Music
Press
Perhaps amends for when George Dub turned the cherries brown in Traverse City in 2004? This time, Texas, straight outta Austin, is letting Northern Michigan borrow something a bit more worthwhile and life-affirming.
Erin Ivey is bringing her sophistisound to lil’ ol’ P-town, playing at Chandler’s on Aug. 10 and 11, the Taste of Bay Harbor on Aug. 19 and Boyne Mountain on Aug. 25, before the Allman Bros. Band.
The warning shots in this northward trek come via this no-label but all-pro album, “The 11th Floor,� with Ivey providing vocals and guitar throughout. It’s a throwback to the time of a stronger female artist, the jazz and country singers — human without being pathetic, honest but not singing into the cushions of a shrink’s couch, sensual not objectified. And singing about “love,� on three consecutive tracks.
“The 11th Floor� manages to be somewhat diverse, yet coherent. The opening track, “Halflight,� is a misnomer, as it leaves eyes wide open when the drums kick in over the guitar and piano and Ivey shows the range of her pneumatic vocals. “Dallas� is Sundays-style pop that, if it were to fight a hit song by Taylor Swift, another woman who can actually play the guitar, would probably win by decision … if judged only by those driving foreign cars. “Separational� is the most jazz-ish, and has received radio play down that way. “Take the One� stands out, sounding like the Decemberists both in the guitar and vocal phrasing.
Best lyric: “Lonelines has two faces – one delivered, one destroyed,� from the pedal steel-drunk “Think of Love.�
Best song: “What You Really Want,� with its tone of resignation and acceptance, strings, and prominent guitar. - Petoskey News-Review
Discography
Austin Lullabies EP
Independent Release
August, 2007
The 11th Floor
Independent Release
May 2007
Confection EP
Independent Release
July 2006 (sold out)
Live at Sullivan's
Independent Limited Digital Release
November 2006
Gone (single)
Red Bull North America Release
May 2005 and February 2006
Photos
Bio
"I used to perform the entire Flashdance soundtrack," Erin recalls of her formative years in Annapolis, Maryland, playing to an imaginary crowd in her living room. "I sang into my dad's dry-erase pens."
Eventually transplanted to Austin, Texas in 1996 with a proper microphone, Erin has been featured as the voice of Apple Computer, her music has been used in Red Bull Energy Drink promotions, and she works with independent music producers nationwide.
In March 2005, Erin was one of just ten musicians selected by Red Bull to attend a production workshop in Dallas. That culminated in her first self-produced track, which went on to become the Top Download at Austin Online Music. In 2006, Erin relocated to the Midwest for a year and quickly built a strong fan-base around Chicago.
Most recently, she was selected from a catalogue of nearly 400 artists to become the first Artist-in-Residence at Rumblefish in Portland, Oregon, where she recorded the debut full-length record, The 11th Floor.
Erin and her guitar have played solo and band gigs at such Austin landmarks as The Cactus Cafe, Ruta Maya, Waterloo Ice House, and of course, on 6th Street.
She recently re-purchased the Flashdance soundtrack and plans to take her original act to local gentlemen's clubs after a little brushing-up.
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