will Cullen Hart,
Bill Doss, and Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum. The band later
went on to become known as the Olivia Tremor Control, with Hart and Doss remaining members while
Mangum eventually left to focus on Neutral Milk Hotel. The band had only one official release to their
name, Heaven Is for Kids, but there are several other tape cassettes of music distributed among friends and
collaborators. Many of the songs performed by Synthetic Flying Machine later became songs by Neutral
Milk Hotel ("Arms So Real") or Olivia Tremor Control ("Shaving Spiders", "Opera House"). Jeff Mangum
wrote a song about the band of the same name, which became "Up and Over" and finally "The King of
Carrot Flowers Pt. 3" on In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
Sound and history
The band's distinct sound is a mixture of Doss and Hart's pop and experimental tendencies. This chemistry is
evident in their albums given that some tracks are 2–3 minute songs, while others are electro-acoustic
collages ranging in length from 2 seconds to 10 minutes, and differing in content from vibrant horns to near
silence.[7][8][9] Furthermore, the band released a record of experimental electro-acoustic music, The Late
Music, Volume One, under the name The Black Swan Network, in 1997. Another Black Swan Network
release, a 7" EP on the Happy Happy Birthday to Me label, appeared in 2000, though it did not feature Bill
Doss. In October 1997, a "collaborative" LP between the Olivia Tremor Control and The Black Swan
Network was released, originally as a tour-only item, and later put out as a CD by Flydaddy, which gave the
record the title, The Olivia Tremor Control vs. The Black Swan Network, though the band had never wanted
the record to be named as such.

The band is influenced by the odd quality inherent in dreams and asked their listeners to send in tapes
describing their own, examples of which can be heard in the final track of Black Foliage and the OTC-BSN
collaborative LP. While their debut album Dusk at Cubist Castle focuses more on complex vocal
harmonization and upbeat Beatles-esque melodies, Black Foliage is more noise-oriented, with more
feedback samples and tape loops.

Other projects
The members of the Olivia Tremor Control embarked on a variety of different projects before and after the
band broke up. Eric Harris released a record under the name Frosted Ambassador and later two CD-R
releases under his own name on Cloud Recordings, the label founded by Fernandes and Hart in the wake of
OTC's demise. Pete Erchick released three records, Individualized Shirts, Special Fanfare For Anything and
Lost in the Pancakes, under the name Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't. Bill Doss followed OTC by putting
out records as The Sunshine Fix, a name he had used years before. The Sunshine Fix has evolved from a
recording project to a formal working band. Hart's post-OTC project, Circulatory System, has taken a
similar route. The self-titled 2001 LP continued the melding together of pop and experimental traditions the
OTC had worked on and won high accolades from the press. Jeff Mangum followed OTC with Neutral Milk
Hotel, releasing On Avery Island and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, as well as a few "underground"
acoustic demos.

Signal Morning, Circulatory System's sophomore LP features the reunion of Will Hart and Bill Doss singing
harmonies on its opening track. Signal Morning was released on 8 September 2009 on Cloud Recordings.

Will Cullen Hart has collaborated with groups such as Athens Tango Project in which he contributed backup
vocals to a cover version of Olivia Tremor Control's song, I Have Been Floated[10] which appeared on the
compilation album release, An Enthusiast's Fanfare for Elephant 6 released in 2019.[11]

Reunion
In 2005, the Olivia Tremor Control temporarily reunited, solely for live shows, at the behest of the All
Tomorrow's Parties festival.[3] They appeared at a UK version of the festival, preceded by warm-up shows
in Athens, Georgia and London; that summer, they again played Athens, at the Orange Twin Conservation
Community, as well as gigs in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and L.A.[12] In the fall of 2008, all
members of the Olivia Tremor Control toured with other members of the Elephant 6 collective as part of the
Holiday Surprise tour. In May 2009, Will Hart said in an interview that the band had recently re-entered the
recording studio: "We've got two songs for the next Olivia record, in my opinion. They're on Bill's hard
drive."
In March 2011, Elf Power drummer Derek Almstead confirmed that he was engineering and playing
percussion on the new record and that new material would be debuted at All Tomorrows' Parties later in the
year.[13][14] In addition to this, they have released a song titled North Term Reality under Olivia Tremor
Control for AUX Vol. 2.

