CW: discussion of abuse and violence.

Adelaide’s Oscar the Wild are a force to be reckoned with. The indie-garage quartet of Ruby Gazzola (they/she), Nicola Willsmore (she/her) and siblings Ariya (they/she) and Kane Gabell (they/them) formed in 2018 and have since toured all across Australia, playing their roaring, grungy indie rock to many devoted audiences. The band is all for nurturing community and honesty, which shows in their latest single, ‘Roll With the Punches’—a rallying cry against the unfair fleeting media attention towards stories of violence against women. It’s bands like them who promote resolved messages that wholeheartedly deserve their place in the indie music landscape—and thankfully, there’s no signs of Oscar the Wild slowing down with their unifying activism.

Ahead of their upcoming Melbourne gig at Fitzroy’s Old Bar, I interviewed the group over email and spoke to them about their new single, the messages they hope to promote in their defiant songs, as well as opening for indie rock legends Bloc Party.

Tell me how the band initially came together. How’d you all meet and when did you start writing music?

Ruby: Oscar’s first ever gig was Valentine's Day, 2018 at The Crown and Anchor supporting Superdose Gangway. I remember my lead was half coming out the amp, and I forgot the power supply to my pedal board. Needless to say, Ariya, Nic and Kane have definitely brought some professionalism and experience to the stage. The four of us have only been playing for the past six months, as Kane is a recent addition (and we are incredibly lucky to have them). Nic and I met doing nerd time at school, and Ariya, Kane and I have been family friends, because our parents did nerd time at school. Bands always talk about being like a family, and honestly after decades of knowing these guys, and spending hours in their wacky company, we truly are like siblings—also Kane and Ariya are literally siblings.

What is everyone’s role in the band? Who plays what and who writes the songs? Is the songwriting process a collective effort?

Ariya: In terms of musical roles there is Ruby who sings, plays rhythm guitar and writes the heart of the songs. Nicola plays lead guitar. Kane plays bass and sings backing vocals and I, Ariya, play drums and sing backing vocals. When Ruby comes to us with songs, we then collaborate as a team and write our parts or elaborate on ideas Ruby has come to us with to make it our own.

Outside of musical roles, I help run the management, booking and admin side with Nicola—especially the networking and emailing/messaging/meeting with people and bands side of things. As a self-managed and self-booking band, it is nice to share the different roles across the whole band as it is such a huge job, but we absolutely love it.

Nicola: Aside from our musical roles in the band, we all have different roles in the band that draw on our strengths. I play guitar but also do the day to day management of the band—replying to emails, staying on top of social media, looking after the finances and travel details and making sure everyone gets to where they need to be on time—anything that requires organisation!
 

Which artists have inspired the band’s indie-grunge sound?

Nicola: We all have pretty different influences that meld together to make our sound but personally I’m influenced by a lot of OG grunge and ‘90s alt-rock as well as Australian alt-rock from the ‘90s and early 2000s.

Ariya: I say collectively we all take inspiration from bands like The Pixies, Amyl and the Sniffers, and The Beths. Our own individual tastes are so varied and I think that helps to bring a difference to our sound as a band.

I’d love to learn more about the electric new single ‘Roll With the Punches’, which you’ve been playing on tour across Australia. What is the song about and what does it mean to you?

CW: discussion of abuse and violence.

Ruby: ‘Roll With the Punches’ came from my frustration about the lack of conversation around the number of women, trans and non-binary people being murdered or going missing, weekly. The Bondi Junction attack featured only a week in the new cycle, despite it being a clear display of gender-based violence. It seems like the media doesn’t really tell these stories, especially if they’re people of colour and Indigenous folk. This song is heavy, but also very close to my heart, because women, trans people, enbys and allies stand strong together.
 

You’ve previously shared the stage with English indie rock figureheads Bloc Party, which must’ve been so awesome! As a long-time fan of them, that’s such an amazing achievement. How did it feel to be their special guest? Did you expect to get that kind of opportunity when you first started out?

Nicola: It was such a crazy and surreal moment when the email came through! As a long time fan of Bloc Party myself and knowing the influence they’ve had on indie rock, it absolutely felt like a pinch me moment for sure, and meeting them and getting to play with them was so incredibly special! I know I personally didn’t expect this when we were first starting out and we still treat these kinds of big offers like it’s the first ever gig we’ve been asked to play, we never get any less excited!

Ariya: It was so surreal and I still can’t believe it happened. Honestly Bloc Party are one of the nicest bands, they are all genuine people and were super keen to watch our set and hang out with us at the show. Sharing the stage was a dream and is one of the larger crowds we have played to. I definitely didn’t think I’d be supporting a band like that when I was younger but I am so thankful we had the opportunity.
 

Are there any memorable concert stories that any of you have—maybe one that stands out, was weird, or you can’t believe happened?

Nicola: We have plenty of memorable/funny/weird stories but I think the first one that comes to mind was at a gig we played a good number of years ago where we played a Strokes cover and the lead singer of the headlining band jumped on stage unprompted and took the microphone off of Ruby to sing the cover himself.

Ariya: Playing a regional music festival and one of the headlining acts rocked up to the festival on the back of a monster truck. Was a pretty wild thing to see.
 

More broadly, with your lyrics, what do you aim to convey as Oscar the Wild? There seems to be a lot of honest, defiant, and profound messages in the band's songs. What impression do you hope to make on your audiences?

Ruby: Firstly, thank you! And that’s a really nice question, but I’m afraid I only have a boring answer—I don’t really know. Every song comes from some corner of my brain, and the lyrics seem already written. Often I learn about what I’m thinking or going through, long after the song is written, or even released. So whatever impression it is making on you? Correct! You nailed it! Please keep listening!
 

What does the future of Oscar the Wild look like?

Nicola: We’ve got some releases up our sleeve for next year and some longer term plans and goals which we’re excited to get stuck into, as well as really refining our songwriting and musical direction. In general though, we’re just riding the wave and being grateful for every opportunity that comes our way!

Ariya: I guess like they all say, “big things are coming!” We have so much planned and up our sleeves and we hope everyone enjoys the new era of Oscar the Wild.

Ruby: Lots of noise!!!

‘Roll With the Punches’ is now available on all major music platforms. You can keep to date with all things Oscar the Wild over on their Instagram.

Photography credit: Mayah Salter