Catching up with Madison Olds

At a very young age, Olds says she took up dance, where her love of performing and entertaining became apparent.

“I’m a bit of a ham. Anytime I walk into the room I’m like Darla Dimple – big and loud. And it was a nice opportunity for me to get comfortable on stage,” She laughs, “Then I got into musical theatre. And then around 13 I got a guitar, and I was like ‘Hey this song writing thing is pretty cool. Who is this Taylor Swift chick? I’m going to be like her’.”

Over the last 6 years, the 21-year-old artist has been showcasing that passion throughout Kamloops, and has recently taken her talents national with her top 10 entry, Thank You, in the Searchlight Competition.

“If I win, I think there’s an opportunity to play at CBC Music Fest, Juno Fest, and even potentially the Junos.”

As an independent (or “Indie”) artist, Olds does not have a label funding her releases. She has worked hard to get her latest album out, titled Blue.

“You get recordings, mastering, and then if I wanted to push to radio, which I did this last year, it ended up costing about $5,000 for this one song,” Olds explains, “I’d love to apply for some grants, get a couple more gigs, and bundle up all my stuff. Last year I sold my car to record an album. This year I have no car to sell.”

The album’s title has a fitting, personal touch to it, as Olds says her first guitar was blue.

“There are so many stories that got me to where I am as an artist. All the songs that I’ve written, and all of the experiences, and that’s kind of what I’ve tried to button up in this tiny little package that I call an LP.”

Between spending time performing, Olds also makes sure to learn from outside influences and recently came back from a month long trip to Nashville.

“I ended up having a writing session every day, I was meeting with publishing people, label people. I didn’t want to go home and leave because so much was happening,” She explains, “I’ll reach out to writers, sometimes I’ll just cold call people. You’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do.”

Since her original band, the Bees and the Bare Bones, parted ways, Olds’ father Dave has been filling in, which he says has been a fun transition.

“I feel super honoured to be on the right side of her, or the left side, depending on what the night is,” He says, “To be able to play along with her and watch her progress as not only a human being but as a musician as well. And watch her love for music and the ability to share with the crowd.”

Those who work to support her career know it really does take a village.

“I have a passion for music as much as Madison does,” Dave explains, “And to be able to help out my daughter in that way, where I can accompany her, and bounce ideas off her, and then she comes to me and says, ‘hey dad, what do you think of this, how about this idea, do you think this might work?’ It’s been really quite interesting to have a different relationship with my daughter.”

Olds’ father says it’s a very tough industry, and he has enjoyed watching Madison navigate becoming a professional musician.

“Whenever we are not playing in the community, Madison is a huge proponent, and a huge promoter of the City of Kamloops. And everything that the city of Kamloops has done for her career,” he says, “We believe that she wouldn’t be where she is without the support of the community.”

With performing alongside her father, Olds has also begun working with fellow singer-songwriter, Brooke Azzopardi, who appeared on the X Factor Australia in 2014 with her former group, BEATZ.

“It’s tough because she’s over in Toronto now, and I’m over on the west coast, and we’re not too sure if she’ll get her permanent residence, because she is Australian and she’s only here on a 2 year working visa,” she explains. “So we’re kind of waiting to see and testing the waters but I think there’ll be some cool collaborations in the future.”

In the meantime, Olds’ creative streak is still going strong, with a second solo album already in the works.

“This next album that I’m working on I’m really excited (for) because it talks a lot about mental health, anxiety or stress, or just coming to a point in your life where you feel like you’re at this rock bottom spot, or giving in to the part of you that you don’t like the most,” she says. “It kind of gets a little bit away from the love side of things, and a little bit more to the real life side of things.”

And as for tomorrow?

It’ll be a busy day for Olds, with the winner of the CBC Searchlight announced in the morning, and opening for Scott Helman at the Blue Grotto in the evening.

by Dylana Milobar

Catching up with Madison Olds

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