BRIEF ENCOUNTER: Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne & Ivy, 1995

Adam Schlesinger, Dominique Durand, and Andy Chase of Ivy

Before Fountains of Wayne, guitarist Adam Schlesinger was in a band called Ivy. In the spring of 1995 their 2nd guitarist left the group so the band held auditions in New York City to replace him for an upcoming tour. I was living in the East Village at the time and after responding to a notice in the Village Voice, I was called for an audition. I took a cab to an address that appeared to be in a meat-packing district. Lots of big trucks idling on a street full of warehouses. I don’t remember the exact address but I believe it was somewhere around W. 10th Street. The building must have been full of rehearsal spaces because on the ride up on the elevator I heard loud music rise and fade with each floor as the elevator ascended. I stepped out of the elevator on the 5th floor and waited my turn. The band was auditioning a couple dozen players that day, spending 20 minutes with each one. Each applicant was asked to learn the same three songs from the band’s brand new debut album called Realistic. Earlier in the week I purchased a copy of the disc at Tower Records and quickly taught myself every song on the record. The guy scheduled to audition before me didn’t show up. While they were waiting for him to arrive the band sat with me in a vast, empty reception area. It was raining that day and I sat on a ledge by an open window chatting with Schlesinger and the band’s vocalist Dominique Durand, who was also sitting on a window ledge looking out at the rain. Deciding the guy before me was not going to show up, we entered the rehearsal studio and I began to set up. Adam and I chatted excitedly for several minutes because we played the same guitar, the relatively uncommon 1975 Fender Telecaster Deluxe. We also used the same guitar picks. We ran through a couple songs in rapid succession, the band very impressed with my playing. Adam took a moment to talk to me about different chord voicings, asking if I could use a capo on the 7th fret and play the song that way. We didn’t run the song a 2nd time all the way through, but it was a moment where I could briefly exhibit my ability to change things up and play the same chord progression in a different position on the neck. Before playing the third song I informed the band that I had learned how to play the whole album. If they were getting weary of playing the same three songs over and over again all day, perhaps we could play something else if they’d like? They were unanimously impressed that I went above and beyond what had been requested of me. But, in fairness to all the other players that were trying out for the spot, Schlesinger explained, we should stick with the same three songs. At least my extra effort was acknowledged and appreciated. And, after playing that third song, that was pretty much it. I shook hands with everybody and took a cab back to my apartment on E. 14th Street.

Ivy's Realistic, released February 14, 1995 on Seed Records

About a week later Schlesinger called me. He said I had made it in to their top two finalists and they wanted me to come back for another audition. But then their original guitarist had rejoined the band! So, I’ll never know if I would have gotten the gig. Truthfully, Ivy wasn’t really my cup of tea. They were good, kind of a heavier guitar version of the Cocteau Twins. A few months later when their tour came through New York City, Schlesinger called again and offered to put me on the guest list for their show. This was gracious beyond all expectation. The fact that he even remembered me or still had my phone number was beyond my comprehension. But of course I accepted and went to the show. They were opening for somebody really terrible like Kitchens of Distinction or something like that. I met up with Adam for just a few minutes after their set that night. I don’t remember what we talked about. It was pretty clear that the crowd was more interested in Ivy than the night’s headliner. He seemed quietly, humbly proud of that. Like he could sense that there was a buzz about the band. I never saw him again. I was a nobody and he made me feel like an accomplished peer, calling to invite me out to their show long after I assumed that he had no reason to remember me at all. A super nice guy who went on to greater success after that and I was always happy for him because I felt like he deserved it.

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15 minutes of Ivy live in Paris back in '95:

https://pastdaily.com/2020/07/21/ivy-live-in-paris-1995-past-daily-soundbooth/

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And this video tribute from his Ivy bandmates: