ORDINARY VISION: OKEY DOKEY
Ordinary Vision allows artists to introduce themselves to audiences through their own unique perspective and medium.
Aaron Martin and Johny Fisher are Okey Dokey; a psych-pop project with a collective spirit, a fondness for Motown music, and a love of storytelling. And despite the Nashville-based group’s fun, sunny music and smart aleck-y stage banter, they run a tight ship with Okey Dokey tours and an impressive amount of side-endeavors. Aaron, the group’s core songwriter, has built a solid career for himself as a visual artist, with a resume that includes album art for Torres, a tireless amount of gig posters, and the eyes behind Okey Dokey’s creative direction. Johny, the other main man of Okey Dokey has becomes one of Nashville’s most in-demand musicians over the years as the guitarist of The Weeks and Sol Cat. Together, they’ve become a crucial part of Nashville’s music nucleus. Ahead of Okey Dokey’s show at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT we caught up with Aaron to launch our new series, Ordinary Vision.
At first glance, Aaron’s elaborate abstracted illustrations are difficult to make out, and his quick-witted captions come off as an inside joke that we’re on the outside of. But the more we look, the simpler his vision becomes.
hope: What do you look like right now?
Aaron: COUCHPOTATO
hope: You’ve mentioned in the past that your dreams serve as a source of inspiration for your art. What was your last dream about?
Aaron: FACEPOTATO
hope: What does Okey Dokey’s writing process look like?
Aaron: FRIENDPOTATO
hope: What message(s) does Tell All Your Friend convey that your last record Love You, Mean it does not?
Aaron: THANKYOUS
hope: Your tour with No Vacation brought you to Burlington last spring. Aside from your show here, what is one thing that you remember about being in Vermont?
Aaron: REALCHAMP
hope: “Place” seems to be a focal point in Okey Dokey’s recording process. Basements, living rooms, and a cabin in the woods have all been locations that you’ve holed up in previously. Can you share a specific place or a close memory from a place where you’ve written or recorded?
Aaron: BATHBRAIN
hope: The music industry can be notoriously frustrating to navigate. What’s one of the more important lessons you’ve learned as Okey Dokey continues to grow and go on bigger tours?
Aaron: SLEEPWELL
Okey Dokey play at Higher Ground with Summer Salt on Saturday, February 29th. Get tickets to the show here and stream Tell All Your Friend on all the major streaming services.
THIS ARTICLE WAS GRACIOUSLY CONTRIBUTED BY:
Carson Ehlert, co-founder of hope all is well and just a guy, in general.