The OTC Collective, comprised of six area songwriters/multi-instrumentalists of varying genres, is essentially the musical version of The Avengers. Whenever one of its members has an idea for a creative project, they rally around them and make it happen.
Currently, The OTC Collective’s focus is on Jay Johnson, a 2009 Pennsbury alum who is paying homage to one of the group’s favorite art forms with the new concept EP Love, Rock & Roll (Part 1), released June 21. This comes almost exactly two years after Johnson’s last concept album Four Quartets, and he’s excited to offer listeners something different.
“I really enjoyed Four Quartets, but I viewed that more as art rock, almost higher level, almost over the top,” he told The Times. “The OTC is notoriously good at making people dance, so I wanted to play a little more dancey, upbeat music because I love rock music and this is really kind of a love letter to the genre.”
In writing the five songs of Love, Rock & Roll (Part 1), Johnson drew influence from The Kinks, The Beatles and, the biggest one, Velvet Underground.
“One of the songs ‘Apple of My Eye’ actually is very much a Velvet Underground-influenced song,” he said. “Lou Reed always loved doing dialogue songs with people kind of talking, and so that was my shot at doing something like that.”
The tracks were recorded on a snowy weekend in January in the basement of Johnson’s father’s home. Everything was done in true DIY style, with Alex Westlein (drums) and Ryan McKeown (keys) serving as audio engineers, and McKeown completing the mixing. That same weekend, in true OTC Collective spirit, the guys also recorded McKeown’s EP Cassette #1, which can be heard on Spotify under Dscry.
“I took the opportunity to record some of the different songs that I knew I wanted to record, some of my less sad and introspective music,” said McKeown. “Because most of the stuff that I have out at this point is definitely leaning more into those genres, and it’s not fully encapsulating of my range of emotions that I write about. It was acoustic and unplugged, and a practice of vulnerability and imperfection, and being comfortable with that. I’ve always been a perfectionist, and just throwing stuff out with the smallest amount of mistakes. This release was very impulsive. It’s not perfect, but is still beautiful and has a lot of emotion.”
For The OTC Collective, which also features Tobias Richardson (bass), Chase Gray (guitar) and Steve Eshewsky (guitar), this collaborative spirit dates to the summer of 2020, when live music venues across the country shuttered their doors during the pandemic. However, by June, one space provided an underground outlet for musicians and music lovers alike: The Trenton Social.
It was here that the members of The OTC Collective first met, forming as the backing band for open mic nights, which Westlein and Richardson ran every Tuesday from 2020 through 2023. Over the course of those three years, they backed a number of artists from across Pennsylvania (including Bucks County), New Jersey, Delaware and New York City.
After recognizing how well they worked together, they combined their solo projects to form a collective, which now plays all of their songs — a vast range of rock, funk, jazz and hip-hop — at bars, clubs, venues and festivals across Philadelphia, Jersey and surrounding regions.
“It’s interesting because you just never know what you’re gonna get when you show up to an OTC show, if it’s gonna be a Jay Johnson set, or if it’s gonna be a Ryan set or a Chase set, or if guest appearances from all of our other friends that we’ve made hosting open mics show up,” said McKeown. “But you know that it’s going to be a unique experience, for sure.”
Songs from Love, Rock & Roll (Part 1) will be added to the setlist, with Johnson and The OTC Collective thrilled to give listeners this fresh handful of upbeat tunes.
“ ‘Apple of My Eye’ is probably the one that I’m most excited for people to hear,” said Johnson. “We started playing that one live a couple times at shows recently. It becomes a fun sing along when it’s live, so I’m excited for people to hear it and then learn it so that we can sing it together when we play.”
Gray agreed, adding that the song features, in his opinion, one of the best lyrics penned by Johnson to date. “It’s, ‘You look like you could be the star of a commercial, some kind of soap, maybe conditioner.’ It’s my favorite line you’ve ever written,” he told his bandmate.
Though Johnson is admittedly not the biggest watcher of television, he had the TV on mute when writing “Apple of My Eye,” and was immediately inspired when a commercial for Dove came on the screen.
“You know those classic ones, with the girl with the blown-out hair in slow motion? I thought it would be an interesting reference,” he said. “For me, it’s a joke line, but also, since it’s the narrator, it’s like he’s almost stumbling talking to his crush and then trying to save.”
One of the things that Johnson enjoys most about Love, Rock & Roll (Part 1) is that, in true Beatles fashion, each member is showcased in a solo at some point.
Soon, the group will come together for the full-length album Love, Rock & Roll, expected for release in spring 2025. While the five songs heard on Love, Rock & Roll (Part 1), which serves as both a standalone EP and the A-side to the forthcoming record, are a love letter to the genre, the next five songs are set to explore the costs that come with pursuing the rocker lifestyle.
Simultaneously, the members are lending their talents to other bands and projects. Johnson alone is part of three other groups in addition to The OTC Collective: Mandy Valentine, Friends of the Devil and Three Yards to Dover.
“We were fighting with the Wu Tang Clan for Tobi’s time because Tobi the bass player was on tour drumming with them,” said Johnson, expressing pride for his bandmate’s accomplishment. “It’s hard because everyone is very busy and in demand. Getting everybody on the same page at the same time can be challenging, but it’s fun.”
Looking ahead, The OTC Collective is excited to keep up the momentum they’ve been building for the past several years, and keep lending unwavering support to each other’s projects. As Gray put it, “The OTC Collective, it’s kind of like we’re The Avengers in a sense, where Jay just went, ‘Avengers assemble!,’ and we all came together, like, ‘All right, we’re on Jay’s mission now, it’s time to help him out with what he’s got.’ When the individual songwriter calls, we all show up. And that’s the cool thing. We all show up for each other selflessly and ready to help and bring these projects to life.”
Love, Rock & Roll (Part 1) can be heard on Spotify, Bandcamp and other music platforms. The OTC Collective is performing the following shows: July 25, John & Peter’s in New Hope; Aug. 3, The Seed Brewery in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Keep up with The OTC Collective at @otc_collective.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
