Blazing Minds

Ever popular than ever I’m proud to bring you the third in my series of “Who’s the Band” and this week I bring you an interview with Ivory Tower Project, so I’m going to stop rambling on and get on with the interview..

Q: So how did you come upon the name of your band? Is it the first name you chose?
A: We started out as North Wind and then our original bass player Kevin Joyce came up with the name: Ivory Tower. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines ivory tower as: “a figurative place of withdrawal from reality”. We thought it was a perfect name for a bunch of guys who had to work day jobs. When our original drummer: Sal DiAngelo passed away – and Kevin shortly afterward gave notice that he was going to leave: we recruited the NY Metro areas finest studio musicians. That event transcended us from Ivory Tower (the band) to Ivory Tower Project.

Q: Introduce each member and instrument played or role in the band?
A: I think we should mention my song writing partner: Johnny Jace first, as without his contribution in the way of lyrics, we would be just another band. Probably the busiest and best unknown guitarist for hire in NY City, my right hand: Tony Novarro – he can make a guitar sing. Mike Carbone is our replacement drummer for Sal (mentioned above). Mike toured with us when we first started playing the local clubs. Henry Kessler was our “jack of many trades”: he writes, sings, and plays keyboards, sax and flute. I (Mark Regula) write, sing, play rhythm guitar, piano and other keyboards as well as synthesizers. But our guest studio musicians should be of interest to some: we had the distinction of having Ivan Elias (formerly with Patty Smyth and Scandal) play bass on 4 of the tracks from “RED HOT”, and Richie Cannata (formerly with Billy Joel) play sax on one of our tracks from our CD.

Q: So what genre of music would you say you are in and who are your major influences?
A: I would say that our music is Classic Pop/Rock inspired by the great artists of the 70s and 80s. We are influenced by a diverse group of artists from that time period: Foreigner, Queen, Asia, Genesis, Billy Joel, Supertramp, Elton John, Survivor, Robert Palmer, Hall & Oates, Styx, Eddie Money to mention a few…

Q: How long has you band been performing/producing music? What inspired to to produce your style of music?
A: I have known Johnny Jace for as far back as I can remember (since I was 4 or 5 years old) – we lived around the block from each other as children and have become life long friends. I have known Tony Novarro since 5th grade; we played Little League Baseball on the same team. We parted ways during middle school (as we both went to different schools then) and got reacquainted in our senior year in High School. I met Henry Kessler through my first wife: Lois at her place of employment. Tony was already in a band with Sal DiAngelo and Kevin Joyce, and when I brought him a tape of a studio recording I did with Henry and some other guys – Tony, Sal and Kevin joined forces with us. Our introductions to Richie Cannata and Ivan Elias were done at the studio through the owner: Fred Guarino who knew these guys personally and spoke well of our music in our behalf.

Q: Are you signed to a record label (Indie or major)?
A: We created our own Independent Label: Guerrilla Records and Atom Sounds is our UK affiliate. We also created our own Publishing Company: Rockamagula Music as we felt that the major labels and publishers would not have any vested interest in our genre…

Q: Where can people find your music? Do you have an official website?
A: Our music is available at Amazon.com, CDBaby.com, and iTunes. Our official web site is: www.IvoryTowerProject.com where you can find links to the aforementioned retailers on the STORE page…

Q: Have your ever performed live? If so where and to how many?
A: Many times! When Ivory Tower was a band we played at original clubs on Long Island (NY) known (back then) as: Februarys, The Right Track Inn, and My Father’s Place. In NYC; we have played at: CBGBs, The Orange Bear, Woodhaven House, and The A&M Roadhouse. Those places could hold up to 100 or more people back then…but when we became Ivory Tower Project – we stopped playing live as a band and now concentrate on the recording aspect of the music.

Q: Who writes/produces the music and/or lyrics to your tracks?
A: Johnny Jace and I (Mark Regula) have co-written 3 songs together on “RED HOT”: “My Name”, “Burning” and “Gotcha’”. I wrote 2 additional songs on my own for the CD: “Way Too Late” and “You Can See It In My Eyes”. Henry Kessler and I co-wrote 1 song together: “I Can’t Tell Him (Her)” – and he also penned 2 tracks of his own: “Guilty“ and “Dreamer.” The last track on the CD was written and performed by our original drummer: Sal DiAngelo; “I Think I Fell In Love With You”. We wanted to show what kind of great all around musician Sal was, so we dedicated the CD to his memory and made that song a bonus track that is only available on the physical CD. As far as production goes; I usually was band’s musical director, with strong support and help from Tony Novarro. Henry usually produced his own songs with suggestions from the band.

Q: How would you describe your music-making process?
A: There is no set formula, really. Every song had a life and story of its own. What was great is that when you are young and hanging out with a bunch of people with a common interest and goals – you support each other and bounce stuff off of each other. There is a lot of encouragement to finish the song when you have even a small community of artistic supporters. That is what I have seen with the mainstream professionals – for example: Carole King would hang with James Taylor. James Taylor was originally singed with Apple Records and worked with The Beatles. The Rolling Stones in their first year did mostly Blues covers until they met Lennon & McCartney…it’s like the Biblical illustration of iron sharpening iron…

Q: What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?
A: Fame and fortune are so overrated. I mean – look at the lives of most people who are rich and famous – they’re a mess. Fame is fickle and temporary – a fortune can be lost over night. Respect is what I seek – respect as a musical artist and a having a modest income doing what I love to do. I would love to get out of the day job and make music my life – instead of it being a small part of my life. I would also love to get it to the point where we could do a small European tour, because that is where our biggest fan base is located. I have always wanted to go to Europe. However my most satisfying reward to date is getting an email from a fan or a notification from CDBaby.com that someone either here (in the US) or on the other side of the world thought so much of our music – that they bought our CD. That is a great feeling…to know what I was inspired to create touched someone else and moved them. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Q: What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?
A: It’s about the song. Without a good song, you are a bunch of musicians jamming in the garage. And that’s okay if that is all you want to do. But I think that songwriting is the foundation of any artist. Not how pretty you look on an album cover – it is the connection that is made by the marriage of lyric and melody.

Q: How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
A: As mentioned above you can go to our official web site: www.IvoryTowerProject.com where we have sound clips on the Music page. You can hear some of the singles at our MySpace page: www.myspace.com/IvoryTowerProject the entire album (with the exception of the Radio Interview) can be streamed at SoundClick.com

Q: Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?
A: Our spouses: Patti and Audrey who without their support, we could not have made our music.

Q: Any last words?
A: Drop by our websites, check out our music and drop us an email, we’d love to hear from you. Classic Rock is back!

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5. Who’s the Band – HealeyIsland

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