In September 2011, the band released the single The Game You Play Is In Your Head, a 3-song suite. It is
unknown whether or not the song is a single from their new album. More live shows were planned including
an appearance at the ATP Curated by Jeff Mangum festival in March 2012 in Minehead, England. On
January 17, 2012, it was announced that OTC would play the fifth Austin Psych Fest April 27–29, 2012 at
Emo's East in Austin Texas. OTC performed at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago's Union Park on
July 13, 2012.

On July 31, 2012, the band announced the death of Bill Doss. He died of an aneurysm.[15]

Members
Current members

Will Cullen Hart - guitar, vocals, songwriting (1994-2000, 2009–present)

Eric Harris - drums, theremin, guitar (1995-2000, 2009–present)
John Fernandes - bass, violin, saxophone, clarinet (1995-2000, 2009–present)
Peter Erchick - keyboards, bass, vocals (1996-2000, 2009–present)
Derek Almstead - drums, guitar, bass (2010–present)

Former members

Bill Doss - guitar, cornet, percussion, songwriting, vocals (1994-2000, 2009-2012; died 2012)
Jeff Mangum - drums, guitar, vocals (1994-1995)

Discography

Studio albums
Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle (Flydaddy; double LP/CD; 1996)
Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One (Flydaddy; double LP/CD; 1999)
The Same Place (TBA) [16]

Other albums
Explanation II: Instrumental Themes and Dream Sequences (Flydaddy; CD; 1996) (bonus disk
for Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle)
The Late Music Volume One (Camera Obscura (record label); CD; 1997) (as The Black Swan
Network)

Compilations
Singles and Beyond (Kindercore/Emperor Norton; LP/CD; 2000)
EPs and singles
California Demise (Elephant 6; 7" 331⁄3 RPM; 1994)
The Olivia Tremor Control/The Apples in Stereo split (Small Fi; 7"; 1994)
The Giant Day (Drug Racer; 7" 331⁄3 RPM; 1996)
The Opera House (Blue Rose; double 7" 45 RPM/double CD-single; 1996)
The Olivia Tremor Control/Black Swan Network (Flydaddy; LP, October 1997; CD, 1998)
Jumping Fences (Blue Rose; 12" 45 RPM/CD-single; 1998)
Hideaway (Blue Rose; 12" 45 RPM/CD-single; 1998)
Those Sessions (self-released CD; 2000)
Once Upon a Time (with Kahimi Karie) (Polydor Japan; 2000)
"The Game You Play Is in Your Head, Pts. 1, 2, & 3" (Cloud Recordings; 2011)

Compilation appearances
"The Ships" on Succour (Flydaddy; CD; 1996)
"The Late Music 2" on Treble Revolution, Vol. 1 (Kindercore; Cassette; 1996)
"Silverbug" on Treble Revolution, Vol. 2 (Kindercore; CD; 1996)
"Beneath the Climb" on Dreamboat (Cassiel; CD; 1996)
"Collage No. 1" on Terrastock (Ptolemaic Terrascope; CD; 1997)
"Christmas with William S." on Christmas in Stereo (Kindercore; CD; 1997)
"I Won This Dog At The Driftwood Reunion Carnival 12/2/72" on Soundtrack To The Bible Belt
Reunion Carnival (Anhedonia; CD; 1997)
"Do You Like Worms? (Do You Dig Worms)" & "Little Pad" on Smiling Pets (Sony; CD; 1998)
"Outside Explorations, Pt. 3" on More Music, Less Parking: WFMU Live From Jersey City
(WFMU (http://wfmu.org); CD; 2000)
"European Son" on Rabid Chords 002: Tribute to the Velvet Underground (Victor; CD; 2000)
"Glass Beard" on Keep Left Vol. 1 (Ace Fu; CD; 2000)
"Hideaway (Remix)" on Kindercore Fifty (Kindercore; CD; 2000)
"North Term Reality" on AUX 2 (ICE (http://ice.uga.edu/); CD; 2010)

