I find myself writing and discussing a lot of bands in the DIY Milwaukee scene since starting NJAP some five years ago, with Snag being my first band from the area to come onto NJAP’s radar. I’m always impressed with the diversity of amazing bands their scene has. Mike Holloway is another name in the Milwaukee scene that’s making big sonic waves with everything he touches. He currently plays in the post-hardcore band “Garden Home” and was previously in a Midwest emo band called “Burmecia”, but today we’re putting our spotlight on another one of his amazing projects called Okay Omen, self described as “Milwaukee’s loudest soft band.”

After discovering their vocalist, Chase Hoffman, by seeing an Instagram video of him singing a Foo Fighters song at a local karaoke bar, the band turned a three piece into the four that they are today. Fusing shoegaze with elements of 2000s emo and post-hardcore to create a sound all their own that they have perfected with this release. okay omen blends the fuzziest sludge bass tone with the brightest-and-cleanest-clean-tone possible on their guitars, then juxtapose that against guitars that are distorted or filtered through pedals for sound waves that resonate through you like an out of body experience.

With angelic vocals and warm guitar tones swimming over the dreggy bass the mood of their compositions switch on a dime from the slow ballad tempos on “Acceptance” to the urgent and jazzy rhythms on “Headlock” that are reminiscent of “War All The Time” era Thursday, then pivot to some dancy grooves and bouncy rhythms showcased throughout “Denial”. I know it’s a cliche to say this but there is truly something for everyone on this release.

Guitarist Mike Holloway and okay omen vocalist Chase Hoffman had a chat with us about where the bands headed into the new year of 2025..

WHO WOULD YOU CITE AS INFLUENCES FOR THE BAND?

Mike: “When we started okay omen, we were all bonding over bands like Cloakroom, Hum and Native and wanted to combine elements of shoegaze with 90s & early 2000s emo bands. We knew we wanted the bass to be massive and sludgy at times while the guitar was both twinkly and spacey.”

HOW WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS FOR ECHOES OF LOSS?

Mike: “With this latest EP, we recorded with our friend Cody Ratley, who plays in Shamewave and World I Hate. His practice space is right next door to ours so we just moved our gear into his space and recorded everything, starting with drums. Recording bass for this band is always fun because it's difficult to capture Josh's bass tone since he plays bass through a 100-watt guitar tube amp turned all the way up. Everything was already written when we brought it to the studio. Cody Ratley also mixed this release and Justin Perkins from Mystery Room Mastering mastered it.

WHAT’S THE WRITING PROCESS FOR THE BAND CONSIST OF?

Mike: “Usually I will bring some riffs to practice and then we all collaborate and structure and tweak those riffs. Even Chase, who doesn't play an instrument, sits in on these sessions and makes suggestions (some of my favorite parts were his ideas).”

“I TRULY FEEL LIKE THIS EP SAW OUR BAND REALLY LOCK INTO A SOUND AND PRODUCE MORE OF A COHESIVE RELEASE. OUR FIRST EP YOU CAN HEAR ALL OF THE DIFFERENT INFLUENCES ON EACH SONG, BUT WITH THIS EP, I FEEL LIKE WE REALLY DIALED IN ONE SOUND THAT IS TRULY OURS”.

- MIKE HOLLOWAY @OKAY_OMEN

WAS THERE AN OVERALL THEME TO THIS RELEASE?

Chase: “Echoes of Loss is about learning how to move on. More specifically, it's about learning how to move away from faith and the church, being blindsided by a breakup and the death of a loved one, and how we grow away from those feelings of loss. The final track ‘Acceptance’ plays out like a retrospective on all of this, lashing out at the world for everything it has put me through and recognizing what control we actually have over our lives.”

ANY SHOWS COMING UP FOR 2024?

Mike: “Our last show of the year is on December 13 at the Falcon Bowl for a new Milwaukee hardcore band Larry David Gruber's first show.”

SO WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE BAND NOW?

Mike: “In 2025 we hope to keep promoting this EP and touring around it. We also have already started writing new music and our goal is to put out our debut full length LP.”

The best part about running this blog and podcast is that bands often send their music right to us and every so often I find a band that I instantly fall in love with and it’s mind boggling that I hadn’t heard them sooner. What’s even more mind boggling is that this band is somehow unsigned so get at ‘em if you’re interested.

Don’t forget to follow okay omen on their socials so you can stay up to date on their journey into the new year and grab a 12” copy of this EP on their bandcamp link listed below!