Interview: Thriving Ivory

We had the pleasure of chatting with Thriving Ivory about their new album, crazy fan experiences, and their thoughts on social media. Check it out below!

Can you tell me a little bit about the new album and the evolution of your sound since your debut album?

We headed into the studio really wanting to record an album that was could front to back. We learned a lot on the road touring and playing the songs off the first record for over two years. So wanted to write songs that translated well live. I think the new record really accomplishes this and is much more cohesive as a whole.

What were the main sources of inspiration for this album?

Many of the songs off of the new record have a theme of traveling or returning somewhere, perhaps home. I think they developed this way because we did most of the writing on the road over past year and a half.

If you had to describe your sound in three words, what would they be?

Dramatic, Lyrical, Melodic

What has been your favorite venue to perform at?

Definitely the Fillmore in San Francisco.

What has your most unique fan experience been?

Whenever we see fans with tattoos of lyrics from a song it’s pretty surreal. We’ve been seeing more of that recently.

Has there been a moment that hit you and you thought, “I’ve arrived?”

Nope…I think the only bands that can safely make that statement are the Rolling Stones and Coldplay. The rest of us are still grinding it out day to day.

With the evolution of the music industry, with issues about illegal downloading, what kind of effect does that have on you guys, what’s your take on it, and how has that changed your approach to marketing?

I think ultimately it’s really hurt the industry. If the record labels are making less money due to downloads then the bands are making even less. If you can’t pay your bills then you can’t tour and spend time making music. It’s also safe to say that you can’t just write good music anymore and expect to achieve success solely based on that accomplishment. The internet is over-saturated with new music and to stand out among the millions a band has to be more of media machine than anything else.

Any favorite TV shows the band likes to keep up with in their down time or on tour?

Mad Men and True Blood!

From a musician’s standpoint, do you find it hard to keep up with social media? To keep that line of communication open with your fans?

I think it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with the myriad of media portals and tools that band are required to manage these days. Instead of resting after sound check you have to update your Facebook status, send out a Tweet, answer a Myspace message…no wonder John Mayer just deleted his Twitter account. Rock on John!

I know you all are on tour through October 2nd, what do you guys have coming up after that? And will you be hitting more cities later this year?

The album and single, “Where We Belong just came out so we’ll be on the road a lot in the upcoming months. We’re going on tour with OAR on November 8th and will be out with them for a few weeks. We’ll be sure to send out some tweets from the road! 😉

Official Website: http://www.thrivingivory.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/thrivingivory

Interview By: Emma Loggins