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IVAN
Below is an
interview with Ivan - musician, songwriter and performance artist.
by Tracy Hunter, Marketing Director,
Solfege Entertainment Group, Inc., Inc.
Some samples of Ivan's musical works that will be released in
the near future:
Angry Child &
Bludlust
Where
were you born and raised?
-- I was born in Valparaiso, IN, and lived there until I was almost 13.
Then my mother & one of my brothers moved to Fort Wayne, IN where I lived
until last October when I moved to Largo, FL.
Tell me a bit about your family.
-- My mother was born in Falls Church Virginia & grew up in Kewanna IN. My
father was born & raised in La Ceiba, Honduras. He moved to the states to
Valparaiso to study math & electronics. My mothers family by that time had
moved to Valparaiso as well, which is where they met. My grandmother was opposed
to their relationship, so they eloped & lived for a time in New Orleans,
where my eldest brother, Marco, was born. After his birth, my grandmother
accepted them back into the family, & they returned to
Valparaiso. My other brother, Ramon was born there, as was I.
What first inspired you to get into music?
-- My father's taste in music became the basis for my interest in music at
first, as he listened to many of the bands that I still appreciate, such as Pink
Floyd, the Moody Blues & Santana. He also played a great deal of classical
music, which I also love. My mother is the one who encouraged me to learn the
piano & the saxophone, & after my father left when I was 12, she
encouraged me to continue as an artist & musician.
Summarize your musical education.
-- I studied piano from about the age of 8 until I entered the 5th grade when I
began taking saxophone lessons. I was in band & jazz band as a saxophonist
throughout middle school, high school, & college, where I obtained a
bachelor's degree in saxophone performance & music composition. I was a
double major in general music & studio arts at DePauw University in
Greencastle, IN.
Summarize your musical experience.
-- I played in a number of bands when I was in college, although none of them
gigged much. We did have a few paid performances during those 4 years, but
nothing that utilized my lyrics or writing abilities. During my senior year, I
created a performance piece that was my first attempt at the sort of performance
I am interested in doing. It was an hour long performance that was broadcast on
the DePauw TV station, & incorporated not only my original music, but some
jazz & classical pieces, as well as my sculpture & limited
set design. After I graduated from college, my brother Ramon & I formed a
band that lasted, in various incarnations, from my graduation in 1995 until our
falling out in 1998.
What do you hope to accomplish with your music?
-- My main goal with my music is in performance art. I wish to create a
musical/visual experience for the observer that will first & foremost
entertain, but will also cause them to think about important issues.
Who are some of your musical influences?
-- Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Moody Blues, Beck, & Santana. I have
a great love for classical music, particularly Chopin & Beethoven. I also
appreciate NIN, Fatboy Slim & many other modern musicians.
What are you working on now?
-- I am in pre-production of my first studio CD release being recorded at
Solfege Entertainment Group, Inc. in collaboration with Tony Mitri. I am working on a number of
different songs for this as yet unnamed project. These songs include It's a
Wonder, The Angry Child, The Iron Grip of Oppression, & Bludlust.
Where do you see yourself musically in the future?
-- I would like to be doing live performance pieces that have a strong visual
element to them, through the use of screens, projected imagery, video,
choreography, sculpture, cast shadow, or any combination of these. I also would
like to experiment with the creation of music using sounds that would not
typically be thought of in a musical context. My interest is in the avant garde.
I understand you are also a performance artist. Tell me
more about that.
-- The performance pieces I would like to do are primarily theme oriented.
Much of the music I have written over the years is talking about specific topics
that are important to me. I feel that music can be most effective when it is
used in conjunction with other media which are also dealing with the same themes
the music speaks about. In the piece I did for my college senior project, a
large part of its effectiveness was to keep the audience guessing, perhaps even
misleading them to a degree until the truth is revealed. I want to have visual
performances with surprises.
I understand you are writing a rock opera. How did that
come about?
-- The rock opera I am writing is actually a 3 part story to date. It is
essentially a story about Man vs. The Machine, The Individual vs. Sociery, &
Good vs. Evil. I started writing the lyrics for this opera when I was in high
school & the starting point for me was seeing the face of a missing child on
a milk carton. What had happened to him and what evil had our society produced
to allow this to happen? In some way, at the time, I felt like I was that child.
Like anyone could be. This made me begin a series of poems that were at first
dealing with loneliness & loss, universal feelings that all of us
experience. However, I did not want to create a body of work that was negative
in focus, so I used this starting point to create a series of lyrics that have
the ultimate goal of uplifting the listener, and
inspiring people to work against the negative elements in our lives. I hope, by
the way, that the child has been found.
Anything else you'd care to add?
-- Just that I would like for my music to ultimately have a positive effect on
people. There are too many things in our culture that have a deteriorating
effect, particularly at this morally corrupt & violent point in our history.
I strongly believe in the power of art (both aural & visual) to change
things for the better.
Ivan was discovered by Tony Mitri, Executive Producer of Solfege Entertainment Group, Inc., who is now managing Ivan's professional music career. For more information about Ivan or to schedule him for a booking, please contact Tony Mitri.