Fresh New Ivy on the Way!

Well, it's been a while, folks -- sorry for the radio silence but ... it's been a silent radio, as far as Ivy's concerned! But here's great news, direct from the press release:

NEW YORK TRIO IVY RETURNS WITH NEW ALBUM THIS FALL
FIRST SINGLE “DISTANT LIGHTS” SET FOR RELEASE JUNE 7, 2011

May 23, 2011 (New York, NY) – IVY returns to Nettwerk to release their long-awaited fifth studio album this fall, title/release date TBA. The upcoming release -- written, produced and mixed by the band in their own Manhattan studio -- is their first in six years and the follow up to 2005’s critically acclaimed In The Clear.

Fans will get a taste of the new album when Ivy releases their first single, “Distant Lights,” on June 7, 2011. A slow-building, hypnotic and danceable track, “Distant Lights” manages to sound simultaneously like classic Ivy and like nothing they've ever quite done before. Singer Dominique Durand says, "This record feels like a new beginning for Ivy. We have never been as excited about one of our records as we are about this one."

Ivy -- Parisian-born singer Durand, Andy Chase and Adam Schlesinger-- began life in the mid-1990s as a stripped-down indie band, with an unpolished, jangly sound offset by Durand’s intimate accented vocals. But on their breakthrough second album Apartment Life (1997), they began to augment their succinct melodies and chiming guitars with richer arrangements that revealed their growing comfort level in the recording studio. On 2001’s Long Distance, lush soundscapes and dense rhythm tracks were brought to the fore, and bouncy pop songs were outnumbered by moodier, more atmospheric songs like standout single “Edge Of The Ocean.” For 2005’s In The Clear, the band tried to strike a balance between the immediacy of their early recordings and the careful sonic detailing of their more recent work.

About the forthcoming album, Mark Jowett, Nettwerk VP of International A&R/Publishing, says, “Ivy has reemerged with a beautiful, evocative and excellent album, and we are thrilled to have linked up with them again.”

Stay tuned for more details on Ivy’s fifth studio album.

Music Updates - and a Tahiti 80 response

For those wondering what Andy and Dominique have been up to lo these months, here's the scoop: They've been making beautiful music together as a pairing they're calling The Never Endings. They'll have an album out in February 2010. From what I've heard, there's a slightly more retro sound than in Ivy -- very keyboard-oriented, and I don't mean synths.

Second, Andy sez "we're shooting for an Ivy album for May 2010."

Third: Brookville's new album comes out on September 15 of this year.

And finally, for anyone who missed it first time around, Andy's Unfiltered label is now part of Warner Bros.


Next: On a recent edition of The Ivy Vine list, one fan asked:

>>Does anyone have any inside scoop, gossip, or whatnot concerning what I have imagined
>>to be a split between Xavier Boyer of Tahiti 80 and Andy Chase?
>>Andy's excellent touch was on all the Tahiti 80 efforts until the noticeably
>> sub-par "Fosbury" [as in Fosbury Flop, perhaps?) on which he receives no mention whatsoever.

I forwarded the question to Andy, who replied:
To anyone interested:

I had hoped to remain Tahiti 80's producer for many more records, just as great partnerships had endured between Prefab Sprout and Thomas Dolby, or Crowded House and Mitchell Froom. But after their second album the band wanted to have a bigger hand in producing themselves - at that point they had their own studio in France and they felt they had worked enough with me and wanted to exercise their own production skills, as well as have experiences with other producers and mixers. Although I'd like to think the alchemy between us resulted in their best works, I respect the fact that they don't want to go backwards and repeat what they've already done with the same producer. I still remain very, very close friends with all of them, especially Xavier and Pedro: Just a few years ago my band Brookville and Tahiti 80 did a tour together, in part to promote their album of which I wasn't involved in....so you can see how our friendship goes way beyond the two albums we did together. My new (Brookville) album is coming out this fall and it was co produced by Pedro, and their drummer is also playing on the album. There's even talks of another Brookville-Tahiti 80 tour this October. So as much as I would love, LOVE to do another album with them, it hasn't interfered with remaining close to their world these past years.

