aster and ivy interview

Can you introduce yourselves and your part(s) in the band? Hey were aster and Ivy and we are irno (guitarist), Mitch (guitarist), Ryan (bassist), Quinn (drummer), and Ruben (vocalist) What is your favorite part about pursuing music? Ruben - My favorite part is knowing that music makes me happy regardless of how successful or not the pursuit of it is going to be. I'll always enjoy making music and if I do it because it's my passion first and foremost, I'll never be disappointed. Mitch - The fact that you can do this your whole entire life and still find something new in it everyday. It’s something you can do your entire life.

Ryan - I’d have to say it’s the adventure of it all. I have met so many wonderful people and been to some amazing places all in the pursuit of music. I don’t really know what else in life can give you that experience.

Quinn - My favorite part is the process of creating the music, as well as seeing how the music has a positive effect and influence on our fans.

Irno - Interacting with the fans both online and offline is one of my favorite parts. Creating new music with my friends is hard to top, but seeing the joy on people’s faces when we perform is definitely what leaves me feeling validated as a musician.

How long have you been pursuing music for, not necessarily for aster and ivy but overall? Ruben - I've been involved in music since I was a little kid, learning instruments and playing with other musicians. When I got to college I had no idea what else to do because music is what I do best, so I just stuck with that and decided I wanted to at least try to make it a career. However when I graduated college with a music degree I realized I had to get a real job and work on my music on the side. I'm still in that process and it's been a huge step forward for me by getting the opportunity to join Aster and ivy because now I feel like I'm doing what I've always wanted to be doing, and it's only gonna keep getting better from here. Mitch - I’ve been playing music since I was 8, and before that I would listen to CDs in my living room. So you could say it’s been my whole life for the most part. I’m still pursuing it today in the hopes that it will become a career.

Ryan - I’ve been seriously pursuing music for over 10 years now. When I was 17 I really dug in and got serious about it. It’s been a grind ever since.

Irno - I started playing guitar when I was 12, but I only really started taking music seriously around 3 years ago. It all started with open mic nights and getting addicted to the applause. It made me feel good about my art and pushed me to pursue something greater.

Quinn - I’ve been playing drums for close to ten years now. But I didn’t really start taking it seriously until high school.

How did you come up with the band name?

Irno - I originally created the band as a solo project and was heavily influenced by artists like City and Colour and so I wanted something similar. I always loved flowers so I went for a floral name; “aster” being a flower and “ivy” just seemed like it fit. And thus came the name Aster and Ivy.

Who writes the songs for your band? Ruben - We all kinda work together as a team. The musicians come up with cool instrumental parts and then irno and I think of melodies for the vocals, and kinda let it all come together. Everybody's involved in every part of it. Mitch -The way our songs are written vary between songs. We all make them as a whole. With that being said, all of the ideas from everyone will be thrown into a pile, and we basically choose what to work with. Each song on Tell Me Pretty Things came from one of us throwing the idea in a voice memo over our groupchat.

Quinn - It’s really dynamic. Sometimes, Mitch or someone in the band will text a recording or chord progression they’ve created. If we like it, we build on top of that. Other times maybe the song idea comes from a lyric that irno writes, or jamming out during band practice and discovering something that sounds cool.

What is the process for writing your songs, both lyrically and “musically”? Ruben - I'd say it's like painting a picture. You start with something, add to it, erase, modify, etc etc. the musicians come up with cool stuff that we can try to build on. the lyrics kinda come along with the melody and we try to find something that makes sense and fits the kind of message we're trying to get across and find creative ways to phrase it. Mitch - We typically create the music before the lyrics. The music is basically created as this “vanilla” form, and then we go back into it and change things around to make it sound more texturized. (Changes is called Changes because we legitimately messed with that song so much)

You’re going on tour throughout november right? which show are you most excited to play? Ruben - Anytime I get to be on stage with the boys is exciting to me. Playing in new cities is especially exciting. It's great to be able to see how a crowd that's never heard of us is going to react to our music. Mitch - Orlando and Miami are the favorites. The music scene in those cities are amazing, and the bands in those areas are great.

Irno - We just finished tour but the show I looked forward to the most was our Miami show. We have never traveled that far as a band and it was very exciting to be somewhere new. Not to mention the line up was really good! Ryan - As the tour winds down, so far one of the wildest shows we played was Miami. That was the furthest out the band had played, and it really felt like an experience.

If you were able to, which artist/band would you want to collaborate with and why? Ruben - I'm more of an artist listener rather than bands, ironically, since I'm in a band myself, and being the singer my main passion and focus is always going to be on the voice. So for me if I could collaborate with any artist it would be someone that I look up to vocally more than musically if that makes sense. If there is no limit and we could pick anyone in the world to collaborate with, personally I'd love to sing with people like Justin Timberlake, Bazzi, Tori Kelly etc etc.. Mitch - Collaborating with people like Hippo Campus, Lewis Del Mar,Bad Suns, Hunny, all these bands in our type of style. That would be cool to do with this band. For my personal self i have many others I would collaborate with as well, but those are the ones I think would blend well with our band. Irno - In a perfect world I would want to collaborate with Daniel Caesar. He is on the frontier of music and his latest album really speaks to me on a level that few other albums have. I feel like I could learn so much from working with him.

Quinn - Music is in such an interesting state today. Tons of young musicians are putting new music out and the borders that define genres are disappearing. With that being said, there’s an infinite amount of people out there it would be great to collaborate with. It’s hard to define just one.

Ryan - For me, it will always be Matt Thiessen of Relient K. They have been such an inspiration to me over my entire life, so I’d love the chance to write some music with them one day.

What would you tell beginners who are nervous to start their own music career? Ruben - I'd say do it for yourself first, to be able to just live out your passion, without worrying about whether or not people are gonna like what you put out. While that's also important, it is more important for you to be able to share your story and express yourself through your music. If you realize that you're doing it simply because you love it, then you'll see there is no reason to be nervous about it. Mitch - Id tell a beginner to not give up so easily, and to stop looking at better people as intimidating figures that have this unachievable talent. Everyone in this is learning something new everyday and looking up to someone better and being inspired. Use the beginning time to be inspired and not discouraged.

Irno - Be confident and true to yourself. People can easily tell when someone is being genuine and when someone is putting on an act. Staying true to yourself is easy and people will be attracted to that. Confidence in yourself as a musician is also key. Being nervous while playing will almost guarantee that you will perform worse. Ease your way into playing in front of more and more people and you will find your confidence.

Quinn - Know how to make great music, know how to brand yourself appropriately and market it well. You won’t be successful with just one.

Ryan - Do it, do it, do it. Don’t let fear hold you back. It’s the thing that holds back most artists.

what is your favorite part about pursuing music?