EP Release Party - Friday, May 30th - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, Ohio

Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of summer! Wanted to remind everyone that we THE IRY will be performing live FRIDAY MAY 30th @ the NEWPORT MUSIC HALL! $5 gets you in to our Columbus CD Release Party! Doors and music are at 7:30pm; we THE IRY goes on just after 8:30pm. Tickets are available at the door or through Ticketmaster (http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0500407BE1FABA1D).

Immediately following the show an after party is scheduled at Bristol Bar (www.bristolbar.com) and will be featuring Boru Vodka (www.boru.com) and Yak-Pak (www.yakpak.com). RSVP to the after party to bob@theiry.com Definitely come out for a great night of music and free alcohol this FRIDAY NIGHT!

Hope to see you all there,

Stefan & the iry

Salutations

To all:

How's everyone doing these days? Thought we'd catch you 'iry heads' up on a few things...First off, we have our finale weekend at Miami U this Friday night @ The Balcony Bar. This will conclude MU's spring semester and we won't be back until next fall! so if you're graduating we might not see you after may 9th.. so deffinently come out and enjoy a good time, schools out forever., Also check out the most recent Miami Quarterly, the iry got front cover, boo yah.

Now for something completely different. We (THE IRY) invite YOU to come to the Newport Music Hall May 30th for our Dinner For Two on the Moon EP Release Party! This show will be sponsored by boru vodka (boru.com) and yak pak (yak-pak.com). Tickets are $5 a very low dough show. An after party is set for Bristol Bar (bristolbar.com) immediately following the concert. We are accepting rsvp's for the after party, you can email bob@theiry.com with your name and height and he will take care of the rest. FRIDAY MAY 30TH NEWPORT MUSIC HALL!

take care everybody enjoy the sun.

stefan and .the iry.

march madness

march madness.

What a month it has been! Thank to all who enjoyed our first show out in the Broad Ripple area last friday night! We had a great time playing at the Spin night club in Indianapolis. We will be back in the area April 25 at Radio Radio.

The next day we packed and headed to Bowling Green for our first annual Easter Eve bash at Nate & Wally's! Great turn out, gave away some free animals, t shirts, hats, bubbles and colored dough. Unfortunately I forgot a lot of gear in indy from the night previous, but with a little help from Records record Records we were able to please the ears of the wood county residents! Thank you to everyone who came out to support and we look forward to coming back!

Onto another fun filled weekend of live music, raffles and free giveaways. We, THE IRY will be performing LIVE SATURDAY March 29 @ the BALCONY! Come out for some iry bombs and enjoy some non-robot music! New piano is making a debut; i'll leave it at that. hope to see you all there.

thanks for your support!

Stefan & the iry


Stay on top --- www.myspace.com/theiry --- www.theiry.com

Find the iry on FACEBOOK! poke us. dare you.

NYC recap and more shows!

eveyone!

Thank you all for such a great weekend! Once again a great showing at the Balcony bar for the opening and closing of Green Beer Day at Miami University! We were all working on about an hour of sleep for the 6am show. Good news was we had 16hrs to do whatever between 8am and midnight. Closed the night out with some free t shirts, hats, bubbles and coozies... Thank you all who came out that morning/night we will be back march 29 for iRY WEEK!

Next stop NYC! Bumping in the van/trailer on 80 east last friday. all friday. other than following a storm the entire 12 hours to Hackensack, NJ it was a good drive. Made it to the city early Saturday and began to prepare for the Delancey that night at 9pm. Thank you to all who came to witness our first show in NYC. The piano barely made it in/out. Thanks to Yak Pak and Absolut for sponsoring the night and making it an evening to remember. I believe we were one of very few vans and trailers in the big apple this weekend; but it bobbed, weaved and squeaked it's way to the Volstead that night, accident free, for the after party. The Volstead was a great time to meet people and talk. The DJ even spun most of our EP for the 200+ in attendance. Absolut's level®, remixed iry and a great live show made this weekend a perfect one to remember. Thanks again to everyone who made it come true, and we hope to come back. maybe to live...

to the future., this coming weekend we have two great shows lined up with a band called records record records (http://www.myspace.com/recordsrecordrecords). First we will play Friday at the Spin (www.myspace.com/spinindy) in Indianapolis, IN / Broad Ripple. So come out, the weather is supposed to be nice... and then on Saturday we will be performing at Nate & Wally's (www.myspace.com/nateandwallysfishbowl) in Bowling Green, OH @ Midnight!

Also, we are getting radio stations playing our music all over the nation! Visit http://theiry.com/iryradio.html for a full list of radio stations near YOU and be sure to put in request to those stations! The Iry has been broadcasted now from a satellite for XM radio! Alright!, we are almost to the moon!

Check www.myspace.com/theiry for more info about this weekend!

