ThebandIvory are a highly skilled band of musicians with a wide range. Self-described as “cinematic, indie-rock symphonies to sparse, haunting ballads and everywhere in between”, the band blend traditional eastern music of yesteryear with modern hints of indie and pop. The rock vocals from frontman Frankie DeRosa highlight the polished side of the music-making process shown more to backing track folks like career guitarists, cellists, violinists, pianists and so on. A first generation Venezuelan-American, DeRosa uses his experiences in life to fuel the music, like, “life and death, climate change anxiety and [his]experience as a queer person-of-color in America.”
The eight-piece ensemble have released their debut EP Beast in 2015, but are premiering a live session/music video of their performance from the Rittenhouse Soundworks today with us. Poignant, sultry, mysterious and beyond polished, the track seems effortless for these talented artists who push the envelope of perspective into a place where newness has long been an afterthought.
Meeting at the Berkeley College of Music, the members of ThebandIvory started collaborating in 2013 and never stopped. Be sure to follow them for updates on tours, tracks and other news. The cultural blend of instruments, fashion and tone are present in their live rendition of Beast. Check it out below along with our interview with the band.
Tell us about the making of this fantastic live video; where was it shot, who are all the musicians involved, what was the experience like?
This video was one of those moments where you have an idea and things just come together. We shot the video at Rittenhouse Soundworks, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Our friend Michael Cumming recorded the session, which with an ensemble of this size and instrumentation is no easy task. Bob Sweeney did the video – we couldn’t have asked for a more skilled or professional technical team (Bob showed up with a dolly- that was awesome). Playing with us, we have Alyssa Almeida from Mellowbird, Rally Point, and My Familiar on cello and vocals, singer-songwriter Sophie Coran on piano, Collin Dennen from Ellen Siberian Tiger on bass, Jesse Griffith – who is our regular drummer, but also plays in an amazing instrumental group called The Inner Urge – on drums, singer-songwriter Taylor Kelly on trumpet, and Mansoor Siddiqui on acoustic guitar and vocals. It would take paragraphs to explain all the different places we’ve met these folks, suffice it to say it’s a monster group of Philadelphia musicians who are all very accomplished. Rarely with projects this size do things run smoothly but the entire process was eerily smooth. And we literally just had the idea, reached out to people and the stars all aligned on one particular morning.. It really shows the value of people who are not only talented but professional and kind and legitimately invested in making the project work. That goes all around, musicians, techs, everyone.
What artists would you say you’re influenced by, underground and mainstream artists? Why do they influence you, and do they influence you in your personal lives outside of music?
Frankie: I’ve always loved Sade. Not that the music is literally translated to my music – we don’t use tenor sax solos or anything like that – but the confidence she projects is what always stuck with me. Some influences I’ve used recently musically, visually and even spiritually are Queen and David Bowie. The androgynous or queer aesthetic, the orchestrations and limitless approach to their music. All of them have this playful irreverence – they are larger than life and I try to channel that, not only what you hear but what you see. The great cannon of divas (Mariah, Whitney, Toni Braxton, Anita Baker, et al) helped shape my approach to vocal technique. Early 90s power vocals. They all actually had to sing that, which is how I do my vocals too. We try to avoid using tuning on vocals. Going back to my childhood in Miami, Celia Cruz, salsa and merengue music – that goes back to orchestrations and arrangements, all that bleeds into our music. I went through a beachy Bob Marley phase- the Caribbean is a major influence. And I’ve always admired Peter Gabriel’s storytelling. He creates the worlds his songs take place in. “Beast” is very much like that – it all relates to reality but set instead in a fictional world. And his mixing of genres was huge – it was the first time I’d ever heard anyone mix electronic, world and rock music like that. Plus, he’s a killer flute player! There’s so few of us!
Robbie: I’ve gone through probably dozens of phases of different musics I’ve listened to over 20 years of being old enough to appreciate music beyond my parents’ tastes. I grew up on Elton John, the Beatles, Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt – trying to ignore my dad’s limited taste for jazz standards and classical music. I’ve spent time appreciating musical theater, punk rock, metal and prog rock, alt rock, hip hop, folk and indie, even a little jazz and classical eventually. So I can appreciate certain aspects of all these genres now. As a producer, having gotten to know all of this, learning how it works and how to make it informs production, mixing and stylistic choices. It also makes it easy to blur the lines between them. So, in terms of what influences this particular project- I look a lot to the Beatles, to Paul McCartney (both of us somehow listened to his late 90’s album Flaming Pie a lot in our younger years), and to Radiohead’s sense of groove, and the way their records are mixed. Rufus Wainwright and Elton John have always been huge influences to me as a young, piano-playing gay musician. When I was realizing who I was, they were almost the only two that I could relate to both on a personal and musical level. Two of my favorite artists to come up in the last 10 years or so are Lucius and Lake Street Dive. Kind of for the same and different reasons. Powerful, female fronted groups doing something totally different, but in such different ways. And also both of them making it to where they are without any of the traditional power structure of big label support. Lucius really has an understand of aesthetic and how adds to the experience. And personally, I love Taylor Kelly (who plays trumpet in the video). Her records are transformative and her live show is mind-blowing.
How do you feel about the current state of the music industry, and what’s it like to be an independent band now?
It’s an interesting time to be an independent band. On one hand, the playing field has been evened a lot. You don’t have to kiss a record company’s ass to get radio play to get traction. We do most of our recording in the basement. It gives a lot of us the opportunity to make our records the way we want to. On the other hand, because the playing field is more evened, there’s a lot more voices to speak over. So on one hand, it’s easier to make and disseminate the music. It’s easier to get music in the hands of people that want it, internationally even. But, it’s harder to recoup investments when you get to a certain level. Streaming makes recording revenue basically nonexistent. But we’d rather 1000 people listen for free than 1 person pay for it right now. The money will come later. We’re more focused on having a presence.
Lastly, what else is on the horizon for 2020 and beyond!
We’re finishing our album this year! We’re heading back to the studio for a final round of drum tracking at the end of February. We’ve got a fresh single coming out on the heals of this video (it’s currently being mixed by Sarah Tudzin from illuminati hotties). Then to the grindstone finishing off recording of the album. We’ve been putting all these pieces together for the record for quite some time. We’ll probably be playing some shows this spring and summer but the main focus is getting the album done!
