FEATURED INTERVIEWS

Thriving Ivory

These angels are here to save your soul from boring music.
By: Gian Erguiza - - July 25th, 2008 - 2:48 pm PST

Thriving Ivory has created a buzz that most bands envy. Their latest release is an album full of heartfelt lyrics, sassy beats, catchy choruses and a down to earth attitude balled into one. Thriving Ivory is a model for the motto that "Hard work does pay-off." Let's peek into the world of Thriving Ivory.

Hello Thriving Ivory! Can you guys help me out real quick and give our readers a brief history lesson on the band and how it all started?

Brett: Well, it all started in Santa Barbara back in 2002. Scott was going to school there and was living in Isla Vista, the small college town next to the college's campus. He met Clayton through a mutual friend one weekend at a party. Clayton was living down in Orange County at the time going to community college and knew one of Scott's friends also living there at the time. Soon, Scott and Clayton were living together and decided to start a b and. They found Drew working in the Espresso Roma one day when the two of them were handing out flyers looking for drummers and guitar players. The three of them started playing together and putting songs together. Later that fall they found Paul a week into his freshman year. Then early in 2003 they found me. I knew Clayton and Scott mutually through friends and lived next door to them when the band started. Paul and I were the only two members who replaced exisiting members. Then after living together for two years in Santa Barbara we moved to the Bay Area and started playing in San Francisco and Los Angeles and everywhere in between. The rest is history.

Well guys, what's new? What's the latest news in the world of Thriving Ivory and what are you guys up to?

Brett: We've been pretty busy lately, which is nice. Currently we are on the road for the summer making our way around the country. Our album came out in June, available on iTunes and at Best Buys in case anyone was looking. . . We filmed our music video for Angels On the Moon w ith Chris Simms who just did Tickle Me Pink's first video. They are a new addition to the Wind Up roster. We got chosen to be a You Oughta Know Artist on VH1. That was a big surprise for us. Later this summer you can catch us in Lee Ann Womack's music video. We are totally the bar band in the video. She was really cool and it was fun to be in someone else's video. That's about it. We'll be on the road for a couple more months. After a break20I'm sure we'll just be back out on the road supporting the album.

Alright let's get to it. Your self-titled debut album sounds like it was handled with lots of care. From the production, the sound and arrangements, I can tell you guys did your homework. What was the most challenging thing to capture on record and how important was it to capture all of the different elements that embody Thriving Ivory on record?

Brett: The album was really two years in the making. We originally did the album with Chris Manning. Chris is the younger brother of Roger Manning, the two of them were at one time in the San Francisco band Jellyfish. We made the album with the help of financial contributions from some inv estors, our parents. After weeks of pre-production with Chris we began tracking piece by piece. Paul recorded at this little cabin studio way up in the hills near Point Reyes called Owl Mountain. Everything else was recorded at Drew's parent's house in their basement. Drew's parents have a baby grand piano, which was used on the entire album. The basement room serves as our current jam space. After much blood, sweat and tears we had a twelve track album. Then after getting signed we went in and re-tracked20some songs and recorded one new one, Alien, with Howard Benson. We also got the help of a string arrangement courtesy of David Campbell for Hey Lady. Then Mark Endert mixed some tracks for us on top of that. So I think the album has been an obsession for us in trying to perfect it. It was cool to be able to listen to the album for a year or so before we were given the chance to go in and retool some things. In the end, the album is a testament to all the hard work of a lot of really great people that believed in what we were trying to do. We were trying to capture something big in sound and obsessed over how to really achieve that. We were really lucky to work with the people that we did on the journey of getting the album done.

What is the songwriting process like for you guys? Where do you guys derive inspiration from when writing songs or putting songs together?

Scott: The songs on the record were inspired by the many aspects of life we all experience and struggle with: love, loss, pain, hope and joy. )

"Until they come up with a good system to stop people from downloading music for free, we just have to accept that the trade off for people downloading or copying our music is that they may come see us live or turn a bunch more people onto us. There is no use getting angry about it, it is the way it is and we have to adapt to the change."

By far, 'Angels on the Moon' is, hands down, the best song off the album. I can hear the pain in Clayton's voice and I can feel the weight of the sound. Which song speaks to the band the most on the new album and which song seems to be the crowd favorite or the bands favorite in a live setting?

Drew: We put a lot of effort into each one of these songs and we thought each one, at a certain time in our short career, was the best song we had written til that time. So that's a tough question to answer. The songs that we still enjoy listening to are definitely "Twilight", "Alien", "Hey Lady" and "Long Hallway". The crowd always loved "Angels" and "Hey Lady" and also love oldies like "Overrated" and "Day of Rain". You can tell by how many of the words they can sing along with. Live we love playing "For Heavens Sake" and "Mississippi" cause we can really lay into them.

