With a debut LP on the horizon, Thebandivory has recently released their newest single "Anthropocene" as a taste of what's to come. What this band does so well is tell stories, wrapping you up in their sonic soundscapes of guitar plucks, violin sweeps, flute swirls, and bouncy rhythms to show you the song from their eyes.
But it's the feel change at the 2/3rds mark that really shows why Thebandivory are a band to watch out for, their chemistry is seamless and they use form as another songwriter tool rather than a limiting boundary. Below is our exclusive interview with the band, make sure to check out "Anthropocene" for yourself.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
The core of ThebandIvory is Frankie DeRosa and Robbie Simmons. Frankie is our lead vocalist, songwriter and creative visionary. He also plays ukulele, strings (violin, viola and cello) and woodwinds (flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe) and some percussion and occasional guitar parts.
Robbie plays most of our guitars and keys as well as some bass and drums and percussion. Last year, we added Jesse Griffith (he plays drums on much of the album, including our last two singles) and Nick Morolda (he plays bass on a couple of the album tracks as well) to our live band. O”
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
The core of ThebandIvory is Frankie DeRosa and Robbie Simmons. Frankie is our lead vocalist, songwriter and creative visionary. He also plays ukulele, strings (violin, viola and cello) and woodwinds (flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe) and some percussion and occasional guitar parts. Robbie plays most of our guitars and keys as well as some bass and drums and percussion. Last year, we added Jesse Griffith (he plays drums on much of the album, including our last two singles) and Nick Morolda (he plays bass on a couple of the album tracks as well) to our live band. O”
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
The core of ThebandIvory is Frankie DeRosa and Robbie Simmons. Frankie is our lead vocalist, songwriter and creative visionary. He also plays ukulele, strings (violin, viola and cello) and woodwinds (flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe) and some percussion and occasional guitar parts.
Robbie plays most of our guitars and keys as well as some bass and drums and percussion. Last year, we added Jesse Griffith (he plays drums on much of the album, including our last two singles) and Nick Morolda (he plays bass on a couple of the album tracks as well) to our live band. O”
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
The core of ThebandIvory is Frankie DeRosa and Robbie Simmons. Frankie is our lead vocalist, songwriter and creative visionary. He also plays ukulele, strings (violin, viola and cello) and woodwinds (flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe) and some percussion and occasional guitar parts. Robbie plays most of our guitars and keys as well as some bass and drums and percussion.
Last year, we added Jesse Griffith (he plays drums on much of the album, including our last two singles) and Nick Morolda (he plays bass on a couple of the album tracks as well) to our live band. Our live band is dependent on the size of the venue, but you can often see Alyssa Almeida on cello and Taylor Kelly on trumpet with us as well.
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to ThebandIvory? How long has the band been around?
Robbie: I’ve been playing in bands for a while, but I was previously in a band called Forever From Now - we had a song as downloadable content on the Rock Band video game. I also put out a solo record under the name Robert Paul in 2011.
Frankie: I wasn’t in a band in the traditional sense but I did get my chops from being in orchestras, Indian ensembles and traditional Caribbean groups. That's where I draw a lot of our tonal colors.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
The name originated from just throwing around some kind of random pairings of words. We wanted to have something that called back to nature and animals because that’s a big part of us. We just went by “Ivory” for the first several years of the band actually, but there’s a French Dub-Step artist who uses that name. All of our socials have been “thebandivory” since the beginning, so while we toyed with changing the name entirely, we decided to stick with what we were already working with.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
Robbie: Frankie writes our songs, almost completely. I’ll help fill in a bridge, or add a passing chord here or there. But all the lyrics and 90% of the music come from Frankie.
Frankie: I have the honor of writing the majority of the songs. I usually play around on my ukulele until an idea sparks. Our process changes for each song but I usually bring the songs to Robbie having some sketch of the orchestrations/arrangements and he refines the ideas. The themes of my songs tend to draw from my personal story.
I walk the listener through moments in my life like a job I've hated and ached to leave, through my fear of the Anthropocene (the time of humans) coming to an end by our own ignorance. I will always draw inspiration from my own perspective so it will naturally evolve. BIPOC voices are constantly undervalued in our society so I'm here to stand tall and have my queer Amazonian voice heard, dammit.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Our music tastes are extremely wide-reaching so it’s hard to say “this artist inspired this music” but we draw inspiration from bands and artists who don’t necessarily stay within a “box” and push the envelope of genre and style. We love how Radiohead and Elbow do this, how Peter Gabriel does this, even how The Beatles did it. And our friends Illuminati Hotties are doing some crazy awesome things crossing genre gaps as well, even though their music is heavier and faster and very different than ours.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Robbie: That’s a hard one to answer. I started my first band in 2000. At the time, I was listening to a lot of punk and [American] ska music with a little bit of alt rock in the background. There was a rock band called doubleDrive that I *loved* around that time who were inspirations for me wanting to play in a band (the guitarist of that band is in Evanescence now). I also went to an MxPx show with The Hippos opening and that was like 6 months before I started my first band. I really craved that energy of playing on the stage and connecting with the audience.
Frankie: This is a layered question for sure but the two artists that come to mind are Lucius and Sade. Lucius’s live set was so tight. They have a raw quality but then coupled with a wall of guitars and synths really opened my eyes to what was possible. They even used the drum set in an unpredictable way by splitting up the drums through the band. Sade has always been a female hero of mine throughout my life simply because she owned her sexuality and power through compelling songwriting and fusioning her Somalian roots.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
Is it too on-the-nose to admit we like to smoke a joint before we load onto the stage? We could say “ah yeah, like a couple forward folds and some deep breaths” or something but the truth is a little weed and fresh air outside the venue goes a long way before a show.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
While we’ve had the opportunity to play a couple bigger stages in Philly, the highlight to us was getting married at our own show! We had a big blowout show with our friends lylyly and Taylor Kelly playing and got married right before our set by a drag queen and it was the most awesome combination of the gay world and the indie music world and really an awesome night.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
We really want to tour with Lucius. We had our first real “date” at a Lucius show in 2013 and we’ve watched them grow from the smallest bar venues to some amazing huge venues and it’s been a goal to go on the road with them since we started this band.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Our album is coming out in October and we’re really proud of it. Also, EVERYONE VOTE IN NOVEMBER.
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