Ivy League got its start in the late summer of 1989, as the collaboration between 4 veteran musicians of the North-Central Ohio area: Ken Williams (keyboards, vocals), Rhonda Williams (vocals & percussion), Jim Schwan (bass guitar, lead/rhythm guitar, vocals), and Vic Restelli (drums, vocals), who had worked with each other in various combinations since the early '70's, but with the exception of a recording session in 1987, the 4 of them had never worked together at the same time.
The roots of Ivy League go back to the early '70s, when Ken and Vic played in "Fury". In 1981, Jim and Ken worked together in "Higher Power", a Gospel Rock band. A friend of Jim's introduced Ken to Rhonda, who was the Lead Singer in a band called "Rumours". After Ken and Rhonda married, they opened a recording studio, where Jim and others did session work, including Vic, after he moved back home from Florida. The 4 of them first worked together on a demo session in 1987, and when Ken and Rhonda decided to put a band together, they called Jim and Vic to get together for a practice session, to see how it would go.
Their first practice session (which was taped) can only be described as "magic", as the 4 musicians realized that they were creating a band the like of which hadn't been seen in the area. Drawing on years of experience in music as wide-ranging as Rock, Gospel, Country, and Pop, they created a blend of vocal and instrumental music that would set a standard for area bands for years to come. This writer has access to the tapes they recorded in the course of building their songlist, and some of those recordings are as good as many "released" recordings by other artists of that period!
In the span of their 6 and a half year career, Ivy League has recorded a studio album of 14 songs, a cassette single (2 original songs), a live album, and a second studio album, which has recently been released (2002). Ivy League disbanded in early 1996, not due to any problems within the band, but because the needs of everyday life and family required the attention of the members. In short, it was time to move on, which they have done without any bad feelings or resentments. Ken, Rhonda, Jim and Vic still remain friends, and often are in contact with each other. In response to a heartfelt request from Dick Goddard, of Fox TV8 in Cleveland, they agreed to get together at least 1 more time to play, and played at the "World Famous" Woolly Bear Festival in Vermilion, Ohio on 10/6/96, and at that time didn't rule out an occasional appearance in the future.
The prospect of a Reunion concert is being talked about, and is a definite possibility. More info as it becomes available....
In the meantime, Vic moved on to play with Justus, Jim formed
Nobody's Fool with some friends, and Ken and
Rhonda got involved with the music ministry in their local church.
In late 2001, Ken and Rhonda moved to Spring Hill, TN, following what they felt God was leading them to do. They have continued to be involved with music ministry.
A few years ago, Ken regrouped with former bandmates Meredyth Carpenter, and JT Jones to form QUB, a revival of the band "Jubal" from the mid 1970's.
Jim disbanded "Nobody's Fool" in the summer of 2001, and has gone on to work with
"Say No More", "The Rockets", and
"Get-A-Way" and most recently, Back On Earth, as of August 2004, and is
enjoying the general fun this band is known for. Musically, it's a good fit, and Jim is having a lot of fun
with one of the longest-lasting bands in the North-Central Ohio area.
Highlights of Ivy League's career include:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Vic, we'll miss your steady beat, your humor, and
your loyalty. You gave so much to make this band the success it was, and anything
musical we do from now on will be in your memory.
Future release will include "One to Grow On", "Live Ivy", and at least 2 DVDs of video, some fairly raw, but interesting. The search is underway for even more video footage, if any exists, to be included.
A final track, "Black Velvet", has surfaced from the 1993 sessions, and is being worked on with some help from Eric Barkdull of Back On Earth, and we hope to be able to include this track on an updated version of the "For Dinosaurs Only" CD in the near future.
It is our wish that this CD as well as all future releases be dedicated to
the memory of Vic Restelli, our drummer and our good friend. Ken and I have talked
about doing more under the Ivy League name, as an ongoing digital project. The possibility
exists that Ivy League will, after a lengthy hiatus, be once again a recording band.
Check out these MP3s!
You'll have to download them, if Quicktime does't stream them for you.
