Biography
Songwriter, producer and musician Andy Chase first gained recognition through his role as one of three members in the indie-pop group Ivy. Before committing to music full time he led a conventional existence. Born and raised in Bethesda, MD, Chase discovered Britain’s new-wave movement during the early 1980s, embracing Talk Talk, The Smiths, Everything But the Girl and Prefab Sprout along with U.S. acts Blondie and The Cars. Those sounds prompted him to purchase a Tascam Portastudio in 1984 and begin composing pieces on keyboards. Manchester’s rising indie profile in the late 1980s drew his attention next; exposure to The Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays and The Wonder Stuff encouraged him to take up guitar. In the early 1990s he relocated to New York City hoping to launch a music career and posted an advertisement in The Village Voice seeking collaborators. The notice connected him with Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, and the pair started developing material that became Ivy; Dominique Durand joined as the third member in 1994. Outside his primary work with Ivy, Chase co-produced and engineered the track “That Thing You Do” with Schlesinger for the 1995 Tom Hanks film of the same title and contributed to projects by The Smashing Pumpkins, Tahiti 80, The Divine Comedy, Juliana Hatfield and Schlesinger’s band Fountains of Wayne. He is married to Ivy vocalist Dominique Durand, with whom he also performs in the side project Paco; separately, Chase records with the New York City experimental outfit Brookville.
Albums
