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We're Not Listening
Duly Noted - Olli Lolli, pt. 2
Literally anybody who has ever met Olli can attest to the fact that he comes on a bit too strong to be taken seriously at first. Put simply, he’s kind of an idiot – not in terms of book smarts, but definitely in terms of common sense. He’ll shake your hand with such vigor that it’ll feel like he’s ripping your arm off. He’ll babble about whatever’s going on right now, asking you about your life and dreams. Really, it can be annoying, though at the same time, he’s genuine and just simply loves people. Joshie and Gabriel are both much quieter than the frontman, and honestly, that’s a blessing – the world probably couldn’t handle more than one Olli.
They accepted the fact that they were meant to be in a band together. They’d tried their hands at writing songs together and came up with a few golden ones, testing them out in the courtyard of their alma mater after school and at a local bowling alley. The only thing was that nobody knew what to call them; saying, “Oh, I’m a fan of whatever you call Olli and Gabriel and Joshie’s band,” was far too much of a mouthful to continue.
Their eventual name came from a chance encounter when Joshie went to Olli’s house for the first time in seventh grade. That was when he discovered that his best friend was a part of a crazy-huge family (only three of his siblings were out of the house at that point; the other five were running all around the place) – and Olli was the “baby.” It never bothered the swoopy-haired singer that he was the youngest…until that day.
His mom casually called him, “Olli Lolli,” as if it was something natural that she’d done her whole life, but Olli turned bright red and hissed through clenched teeth, “Mom, Joshie’s here. He’s my friend. From school.”
It was impossible to take him seriously when he was “mad,” and when he guided Joshie to his room to hang out, Joshie couldn’t help but laugh and question the nickname. “Dude,” he snorted, “that’s like the gayest name anybody could ever have.” (It was 2002. The stuff people said back then could be pretty horrible, but don’t worry, Joshie cleaned up his act.)
The words struck a chord with Olli, and he grunted to his recent best friend, “They called me that when I was little because I was a ‘sweetie pie.’”
“Oh my God, dude,” Joshie laughed some more. “Are you gay or something?”
Olli stared straight at him and flatly said, “Yes.”
Joshie didn’t really know how to react, since he was looking directly at him with such a straight face, so he just stammered and spit out, “O-oh. I didn’t…I didn’t know, I mean, I’m sorry -”
“It’s okay,” Olli laughed a bit. “Well, you’re the first to know, anyway.” His hands were sweating at the confession. It had only been a few years since he even admitted it to himself – now was as good a time as any to tell somebody else, and Joshie was a pretty cool dude.
They left it at that. It wasn’t a big deal, anyway. Eventually Olli told his family about him being gay when he was 15, and Gabriel found out at the end of their freshman year. No qualms about it, aside from a few off-color jokes later on after they were picked up by Not Listening.
The nickname later came in handy. Joshie brought it up at lunch one day their sophomore year when they were talking about a name for their nebulous band, and Olli faked a gag and blushed. “It’s so dumb,” he said. Plus, according to Olli, it made it seem like the band wasn’t a band but just a solo act, something he vehemently tried to go against.
“But you gotta admit, it suits our music,” Gabriel bargained. “It’s happy and cute. And don’t even try to tell me our songs aren’t adorable.”
Olli lobbied for naming the trio The Goons. Short, sweet, and classic. Neither Joshie nor Gabriel were willing to back down, though, and that’s how they became Olli Lolli and the Goons, for the time being.
As the spring of 2006 went by and summer rolled in, there was a quiet rumbling beneath their feet. Nobody could feel it overtly, but it was definitely there, and things were about to change for all of them for the better.
They accepted the fact that they were meant to be in a band together. They’d tried their hands at writing songs together and came up with a few golden ones, testing them out in the courtyard of their alma mater after school and at a local bowling alley. The only thing was that nobody knew what to call them; saying, “Oh, I’m a fan of whatever you call Olli and Gabriel and Joshie’s band,” was far too much of a mouthful to continue.
Their eventual name came from a chance encounter when Joshie went to Olli’s house for the first time in seventh grade. That was when he discovered that his best friend was a part of a crazy-huge family (only three of his siblings were out of the house at that point; the other five were running all around the place) – and Olli was the “baby.” It never bothered the swoopy-haired singer that he was the youngest…until that day.
His mom casually called him, “Olli Lolli,” as if it was something natural that she’d done her whole life, but Olli turned bright red and hissed through clenched teeth, “Mom, Joshie’s here. He’s my friend. From school.”
It was impossible to take him seriously when he was “mad,” and when he guided Joshie to his room to hang out, Joshie couldn’t help but laugh and question the nickname. “Dude,” he snorted, “that’s like the gayest name anybody could ever have.” (It was 2002. The stuff people said back then could be pretty horrible, but don’t worry, Joshie cleaned up his act.)
The words struck a chord with Olli, and he grunted to his recent best friend, “They called me that when I was little because I was a ‘sweetie pie.’”
“Oh my God, dude,” Joshie laughed some more. “Are you gay or something?”
Olli stared straight at him and flatly said, “Yes.”
Joshie didn’t really know how to react, since he was looking directly at him with such a straight face, so he just stammered and spit out, “O-oh. I didn’t…I didn’t know, I mean, I’m sorry -”
“It’s okay,” Olli laughed a bit. “Well, you’re the first to know, anyway.” His hands were sweating at the confession. It had only been a few years since he even admitted it to himself – now was as good a time as any to tell somebody else, and Joshie was a pretty cool dude.
They left it at that. It wasn’t a big deal, anyway. Eventually Olli told his family about him being gay when he was 15, and Gabriel found out at the end of their freshman year. No qualms about it, aside from a few off-color jokes later on after they were picked up by Not Listening.
The nickname later came in handy. Joshie brought it up at lunch one day their sophomore year when they were talking about a name for their nebulous band, and Olli faked a gag and blushed. “It’s so dumb,” he said. Plus, according to Olli, it made it seem like the band wasn’t a band but just a solo act, something he vehemently tried to go against.
“But you gotta admit, it suits our music,” Gabriel bargained. “It’s happy and cute. And don’t even try to tell me our songs aren’t adorable.”
Olli lobbied for naming the trio The Goons. Short, sweet, and classic. Neither Joshie nor Gabriel were willing to back down, though, and that’s how they became Olli Lolli and the Goons, for the time being.
As the spring of 2006 went by and summer rolled in, there was a quiet rumbling beneath their feet. Nobody could feel it overtly, but it was definitely there, and things were about to change for all of them for the better.