Cheers me at the Broad Ripple.

stefan

& the iRY

Green Beer and Big Apples:

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Iry has an exciting week ahead! First off we will be performing live Thursday March 13th @ The Balcony Bar in Oxford, Ohio. We will play our first set from 6am-8am. Intermission. Then close the night from midnight-2am. Come out and join us for Green Beer Day at Miami University!

March 14th we will make Iry history by driving to New York City! We will be performing LIVE MARCH 15TH at THE DELANCEY for our official EP Release. Music starts at 9pm, don't miss out! $7 gets you in the door. Come out and celebrate with us the EP release of 'Dinner for Two On the Moon'!! An after party is being held immediately afterwards at the Volstead and is sponsored by Yak-Pak and features Absolut Vodka! See the press release attached below! Should be a great time to be in NYC! Hope to see everyone there!

Also, ‘Dinner for Two On the Moon’ is being promoted nationwide so keep your ears tuned in as the album gets put in rotation at hundreds of college radio and alternative music stations!

Thank you all for your continued support!

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SHOW DETAILS BELOW:

Thursday March 13th – The Balcony Bar – Green Beer Day - 6AM-8AM and 12AM-2AM
116 E. High Street, Oxford Ohio 45056

Saturday March 15th - The Delancey 9PM (www.thedelancey.com)
168 Delancey St, NEW YORK, New York 10002

Saturday March 15th - AFTER PARTY- the Volstead 10PM (www.thevolstead.com)
125 E. 54th St., NEW YORK, New York 10022

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NYC PRESS RELEASE:

The Iry (www.myspace.com/theiry) finally accept NYC’s invite and will play The Delancey on March 15th.

Hailing from Columbus Ohio and with diplomas in-hand, The Iry (www.myspace.com/theiry) debut their EP “Dinner for Two on the Moon” with their first trip to the Big Apple. The Iry will take The Delancey stage at 9:00pm on Saturday, March 15th (www.thedelancey.com) bypassing SXSW and giving New York a taste of the next Midwest gem.

With complex piano leads, eloquent lyrics, pop melodies and intricate rock guitar, The Iry redefine pop music and draw comparisons to such acts as Coldplay, Ben Folds and The Cold War Kids. It’s no wonder that Yak Pak (www.yakpak.com) has already hooked them up with a lifetime supply of guitar straps and cases, Absolut has elected to sponsor their EP release party at The Volstead (www.thevolstead.com) and up-and-coming fashion designer Nary Manivong (www.narymanivong.com) has outfitted the band with his latest styling’s.

Immediately following their set, The Iry will celebrate at the underground Midtown lounge, where guests will enjoy meticulously crafted cocktails courtesy of Absolut and The Volstead’s superb mixologists. This all while Victor Carpetto and The Elite Camp (www.theelitecamp.com) debut their favorite tracks of The Iry remixed. And all this industry enthusiasm, it’s far from unwarranted…

According to Jordan Loewen (Fresh Air radio, UK), "I have never encountered a band so young, so talented and so intelligent. The Iry are simply breaking every stereotype associated with talented musicians. In regards to the future success of The Iry, it is not a question of if, but rather a question of when."

And with success Stefan Schwartz (Lead Vocals, Keys) offers: "No gimmicks, no image and no abbreviated song titles… we are simply here to save popular rock music!"

To RSVP or for further information regarding The Iry contact:

Bob Berman
Bob@theiry.com

CD Review: The Iry "Dinner For Two on the Moon"

Here's a recent early review of our new material yet to be released by Dave Schaefer at Life on the C-Bus. It can be found at http://lifeonthecbus.com.

by Dave Schaefer

If you believe that the Columbus local music scene lacks the kind of talent that’s good enough to hit it on the national level,The Iry will prove to you that you’re sadly misinformed.

The Iry creates piano-driven pop rock that is atypical enough to grab your attention and has a depth of lyrical content that’s intriguing and makes multiple listenings a must. This is music that’s alive, three-dimensional, and is bright even in its darkness.

The band is a four-piece consisting of Stefan Schwartz (lead vocals, keys), Stefan’s cousin Jordan Lothes (drums), along with Gregory Hewes (guitar) and Chris Williams (bass, backing vocals). All have known each other since they were kids -- back when Transformers were likely far more important than the potential for rock stardom.

Their sound has been compared to Coldplay and even the band’s own press release agrees, and adds Cold War Kids to the list as well. Though The Iry smacks a bit of these artists, the man that immediately came to my mind in hearing the CD for the first time was Ken Andrews. Andrews was the lead singer of Failure back in the nineties who, after the demise of the band, released a couple albums under the moniker On. He most recently formed Year of the Rabbit that released a self-titled CD in 2004. It’s the Year of the Rabbit album that reminds me that most of The Iry. The comparison to Andrews is far more apt than that of Coldplay -- and perhaps more complimentary.

The Iry’s CD Dinner For Two on the Moon is amongst the most even-sounding albums I’ve heard. Nowhere in it will you find a song that suddenly takes an odd turn nor does the band include a song that is out of place. Each track fits into the larger whole in such a way that you wonder if it would all fall apart if one were missing. Not that this is a concept album or some bizarre experimental CD, but rather each song leads you along so well that you hardly realize that 44 minutes and 11 tracks have passed between your ears as you experience the mix of storytelling and flowing tunes.

