Press

Despite it being "all quiet on the Icehouse front," the band and its leader did pop up on magazine pages a few times recently. Australian Rolling Stone printed a list they touted as "Australia’s Top 100 Albums." The list did not go 1, 2, 3, but rather 1950s, 1960s, and so on. The list seemed to spark debate amongst the musical pundits as to "why were they included but not them?"

Other inclusions inspired no questions but rather whole-hearted agreement. One such inclusion was the album Icehouse by Flowers (remember those lads?). Our questions starts with "What about...?" As in "What about Primitive Man? Man Of Colours? Code Blue?" One with a quasi-Aussie anthem ("Great Southern Land"), one of the biggest selling Australian albums of all time, and one all about Australia! We can only surmise that these three albums didn’t make the list in order to make room for Kylie Minogue, Baby Animals, and silverchair. Puhleeze...

In May of ’98, the same magazine mentioned above celebrated its 25th year of interviews, photos, and useless lists. Included amongst the stars and riff-raff was one Iva Davies, founding member of Flowers, the band so generously heralded earlier. Interviewed by Tracey Grimson, Iva revealed a moment in his past where he was involved with a Vietnam War protest:

RS: What was your early experience of playing in bands?

ID: I came along at the tail end of the acoustic movement. I actually sang at a moratorium concert, a protest concert in about 1971 - there [were] 30,000 people there and I would have been all of 14. I used to hang out with all these guys who were much older and into all kinds of naughty things. It was fun to hang out with them, but some of these guys were actually six months away from maybe being conscripted for the Vietnam War - it was a very real fear for them. It was those same people who exposed me to the avant-garde end of things.

Releases

The album has been delayed and there is no new release date to report. Iva is still hard at work writing new songs. The process is taking longer than he would like but the buzz coming from those who have heard the music is still very high.

There is a new version of "Hey Little Girl" out there but not by Icehouse! Yet another German band have covered this Icehouse classic for their second CD. The group is called ARP and the CD is entitled Pancake Panopticum (Blue Flame 398 50152). This group, with their rock/pop sound, have been compared to The Police, Beck, and Talk Talk. The CD can be found on the Blue Flame label, with more information on the company’s web site.

We hope to have more news concerning the release of a new Icehouse single in the near future.

And Iva?

... is working very hard in the studio. All sources say that the collection of songs he is writing is some of the best they’ve heard from him. We’ve heard that it "sounds great," "his vocals are some of the best we’ve heard from him," and that he is "making something special." Iva is a bit frustrated that the process has been slow but, judging by the comments of those who have heard the music, the wait will be more than worth it! Because Iva is still in the writing stage and is only producing demos, he still has not settled on such contributors as producers and other musicians who may play on the album. Touring is a thought for a later date so there is no touring roster to report.

Iva took time out from the studio in late July to travel overseas to Japan. While he was there on business, he also took in some music at the Mt. Fuji Rock Festival. There was quite an impressive bill to choose from, with two stages set up to provide the concert goer with continuous music. Iva caught sets from two acts: the eclectic Björk and the legendary Iggy Pop. It was a blazing hot day but Iva enjoyed himself thoroughly. He also took time out of his schedule to be interviewed by Craig Peacock, the webmaster of the official Icehouse web site. Iva said it was a good interview, full of information. Keep your eye out on the official web site to see when Craig posts this sure-to-be interesting piece!

Iva’s trademark long locks are now a thing of the past! Yes, that’s right! The scissors were applied, and then again, and then again... Iva told us his hair is now "just above shoulder length." He also said that people have commented that the cut has taken "ten years off of me." Welcome back to your thirties, Iva! ;)

It looks like Icehouse fans are going to make the transition from the old millenium to the new with fantastic new music from Icehouse to provide the soundtrack! We are sure there is much in store for Iva Davies and Icehouse in ’99! We look forward to being there with all of you!