Featured IPO CD Artists: Plasma Chasms, Orbis Max, The Big Believe, Captain Easychord, Tyler Graham
Featured IPO CD Artist: Plasma Chasms
IPO Vol. 24 CD Song: “Chasing Ghosts”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
We felt it was a great representation of all the dimensions we offer through our music.
2. If you had to pick only one artist (living or dead) as your musical hero, who would it be and why?
No question, John Lennon. He was brilliant at songwriting and melody. His lyrics spoke an inner honestly and he sang the pain of the human condition like no one before or since.
3. What advice you would give to the current generation of aspiring musicians based on your own experience thus far?
I think Andy Warhol said it best ” Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”
4. What advice do you wish someone had given you when you were just starting out as a musician / band? (can be same or different than above)
Be yourself. Embrace the things that are distinctly you. Those are the things that will stand out in the mix. The things that the ones you inspire will want to emulate.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
I genuinely love the diversity of the bands with IPO and David’s support of small and local bands all over the world.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
You can find us on all streaming platforms, instagram, youtube. Check out everything Plasma Chasms at our website called plasmachasms.com. Our debut album is releasing this summer so there’s lots of action coming soon!
https://www.instagram.com/plasmachasms/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/@plasmachasms
Featured IPO CD Artist: Orbis Max
IPO Vol. 24 CD Song: “R U OK”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
The band Orbis Max – Don Baake, Craig Carlstrom, Bruce Walker – believe very much in the spirit of trying to be a positive force. I can say the same about the featured artists with us on RUOK, Lisa Mychols and Ed Ryan. While there were a lot of songs on our 2023 album that we felt may have been more “pop,” this was the one that we thought could move the heart, just a little bit.
2. If you had to pick only one artist (living or dead) as your musical hero, who would it be and why?
For myself? Tough one, it changes almost daily. I gravitate to Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), Terry Scott Taylor (Daniel Amos), and George Harrison. My choices almost certainly would be different tomorrow.
3. What advice would you give to the current generation of aspiring musicians based on your own experience thus far?
Go into it for the right reasons. Artists and creators have never been in such a potentially fraught position as we are right now. It’s nearly impossible to make a living on returns for your creativity. The era of the “rock star” is likely over. Anytime I see reports about the advancements of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), I want to either hide under a pile of covers or scream in the streets.
So my advice is probably counterintuitive, but don’t give up. Go into it for the love of creation and performance, but know that the landscape has changed drastically. Understand that this might manifest more as a passion than a career, be realistic, but if you are anything like the members of Orbis Max, you won’t be able to stop. It is a compulsion, and a healthy one at that. Creativity keeps us from doing bad things. Humankind would be in a better place right now if we could just paint or write or play versus tearing down others.
4. What advice do you wish someone had given you when you were just starting out as a musician / band? (can be same or different than above)
Difficult. The advice they would have provided would have been so different from the world we know now that, if they knew themselves, it would give them pause. I suppose it is the same – don’t quit your day job OR your off-time dreams.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
I think I speak for everyone in the band by saying it is a dream come true to be on an IPO compilation. If you look across the entirety of the releases and tally up the names of the talent that have been involved, it’s such good company. Who wouldn’t want to be inside that club? I’m all about appreciating the wins, and the day I got to hold the CD with a song I wrote and sang on it was…surreal. It was my version of topping the Billboard charts.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
The Orbis Max Bandcamp page is at: https://orbismax.bandcamp.com/
Our music videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfy3JjaKOTvpSDSx63L-FYQ
And if you want to stop by and say “hello,” our Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Orbisv2.0
Featured IPO CD Artist: The Big Believe
IPO Vol. 24 CD Song: “Pirate Radio”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
“Pirate Radio” is a song we’re quite proud of and it doesn’t wait around to hook you in. We felt that made it good for a compilation – it’s immediate. Plus it’s a favourite of David Bash’s – hee hee.
2. If you had to pick only one artist (living or dead) as your musical hero, who would it be and why?
For me it would be Arthur Lee of Love. He knew how to write the hooks but also how to mix darkness and light. He wasn’t focused on precision playing and his guitar parts were all IDEA. Quite untutored yet genius. Dark lyrics but having fun with them too whilst the music was never depressing. Joyous in fact. Those elements are my favourite mix in music.