In the midst of writing this review, I had the opportunity to catch The Iry perform at Oldfield’s and experience their musicianship firsthand. I already knew from listening to their CD that their talent was formidable, but seeing them live revealed that they’re every bit of formidable with a hefty dose of entertaining. Whenever the front of a band is stuck behind a keyboard, there’s the risk of creating a rather undynamic situation where you’re hearing a rock band but seeing a lounge act. Not so with The Iry. Stefan keeps up a lively interaction and Chris follows suit, while Jordan keeps things moving behind the drums and Greg puts up with all the inside jokes directed his way. They have fun on stage, and whether the audience is there or not, you get the impression that that same fun would still be had. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see The Iry perform, take an evening and do it. You won’t be disappointed.

But getting back to Dinner For Two on the Moon, I have to talk about Stefan’s vocals. His voice is an interesting mix of ballady-smooth with a hint of raspy-rocker, which creates the perfect reflection of Greg’s guitar work and Stefan’s own piano playing. Chris’ backing vocals weld with Stefan’s, making an even stronger blend when put together.

The lyrical content is a mix of storytelling and poetry. Seldom do you scratch your head wondering the the hell they’re singing about. Though by no means simple, the lyrics are often straightforward and have an impressive depth. Even when the depth isn’t quite there, the musical content lifts it up and keeps it afloat.

Bottom line, Dinner For Two on the Moon is not only an impressive CD, The Iry have an impressive sound as well. With the right breaks -- and if they keep up with the quality of this release -- these guys will have a very successful future.

Here’s my take on five standout tracks of the 11 on the CD:

Blackout
The Iry was smart to open with this song. With its rock tones and piano-driven underpinnings, it’s a prelude to what’s in store for the listener. “Blackout” is a strong offering, giving hints of the quality that’s being offered if the CD remains in your player.

I’ve Seen It All
Sounding like it should be coming from the UK rather than from Columbus, Ohio, this track is the one that I found replaying itself in my head when when I was away from my iPod. It’s blend of catchy lyrics and clever hooks are subtle, but infectious.

Postcard Scene
This song is my favorite on the CD. A seemingly simple ballad, it’s actually a beautifully layered track with lyrics that are both storytelling and emotional. A melancholy road trip woven into a comfortable blanket that’ll keep you warm in the backseat as you make your way down route 66.

Six Stories
The most different of anything on Dinner For Two on the Moon, “Six Stories” has a nice late-sixties sensibility that creates a musical flow that carries the lyrics beautifully. The blend of piano, a few moments of driving drums, and vocals makes this track a definite standout.

December (Part 2)
This track hits it strong from the outset with a Mika-esque blend of piano, guitar and drums. The last song on the CD, it’s a good track to end on, making you want to hit that play button to start it all over again.

Everybody,

What a weekend we had. First off, we almost didn't make it to the dayton show because our trailer lock had froze and was unable to be unlocked.
After 45mins of heating the lock up with WD-40¨ and a torch it unlocked and we threw it away. Second, thanks to everyone who came out last Friday to W.O. Wrights in Dayton, OH! Great show. Cheers to our good friends in Steve Raszka's band whom we warmed the night for. Our drummer Jordan couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend. He turned 19 at midnight Friday night, alright. We will definitely be back in Dayton April 12th @ the Nite Owl. Be there.

So anyway, we stayed at the Hampton inn Friday night; had a few travelers that stayed with us; had some breakfast continental style; then made our way to Indianapolis.

On our way we stopped at Meijer® for the basic essentials...
1. New trailer lock
2. Band-Aids/super glue
3. Some exotic fish


Jordan and I found ourselves lost in the aquatic center at Meijer®. After a tough decision, we agreed on the 6 dollar fish…2 of them and got some snacks for 'greg' and 'stoph' (the newly named exotic fish) and a 128oz. jug to let them swim around. The new fish love the van. We took them to an 11,000 sq. ft. candle shop. None of us liked it.


After many distractions we made our way up to marion, IN for Saturday’s gig @ beatniks. Beatniks was a very unique venue. It used to a be a clothing sweat shop in the 50's and now has mannequins peering out from all the darkest places. We beat the bartenders there setting a new iry record of being uber early. Alright. After some technical difficulties we played a very intimate set of songs to a very intimate crowd. Unfortunately stoph, the fish, dirtied the swimming water so we rushed out and made our trek back to the homeland.

thank you all for support!!

Stefan
And the iry

ps. another weekend to look forward to....


Friday Feb 8th @ Holy Grail (Cincinnati, OH)
w/ Cavashawn (formerly Marking Twain)


Saturday Feb 9th @ Nate & Wally's (Bowling Green, OH)
w/ Cavashawn (formerly Hey Hostage)