Featured IPO vol 26 Artists: Log Island, TV Pins, Micah Gilbert, The Transference, Mrs. Smith and the Present
Featured IPO CD Artist: Log Island
IPO Vol. 26 CD Song: “Color Me”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
“Color Me” is an up-tempo pop-rocker that seemed to me to capture the power pop spirit of the IPO. Plus, I was rather proud of the clever lyrics!
2. Please describe your most fun or most rewarding experience thus far as a musician / band
For the release of “Color Me” as a single we held a show and release party at my local bar here in Stockholm, and invited all the guests to color in sheets of paper on which I had printed out the song’s lyrics. Afterwards I assembled the colored-in pages and made a music video out of them (you can watch it here!) — a nice memento of a great show and a really fun evening.
3. Please describe your worst or your most humorous experience thus far as a musician / band
Last year I was asked to sing and play guitar for a local May 1 political event here in Stockholm, normally a quiet local affair. Last year, though, over 300 people showed up — and so of course I stumbled over the words, forgot verses, and when my guitar went silent, I realized that my acoustic guitar’s internal pickup has a battery that needs changing sometimes — who knew! A pretty embarrassing session all around, but everyone was terribly nice about it.
4. What is it about music (yours or that of other musicians you admire) that inspires you to keep writing / performing?
Ah, who knows what the magical mystery of it all is. But there’s that special energy I get from a well-crafted pop or rock song which is just unlike anything else. And the feeling when a new song of my own comes together is pretty great, too. I don’t know if my songs can do that for anyone else, but they do a lot for me, and if they come close then it’s worth it!
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with the IPO Festival / CD?
I like the sense of being part of a community, in many cities, in many countries, all serving the gods of power pop, mostly never meeting one another but still being connected.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music / find out where and when you’re playing?
Follow Log Island on Instagram and/or on Bandcamp, subscribe to the Log Island channel on YouTube, and visit the website! Enjoy Music from Log Island!
https://www.instagram.com/logislandmusic/
logisland.bandcamp.com/follow_me
https://www.youtube.com/@LogIslandmusic
www.logislandmusic.com
Featured IPO CD Artist: TV Pins
IPO Vol. 26 CD Song: “Bye Bye Reseda”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
Our first single, “Bye Bye Reseda” was our choice. Well! Look how the world turned out from when we came up with this! This song is a dystopian alt-prog tune contains harmonies, horns and story lyrics of its subjects trying to escape a Draconian Trump Golf course city state! We felt it was pertinent, powerful and pop-orientated, so hit the IPO mark!
2. Please describe your most fun or most rewarding experience thus far as a musician / band
Playing Live, I think. It was opening the Isle of Wight festival in the UK to 9000+ people
Watching a hero, Brian Wilson performing Pet Sounds at the Royal Festival Hall London, and as a band recording vocal harmonies with TV Pins.
3. Please describe your worst or your most humorous experience thus far as a musician / band
It’s hard to beat playing at Butlins (the holiday camp) and having a stage invader dressed as a Bull coming up to you and being thrown off stage shouting “meat is murder’’ ☺️
4. What is it about music (yours or that of other musicians you admire) that inspires you to keep writing / performing?
It’s the joy, the connection and the ability to make those 12 notes sing in so many different ways and how songwriting and playing in a band lets you tell a story and do it with passion playing live.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with the IPO Festival / CD?
I love the huge variety of acts and personalities that make up the IPO family and that it crosses genres but keeps the song at the heart ❤️
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music / find out where and when you’re playing?
Contact our agent Midnight Mango
https://www.midnightmango.co.uk/artists/tv-pins/
Or Link Tree
https://www.instagram.com/tvpinsband?igsh=MXR3Nno1NzFiN3U0YQ==
Listen to Aircutter our first album
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2RoGQpWJ9FVY1jGFjUYGRu?si=muVNoeyATICibIiPkF6O-A
Featured IPO CD Artist: Micah Gilbert
IPO Vol. 26 CD Song: “Fly Away”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
This is an easy one. I was unsure what to put on the CD, so I sent a few songs to David Bash and asked him which one he would choose. I was happy with his choice.
