Gregory Preston Olivier

Grigorios Krestenitis Chondroyannos "Gregory Preston" Olivier (né Athanasiadis; [Greek: Γρηγόριος Κρεστενίτης Χονδρογιάννης Αθανασιάδης]) (born 8 April 1991) is an American singer and songwriter who is the co-founder and the de facto lead singer of the alternative/indie pop band Curriculum. Olivier sings lead on nearly all of the band's material though, in recent times, the rest of the band members have begun doing more of the vocals as well. Olivier also plays guitar and co-writes the band's song with the rest of the band. Olivier likes to be addressed as Gregory Preston (and not just Gregory) since they both are his first name, despite being un-hyphenated.

Early life
Gregory Preston Olivier was born as Grigorios Krestenitis Chondroyannos Athanasiadis in New York City, New York, United States on 8 April 1991. His father is an American-born Greek who was born in New York City but raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, where his paternal grandparents are also from. His father eventually moved back to the New York City to attend Columbia University. Fluent in English, as well as Greek, his father is an esteemed and published English professor at Columbia University. His father was born to wealthy parents, as is his mother, who is Jewish and an heiress who also owns her own highly successful multi-million dollar business and has made a series of successful investments. Olivier was raised in the Upper East Side of New York City in a wealthy family. He has two older siblings, a brother and sister, both who are close to ten years older than him.

Olivier stated that the use of proper English grammar was heavily emphasized by his father and the use of slang or purposeful grammar was heavily discouraged and more than likely frowned upon. His mother taught him how to practice proper etiquette on a daily basis. Olivier was raised listening to a variety of music and also learned how to play the piano and guitar. His mother introduced him to pop and rock music while his father introduced him to classical, soul, and African music. He was taught by his paternal grandfather to sing traditional Greek folk songs while his maternal grandfather taught him traditional Hebrew folk songs. Olivier had wanted to become an English professor just like his father.

Olivier describes his relationship with his father and brother as "tense and awkward" mainly because they felt that he did not like them and that he felt that they looked down on him. Both of his father and brother got him fired from his job at a bookstore on the Columbia University campus he had been working at since he was sixteen and until he was twenty-two, shortly after he began gaining success with his band Curriculum. His father and brother both partied and used drugs, mainly cocaine, together; in order to feel accepted by them, Olivier also began doing cocaine. Olivier has since become wary of his brother and father after learning that they both have narcissistic personality disorder, which is something Olivier has a big phobia of.

Olivier has been friends with future bandmate Phillip Mandelbaum since they were infants. They both attended kindergarten, elementary, and middle school together, where they both met and befriended Wyatt van Cleef in the latter. Olivier, Mandelbaum, and van Cleef later met and befriended Dana Breckenridge at Glen Ridge High School where they all attended. Olivier graduated from Glen Ridge High as the valedictorian of his class. In 2013, Olivier graduated from Columbia University with summa cum laude honors where he a received a degree in English.

Career
Olivier was friends with Mandelbaum, van Cleef, and Breckenridge mainly because they all had a very strong appreciation for music. Eventually realizing that could all play instruments and with Olivier being recognized as the vocally strongest out of all them, they all decided to form a band. The band was initially titled "The Lost" and then went through a series of name changes before finally settling on "Curriculum", which is named after the band's fondness for academia and education.

The band would have jam sessions together and had never played live in front of an audience. Though all of them saw their schoolwork as the main priority, they took working on their music more seriously. The band independently released two EPs and then rose to prominence by posting a YouTube video of themselves singing "All I Need (All I Don't)". After the video became a viral hit, the band released their first single "So Mainstream" which reached the top three in the UK and also reached the top ten in other countries as well. In February 2012, Curriculum released their debut album Syllabus, which reached the top five or top ten in many countries and peaked at #1 in the UK. The album spawned two other singles which were international hits and the top three hits in the UK. A fourth single from Syllabus was also an international success but has yet to chart in the UK.

In January 2013, the band plans on releasing their sophomore album, the aptly titled Sophomore.

Olivier has stated that he would never want to go solo and would always want to be in a band or group.

Voice
Olivier has a voice type of a tenor and is considered to have a very wide vocal range. He is known to hit very low notes while also reaching very high notes in his falsetto ranges. Recent YouTube video has surfaced proving that he can also reach the whistle register, which is usually done by female singers. Olivier is said to have a vocal range of multiple octaves. His voice has been widely praised by critics for its flexibility and its wide range.

Compared to his singing voice, his speaking voice is known be "medium-low though its leaning to low more than medium".

Image
Olivier is known to be very snobbish and opinionated, with him being often criticized for being "highly pretentious", though he actually means well and does not really look down on others who are different than him. He, along with the rest of the band, is known for the preppy choice of fashion. Olivier is also known for his penchant for good English grammar and his use of his rather "advanced" vocabulary.

Personal life
In August 2012, Olivier began dating popular singer Kleo. After his relationship began, Olivier was often seen signing autographs with the name "Gregory Preston Pledger"; Pledger is the last name of Kleo. He (unofficially) changed his name to Greg Pledger for a time. In the spring of 2013, Olivier and Kleo broke up.

In 5 July 2013, Olivier married Virginia Marilyn Trinity Karyn Olivier in Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States. Virginia is twelve years older than Gregory Preston and have known each since they lived in the same Upper East Side neighborhood in New York City. Virginia even used to babysit Gregory Preston when he was still a child and before she went to college. Virginia also comes from a wealthy family, as does Gregory Preston, and is a successful businesswoman and crisis management consultant who owns her own firm based in Washington, DC. After they married, Gregory Preston decided to legally take Virginia's surname as his married legal name.

Health concerns
In Spring 2012, while in the recording studio with the band, Olivier had a mental breakdown just shortly after he finished recording a song. Band member Wyatt van Cleef confirmed that the story, saying shortly before he had the breakdown, he began hyperventilating and forgetting "much of what he was supposed to do that day". Olivier was hospitalized for a number of days but was eventually taken out of the hospital and recovered. Prior to his recovery, it was noted that Olivier had limited speech and emotion.

In January 2013, Olivier was admitted into rehab by his girlfriend Kleo for misuse and abuse of cocaine and prescription medication. Kleo walked in on Olivier doing cocaine while pills were sprawled out on a table. Kleo and Olivier had a discussion and mutually agreed he would go to rehab. Olivier was eventually released from rehab in the spring of 2013.

Discography
See Curriculum discography