We’ve got some fresh new music for you today from The Jim Ivins Band! These guys are from Richmond, VA. and they’ve got a pretty good mainstream sound we’ll think you’ll like. We got the chance to chat with them about it and this was the result.

EpicBull: Hello, thanks for taking the time to talk to our readers at EpicBull. Please tell us who you are and a little about your band.

The Jim Ivins Band: Hey EpicBull.com, what’s up! The name of our band is The Jim Ivins Band and we are a pop rock band from Richmond, VA. We are made up of me (Jim Ivins, Lead Vocals/Guitar), Drew Martin (Guitar/Vocals), Bobby Gary (Bass), and my big brother Jack Ivins (Drums). In the last year and a half , we have been covering as much ground as we possibly can in the Virginia area, playing colleges all over the state, as well as opening for such national acts as Mae, Parachute, Carolina Liar, The Ataris, and Pat McGee Band. Additionally, last summer we had the opportunity to work with my idol Ace Enders (of The Early November) and have him produce two tracks for our EP “Back To Reality”. This EP, as well as my solo album “99¢ Dreams”, can be found on iTunes and all digital retailers.

EB: I heard that you just released a brand new EP and you’re giving it away for free but please tell everyone how they can get it?

TJIB: Being that we’re in a recession (plus when you’re playing shows where no one knows you, people lover hearing the word “Free”) we decided to release our new EP “FreEP”, for free. The way you get it is simple – go to our MySpace and you’ll see a little widget where you can sign up for our mailing list. Once you see that, you type in your e-mail, and instantly you get an e-mail from us with the EP attached. You can sample two of the songs from “FreEP” on our MySpace player.

EB: The producer of your EP has some 80s glam rock ties, tell us a little about him and how did you get hooked up with him?

TJIB: That is correct, you have done your homework. Bill Leverty produced the tracks on “FreEP” (as well as a song from our EP “Back To Reality” entitled “2 O’Clock Wake Up Call”) and hair metal fans will know Bill as the guitar player from the band Firehouse. We were able to get Bill to produce our tracks because he happens to be me and Jack’s cousin. Bill and I are pretty close and I always knew that he had this studio and I had always wanted to work with him so one day I just called him up and asked if he wanted to do it. Bill is a very busy guy with Firehouse stuff, so the way we did it was interesting in that it was all very on-the-fly. If he had some time available he would call me and say “hey I have a few hours free tomorrow” and I would drive back from college to go do the sessions. The tracks turned our great and I’m very happy to have worked with Bill.

EB: So how would you describe the sound of your band?

TJIB: I would simply describe us as pop rock. I know that is incredibly vague but I feel it is the only thing that encompasses everything about our sound. The music is fun and upbeat without being too cheesy, and I would say (and have been told) that it has a bit of a 90’s influence to it. We’ve been able to get a sound where we can have a song that sounds like Jason Mraz play right next to a song that sounds like The Early November and it doesn’t sound cluttered and random, it all has a nice flow to it. The influences are all over the place and yet it all works so well. My songwriting influences stretch from The Goo Goo Dolls, John Mayer, Third Eye Blind, Oasis, and The Early November, and everyone in the band’s influences are just as varied. There’s an acoustic-driven element in our music but its not overwhelming so it doesn’t take us too far in one direction and the more rock stuff doesn’t either, we’re in a nice middle ground. But its always poppy and fun.

EB: How can our readers hear more of your music, do you have any MySpace, Twitter, or Facebooks links you’d like to share?

TJIB: We have all of the typical social networking stuff. First up, you can find us on MySpace. Definitely comment or message us and say hey, I respond to every single one of them, usually very quickly. If you want to know the inner workings of my brain and lots of stupid, random stuff that I see, check out our Twitter. I even make some time occasionally to put in relevant stuff about the band. We are also on Facebook. Feel free to join the page and friend us individually. I swear we’re not creeps. I send Facebook updates pretty frequently and I know a lot of people our age (we’re all 19-22) are on Facebook all day so its a good way to get info about what’s going on in the band.

EB: Well thanks for taking the time out to talk to us. Any last parting words?

TJIB: Thank you very much for the opportunity to do this interview. All I’ll do is repeat myself by saying check out our MySpace, buy our stuff on iTunes or CD Baby, get on the mailing list to get “FreEP”, follow us on Twitter, and friend us on Facebook. Also, if you’re in Virginia, come check us out at a show because we love meeting new people.

And if you’d like to hear some of The Jim Ivins Band right now you can do so by listening to these great songs!

How To Hold On

Fall Flat

The Chance