Splitting Branches in the Beginning

 

Someone once asked me if I was surprised that Oliver became a famous musician. I told him that I wasn’t surprised that he became a famous comedian. And now that he’s gone, I can say that I am indeed surprised at the level of superstardom he achieved in his short career.

 Kirsten and Oliver were both twelve years old when they took a trip to NYC with their B40 Jr. High 8th grade class. I think that’s when their six year saga began. Upon their return from New York, I had the task of picking Kirsten up at the school in the middle of the night. When Kirsten emerged from the bus, she introduced me to a skinny little guy named Oliver. He was shy and the way they glanced back at each other as we departed made it clear to me that “something” was going on. The next morning, Kirsten made her pitch to me and said, “You’re going to love Oliver, he’s exactly like you.” And turns out she was right. I did love Oliver and he was exactly like me. My little protégé lol. 

 For the next few years Oliver was a fixture at our household. The tell tale sign of his skateboard leaned against the house by the front door signaled that he was there. 

I had a vast collection of music and eclectic videos that Oliver was intrigued by, especially Andy Kaufman. I had about a half dozen Kaufman videos that would periodically disappear and show up later on, as if they had never left the shelf. 

Watching the music develop in real time was so fun to watch. They would rehearse and record at O’s house then bring stuff over for me to listen to. Across the six-way intersection, we were only ten doors down so there was lots of transit between the two locations. Some of the material made it onto the final cut of what became the Splitting Branches album. In the beginning, Tree was a trio consisting of Oliver, Kirsten and Christian (Shelf Nunny). They adopted the name “Tree” for their “trio” as a nod to the Simpsons Treehouse of Terror, which is itself a nod to the 70s horror classic, Trilogy of Terror. Plus Tree is Oliver’s middle name. Everything Oliver did seemed to be layered with subtle meaning. Onion onion onion…

When Kirsten and Oliver broke up after a six year on/off relationship, (mostly on/off), Oliver and I continued to keep in touch. He always put us on the guest list at his shows and took time to meet up with us whenever he was in town. 

Oliver forced us to feel. 

He made us laugh. 

He made us cringe. He made us doubt. And he made us cry. Oliver forced us to feel life. He didn’t care if you loved him or hated him. Making us feel was his goal.

His time was cut short far too soon and I know there was much more that he wanted to accomplish in life. But what a life it was. I will miss him.

God speed my little protégé