By Sarah Day
In 2012 Jeremiah Stricklin created the band Oh Jeremiah!, thinking it would be his solo act. However almost immediately, Stricklin met his missing piece Erin Raber, a female violinist and singer.
A few months later, Oh Jeremiah became a duo, and what started out as a musical affair turned into a love affair, when Stricklin proposed to Raber this past May.
Oh Jeremiah! is an ongoing story of the endeavors of a small-town engaged couple while trying to make a name of their band.
Their journey consists of cross-country tours, convincing audience members that music is better than the beer they’re drinking, and living in a culture where being musician is simply not considered a full-time job.
Stricklin switched his major from music to entertainment industry his last year at USM. He said, “I got cabin fever working day in and day out in practice rooms, I wanted to switch and fall back in love with music. I found that in EI.”
Raber is a violin teacher from Centerdale, Alabama. She finally agreed to join the band after Stricklin refused to take her previous “no’s” for an answer.
Raber describes the struggles in getting her degree in violin performance “I didn’t think I could could get a performance degree, performing was my biggest fear.”
Now, Stricklin and Raber perform for hundreds and sometimes even thousands on their tours.
Last week they performed Stricklin’s original song, "Mississippi, I’m Yours,” at Best of the Pine Belt Awards, in front of eleven hundred people. The duo sang the song “June and Johnny Cash style,” standing side by side with only a microphone in front of them.
For now Oh Jeremiah! will remain a duo because its economical.
The two are now working on their newest record in hopes that it will give them the financial stability to tour cross-country with a full band.
"We can do it full-time here. Our biggest fear, with moving from Hattiesburg, is having to stop being musicians and becoming Starbucks workers," Stricklin said. "Here, we get to do what we want to do. So we're trying to find a bigger town that can let us do what were doing here."
Oh Jeremiah's ultimate goal is to tour with a full band performing huge rock shows.
In 2012 Jeremiah Stricklin created the band Oh Jeremiah!, thinking it would be his solo act. However almost immediately, Stricklin met his missing piece Erin Raber, a female violinist and singer.
A few months later, Oh Jeremiah became a duo, and what started out as a musical affair turned into a love affair, when Stricklin proposed to Raber this past May.
Oh Jeremiah! is an ongoing story of the endeavors of a small-town engaged couple while trying to make a name of their band.
Their journey consists of cross-country tours, convincing audience members that music is better than the beer they’re drinking, and living in a culture where being musician is simply not considered a full-time job.
Stricklin switched his major from music to entertainment industry his last year at USM. He said, “I got cabin fever working day in and day out in practice rooms, I wanted to switch and fall back in love with music. I found that in EI.”
Raber is a violin teacher from Centerdale, Alabama. She finally agreed to join the band after Stricklin refused to take her previous “no’s” for an answer.
Raber describes the struggles in getting her degree in violin performance “I didn’t think I could could get a performance degree, performing was my biggest fear.”
Now, Stricklin and Raber perform for hundreds and sometimes even thousands on their tours.
Last week they performed Stricklin’s original song, "Mississippi, I’m Yours,” at Best of the Pine Belt Awards, in front of eleven hundred people. The duo sang the song “June and Johnny Cash style,” standing side by side with only a microphone in front of them.
For now Oh Jeremiah! will remain a duo because its economical.
The two are now working on their newest record in hopes that it will give them the financial stability to tour cross-country with a full band.
"We can do it full-time here. Our biggest fear, with moving from Hattiesburg, is having to stop being musicians and becoming Starbucks workers," Stricklin said. "Here, we get to do what we want to do. So we're trying to find a bigger town that can let us do what were doing here."
Oh Jeremiah's ultimate goal is to tour with a full band performing huge rock shows.