Ivys Adam Schlesinger In The Details

What is Ivy? Ivy is two intense guys who have had dreams of being musicians ever since they were kids and one wickedly chill Parisian-born
Songwriters Monthly - Oct. 11, #141

chanteuse who originally had no aspirations to be a singer. Ivy is Andy Chase, Dominique Durand, and Adam Schlesinger [l-r].
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Ivy formed back in the mid 90s when girls, guitars, and alternative pop music all were flourishing. There have been many changes in the music world since those earlier days, but the members of Ivy have always shared a clear and consistent vision of who they were and how they fit together as a band. Ivys sound has not been static, it has evolved over the years the band is very conscious about not making the same record twice yet somehow the trio has been able to maintain a distinctive flavor that is always uniquely Ivy. The bands latest album, ALL HOURS, is an intoxicating record. Each track has b e e n m as t e r fu l l y c o n s t r u c t e d by layering sparkling melodic fragments, intriguing sounds and sparse, steady beats that all intertwine to create a hypnotic twilight world of hip pop. Dominique delivers the lyrics with a confidence and certainty that she has only hinted at before. The alluring detachment is still present, but this time it is seasoned by a performer who fully understands and is in absolute command of the enchanting subtleties that make her vocals truly irresistible. We all like to have our input on each song and thats kind of what makes it an Ivy song, Adam Schlesinger explained. Somehow our sensibilities come together and we end up with something that feels like Ivy. But Dominique really has the final say in everything, its her taste that shapes the band more than anybodys. She has to feel like its something she wants to sing, it has to have a vibe or a mood that she feels attached to. Songwriters Monthly - Oct. 11, #141

Besides his involvement with Ivy, Adam Schlesinger keeps busy by contributing his many talents to a multitude of other creative outlets. His work can be heard http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly

in theater, films and on television. He has received numerous nominations (Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Golden Globe) and has been awarded a Grammy and the ASCAP Pop Music Award. Songwriters Monthly caught up with Adam just after he wrapped up his tour with Fountains of Wayne. Coincidently, Fountains of Wayne, released SKY FULL OF HOLES just a few short months before Ivy released ALL HOURS. With both albums coming out so close together, did that mean that Schlesinger was working on those two markedly different projects at the same time? Neither band just goes in and makes a r e c o r d a l l a t o n c e , S c h l e s i n g e r informed. There were points where I was probably working on both somewhat simultaneously, but both bands would try to do a little work and then take a break or get distracted so both projects were happening at the same time, but over a long period of time. Adams input is vital to both Ivy and Fountains of Wayne, however since each band has its own sound and approach wasnt it hard to jump back and forth between the two different projects? Im just in a different frame of mind when I work with different people, he explained. Im obviously somebody who likes to try lots of different kinds of projects, but my rule for myself is when Im working on something, I have to just focus on that one thing and really get into it. I try to block out everything Songwriters Monthly - Oct. 11, #141

else for that moment, for that day, for that week, or whatever it is, and I try to really get into the mindset of that project. I think that Im a very good collaborator, he continued. Im not

Im not really a person who has a defined sense of who I am, Im more of a person who can work with just about anybody.
really a person who has a defined sense of who I am, Im more of a person who can work with just about anybody and figure out something cool to do with that person or that group of people. You could put me with a band that sounds nothing like any of the bands Im in and I could probably say, Heres this persons vocal personality and heres what this band is. Thats really what record producing is to me, so I think of myself, first and foremost, as a producer. A producers job is to come in and try to figure out what the overall sensibility is and what to focus on and what to get rid of. I take that same approach with the bands that I am in. Even though Im part of the act, I try to ask, What does this band mean to people? What is this band about? If I had to make an Adam Schlesinger solo http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly

record, I dont know if I could, I dont know what that record would be. I dont have a strong individual identity, but in the context of working with other people, Im good at shaping something. Does it fall on you to try and keep the bands in line, keep them focused and on target? I asked.

also a producer thing: seeing the end of the road and trying to get there.

I think of myself, first and foremost, as a producer.

Songwriters Monthly has covered Adam, Andy and Dominique both in Ivy and in each of their various individual projects since the band formed in the m i d 9 0 s . [ A n d y s l a t e s t feature can be found at www.scribd.com/doc/ 22977118] Consequently, over the years, Ive developed my own perception of what each member brought to Ivy. I used to think there was a kind of darkness and lightness to your individual approaches, I informed Adam, but recently Ive been thinking I might have misperceived your relationship with Andy. The two of you are much more similar than I first thought. I dont think its really about a d a r k n e s s o r a l i g h t n e s s , A d a m responded. Andy and I pretty much try to get into the same frame of mind when we are working together. I dont think you could go through these songs and say, Oh, this is definitely Andy or t h i s i s d e f i n i t e l y A d a m . I t s s o collaborative that its not really like that. We both have so many influences and tastes in common. In terms of what Andy and I each bring to the band, on some level hes much more http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly

I think with Fountains of Wayne thats been very true . . . maybe not as much with this record, but for a long time, I was definitely the guy in that band who was sort of keeping the train on the track. But Andy [from Ivy] and I are more similar in personality in the sense that I think that he also wakes up in the morning and thinks, What do we have to do today to accomplish the next step? So when Ivy is up and running, Andy and I share a lot of the responsibilities of getting things done, both creatively and businesswise. Adam paused for a moment, then agreed, Yeah, keeping the bands on track, thats part of it. But again, thats Songwriters Monthly - Oct. 11, #141

