Editor’s note: We originally published this interview with Oliver Tree in 2020, around the release of his debut album “Ugly Is Beautiful.” Oliver Tree Nickell passed away on June 14, 2026, at 32, one of six people killed when two helicopters collided over Rio de Janeiro. He was traveling on his World’s First World Tour. In the conversation below, which ran as he was breaking out, he talked about cannabis as the engine of his creative life, his years dealing and trimming flower in Santa Cruz and the persona he built to pull people toward his music. He called “Ugly Is Beautiful” his last album and said he was done as Oliver Tree. He wasn’t. He went on to release three more, including “Love You Madly Hate You Badly” this past April. We’re republishing the interview as we first ran it, in his own words, to remember him.
For Oliver Tree, having a hand in every aspect of his career is vital. He enjoys wearing the many hats required to maintain a successful career as a recording artist and budding filmmaker. When we connect by phone, he’s a week away from releasing his debut album, “Ugly is Beautiful,” a body of work that is introspective, reflective and intelligently fun. Behind the work is a creator who is not only extremely self-aware of his comedic persona and role as an entertainer, but a man who has built his career on entertaining himself first.
Before we dive in, I’d read that you made the music video for “Bury Me Alive” for six bucks. Is that true?
Oliver Tree: Truth is, I wasn’t even planning on shooting a video. I was actually shooting some promotional pieces for the album and had built prosthetics out of this play doh material. We’ …
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Author: Stephen Laddin / High Times