Speaking of 'Angels on the Moon,' that song has been garnering rave reviews from both radio and other forms of media lately. How does it feel to finally be getting some well deserved publicity and what's different in the world of Thriving Ivory from now, compared to a year or two ago?

Drew: Having radio and other media notice the song definitely feels good and gives us some confidence that we are doing something that appeals to a wide audience. The only real thing that has changed and continues to change the more recognition we get, is how many people come to shows. Within the last two years or so we've seen a slow but steady increase in turnouts at shows which is all that we can ask for.

So you guys recently signed with Wind-up Records, one of the best labels in the business by far. How did this all come about and how is the relationship coming along so far?

Drew: After searching and showcasing for a few major labels our management sent a cd to Wind Up just on the off chance that they would be interested and a week or so later the owners were on a plane coming to see a show in our home town, San Francisco. That same evening there were reps from two other labels I believe, at the show. Wind Up took us out to dinner afterwards and told us without a doubt that they were signing us to the label. Even thought we'd been working at it for five years already, it somehow seemed to have happened over night. Our music just had to find the right hands.

After a year or so we couldn't be happier. We've met most of the label which seems to be a pretty tight knit group and they've all treated us like family. In retrospect, it all worked out in the long run. After all the rejections from the major labels, we found the right one for us.

What is the bands stance on the internet and digital downloading? With album sales down and bands opting out to go independent, do you guys think that the internet is 'killing music' or 'helping music?'

Drew: Digital downloads are both good and bad. On the one hand so many people have access to our music with the touch of a button and are able to pass it on to friends just as easily. On the other hand no one feels like paying for music because they know that there are ways to get it for free. Until they come up with a good system to stop people from downloading music for free, we just have to accept that the trade off for people downloading or copying our music is that they may come see us live or turn a bunch more people onto us. There is no use getting angry about it, it is the way it is and we have to adapt to the change.

Let's exit stage left right here. The world is in a supposed fight to stop global warming. Are you guys 'going green' anytime soon and do you guys really believe that the threat of global warming is real? Help me out.

Drew: We are certainly concerned about global warming and that there need to be lifestyle changes made on a mass level especially in this country which is consumer and waste-bound by nature. Unfortunately it is difficult to go green as a band without a lot of money. For instance touring we use up tons of gasoline but we can't afford a green tour bus like Radiohead or Jack Johnson. I love hearing the ways that bands like these are coming up with to prevent waste and I hope we make it our mission when we are in place to chose what kind of20tour we are putting together, to be conscious and conservative of things like gasoline and plastic. I hope that in the near future conserving won't be a choice people can make but rather a law that they must live by.

Thriving Ivory loves ________________________.

Paul: Thriving Ivory Loves: SUSHI! (and, of course, our fans)

For the people that have yet to see a Thriving Ivory show, why should they take the time and effort to make sure not to miss your show? What should they be expecting from your live show?

Paul: we take a lot pride in our live show. our goal is to sound just as good as our album if not better. We understand that it is so frustrating to find a new favorit e band, buy the album and then go see a terrible live show. We want to communicate everything that's on the album and then some. Our fans should leave our show feeling happy and satisfied. Kinda like eating your favorite ice cream.

How much do you guys owe to your fans in this moment in time? How do you guys interact with your fans and keep them up to date?

Paul: Its hard not to sound cliche saying this but we owe EVERYTHING to our fans!! The emails that we get from our fans are so moving and their words are an inspiration to us to keep on playing. There's no better feeling in the world then knowing that the music that we are making moves people. makes them smile. makes them cry. There is also something pretty cool about playing shows, being so far away from home and seeing our fans singing along with us. It just feels like we're connecting or have something in common. We always do our best to answer all our Myspace messages and emails from our fans. We talk with them about pretty much anything from our music, to other bands that they like, to whats going on with them in their lives, pretty much anything. Our fans are our friends and our family. Again without sounding too cliche, I truly believe that we have the best fans in the world!!=2 0: )

With all of these bands trying to get a piece of the pie in the world of music today, where do you guys fit into the equation in this ever-revolving, competitive musical landscape?

Paul: Ya know, its hard to swallow the fact that we are coming into this business at one of its worst times ever. Bands are are being forced to find other ways to sell albums, tickets,merch. It seems there is the pressure right now forcing artists to be something they're not. When it gets to the point where you have to be so extreme just to get a little attention, is it really even about the music anymore?20But there is a light at the end of the tunnel for us and bands alike. Although the music buisness is getting over a huge speed bump right now, we have a sense of comfort knowing that music will always be here. Its not like we are part of the ".com" movement or some quick over night success, we are part of something that's timeless.

Any additional comments or shout-outs?

Paul: One last shout-out to our amazing fans, friends and record label. All of your support means so much to us and we cant wait to see you on the road!

Thanks guys and good luck on the road!

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