January 22nd, 2009 at 6:55am by Stephanie Stevens
It’s great to start a new year finding a new band that makes your heart beat a little faster and the music that just dives into your soul and makes you want to tell everyone you know about the find you made for new music. Well the band that gave that to me at the start of 2009 was the New York City band IONIA. A band that sends fully charged, soulful, mysterious radio friendly rock music into your soul and wont let go. Front man Blaise Beyhan adds dynamics, emotion and creativity to the overall music. Blaise was able to sit down after the New Years celebrating and fill me in on his inspirations, a sense of record number two they are working on and what he wants to achieve when creating music.
FROM LISTENING TO THE EP, I TOOK AWAY THAT YOU ARE INFLUENCED BY A LOT OF MUSICIANS BUT ALSO THAT POSSIBLY ART AND LITERATURE INSPIRE YOU. SO, DOES THOSE ARTFORMS BRING OUT DIFFERENT WAYS YOU WRITE?
I’m inspired by lots of art forms, from poetry (Pablo Neruda, Robert Frost, Rilke, Langston Hughes) to film makers (Danny Boyle, Chris Nolan, Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Gus Van Sant). I’m inspired by contrast; the beauty and ugliness of words and nature. Also the violence and joy of humanity and the fragility and resilience of life and the planet.
THERE ARE CERTAIN ELEMENTS THAT MAKE MEMBERS OF A BAND CLICK.DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT MADE YOU GUYS BELIEVE THAT THIS BAND WAS IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL AND WHEN DID YOU OFFICIALLY GET TOGETHER?
I think a band questions its stability every day. Sometimes there’s no place else you would rather be, and other times you really consider how hard it is to murder someone and get away with it. But that’s being part of something that means so much to you. It’s family. The band got together in 05.
HOW DID YOU ALL COME UP WITH THE NAME IONIA?
To us it’s no single concentration of power. We do what we do for the good of the music.
2008 BROUGHT YOU TO COSTA RICA FOR A TOUR SUPPORTING ROBERTA FELIX FOUNDATION. WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?
It was to raise money for disabled kids in that country, our ultimate goal is to be able to change things and have an effect with our music, so it was great to be a part of that.
DO YOU FEEL AS A BAND THIS WAS A BIG THING YOU WANTED TO DO WITH YOUR MUSIC, HELP PEOPLE AND CHARITIES?
To have any part in making anyone’s life better should always be the goal.
BEING FROM NYC SOME MAY SAY IT SHOULD BE EASY TO GET SIGNED AND BECOME AN ESTABLISHED BAND. BEING THAT YOU GUYS ARE STILL AN UNSIGNED BAND HOW MUCH OF THIS IS A FARCE AND WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR TO COMMIT TO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
That’s a total farce. The music scene in NYC is very small. Record companies don’t do much for you these days, so for us to sign a deal with a label we would want it to be for the right reasons. Thus far the ones that have approached us have not had our best interests at hand.
REWIND FROM THE EP IS ONE OF MY FAVS. AND BY READING OTHERS COMMENTS A LOT OF PEOPLE FEELS THE SAME WAY. WHEN CREATING THIS SONG DID YOU FEEL IT HAD THAT “SPECIAL” ELEMENT AND WHAT INSPIRED THIS TRACK?
I don’t think you know when a song has that thing. You just have to write what you feel. The song is about grief, loss and regret.
YOU’RE WORKING ON YOUR SOPHOMORE DISC. WHEN IS IT COMING OUT AND ARE U CONTINUING WITH THE AMBIENCE FROM THE EP OR YOU EXPERIMENTING MORE WITH THE SOUND THIS TIME?
We should be finished recording by the end of next month, and we’re shooting for a mid-April release date. We’ll be building off the themes of what we started with the first EP, while we continue to evolve as a band.
IF YOU COULD BE TELEPORTED ANYWHERE, TO GIVE YOU INSPIRATION FOR A SONG, WHERE WOULD YOU GO AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THE END RESULT OF THE SONG WOULD BE?
I’d go to the South Pole. It would be the quietest song I ever wrote.
THEY LABEL YOU AS A SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS ALT-ROCK BAND. WHAT ARE YOUR SOCIAL VALUES AS A BAND AND IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ON A SOCIAL LEVEL WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I don’t know about alt rock, but we believe people need to seek out information and not just take what’s fed to them. We believe there needs to be change of priority in this Country. We believe a man should not be judged by the amount of stuff he accumulates by the end of his life. We believe that people need to realize their potential and individual power, and stand up to corruption and greed and excess. If we could change one thing, we would change the world.
ANY TOURING PLANS FOR 2009?
We plan on doing the Warped tour and many other tours this summer. Check our MySpace (www.myspace.com/ionia) and official website (www.ioniamusic.com) for dates near you.
LAST COMMENTS?
Wherever there’s a cop beating up a guy, we will be there!
Some corrections…
The band has been together since 2002, not 2005.
The band has never been approached by a major label.
The band is not listed to play the warped tour this year.
they did play the warped tour this year so shut up.