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Andy Chase Biography

andy-chase
  • Born:
  • Years Active: 1990s-2000s
  • Member of: Paco
  • Genre: Rock & Alternative

Songwriter, producer and musician Andy Chase made name for himself as one-third of the indie-pop outfit, Ivy. Prior to his lifetime music gig, Chase had an ordinary life. Chase was born and raised in Bethesda, MD. In the early 80s, he fell in love with Britain's new wave revolution: Talk Talk, The Smiths, Everything But the Girl, Prefab Sprout and American acts like Blondie and The Cars. Such music motivated Chase to start his own music thing; he bought his first Tascam Portastudio 1984 and began writing material alongside his keyboards. By the late 1980s, Manchester was popular among the indie crowd and Chase followed. Bands like The Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays and The Wonder Stuff inspired Chase to pick up a guitar. By the early 90s, Chase moved to New York City in search of a start in music. He placed an ad in The Village Voice looking for someone to form a band. He found Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) and the two began work on what would become Ivy. Dominique Durand completed the group in 1994. Aside from his full-time engagement with Ivy, Chase works with other artists. He co-produced and engineered "That Thing You Do" alongside Schlesinger for the Tom Hanks film of the same name in 1995. He's also worked with The Smashing Pumpkins, Tahiti 80, The Divine Comedy, Juliana Hatfield, and Schlesinger's band, Fountains of Wayne. He is married to Ivy songstress Dominique Durand. Together, the two have a side band called Paco. Chase has his own project with the New York City experimental band, Brookville. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, Rovi

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