2. Please describe your most fun or most rewarding experience thus far as a musician / band
So hard. Most of my musical experiences have been rewarding in one way or another. However, I can highlight making the album Book of Changes way back in the day. It was recorded and mixed in 14 days, and so many top-notch musicians came together to make it happen. Also, my production collaboration with Garry Rindfuss was something very special. But as they say, the next one always feels the best until the one after that. I’m loving working with The Come Back Shanes.
3. Please describe your worst or your most humorous experience thus far as a musician / band
My worst experience was playing an outdoor festival on the back of an eighteen-wheeler (lorry) truck bed in South Georgia, when some bright spark (possible pun intended) decided to flip the generator for the stage to 220 instead of 110. My vintage Fender Twin blew up on my strum of the first chord like something straight out of Spinal Tap. Smoke rose up behind me as my heart sank. The show that must go on went on with me plugged directly into the newly powered front speakers with a very thin-sounding and nearly impossible-to-hear guitar.
4. What is it about music (yours or that of other musicians you admire) that inspires you to keep writing / performing?
It’s a cliché, but if you’ve got the music in you then there is no stopping. Working with up-and-coming musicians is inspiring.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with the IPO Festival / CD?
I love the ethos of the entire thing. The idea of promoting a wide variety of original music artists in one festival. Not many places these days where you can hear that much original diversity, with that much scope.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music / find out where and when you’re playing?
I have four albums on all the streaming services and YouTube, and I’m working on two new album projects, one nearly completed. Very soon I hope to make all of my catalogue available on hard-copy CDs. And you can find out more about me at https://micahgilbert.com/.
Featured IPO CD Artist: The Transference
IPO Vol. 26 CD Song: “Drown In The Sound”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
“Drown in the Sound” was one of my favorite tracks off the LP we released this year. We picked it because it has a vintage 70s rock vibe and thought it would fit the bill.
2. Please describe your most fun or most rewarding experience thus far as a musician / band
Last year we got to play live on WGN Chicago TV, and that was a bucket list moment for us!
3. Please describe your worst or your most humorous experience thus far as a musician / band
This year Justin and Laura made a DIY lyric video using a typewriter and some live-action shots. During the filming Laura types the lyrics and then lights them on fire at the end of the video. But! No safety/contingency plans were made for what happens after the paper catches fire, so we narrowly avoided burning down the house. But yeah it was totally worth it!
4. What is it about music (yours or that of other musicians you admire) that inspires you to keep writing / performing?
The best feeling in the world for me is finding an album that I can immerse myself in and return to like an old friend. Music has always felt like another language to me, or maybe a form of communication that I can turn to when words fail. I will always write music because it’s a natural extension of my emotions and ideas. And of course I’ll always love finding artists I wanna listen to again and again. — Laura
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with the IPO Festival / CD?
Getting to hear new independent music from across the country! We have so much admiration for the artists we got to know through this compilation!
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music / find out where and when you’re playing?
You can find all our links on TheTransferenceBand.com. Check us out on instagram, and buy our vinyl/merch at HardstopRecords.com.
Featured IPO CD Artist: Mrs. Smith and the Present
IPO Vol. 26 CD Song: “Round and Around”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
Mrs. Smith and the Present loves rock-n-roll. We chose “Round and Around” as this song seems to best fit the Power Pop aesthetic of IPO.
2. Please describe your most fun or most rewarding experience thus far as a musician / band
Every time we get to be in a room together creating and playing music
3. Please describe your worst or your most humorous experience thus far as a musician / band
No comment LOL!
4. What is it about music (yours or that of other musicians you admire) that inspires you to keep writing / performing?
As we sing on our song “Last Remaining”, you know we just can’t shut up. As long as our hearts still beat we will keep playing music and writing songs
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with the IPO Festival / CD?
We love the camaraderie. Playing alongside great Chicago indie bands and getting turned on to so much new music. It’s a thrill and brings us so much pride for our city of Chicago
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music / find out where and when you’re playing?
Most direct way is to go to https://www.mrssmith.band/ to see when and where we are playing. We release our music on the beloved bandcamp (and sell CD’s there) as well as all the streaming platforms because that’s what you do. We love that IPO releases a CD because we like things you can touch and hold in your hand. When internet is cut off, we will still have our vinyl and CDs to play. We can look at the pictures, read the liner notes and be in sweet sweet bliss.