We were lucky to catch up with Steven &Tony Rice recently and have shared our conversation below.

Steven &Tony, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

We first started playing shows at bars and clubs while attending Indiana University back in 2010. We attended the very first Spring Awakening Music Festival in Chicago. One of our favorite artists, Skrillex, was due to headline the multiple day event. We were standing in the crowd as he began playing his set. It started to pour down rain. Taking in the environment around us from the music and lights to dancing in the rain – every single person around us had a vibrant smile on their face. It brought out our inner child. It was a contagious feeling that seemed so right. A feeling we can only describe as “we are home.” We looked at each other and promised that this is what we are going to do for the rest of our lives. We want to give that moment and feeling that so many artists have provided us, back for others to share, through our own music.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

So who is Onerus? Onerus was comprised of Steven (my younger brother), Kevin (our best friend), and myself Tony. We grew up in a smaller town called Greenwood, Indiana, We became best friends through elementary school. When we graduated from high school, we went off to Indiana University where Kevin and I roomed together. Keven and I joined a fraternity, and the following year Steven joined us attending Indiana University.

Kevin and I graduated from IU in 2014. We planned to get our Masters of Sciences before heading off to Dental School. We were both living back at home with our parents. Steven was in his senior year at IU. On August 6th, 2014, we downloaded Ableton, a music production software. We thought it was time to begin producing our own original tracks, instead of mashups or edits that we threw together in garage band all through college. So we began making music every night when we had wrapped up our school studies.

We had a conversation with Steven, and planned our next course – pursue our dream of music and move out to Colorado together. As our mom always said since we were kids, “This isn’t dress rehearsal,.. it’s the real thing.” Taking that to heart, we took a leap of faith.

We were all living out in Denver into 2016, passing projects back and forth, working toward our dream. Kevin got married to his beautiful wife and begin to start a family. We continued to all work together and there came a day of new competing priorities. Kevin was moving in one direction while Steven and I played shows with making music as our top priority.

Our creative endeavors have spanned a variety of lanes including trap, future bass, progressive, and more. As our musical intrigue has evolved, so our their music. In recent years, Steven and I have lit a burning passion and firmly planted our feet in house music – where we challenge the status quo, blending our love and experience in multiple genres into our music.

Coming off our guest mix on Insomniac Radio, we also released on Hood Politics Records and an EP release on Candy Flip Records in 2023, with more on the way in 2024.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Since 2014, Steven and I have both held high-level corporate positions in software and health care respectively. We worked our corporate roles during the day and then transitioned to hours of music production in the evenings. Since we came out of Indiana University with a very large amount of student loans, we had to create a sustainable plan. Make a salary to pay off student loans while pursuing our dreams at night. We have done this for almost 10 years and I am happy to report we just paid off our student debts fully. We look forward to the day we can quit our corporate jobs and be full time living our passion through music.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho has had an immense impact on us. It is without a doubt our favorite novel. Paulo Coelho tells the mystical story of Santiago, a shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest ultimately leads him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago’s journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and, most importantly, following our dreams.

This novel directly impacted our entrepreneurial philosophy – discipline, determination, and gratitude. You have to be willing to give up everything familiar to create the reality you have always dreamt. Consistency is key. Nothing is going to be handed to you and people may not understand your vision. You have to be willing to step outside your comfort zone and sit down in the chair every night to make music.

Our favorite quote from the novel: “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” -Paulo Coelho

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onerusmusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@onerus
• Other: Our Music and Socials: https://linktr.ee/onerus

Image Credits
Brandon Colby @bcolbyphoto Andrew Leon-Bercovich @anderw.leon.bercovich