Wednesday, October 15, 1997
Ivy’s publicity climbing after release of second album
MUSIC Band grows thick skin for embarrassment until cozier gigs
surface
By Vanessa VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Staff
Despite the band’s soft, blue-toned, Brit-pop sound, Ivy’s first
show took place on a New Jersey beach in front of a volleyball
court and drunken Sunday-afternoon barbecuers.
Soon after, the band played a small New Jersey club where
French-born lead singer Dominique Durand had the pleasure of being
heckled by a drunk female punk. Though they claim New York as their
home, the three-piece band probably won’t be crossing the
Washington Bridge again if they can help it.
"There’s definitely been a lot of humiliating experiences,"
admits Durand, as she poses her thin frame toward the edge of the
soft studio couch.
"Well, the thing is that after being in a band, you reach a
certain point where you get so used to being embarrassed that it
doesn’t even bother you any more," says drummer Adam Schlesinger
with a goofy grin. "You just get immune."
"You have to," agrees Durand. "It’s like this self-protection.
Otherwise, you’ve just lost your ego."
Having said this, the two stretch back on either side of
guitarist Andy Chase, whose black-framed sunglasses jut out just
below his shaggily cut black mod hair. The three take time to chat
after a short photo shoot. After releasing their second full length
album, "Apartment Life" (Atlantic), the group has begun the series
of promotional events necessary to gain publicity and strengthen
their fan base. Later this evening, for example, they plan to
discuss possible video options with their director.
"We have a bunch of ideas kicking around, and we haven’t
actually figured out which one we’re going to do yet," explains
Schlesinger, who notes that the final product comes more from the
director’s vision than the band’s. "I still really like the one
with the roller derby and the horseback riding."
"Yeah, where we have swords," Chase plays along. Then, after a
chuckle, "That’s why bands shouldn’t come up with their own
ideas."
Regardless of whose notions arrive in visual form, Ivy most
definitely utilizes its own creative energy to write music. With a
solid album, the trio has devised a unique musical experience most
comparable to the attitudes of Blur and Radiohead, whom Ivy
wouldn’t mind touring with at some point in the future. Treading
the shadowy line between happy pop songs and melancholic heart
shredders, they endeavored to eek out a fulfilling work in the
course of roughly four to seven weeks.
"We tried to make a record that you could listen to from start
to finish that had a certain mood that ran through it," Schlesinger
says. "We wanted an album that felt like it was all connected
somehow."
Yet Durand feels that telling a story to the audience isn’t just
prose. "That’s why it’s so hard to describe. It’s a feeling."
"We really wanted to make a record where you could put on the
headphones and just close your eyes and it could kind of take you
on a journey," Chase says. "Not lyrically, but there was kind of a
continuity and it ebbs and flows until the end of the album and it
wasn’t going to include those songs that sort of broke the
mood."
Enlisting the help of friends like James Iha of the Smashing
Pumpkins and Dean Wareham of Luna to spice up "Apartment Life," Ivy
realizes its road act will require various lesser known artists to
fill in the missing studio pieces. However, after having toured
40,000 miles between this work and their previous album, Ivy has
learned a thing or two not only about playing clubs but about album
formation as well.
Yet, with a more focused production quality and ear for
tonality, Ivy admits that album construction remains their favorite
band activity.
"It’s always been funny for us as a live band because I don’t
think we really think of our music as the kind of music that you
necessarily want to experience in a sweaty, smelly club," Chase
relates, still articulating his sentences from a reclining
position, legs crossed, hair covering what little of his face his
sunglasses fail to cover.
"I’m always surprised whenever we play live why people even come
because I don’t think this is the sort of band that’s really
exciting to see," Durand says, whisking her short brown hair away
from her face.
"Our favorite places to play are the ones that are a little bit
more intimate and mellow," Chase clarifies. "Where the lighting is
good, the sound is good, the whole vibe of the venue helps create
an atmosphere that’s favorable to presenting your songs."
Some of these places include Los Angeles’ own Luna Park, the
Dragonfly and the Roxy. Ivy claims that the people here understand
the music because, as Durand puts it, "people are close to the
desert." This sense of isolation is the crux of what Ivy’s music
has a tendency to explore, between the string arrangements and soft
French vocalizations of the English-speaking Durand. And, even
though many mid-Westerners may chide Durand for her foreign accent,
road life still holds some allure for the trio.
"I mean, it’s corny, but it’s true," Chase says. "It is
satisfying to go to a city and find that there’s a group of people
there, no matter how small it is, that like what you’ve done and
know the songs, and that doesn’t ever really wear out as a
thrill."
"It’s such a thrill, even if it’s only two people," adds Durand,
her eyes growing wide. "Especially if it’s little places like
totally in the middle of the country where a couple of people will
just like totally love us. It’s just amazing."
"I could deal with touring, I could do it forever," Chase
smiles. "I’m just saying that as long as we leave New Jersey off
the itinerary."
Atlantic
(Left to right) Adam Schlesinger, Dominique Durand and Andy
Chase) of Ivy enjoy creating albums more than playing at
overcrowded clubs.