Review Fix Exclusive: Ovtlier’s Joey Arena Talks Goals And More

December 13, 2018 Patrick Hickey Jr. Music 0

Review Fix chats with Ovtlier’s Joey Arena, who discusses the group’s inspirations, creative process and musical bucket list.

Review Fix: How did your project start?

Joey Arena: OVTLIER began in 2014 with just myself (Arena) traveling to and from Cleveland over the course of a year writing for the record. Planning to just create a foundation to find like-minded musicians to play with or fill in for shows. 

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Arena: Like many, I picked up my first guitar when i was 11yrs old after listening to a Nirvana on repeat. Took some lessons from musicians of different backgrounds, couple years of music theory and decided i wanted to do this the rest of my life. 

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Arena: Thus far; i usually write a bunch of ideas for hooks and potential riffs, bring it to the studio and do most of my writing there. Im able to give my undivided attention into each song. 

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Arena: Everything i go or have been through. It all comes from personal experiences, from overcoming what life has thrown my way and anxieties to betrayal from friends and loved ones. 

Review Fix: What makes this album special?

Arena: “What Doesn’t Kill You” is very special to me cause it not only maps out the beginning of Ovtlier but also was a true test for me of how this band can operate. It also provides a positive message that though we all go through traumatic experiences that could forever manipulate ones integrity we bear the ability to choose our own outcome. What Doesn’t Kill You is an open-ended statement that allows you, the listener to decide what you will choose as the outcome of situations. 

Review Fix: What’s the standout track?

Arena: To me, each track stands out. They all offer something a little different from one another but sit collectively so well on a record. 

Review Fix: What’s on your musical bucket list?

Arena: To see as much of the world at the expense of music. To play every festival.  To touch the lives of as many people as possible. 

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14267 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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