Hustle Roses Interview; She Was Born to Make People Happy, and She Does it Well!

Exclusive photo courtesy of Tamar Levine Photography. tamarlevine.com

The amazing thing about music is, much like oxygen, it’s often just around us without us exerting much effort or paying any attention to it at all. It encapsulates our space, and, at the risk of erring on the side of melodrama, sustains us.
I came to hear of on artist called Hustle Roses via a Facebook friend of mine (special thanks to Trent Vanegas, who operates Pink is the New Blog, a gossip site with a conscience). He is a friend of hers and spoke of her often. As Trent is a fun loving chap who has pretty excellent taste in music, I thought I’d check this Hustle Roses girl out. It turns out, she’s kind of amazing. With songs that are catchy as can be and almost demand you open the moon roof and roll the car windows down, I immediately found myself buying everything available, telling everyone I could think of to buy everything available, and contacting her for an interview. People need to know about her. And they need to know now.
Hustle Roses, also known as the lovely Olivia Stone, is a vibrant and infectiously upbeat LA based singer. Her music is a fusion of everything that makes you want to dance and sing. Hailing from Phoenix, Hustle Roses avoids the jangly guitar that once put Maricopa County on the musical map. What she does do is incorporate elements of electronic, dance, and, occasionally, pop music in the best ways possible. Some amalgamation of ‘California beach-hop.’

Recently, Hustle Roses very kindly took a few moments out of her recording schedule to chat with us about her name, her band The Oohlas, and what lies ahead!

Thirty Roses~ First, I’d like to say thank you for taking time to chat with me, I know you have a lot of demands on your time.

Hustle Roses~ Howdy!

TR~ Having played the label game as well working independently, at this point would you want to work with a label again or do you feel your career works better with you running things on your own?

HR~ This is the first time I have been in complete control (with the help of friends and family of course) of my career and I enjoy that because only i am responsible for getting things done and promptly. The internet is a big place. That being said I want my music heard by as many people in the world as possible, but that can only be done with the best songs ever, so I better keep grinding.

TR~ Your music seems to have an utterly unique quality in that it’s modern, yet I can easily imagine many of your songs in other eras if arranged slightly differently. ‘Alive’ would be well at home on the charts alongside early Madonna and Kylie Minogue, while ‘Supernova’ almost has hints of the 60’s Phil Spector girl groups. ’85 Blocks’ and ‘Sleepwalker,’ meanwhile, would be perfect additions to the Clueless soundtrack.
Do you consciously try to incorporate elements of fun and style from every era, or is that more studio serendipity during the recording and arranging processes?

HR~ Thank you. I don’t go for era, but I don’t wish to write slow songs at all at the moment. I only sing the best possible melody I can come up with over a 2-14 day period. I’ll rewrite the song 500 times in my head when I travel, walking my dog, at work, etc. I layer my vocals a shitload because it sounds sick. I’ll over think the lyrics to an unhealthy point. You have to just let go at a certain point, from my experience.

TR~ Timmy the Terror, producer of Tequila Mockingbird and Jesse Owen Astin, who produced the Bitters mixtape, seemed to capture different aspects of your creativity and personality. The projects sound quite different, yet still very ‘you.’ How do you find the balance between evolving creatively and still maintaining the sound that fans love you for?

HR~ Thanks, it’s very important that it sounds “me” as I am hands on in everything I do. Every producer I work with taps into a different part of my soul and the experiences are overall the same but the conversations and vibes you have are not. It just happens naturally. I am always trying to do new and different things; if you don’t evolve, you get old quick.

TR~ Do you approach music the same way in your solo career as you do with your band, The Oohlas?

HR~ Well I try to be the most honest songwriter I can possibly be, that remains the same – The Oohlas relied upon each other and shared production and songwriting duties – bands also become a family because of your musical hurdles and being stuck in a van with Taco Bell and dirty socks. Hustle Roses, however, is a kaleidoscope of humans around the world helping me craft my inner beast with their take on my influences – and I focus more on the sound of my voice this time around.

TR~ You’ve stated that your name, Hustle Roses, is taken from a line in Charles Bukowski’s poem “The Consummation of Grief;” “I was born for this, I was born to hustle roses down the avenues of the dead.” Do you often reference your influences, musical, literary, or otherwise, in your music?

HR~ I read “Women” when I first moved to LA and he has fascinated me ever since. I reference everything and anything I hear, read, smell and see on earth. It has to be a timestamp of where I am at.

TR~ Do you feel a need to delineate between identities as a performer? Is Hustle Roses a more amplified version of Olivia Stone, or are they one and the same?

HR~ I am hustle roses, neé Olivia stone. 😉

TR~ Not only is your music happy and upbeat, but you are seemingly a quite positive and optimistic person. The music industry can very easily kill optimism; how do you deal with the negativity and criticism without letting it slow your swagger?

HR~ Don’t let my music fool you, I’m all dark and emo inside and cry when I watch The Truman Show. 😉 I have learned to run…everywhere…a lot. dogs help. making more music, constantly, and sunshine – is the medicine for swagger replacement.

TR~ What’s coming up for Hustle Roses in terms of new music, shows, or any other projects you may be working on?

HR~ I am focusing on producing my own records right now for an EP. I have made 75% of it on my iPad mini with apps. I’m a few songs in. I’m also writing songs with some sick DJs from Italy as well as LA…I’m so excited – I’ll keep ya posted. 😀

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