Dominique really has the final say in everything, its her taste that shapes the band more than anybodys.
Songwriters Monthly - Oct. 11, #141 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly

technically proficient than I am he was an engineer and a mixer and a producer way before I ever got into that stuff. Im probably a more trained musician than he is, so I might be the guy who says, This harmony isnt going to work because this is a 6th and were playing a 7th chord on the piano. I can

Dominique gets excited about it, then we get excited about it; if shes luke warm about it, then we get depressed and start wondering what were doing wrong, Adam laughed. Andy and I both have a tendency to be really corny and shes kind of the corny police if something is just way too corny, shell call us on it. When you said that Dominiques taste shapes the band more than anything, you werent playing up her executive role at all, she really is the vision focussing Ivy. The whole reason the band even exists is because of Dominiques voice, Adam revealed. When we started, thats really all it was. It was such a simple stripped down indie guitar band and, really, it was just about hearing her sing in her kind of untrained, naive way. But now, its fifteen plus years later and the band has evolved into something different and Dominique has also evolved into a much more confident singer. Its cute when you hear Get Enough or one of the songs we did in the beginning because it was just so naive and simple, but now, were kind of somewhere else. If Im remembering correctly, back in those early days, you and Andy wrote most of the lyrics and Dominique was more the vocalist She definitely is involved in lyrics and definitely involved in editing the lyrics, Adam corrected. Even though shes lived in America for a long time, she doesnt always feel confident writing lyrics from scratch. However, on this http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly

A lot of making the record is just paying attention to the details until it all adds up to something.
articulate those things in musical terms that he doesnt necessarily know, but at the same time, that can be a disadvantage because sometimes hell play something that is cool precisely because he doesnt know youre not supposed to do that. Sometimes, hell come up with some chords that, to my ears, I would never choose because my hands just naturally go somewhere else, but then Dominique will say, No, thats totally cool, thats great! Dont change it! So, Dominique has veto power, I observed. Shes totally the decision maker at the end of the day. Shes the one who really says Yes or No to everything. Also, if Dominique gets excited about something, it makes me and Andy excited about it, too. In a way, were always trying to please her: if Songwriters Monthly - Oct. 11, #141

record, she actually contributed a bunch of lyrics. There is an element of us writing for Dominique, Schlesinger conceded, but its a little bit m o r e collaborative than that. Its not just Dominique delivering something that we wrote for her, we really do sit in the studio and build these things t o g e t h e r. We might start with a track and s ke t c h o u t a melody on top of it, but then we talk about if we like the melody and we talk about what it sounds like the song might be about. Each step of the way, were all consulting with each other. Its not like we just walk in and say, Okay, heres your new song. Do vocals.
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comfortable putting across. We always like to have a sense of contrast in a song and even if its a happy sounding song, we tend to gravitate towards darker lyrics or lyrics that are a little bittersweet or melancholy. I dont think Dominique wants to sing songs about, H e y, Im feeling great t o d a y , everything is beautiful! or just a straight up love song with no twist to i t , i t s g o t t a have some kind of edge coming f r o m somewhere. I told Adam that I had always thought that Ivy songs sounded like they were written in the midst of a relationship that was just on the verge of breaking up. Adam laughed, Thats a good way of putting it, I like that. I like that reading of it. We want the songs to feel somewhat personal, but we also want to keep them somewhat vague. As opposed to what we do in Fountains of Wayne where the songs are very specific, I think in Ivy we try to keep them general and evocative without spelling things out completely. We think about the atmosphere of it all more than anything else. http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly

Is there an overall concept behind the kind of music Ivy writes and performs? I wondered. Is there a certain band personality like Ivy is a fictional character or a persona whom you are all writing for? I dont know if you could say its a c o n c e p t , b u t t h e r e a r e c e r t a i n emotions that Dominique puts across well and others that she doesnt feel as Songwriters Monthly - Oct. 11, #141

In the early records, you and Andy spent a great deal of time deciding exactly how to get just the right sound to create the perfect environment for each song. Do you still spend as much time trying to get just the right sound? I asked. I think a lot of the record is the details, Adam pointed out. Obviously, the song is the song and the melody and lyrics are very important, but a lot of making the record is just paying attention to the details until it all adds up to something. It could be as simple as a vocal effect or some distortion that

you put on a part or an instrument, but you can completely transform a song with tiny little moves like that. You might be working on a track and stumble across some little effect and it suddenly makes the whole track come alive! It seems like an inconsequential thing, but, in fact, it is THE thing that you were looking for. To hear the attention to detail that Andy is talking about, give a listen to Ivys latest album ALL HOURS. For more information on the band, visit: www.thebandivy.com

Ivys Edge Of The Ocean Is The Soundtrack To American Airlines New Ad Campaign

http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=6gPSR6FoC3s&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=6gPSR6FoC3s&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=6gPSR6FoC3s&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=6gPSR6FoC3s&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=6gPSR6FoC3s&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=6gPSR6FoC3s&feature=player_embedded Ivys signature track Edge of the Ocean from their 2001 album APARTMENT LIFE is currently the soundtrack to American Airlines Songwriters Monthly - Oct. 11, #141

new television ad campaign. If the track sounds familiar, its because youve probably heard it in a slew of other television shows and films over the years; it remains the bands top-selling track.

http://www.youtube.com/ watch? v=6gPSR6FoC3s&feature=player _embedded http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly