CREDIT: NICK REYNO
Fanshawe alumni Olivia and the Creepy Crawlies took the stage at Rum Runners.

Thanks to Fanshawe's Music Industry Arts (MIA) program, we've seen some fantastic bands come out of the college. One of these bands is the indie folk collective, Olivia and the Creepy Crawlies. This week Interrobang had the chance to chat with Olivia and the band about what they've been doing since graduation. The Toronto-based artists have wasted no time breaking into the Canadian music scene with two EPs and an extensive touring schedule.

The band's two EPs and special Christmas release have been met with high acclaim in the London community. Their first EP Charley reached number one on 94.9 CHRW's music charts, while their sophomore release Tongue Tied was shortlisted for the station's EP of the year.

The band's backing vocalist and designated Glockenspiel wizard, Kelly Samuel said, “A lot of our friends are in the other bands that got shortlisted for EP and for LP of the Year which is cool. It's nice to be in the same group with people like that.”

The band also gave a shout out to fellow finalists Cat Clyde and Ivory Hours, among others.

Olivia and the Creepy Crawlies have been putting out a steady stream of EPs to keep things interesting, but said that they will be working towards a full-length album in the next year or two.

Olivia Borkosky, singer/songwriter, who also shreds a mean ukulele, said that most of her songs come from personal stories and literature. Some songs carry obvious inspiration, such as “Gatsby”, while others are subtler in their influences.

The rest of the band takes literature seriously, if by serious you mean not much at all. Percussionist Aurora Evans admitted she only pretends to read, saying, “I have a book next to my bed with glasses on it and I haven't ever started it.” Guitarist and backing vocalist Jordan Moore went as far as to yell “I can't even read!” The band's good humour keeps them in high spirits during winter tours, having just completed a small Ontario stretch this January.

Olivia and the Creepy Crawlies are no strangers to the road, the band said, “We hit the ground running. Once we formed we had a tour and an EP all in the first year. On that tour we hit a lot of cities actually, there was nine days and we got as far as Ottawa.”

While on the road the band subsists off a haphazard collection of foods. Some members are rather prepared, such as Jordan with his smelly Greek salads and coveted feta cheese. Others are a little more adventurous with their food choices, such as guitarist and backing vocalist Chris Denise, who's been known to fancy boiled eggs from gas stations. The man with a stomach of steel defended his choices by saying, “You need to get your protein somehow. It's also the smelliest option so it's an obvious choice.”

While the band has a particularly vast appetite, their all-time favourite road food is poutine, particularly that of London staple Smoke's Poutinerie. For a band that eats mostly junk food past 2 p.m., the group can put on a hell of a show.

Every detail of their live performance has been carefully crafted: from their unique light show, to their phenomenal cover of “Twist and Shout”. When an entire bar starts twisting and shouting, things can get a little crazy. It's no wonder that the group has seen their fair share of crowd surfers while on tour. That may not sound out of the ordinary, but you have to remember that this is crowd surfing at a folk concert. If that's not enough to bring you out to their next show, just give their music a listen and get to know the band at facebook.com/oliviaandthecreepycrawlies, twitter.com/creepycrawlband or instagram.com/creepycrawlyband.