About Osees
Osees is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1997, now based in Los Angeles, California. Originally the solo recording project of John Dwyer, the band has evolved through numerous line-up and name changes since its founding, with Dwyer serving as the band leader and primary songwriter throughout. The group's sound draws from a wide variety of influences, including garage rock, krautrock, psychedelia, and folk music. Osees are noted for their prolific recording output, energetic live shows, and whimsical visual aesthetic.
Since 2018, Osees has consisted of multi-instrumentalist John Dwyer, bassist Tim Hellman, drummers Paul Quattrone and Dan Rincon, and keyboardist Tomas Dolas. The group has released twenty-six studio albums, five of which feature the current lineup.
The group habitually changes their name between releases, sometimes recording one-off albums under a different name before returning to the previous. At various times, the band has performed or released under the names Orinoka Crash Suite, OCS, Orange County Sound, The Ohsees, The Oh Sees, Thee Oh Sees, Oh Sees, and Osees. Band leader Dwyer has explained that the frequent name changes are done in opposition to the music press: "it seems to aggravate the press, which to me is great. I have nothing but contempt for the music press."
This article refers to the band by its current name throughout, including in reference to events that occurred while the band operated under other names. For a chronology of the band's name changes, please see Osees discography.
John Dwyer began releasing songs on compilation albums under the name Orinoka Crash Suite as early as 1997, while based in San Francisco. Initially, Osees served as a solo project for Dwyer while he focused on his participation in other groups, including Pink and Brown, and Coachwhips.
The first three Osees albums featured Dwyer as a solo performer. The project expanded into a group with the addition of percussionist Patrick Mullins on OCS 4: Get Stoved, joined one release later by keyboardist and vocalist Brigid Dawson. The group's first six studio albums were recorded in a freak folk style, with lo-fi recording techniques, quiet percussion, and acoustic guitar as the lead instrument.
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