Roses are red, violets are blue, Ivy Rose wants to prove that girls can rock out too. Washington D.C. area all girl band Ivy Rose is on a journey that they hope will open up the possibilities and change the perceptions of people’s views on female power in the music community.
Lead singer and guitar player Martina San Diego, lead guitarist Sarah de Leon, bass guitarist Kristine de Leon, and drummer Isabelle de Leon were the winners of the Battle of the Bands competition in 2010 that opened for Weezer and Ben Folds at Art Attack. They gained widespread popularity on the University of Maryland campus for their performance.
“That was seriously the coolest and most amazing experience we’ve ever had. It’s beyond words. That’s an experience I hope we could get more of,” said Isabelle de Leon.
All four band members have been playing music since they were young. Kristine, Sarah, and Isabelle (all sisters) began playing together as children in church and gradually moved up to cover songs. They met San Diego, who had been doing solo work of her own, through a mutual friend and Ivy Rose was born in the summer of 2009.
They chose the name Ivy Rose because ivy was “dark and mysterious” while rose was beautiful and they thought the contrast represented the type of music they played well. They classify their music as having an alternative sound with influences including The Cranberries and Coldplay.
Their debut album, entitled This Adventure, has 11 original songs including fan favorites “Pilot” and “Hummingbird”. They are currently working on a new album, which they hope will be released by the summer.
“I do believe that our sound has changed since the first album,” De Leon said. “We’ve defined our sound so it has more of an edge to it. We’ve been together for only two years, so it was natural for us to develop and discover our sound over time.”
Despite the strides the band has been making they have found themselves encountering challenges. Being an all girl band Ivy Rose is not always taken seriously.
“When people first see us, they underestimate our musical abilities just because we are girls,” said Sarah de Leon. “We’ve been told by people in the crowd that when they initially saw us on the stage, they were just like ‘Oh, a chick band’. But after we performed, they were blown away.”
These girls aren’t only blowing people away with their musical abilities but also with their academic drives. Kristine is an architecture major at Catholic University, Isabelle is a jazz music and pre medicine major at the University of Maryland, Sarah is an electrical engineering major at the University of Maryland, and San Diego, although only a senior at South County Secondary High School, plans to major in music education and music performance.
“All four of us are serious about academics and studying. Music is just as equally important as academics. We sacrifice a lot to maintain both. We work hard for it,” said Isabelle de Leon.
To learn more about Ivy Rose go to www.ivyrosemusic.com and check out their album This Adventure available on iTunes.