Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Believe the hype: Von Iva is the new purveyor of soul, and it's got the groove-drunk fans to prove it.
This white-hot quartet dispenses with the grating coyness of bands like the Donnas, fusing gospel funk with a gutter punk sensibility, fucking with all sorts of genre labels along the way and getting even the rhythmless to shake their rumps.
The eponymous frontwoman is way sexier than Karen O., and her husky, blues-inflected voice consistently brings audience members to their knees. - SF Weekly
"In 2005, not too many artists are really making this kind of music, let alone making an honest effort in capturing both the spirit and swagger of rock & roll like Von Iva does. They slap you up good..."
-MacKenzie Wilson - AMG
Von Iva is one of the greatest girl groups I’ve ever heard in my life.
-Jeffrey Morgan - Village Voice
Von Iva is here, and they've bent an entire genre in half along the way.
-Jay Riggio - Rockpile
Thankfully, there is no such thing as personal space at a Von Iva show. An ass-shaking mix of soul, disco and dirty, raw rock & roll, this San Francisco band rattles the rafters with an aural love potion that will have you licking glittery beads of sweat from the cleavage of your nearest neighbor by the end of the first song.
-Jen Hitchcock - L.A. Weekly
Women have always made rock music, but they’re often stereotyped, trivialized, or badly marketed while they’re doing their best work, and quickly forgotten when they leave the public eye. There are a few moments that stand out in this history, however, moments when women have created songs or performances so transcendently rock that they can’t be forgotten.... Last Thursday, I saw Von Iva at Cake Shop. They made the list.
Jillian Iva launched herself into the music hard, and did not stop moving until the show was over. Her performance style was seductive, muscular, theatrical, and challenging....She climbed the amplifiers, walked into the audience, tossed her microphone stand, and jumped onto the kick drum to dance. The Cake Shop crowd was a little cold, fashionable and reserved, and she got into our faces, taunting and provoking us until we started to move. However, with Von Iva giving such an intense performance, it was hard to choose between dancing and staring at the spectacle.
See them live, as often as you can. This is the kind of music that lives in performance, in crowded basements and sweat – the kind of music that ought to be experienced at close range. Dance, if you know what’s good for you.
-Sady O. - Culture Catch
Discography
"Von Iva" EP - Cochon Records
12" split single w/the Vanishing - Princehouse Records
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
We would like to say that the heavens opened and Von Iva descended on the earth to bring their soul drenched punk-disco classic rock music to the dance hungry masses, but that's not entirely true. The fact is that Von Iva met by chance and managed to drop on an unsuspecting San Francisco scene something they had never experienced before: a fierce female foursome that put on an amazing live show that left people bruised, bewildered and begging for more. And more is what they got! Since 2003 Von Iva has progressed and continued to spread their unique sound comprised of a hybrid of influences ranging from Devo, Early Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, and Wire causing modern day comparisons to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Death From Above 1979, The Kills and The Gossip.
Von Iva's love of music is broad and reflected in their unique dance/rock sound. That sound magically comes together by blending Becky Kupersmith's layered keyboard hooks and gritty organ riffs with Elizabeth Davis' (ex-7 Year Bitch/Clone) signature power bass lines. The hard hitting Lay Lay (Kelly Harris; ex-Clone) always holds it down with addictive driving disco beats and machine gun drum fills. But let us not forget their secret weapon?sexy singer Jillian Iva! She brings the soul shakin', love makin', body manipulating to the table and the masses have spoken; they love this modern day diva. With lungs and legs of steel this soulful singer is a powerhouse and a force to be reckoned with on stage. Iva shakes, shimmies, smiles and stares down the audience and always makes it a show to remember.
There's no doubt that the buzz is building as Von Iva shares the stage with the likes of the Walkmen, Metric, Gravy Train!!!, Louis XIV, The Sights, The Ravonettes and The Go Go's. They recently completed a US tour with The Bellrays and the Rock'n'Roll Soldiers, a tour to Japan, and are currently setting their sights on the international stage. Von Iva's debut self-titled EP has and is continuing to gain praise across the US and abroad. Von Iva are currently in the studio working on a full-length album which, like the EP, they recorded themselves. There's no doubt that these ladies are motivated, inspired and ready to take on whatever comes their way. Just like their live shows, Von Iva's momentum keeps going.
The contagious rocking religious experience that is Von Iva causes one to think that the heavens really did open to create this amazing band. No matter how they got here one thing's for sure: they brought the cure for your dancing disease.
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