PS. Tahiti 80 have appeared "to have fallen off the radar" because after Wallpaper For The Soul they no longer were released on the phenomenal Minty Fresh records here in the U.S. Their last album (Fosberry) was on some weird label over here so it's no surprise no one heard about it. They have a new album coming out this fall (same time as Brookville) and I think it's on a Universal subsidiary...so
hopefully it'll get a little more attention.
That's the update for now! Hopefully more later this year.....

Long Time! But: Updates!

Hello folks!

Many apologies for going over a year without posting here. Ivy has generally been quiet (though that's expected to change soon), while Andy et. al. have been busy with other projects (including he and Dominique having a new baby, working on a separate non-Ivy project, new Brookville).

Meanwhile, Adam's hardly been a slouch himself:

Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun
E. Carlos, Hanson's Taylor Hanson and Fountains Of Wayne bassist Adam
Schlesinger have formed a new band, Tinted Windows.

The group has recorded its debut album at Stratosphere Sound Studios
in New York, which Schlesinger and Iha co-own with Ivy's Andy Chase.
The set is expected this spring on a label to be announced.

Tinted Windows will play its first major show at Billboard's South by
Southwest showcase, to be held March 20 at Pangaea in Austin, Texas.
Additionally, a member of The Ivy Vine recently found an Ivy live concert available on the Web. Go here, but you'll have to register (which can take some time) and the warning as always: Don't make a copy and sell it! The show is Ivy's at The Iron Horse in Northampton, MA from 7/9/2001.

Finally, while the main Ivy Vine fan page link (www.theivyvine.org) will remain active, we DO have www.theivyvine.COM now, so feel free to change your links!

Thanks for reading and continuing to read!

Andy Updates!

Hi folks -- sorry for the extreme delay in updating the blog; there just hasn't been much to report. Andy's been busy working with the Trash Can Sinatras on their new album, but a recent post on the Ivy Vine led to a reply. Here's the exchange:

Brian on the Vine asked:

"Since the amount of live recordings from Ivy is extremely limited (i.e. a handful of songs) and the amount from Brookville is non-existent, can the moderator (or whoever is the one that is able to contact Andy) ask Andy if he ever considered passing off some soundboard copies of shows to people on the list so that they can be seeded and distributed? Or is he staunchly anti-taping and doesn't appreciate the live stuff being spread around? Since there's nothing out there really, he'd be able to pick and choose the Ivy/Brookville shows he likes to distribute."

And Andy wrote back:

"I don't think we're that crazy about most of the live recordings of Ivy. We are somewhat perfectionists (no, really??) so we tend to cringe when we hear those things. We certainly wouldn't go out of our way to distribute them, put it that way. And I don't think we are in possession of many live or in-studio performances. The few that I do have we plan on possibly using for our eventual B-sides/bonus tracks/live/unreleased tracks album. That album will probably come out soon after our next album, which we're about halfway finished recording. We're probably talking late 2008 to mid 2009. And there really is nothing for Brookville, at least I don't have any live recordings. I have one live radio show recording and I want that to remain exclusive so that I can release it next year."

So there's some excellent news in there:

1) The B-sides/bonus tracks/live/in-studio performance compilation is NOT DEAD!
2) Ivy is halfway through finishing a new album for later this year or mid next year!
3) Live Brookville will come out in 2009!

Hurrah!

Ivy/Brookville Update!

OK, so Ivy are not quite in hibernation, but movement is slow. Of course Adam and his friends put another great Fountains of Wayne album out this year, but that doesn't mean Andy and Dominique are out of commission. So here's the update on what's going on behind the scenes in Ivyville. Or, as it turns out, Brookville....

1) Ivy: Andy says that they recently spent a week experimenting with finding a direction for the next Ivy album, which is still a few years away. A lot depends on how everyone is able to schedule things.

2) Brookville: Andy is halfway through the next Brookville album

3) And... Andy and Dom are starting a new project/band -- just the two of them -- which is yet untitled.

Hopefully more soon, but clearly: No Ivy on the horizon any time soon.

Want to Tour With Brookville?