3. What advice would you give to the current generation of aspiring musicians based on your own experience thus far?
I would say trust your ideas. I used to have songs that I never took any further because I thought they weren’t good enough. Once you trust the initial idea you’ll find it’s worth sticking with.
4. What advice do you wish someone had given you when you were just starting out as a musician / band? (can be same or different than above)
I wish someone had told me how important it is to find the right people as well as the right musicians. I wasted time learning this the long way.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
I love being involved with the IPO CD because the whole vibe of it has the emphasis on power pop, melodies, harmonies, rock n roll (in the widest sense) and energy – all the things that are key to me and to us.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
You can get hold of all our music – singles and albums, from our Bandcamp www.thebigbelieve.bandcamp.com
You can follow our live shows/dates via our Facebook page.
Featured IPO CD Artist: Captain Easychord
IPO Vol. 24 CD Song: “I Got My Act Together”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
Because I felt “I Got My Act Together” represented my style best and it seemed like an infectious, rousing power pop song that would sit well with the other acts’ efforts. My regret was that I accidentally sent a rather shaky live version of the song instead of my studio demo version! If we sell out Volume 24 I’d want to replace it with the correct version.
2. If you had to pick only one artist (living or dead) as your musical hero, who would it be and why?
There are so many, but when push comes to shove, I’d say Paul McCartney. His diversity and sense of melody is something I’ve always admired and aspired to become.
3. What advice would you give to the current generation of aspiring musicians based on your own experience thus far?
Believe in yourself and don’t allow yourself to be told that you need to sound like a certain thing that isn’t your style. You can be influenced by certain things but in the end, you have to be true to who you really are.
4. What advice do you wish someone had given you when you were just starting out as a musician / band? (can be same or different than above)
You’re never too old or too late to become a musician. And you don’t need to be a prodigy or accomplished to get into the music scene. Most players in the scene started pretty much from scratch and develop as musicians and performers as they go along.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
Being part of a label and organization dedicated to promoting and getting music released by fellow songwriters/pop rock musicians.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
I have a Facebook, Bandcamp and ReverbNation account of Captain Easychord. I recently signed to Portland, ME-based label Rock Garden Records, which has lots of Boston area acts on their roster. I recently released a new song on the label and am currently working on another song for release in April 2024. I play out regularly with my band and my Facebook account will provide information regarding my shows.
Featured IPO CD Artist: Tyler Graham
IPO Vol. 24 CD Song: “If It Were Up To Me”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
My friend Robert is the best songwriter I know and when I showed him If It Were Up To Me in earnest one day in 2020, his eyes widened and he was immediately excited about it. He even went so far as to record his own demo of it, and a few of the parts in the final version that appears of Finally are what he produced in his studio. I figured that if it’s good enough to have tickled his fancy, it’s probably pretty strong.
2. If you had to pick only one artist (living or dead) as your musical hero, who would it be and why?
It sounds weird to say, but Joel Plaskett has almost the opposite effect of inspiration on me – but in a tremendous way. For me, his songwriting is so good that it almost makes me want to stop making music. What he does is so outstanding it’s like, why bring more music into the world when the perfect music already exists?
3. What advice you would give to the current generation of aspiring musicians based on your own experience thus far?
I just got a royalty payout of forty-two cents from SOCAN, so I’m in no position to be giving advice. But I’m sure glad I made my record and that it’s out there. I’m proud of it and it’s a cool thing to have done.
4. What advice do you wish someone had given you when you were just starting out as a musician / band? (can be same or different than above)
Play music. Write down or record (the voice-memo app is tremendous) any ideas you have – no matter how small. Get an audio interface, a decent mic, some decent headphones, and a MacBook and it’s all you need to make a good record.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
I reached out to David on a whim and as a total shot in the dark to try to get added to the Vancouver lineup in 2022 and it worked out perfectly with a show on my 40th birthday and getting to play with Underwater Sunshine – a band I followed when I was in high school. Playing the same gig as them was a dream for myself and for the four musicians (Jonathan Bonikowsky, Andrew Fuller, Dan Stewart, and Robert Watt) who graced me with their time and immense talent the night of the show. If not for IPO I’d have not had that incredible experience.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
The best thing people can do is to buy a physical copy of the record (which is available on my Bandcamp page). And clicking the little heart or like or follow buttons on Instagram (@tylergrahamtunes) or on Spotify or Apple Music or any other streamers you may use. And adding songs to playlists is a great thing too!