tie the knot with all that you got – The Rock and Roll Report

John Faye and IKE break open the new decade with another winning record, “Tie The Knot With All That You Got”. This record sees a personnel change (longtime bassist Joann Schmidt has departed), but the one constant thing about IKE is that they never fail to deliver a fine collection of new pop rock gems. The 2010 version of IKE includes John Faye of course on lead vocals and guitar, Brett Talley on lead guitar and backing vocals, Tommy Kristich on drums, and Susie Steen on bass.

For those less familiar with IKE, frontman John Faye used to be in the fantastic yet grossly underrated 90s band, The Caulfields. Upon their break-up, John Faye released a solo effort (The John Faye Power Trip), with another power pop master, Cliff Hillis, on board. Incidentally, Hillis was also a member of IKE for their first two records, “Parallel Universe” and “In Real Life”. But I digress – how is “Tie The Knot With All That You Got”?

‘IKE’ frontman John Faye on musical failures, successes, new band members, and the Philly rock scene

You may know John Faye as the former frontman of The Caulfields: the Power Pop band who had a major label deal with A&M in the ‘90s and scored a minor hit with Devil’s Diary (how can anyone forget lines like “I’m bigger than Jesus now” and “It’s never good to be understood by a girl in acid wash”?)

Or, you may know him from his first solo effort in 1999: The John Faye Power Trip. Or, from the band he currently calls home, IKE, who have just released their fourth record; Tie The Knot With All That You Got.

If none of this rings a bell, it’s time we change all that. Get to know John Faye of IKE by reading our interview. (But just before you do, seeing as IKE is not a one-person band, let me introduce you to the remaining members: Brett Talley (guitar), Susan Steen (bass) and Tom Kristich (drums).)

Q: Looking at the latest release, Tie The Knot With All That You Got, my first thought was that this record was going to be an advertisement for getting married, but what is the real story behind the title?

A: [Laughs] Well, I think that after listening to the record you’ll probably sense just a tiny bit of irony in the title where marriage is concerned. The way that line is used in the song of the same name is more related to lacing your shoes up tight because you’re in for a crazy ride: “An epic adventure in the forces of nature.” The title itself comes from my friend Brittany Rotondo, who co-wrote the song Last Act with me. It was a random line in one of her poems and I asked her if I could use it as the title for a new song [and] she generously obliged.

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