So, long time no post, but here's a big one!

Got a band? Want to tour with Brookville (and Tahiti 80?) Then get your MySpace page all set up, and friend both bands! You'll just have to send them both a MySpace message telling them about your band, and you could be on your way to a show!

Here are the details. They were sent to me, and The Ivy Vine doesn't have any other connection with the contest:

* Le Pop Contest *
Brookville and Tahiti80 are looking for opening acts in New York City (at
Mercury Lounge ) & San Francisco (at Cafe du Nord) on their U.S. tour. The
bands are looking for emerging artists that embody the essence and soul of
good pop/rock composition... And a certain je-ne-sais-quoi!

To be eligible, you must be Myspace friends of both bands. Make your
submission in a Myspace message, specifying which city it's for.Members of
Brookville & Tahiti80 will then check out your Myspace page. If they like
what they hear, they'll let you know.

One winner will be selected for NYC and another for San Francisco. The two
winners will be announced on Brookville and Tahiti80's Myspace profiles on
October 30th. Winning artists will each receive a signed copy of
Brookville's latest album, "Life In The Shade", some "goodies" from Tahiti
80, and 5 guest list spots. Winners must perform acoustically (no drums) and
are responsible for their own transportation to and from the event. There
will be no performance fee.

Good luck everyone - we look forward to hearing your submissions!

Brookville Tour Dates

Fresh and hot from the Brookville MySpace page:

Nov 6 2006
8:00P
Casbah w/ Tahiti80
San Diego, CA

Nov 7 2006
8:00P
Troubadour w/ Tahiti80
Los Angeles, CA

Nov 9 2006
8:00P
Cafe du Nord w/ Tahiti80
San Francisco, CA

Nov 11 2006
8:00P
Doug Fir Lounge w/ Tahiti80
Portland, OR

Nov 12 2006
8:00P
Crocodile Cafe w/ Tahiti80
Seattle, WA

Nov 15 2006
8:00P
400 Bar w/ Tahiti80
Minneapolis, MN

Nov 16 2006
8:00P
Double Door w/ Tahiti80
Chicago, IL

Nov 18 2006
8:00P
Horseshoe Tavern w/ Tahiti80
Toronto

Nov 19 2006
8:00P
Main Hall w/ Tahiti80
Montreal

Nov 20 2006
8:00P
Paradise Lounge w/ Tahiti80
Boston, MA

Nov 21 2006
8:00P
Mercury Lounge w/ Tahiti80
New York, NY

Nov 22 2006
8:00P
World Cafe Live w/ Tahiti80
Philadelphia, PA

Brookville Plays NYC!

Courtesy Brookville's MySpace site:

Brookville will be playing Joe's Pub in New York City on July 3. So be sure to stop on by and say hi to Andy!

Brookville Video: "Nothing's Meant to Last"

Click and enjoy Brookville's first video from "Life in the Shade"!

Brookville - Release, and Live Updates!

More Brookville happenings! (In lieu of Ivy news, naturally....)

The new Brookville album, "Life in the Shade" is out June 13.

Los Angeles fans will get some live performances on June 21:

Day:
KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic"

Night:
Hotel Cafe, 10pm

All info also available at Brookville's MySpace page here.

Random Ivy photo of the day

From the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's "Shakespeare's Garden." Enjoy!

Grup Supreme

The latest edition of New York magazine has an article on Ivy. Well, it's really an article about Andy and Dominique. And the kids. Well, actually, it's an article about the lifestyle of the "grup." Of which, among others, Andy and Dominque are apparently poster children. Excerpts (the full article can be found at the link above):

Take the case of Andy Chase and Dominique Durand, a married couple, both well into their thirties and now with kids of their own, who play in a successful rock band called Ivy. “Most of our fans are in their twenties or even teenagers,” says Chase. “And that keeps you young. Because you’re friends with people who are much younger than you. Our keyboard player is 21 years old. And we dress the same—”

“Our interests are the same,” adds Durand. “The passion is the same. There’s a real connection.”

Andy interjects, “Well, let’s talk to the keyboard player and see if he says the same thing.”

