Musician, performance artist, internet star, and Santa Cruz native, Oliver Tree Nickell, also known onstage as Oliver Tree, died Sunday morning, following an accident involving two helicopters, which left a total of six dead in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, according to reporting by CNN Brazil. He was 32.
Nickell was a passenger on one of the helicopters when, according to preliminary information provided to CNN by the local fire department, the helicopters collided midair before crashing into an electric vehicle yard in the Southwest of Rio de Janeiro.
Nickell was born in Santa Cruz on June 29, 1993, and went on to graduate from Harbor High School in 2011 and from the California Institute of the Arts in 2016.
His death comes at the beginning of his “Love You Madly, Hate You Badly World’s First World Tour”, a world tour which was planned to bring him across all 7 continents, and back to Santa Cruz later this summer at the Quarry Amphitheater.
Good Times first met with Nickell in 2013, when he was 20, after the three-song EP Demons became a hit. He went on to amass worldwide fame, amassing over 12 million monthly listeners on Spotify, where he was recognized for his hit singles, “Life Goes On” and “Miss You,” which represented his unique blend of alternative rock and electronic dance music.
Since the news broke Saturday afternoon, the music community across Santa Cruz has been mourning the loss of Nickell, who was known for his creative onstage presence, often donning a bowl cut-mullet hybrid and his signature tiny red sunglasses.
“The Santa Cruz community has lost an extraordinary artist, neighbor, and friend,” said a statement posted by the Catalyst Club on Instagram.
“So honored you graced our stage!” the Rio Theater said on Instagram.
Good Times writer Mat Weir posted a tribute on his Facebook page:
Oh man. Oliver, I’m so sorry. I was so looking forward to seeing you and catching up at the Quarry.
I first met Oliver when he was 17 and still going by Tree. You could already tell there was something about this kid. And his music back then was on another level. This was before he decided to push his character. This was just a kid with a gift who wanted to change the world with his music.
If you have never heard his version of “Karma Police” (Thom Yorke approved no less) go check it out now. It’s absolutely haunting and he couldn’t even legally drink yet.
Fast forward a couple of years to when he was going to Cal Arts (California Institute of the Arts) college in my hometown. The same place where Paul Reubens, Tim Burton, Pixar Animators, Sophia Coppola and so many more creatives go to expand their gifts.
Oliver hit me up to go get coffee when I was down visiting and started to tell me about this idea he had for an alien boy character. He wanted to make it something unusual and anti-Hollywood, a hero for the weirdos to just be themselves. He had an idea for an album comic book and movie. It was also the first time he was rocking the bowl cut and explained it’s all a part of the plan.
While in L.A. he connected with DJ Getter and the two released “Forget It” with the absolutely beautiful video about a man whose fiancée died in a car crash so he tries to clone her.
He had already worked with San Jose DJ Whethan as the two had been friends but the two started collaborating on this new project. That resulted in “When I’m Down,” the first big hit for Oliver and he never looked back.
The guy was a visionary. He memed his way through the Internet and kept his character doing funnier, weirder and crazier things. He rode the world’s largest razor scooter and held the Guinness World Record for the largest scooter kick flip.
He even tricked his label into giving him $1 million to shoot his “Hurt” music video in the Ukraine–complete with a tank–through a series of phone calls by pretending to be the record executive. That ended up being the 34th most expensive music video ever made at that time.
I’ll still never know if his stilt crash on The Late Show With James Cordon was truly an accident or part of the act. He would swear it wasn’t but with the Oliver Tree character, you could never know.
It was around 2021 when he told me in an interview that he wanted to be the first person to play on every continent. The world’s first true WORLD TOUR. It was funny and quirky and if anyone could’ve pulled it off, it was him. He had made it a goal these last five years and was going to finally pull it off. It breaks my heart he won’t have that record.
Oliver was true Santa Cruz. He was talented and weird and funny and didn’t fit into any box. Nor did he want to. In fact, he wanted to dismantle the box altogether and let people be themselves.
Don’t fall for the fake Hollywood image. Get a bowl cut. Hell, get a bowl cut. Mullet! Have fun and laugh and be as creative as you want. People are allowed to be odd, or ugly, and vibe on a different level because that’s what makes us special.
But what people also didn’t see was the work ethic. I will never forget him at the Rio for the Second Harvest benefit show. He was so inspiring. I’m paraphrasing but essentially: “Everyday is a new opportunity to do something. Every day I wake up and grind. You can have whatever you want if you’re willing to work and sacrifice for it.”
Tree did more living at 32 than most do their whole lives. He embraced life, seized the day and never said something was impossible.
This is going to take a while to process. My deepest condolences and love go to the Nickell family, I can’t even imagine what they are going through.
The world lost a bright, weird, talented and inspiring light today. Love you man, gonna miss you. Thank you for all the music, the laughs, the message. Hope to see you on the other side.
