The emotion that comes from Ivy League’s new song “We Are Infinite” is staggering. The movement throughout the track is surprising and powerful. The overall sound of this song– absolutely beautiful. What I’m trying to say is that I was hooked upon my first listen to “We Are Infinite” from Ivy League so, when given the opportunity to ask John from the band some questions, I obviously jumped on it!
What’s your go-to purchase at a gas station (outside of gas) when on a road trip?
Coffee for me, and then a conventional assortment of bagged and wrapped “foods” only a middle schooler would adequately accept for whomever is riding passenger rocking the aux cord.
If you could compare yourself to a bird, what bird would it be and why?
Probably an owl, that’s my Pottermore Patronus. Although bluebirds are my favorite. But then again, Penguin.
When playing Monopoly- who is the banker, who is what “icon”, who is the first to flip the board
I dont think any of us have the attention span for monopoly, but we all have our super smash and Mario kart go to’s.
What’s your favorite fast food restaurant and why?
I (John) am a huge fan of Wendy’s and I will die on the hill that they have the best nuggets around. #BringBackTheSpicyNugs
Are you okay with unconventional interview questions?
How better to get to know us?
What ivy league college would you have wanted to go to?
It was my dream to go to Brown University… I did not get in.
What’s the worst concert you’ve ever been to?
To save you cringeworthy and embarrassing stories of terrible local shows I played and attended in middle school… I’d say, The Pretty Reckless at the Paramount theatre on Long Island.
What’s an old-school fad that you wish would come back?
Ok, I miss the early 00’s Invader Zim era hot topic scene. Yano, with the plaid pants and suspenders? I feel like people just zoomed past that emo phase in this revival of the early aughts renascence.
What’s your favorite method of listening to music?
Oh man… CD in my car driving at around the hours between 10pm – 2 am preferably by a body of water. Life sits differently in those hours and music hits harder.
What’s one thing I should know before listening to “We Are Infinite”?
I don’t know if it’s because I can’t think of a better answer than this, but I don’t think I want you to know anything before listening. Maybe just take something away from it? Little acts of love go a long way for people who are surrounded by themselves. If I could ask you to take something away from the song it would be to just smile and wave at people, even/especially if they’re strangers. A simple smile and hello goes a long way.
The beginning of this track is absolutely gorgeous and powerful with an almost Hotel Books vibe to it– what’s your favorite line of words from this intro?
Oh man, I love Hotel Books! The spoken word thing was frequently brought up during the recording of our EP and plays a huge role in our next single coming out soon. But in the intro my favorite part is, “I am here and I am looking at her. And she is so beautiful.” I mouth it out every time we play it live. There’s so much hope, optimism, and opportunity in someone so broken, its like a great underdog story. I just root for him.
I love how you are able to take such an intense intro and turn it into a more upbeat and fun track– would you ever do a track of just that spoken word style you kick “We Are Infinite” off with?
First off, thank you so much! And second, yes! Our next single titled “St. Tom, 1941” breaks into a complete spoken verse section. We’ll definitely let you know when that comes out and send it your way.
There are a lot of influences that I can hear throughout this track but, when it came to writing this song– who did you feel was your biggest influence?
It’s funny, both lyrically and structurally it’s fully influenced by real conversations I’ve had. I just remember going through a big chunk of my life with a smile on my face and misery in my mind. And that’s why there’s a breakdown at the end of the song, because ultimately at the end of the facade you can’t hold it any longer and you break down. Musically I just pictured that scene from “500 days of summer” after they sleep together and Joseph Gordon Levitt leaves the apartment and has the weird cocaine-like induced dance routine. I kid you not. I wrote this song as if I were scoring that scene.
The ending of this track is just as powerful but in a different way and it makes me want so much more from you! Can we expect more music in the near future? Maybe a full album or EP?
Again, thank you so much! It really means a lot. “We are Infinite” the second single off our EP entitled “Everything I’ve Ever Wanted”. Both that song and our first single “The Weight” can be found on all streaming platforms, so we would love everyone to check out both songs and expect our EP to be out by Spring. As of now we’re still just booking as many shows as we can, and trying to get in front of as many people as we can. So if you want more, let us know where we should book some shows so we can all get together and have a good time!
From the Harry Potter comment to our shared love of Hotel Books– I truly think John and I would be super good friends if only we lived closer. Beyond that, I feel like John’s answers to the last few questions really relate back to the care and tenderness that you can feel throughout “We Are Infinite” but also show the power of this band. I’m always an anxious person but I feel like my anxiousness is off the charts right now as I await the release of the ‘Everything I’ve Ever Wanted’ EP. Until then, I will absolutely be playing “We Are Infinite” and “The Weight” on repeat while doing my concert dance to the gig gods hoping that these guys will come visit me up here in Minneapolis soon!
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Check out my playlist with this track and a bunch of other amazing tracks HERE!
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