“This is the re-introduction of [Ollie Gullick & The Lads] in a way. We’ve established ourselves in Boston and New York, we’ve been at it for over a year now, so let’s mix it up … we’re doing some things that we’ve never done before. It’s an experiment, I guess.”
On Friday, Jan. 31, Ollie Gullick & The Lads took to the stage at Cambridge’s Middle East Upstairs venue, delighting the crowd with a rock ‘n’ roll set that was nothing short of electrifying. Prior to the show, I got to speak with frontman Ollie Gullick over Zoom to learn more about the singer, songwriter, music director, guitarist and soon-to-be queer rock heartthrob.
“For me, rock and roll is the authenticity, and always has been,” Gullick said candidly. He cited legends like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin as influences, but his passion for music truly took root at a “musical playtime” he attended as a small child.
“I can’t remember that far back, but my parents told me the woman who ran it had an accordion and I wouldn’t take my eyes off it the whole time.”
Once he was old enough to begin experimenting with musical instruments himself, Gullick took up guitar “because my dad played it, and I wanted to interest girls. But I’m gay now, so that didn’t quite work out.” In terms of growing up queer in less accepting spaces, Gullick professed that “it sucked, but I’m grateful because it gave me a lot to write about.”
On stage, Gullick’s unabashed queerness is instrumental to his performance. At the Middle East venue, he dedicated three of his opening songs to “a guy who wasn’t as straight as he seemed,” gay sex, and “a twink [he] used to know.” Belting out his lyrics in a powerful, gravelly voice, Gullick danced across the stage and smoldered at the crowd as he fluttered a fan emblazoned with the word “cunt.”
“[Being gay] manifests itself in my performance and the way I write music because I had to hide for so long and now I don’t anymore, so I’m just gonna let it all out.” This explosion of joy and pride was infectious, washing over the crowd as the band performed.
Born in the UK, Gullick’s family moved to Abu Dhabi when he was 14 years old, where he remained until relocating to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. While he recognizes the uniqueness of his expatriate upbringing, he’s found that “people can find things within [my story] that they can relate to themselves.”
During the show, Gullick gave a shout out to a friend in the crowd, stating that he almost omitted the upcoming song from the setlist until she convinced him otherwise. The song in question was “The Cross,” which tells a beautifully heartbreaking story featuring some of Gullick’s most poetic lyrics and stunning instrumental solos. This song was one of my favorites of the night, as it highlighted Gullick’s ability to modulate between melancholy softness and powerful intensity in an instant.
Along with fronting The Lads, Gullick is also music director and guitarist for ZaZa & The Psychedelic Orchestra and Berklee’s Lady Gaga Ensemble. “It’s been tricky, definitely, wearing all these hats. But I find it similar to how I’ve lived in England, Abu Dhabi and Boston –– for a while, it felt like three different people. ZaZa, Gaga and Ollie, myself, kind of felt like three different people going into those rooms. And I think trying to remember ‘no, it’s just me doing different things’ has been really helpful. I approach everything in the same way, emotionally.”
During Friday night’s performance, Psychedelic Orchestra frontwoman ZaZa joined Gullick on stage to perform his song “Turn Around and See.” The performance was a clear crowd favorite, with many friends and fans shouting out the lyrics as Gullick and ZaZa sang while staring each other down with affected rock ‘n’ roll intensity that repeatedly gave way to beaming smiles, their chemistry as friends and collaborators abundantly clear.
As the band’s set came to a close, Gullick requested that the venue’s PA system be turned off. A hush fell over the crowd as Gullick and the six Lads stepped to the front of the stage to perform an acapella rendition of “Front Room” in a beautiful three-part harmony. Despite the pervasive booming bass audible from the venue downstairs, it was a heartwarming moment, encapsulating the bond shared by the band’s members.
“It was never planned, this thing,” Gullick told me of his collaboration with his bandmates. “I just thought I was gonna be ZaZa’s guitarist, but a lot of the music I wrote was really personal to me … So I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll put together a little group so I can do my own little shows.’ I just wanted to play at [the pub].” When forming the band, Gullick had never even heard his guitarist, Colin Lillich, or his keyboardist, Leo Birkin, play before. Drummer Alex Reeves and saxophone player Andrew Schuler are Gullick’s roommates and fellow Psychedelic Orchestra members.
During Gullick’s first semester at Berklee, The Lads received a coveted “Caf Show” slot, earning the chance to perform in the school’s dining hall, which becomes a concert venue by night. The band was met with an outpouring of praise, and ended up booking several other gigs and recording sessions with a producer. The band’s lineup is completed by bassist Jack Helfer and a second saxophonist, Cooper Swartzentruber, who joined the band as a stand-in while Schuler was abroad and ended up becoming a permanent member.
After an electric encore, the band bid their farewells and departed from the stage. As I made my way out of the venue, I noticed “SOLD OUT” scrawled in black marker over the show’s flyer at the box office –– surely the first of many for Ollie Gullick & The Lads.
Contact the editors responsible for this article: Norah Catlin and Ivy Buck