...

Later, when I talk to Andy Chase, the dad–slash–rock star, he says almost the exact same thing. “How great for a child to see their parents loving what they’re doing? It’s a delicate balance to strike, but when you maintain that balance, its a great thing to teach your children—that they can look forward to doing something they love doing.”

...

Even Andy and Dominique, the startlingly cool rock-star parents, aren’t quite sure where this is headed. “All I know is that the end point you give yourself keeps shifting by five years,” says Andy. “When we were in our twenties, we were like, ‘When we get in our mid-thirties, we’ll have to call it quits, because it’s too pathetic after that.’ Then we got to our mid-thirties, and the timetable became the early forties. I suppose when we get there, we’ll say, ‘Once we hit 50 . . . ’ ” Then he says, with more resolve, “On our 50th birthday, it will be official. No more touring.”

Of course, R.E.M. did say they'd split in 2000....

Even more new Brookville!

A couple of things have been going on in the Chase musical hothouse:

- Andy has signed a band called The Postmarks, from Florida, and aims to release their record in September of this year (check out www.myspace.com/postmarks for a taste)

- "Nothing's Meant To Last," a new Brookville track, has a video freshly shot

- Brookville also now has its own Myspace (www.myspace.com/brookville)

No doubt more wonderfulness to follow!

via Unfiltered Records website

More on new Brookville

From "Tripwire":

Andy Chase Reveals New Brookville Album

Ivy's Andy Chase will release a new Brookville album, Life In The Shade, on June 13 through his own Unfiltered Records. The new album is Chase's second release under the Brookville moniker and while the point of the band is to give Chase complete freedom as a solo artist, Life In The Shade is a vastly collaborative effort. Recorded in New York at Stratosphere Sound, which Chase co-owns with Ivy partner Adam Schlesinger and James Iha, it seemed only fitting that those two fine musicians would contribute to the project. In addition, Paris-based sound editor Cyril Moisson, Fountains Of Wayne guitarist Jody Porter, Didi Gutman and Sabina Sciubba of Brazilian Girls and Greg Pliska of Hem, all made contributions as well.

Thanks to Viner Eric for passing this along!

The Bowery Ballroom - January 6, 2006

So, a little run-down on last night's Bowery Ballroom show:

A really great evening; Ivy were in fine form. For those who're interested, Adam and Andy came out in suit jackets and ties; Dominique had a blue glittery top and jeans with open-toed silver shoes. But the sound was what really worked: They sounded quite tight and energetic and by the end of the evening Dominique was even slapping hands with the crowd in the front row. The set list following opener Matt Costa went thusly:

Undertow
Thinking About You
This is the Day
These are the Things About You
Keep Moving
Get Out of the City
I Guess I'm Just A Little Too Sensitive
I've Got You Memorized
Corners of Your Mind
Four in the Morning
Ba Ba Ba
Tess Don't Tell
Edge of the Ocean

Encore:
L'Anamour
Get Enough

Without wanting to spark any frenzy, there was a bit of confusion at the end of the show, as Adam and Dominique seemed to announce simultaneously that "this was the last" Ivy show. Adam amended it by saying "of this cycle." Later, everyone seemed a little cagey as to what that really meant; I think it just means for now that we're going to have to wait a while before fresh Ivy comes down the road. (And Ivy then hits that same road again.)

Afterwards, the band graciously let their tiny dressing room upstairs fill up with well wishers (including the usually-present James Iha, and the dude responsible for signing Ivy in the first place to Seed Records about 10 years ago, Mark Lipsitz) before announcing it was too full and it was time to keep movin' (heh) downstairs. Once down there they continued to graciously hang out with everyone and talk with whoever felt like chatting.

And so there you are! A great show (there was one bridge section which I think came during "Tess" where they did some kind of paralell playing thing with the guitars that just knocked me over) and probably one of the best Ivy ones I've seen. With luck, it wasn't the last one -- and I don't think it will be. Something tells me that by the time they put out the next Ivy record, the road will come calling again. Meanwhile, keep fingers crossed -- new Brookville should be available sometime this spring!