Photo Credit: Sean Davis
Singer-songwriter Phil Lee has a schtick when he performs his song “Party Drawers.” The song is a raucous, humorous county duet requiring a foil. He has a local female vocalist from the audience join him onstage for the song. A few years ago, in Kenosha, Ivy Ford played the part. The only problem was Ford pretty much took stole the song with her wild, bluesy vocals.
Not yet 30-years-old, Ford, leads her band like a seasoned veteran, commanding the stage. It is no surprise Ford has booked shows in anticipation of outdoor Summer season.
She jumpstarted her career in 2015 opening for blues legend Buddy Guy. Since then, the singer and multi-instrumentalist has released a small handful of albums with songs that range from the modern chill of “Hypocrisy” to the introspection of “Similar Street” to the groove of “Harvesting My Roots.” She plans to release her fourth album this Summer. Ford was also recently feature in Guitar Girl magazine.
How has the lockdown affected your creativity?
The lockdown at times has been really inspiring for writing material. Not being able to go out and perform regularly leaves writing as the only outlet for expression. However, after a while it's been really crippling as far as having inspiration because I think there's a "Why am I even doing this?" kind of feeling. So, it comes and goes like a rollercoaster.
Do you have a routine or schedule for staying in practice or working on new material?
I've never had a ritualistic approach to writing or practicing. I do have a three-year-old daughter so being a mom only adds to the juggling act of being a musician. However, I’m very fortunate that my bandmates have rather open schedules, and we are able to call last minute rehearsals if need be. We never play a song the exact same way every time because we are very confident in playing together so we are able to stretch our (musical) legs when it comes to a song and are able to experiment with a little different nuance of a song without feeling that we're going to go off the rails
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Are you making plans for when you can resume playing in front of people again?
Well, when the lockdown happened, I was fortunate to do livestreams even just from home on my phone. Since then, my band and I have done some bigger production streams which has been for an easier transition back to live shows. At this point we have a full schedule this summer of outdoor festivals and live performance that we are really looking forward to.
You can learn more about Ivy Ford by visiting her website.