References
1. Clair, Adam (September 21, 2016). "Elephant 6 & Friends Reflect On The Legacy Of The
Olivia Tremor Control's Dusk At Cubist Castle" (http://www.stereogum.com/1895598/elephant-
6-friends-reflect-on-the-legacy-of-the-olivia-tremor-controls-dusk-at-the-cubist-castle/franchise
s/sounding-board/). Stereogum.
2. Pickard, Joshua (July 5, 2014). "Record Bin: The fractured pop wonder of The Olivia Tremor
Control's "Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One" " (http://nooga.com/167042/record-bin-
the-fractured-pop-wonder-of-the-olivia-tremor-controls-black-foliage-animation-music-volume-o
ne/). Nooga.
3. "PitchforkMedia News" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080303035515/http://www.pitchforkmed
ia.com/page/news/33975-olivia-tremor-control-to-play-vincent-gallo-curated-atp). Archived
from the original (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/33975-olivia-tremor-control-to-pla
y-vincent-gallo-curated-atp) on March 3, 2008.
4. "elephant6.com" (https://web.archive.org/web/20040404093724/http://www.elephant6.com/ban
ds/olivia.html). Archived from the original (http://www.elephant6.com/bands/olivia.html) on April
4, 2004.
5. "Apples in Stereo's Robert Schneider gave up a flourishing music career to chase his true
passion: Math" (http://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/apples-stereos-robert-schneider-
gave-flourishing-music-career-chase-true-passion-math/). Atlanta Magazine. 2018-02-22.
Retrieved 2018-04-26.
6. "Bill Doss of The Olivia Tremor Control reported dead" (https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/l
atest-news/bill-doss-of-the-olivia-tremor-control-reported-dead-101894). The Line of Best Fit.
7. [1] (http://opticalatlas.com/?cat=43&paged=2)
8. "PitchforkMedia Review" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070702215812/http://www.pitchforkm
edia.com/article/record_review/20571-dusk-at-cubist-castle). Archived from the original (http://
www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/20571-dusk-at-cubist-castle) on July 2, 2007.
9. "PitchforkMedia Review" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070922122208/http://www.pitchforkm
edia.com/article/record_review/20570-black-foliage-animation-music-vol-1). Archived from the
original (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/20570-black-foliage-animation-m
usic-vol-1) on September 22, 2007.
10. Lamb, Gordon. "Hope for Agoldensummer Scores Podcast, and More Music News and
Gossip" (https://flagpole.com/music/threats-promises/2019/03/06/hope-for-agoldensummer-sc
ores-podcast-and-more-music-news-and-gossip). Flagpole Magazine. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
11. "Athens Tango Project - I Have Been Floated" (https://e6enthusiasts.bandcamp.com/track/i-ha
ve-been-floated). Bandcamp. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
12. "PitchforkMedia News" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080110063039/http://www.pitchforkmed
ia.com/page/news/34945-olivia-tremor-control-add-more-shows). Archived from the original (ht
tp://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/34945-olivia-tremor-control-add-more-shows) on
January 10, 2008.
13. Faix, Thomas (March 25, 2011). "Elephant Six Bring Spring To Philly" (http://squarecottoncand
y.blotspot.com). Square Cotton Candy. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
14. "Music" (https://ew.com/music/). EW.com.
15. Andre Gallant (July 31, 2012). "Olivia Tremor Control's Bill Doss dead at 43" (http://onlineathen
s.com/local-news/2012-07-31/olivia-tremor-controls-bill-doss-dead-43). OnlineAthens.
Retrieved August 2, 2012.
16. "RiYL podcast 029: Will Cullen Hart of The Olivia Tremor Control and Circulatory System" (http
s://boingboing.net/2013/12/06/riyl-podcast-029-will-cullen.html). Boingboing.net. December 6,
2013.

External links
Official Website (http://oliviatremorcontrol.com/)
"The Olivia Tremor Control" at Elephant6.com (https://web.archive.org/web/20040404093724/h
ttp://www.elephant6.com/bands/olivia.html)

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