Ollie O'Shea & Jim Lauderdale

Ollie O’Shea is well educated in the field of American country music. He has been playing guitar and singing most of his life and has worked with some of the best country musicians Nashville has to offer.    Ollie has been recently signed as a songwriter to “Good Bit Music,” a publishing company owned by one of Nashville’s most successful songwriters, Jim Lauderdale. Ollie has played fiddle with such artists as Hank Williams III, Gary Allan, George Ducas, Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale.    He is working now as a solo artist doing his own songs as well as some of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and George Jones’ American classics. One of Ollie’s strong suits is playing country fiddle, which has kept his bread buttered for many years.

WB: Where are you from?  Ollie:  Chicago. WB: Was your family musical? Ollie:  My grandfather on my mother's side played violin and mandolin. My Uncle Ralph played the upright bass with the Dorsey Brother's Orchestra. My Great Grandma DiSantos played violin. WB: What were your biggest musical influences?  Ollie:  Growing up in Chicago I was exposed to a lot of Blues and R & B, and was moved by the music of Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, B.B. King, and John Lee Hooker. I have an older brother who was into country music. I heard my first Hank Williams and Johnny Horton via him in the late 50's, but I could never get enough of Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Wild Man Fisher or Captain Beefheart.

Broadway Musical "Lost Highway" Story of Hank Williams Ollie playing as Hank hoping to get the job as fiddler for the Drifting Cowboys

WB: What instruments do you play?
 Ollie:   Guitar, mandolin and fiddle.

WB: What is your favorite music and why?
 Ollie:  Bluegrass, Country, Western Swing, and lO's and 30's jazz. Bluegrass because it's the foundation of country music; Western Swing because it's fiddle-oriented. Fiddle is my favorite instrument to play; lO's and 30's jazz because it was such a wild time in America and it was a time when a lot of great American music was being invented and played for the sole purpose of entertainment. It was truly a great American creation, something we can call our own.

WB: What is your least favorite music and why?
 Ollie:  Music that sounds too electronically processed and has very little human element to it's essence; music that has a lack of substance.

Ollie Playing the  "Western Beat Show" with his band.

WB: What is your instrument of choice and why?  Ollie:  Fiddle, because I think it lends itself to so many different kinds of music and is an instrument of great expression. There is something about dragging the bow across the strings that says something to everyone. WB: How and where did you get started in music?  Ollie:  My parents bought me a ukulele when I was young; when I got a little older they bought me a guitar to grow into. I learned some Elvis moves from 'Jail House Rock' and the rest is history. This all took place in Chicago. WB: What was your first gig? I'd have to say my first real gig came in the mid-70's in Santa Fe, New Mexico playing in a house band 5 nights a week by the race track. It was a good place to learn the ropes of playing in a band situation and how to get along in a bar without getting shot.

WB: What was your last gig?
 Ollie:  The Western Beat Gram Parson's Notebook, 'The Last Whippoorwill'. I was honored to be a part of it. I love playing with Vacation Bible School, the house band for the Western Beat show.

WB: Who are some artists and musicians that you've played with?
 Ollie:  I played for 6 years in a band called the Last Mile Ramblers out of New Mexico. I've had the privilege of playing in Nashville with the great Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale, two old friends from a lot of years back. George Ducas hired me in 95' when I first hit town. Great guy. Great gig. I did a season at the Ryman in 97' doing a show called 'Lost Highway', the story of St. Hank Williams. Went back out on the road later that year with Gary Allan. Another great guy, kind of like family.

WB: What has been your biggest musical thrill?
Ollie: Playing with Hank III opening a show for the greatest country singer that has ever lived, George Jones. I stood in the wings and watched George do what he r has been doing for 50 years. It was like hearing this voice that came from the other side.

WB: What is your dream band?  Ollie:  My dream band? Could the question maybe be a little more loaded? John Doe, Count Basie, Buddy Emmons and Moms Mabley. Playing with people I know and like whose music demands respect. WB: Where would you like to be in 5 years?  Ollie:  In Chupadero, New Mexico watching the sunset, giving thanks to .God for making the world a better place to be in. I think that will take 5 years. WB: What's the hardest thing about what you do?  Ollie:  Shouting out changes to bass players when I'm trying to sing a song. WB: When did you come to Nashville?  Ollie:  June of 95'.

Ollie in a past life.