Rising Stars: Meet Jack Ivins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Ivins.

Hi Jack, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I was 5 years old, my parents took my brother, Jim, and me to watch our cousin’s band, Firehouse, play with Warrant. There was no way they could have known what a massive impact it would have on the two of us. It took a few years for me to actually want to seriously play. My parents got me a drum kit in two stages – half for my 13th birthday (kick, snare, crash/ride) and half for Christmas of that year (toms and hi hat) – presumably to make sure I wouldn’t just lose interest after a few weeks. One year later, my father, a worship leader in Richmond, Virginia, started having me sub for his drummer whenever he was gone and this became the foundation of my live playing.

My brother, Jim, started writing songs with his own band while we were in high school. Once I shut up and stopped treating him like a little brother, I realized, “damn, this kid can freaking write.” I knew I wanted to be making music with him. In college, we formed a band that played up and down the east coast. When he moved to NYC, determined to still play with him while I lived in DC, I would take the bus up for every gig. We went by a few names throughout those early years but ultimately landed on the one that made the most sense: The Ivins. Around the same time, I joined a band in DC called Burn the Ballroom and soon thereafter, I also joined a hard rock band in Baltimore called Nightsbridge.

All three of these bands would routinely get calls from the big venues in their respective markets to open for national acts when they needed local support. Subsequently, I got to play on some wild lineups with all three. Those bands gigged across America and even toured all over the world with BTB. Everyone also got feverishly pistol-whipped by the music biz (labels, lawyers, managers, the works). Eventually, both my brother and I felt that we needed to move to a place where the music scene was one with the city. So, in the fall of 2016, Jim moved to Nashville and I followed soon thereafter. I still play in The Ivins and Burn the Ballroom; additionally, I have been a member of Nashville-based punk rock band, Winona Fighter, for the past three years.

Since moving to Nashville, I have tried very hard to immerse myself into the sideman game. As a result, I have had a lot of wonderful opportunities to play with some killer artists from all different genres. 2022 has been an insane year in which I’ve played shows for country icon, Tanya Tucker; Joey Belladonna of Anthrax; guitar virtuoso, Orianthi; and next month, British new wave band, When In Rome. I feel very fortunate and grateful for being trusted by my peers.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Hell no. This business is insane. Anyone going in with any other perception of the music biz doesn’t stand a chance. You have to be determined and stubborn to a fault.

My advice for musicians is, first and foremost, to treat people right. After that, take every gig that you can and play with as many people as possible; over-prepare and always be ready to improvise; never bail on a show and if you absolutely have to, line up subs yourself as to not leave the artist empty handed; go out and meet someone new every single week; seek out better players than you and study them – heck – befriend them; lastly, do not burn bridges unless something has befallen you that is truly unforgivable.

I’ve been on the receiving end of many an industry rug-pull, but you can throw a rock in Nashville and hit someone who has been through worse. However, I’ll say that having a legendary impresario want to sign The Ivins only to die a few days later has got to be one of the craziest “how is this happening” moments I’ve ever heard of.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am very proud of the work my brother and I have done building Grunge Night, an 80-musician, biannual charity show at the Basement East, into a galvanizing event for players across the Nashville music scene.

Events like Grunge Night (which was born out of Tom Hurst’s Loud Jamz and Tyson Leslie’s Rare Hare) are some of the best hangs in town and really, are both invaluable for networking and essentially serve as auditions. I know several people who have been hired by acts, myself included, directly because of doing well at such events. Plus, the proceeds from Grunge Night have provided over 8,000 meals for those in need – it’s all for a good cause.

Grunge Night has featured such performers as Chris Daughtry and David Cook as well as current or former members of 3 Doors Down, The Offspring, Paramore, Angels & Airwaves, Chris Cornell, Relient K, Sleeping with Sirens, Florida Georgia Line, the Goo Goo Dolls, Kane Brown, the All American Rejects, Exodus, CKY, All That Remains, Tanya Tucker, Shinedown, Daughtry, Suicidal Tendencies, Against Me, Kelly Clarkson, Falling In Reverse, Fuel, Jon Pardi, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Randy Hauser, Gary Allan, Kellie Pickler, Trace Adkins, Morgan Wade, Colbie Caillat, Jesse James Decker, Thompson Square, Jellyroll, Puddle of Mudd, Tonic, Billy Currington, Reverend Horton Heat, Accept, Maylene & the Sons of Disaster, The Dear Hunter, Living Sacrifice, Scotty McCreary, Vixen, Tracy Lawrence, Sister Hazel, Trapt, Tantric, Every Avenue, Saving Abel, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, Icon For Hire, Cavo, Colt Ford, Patent Pending, the Dead Deads, Jasmine Cain, Sam Tinnesz, and many many others.

We are eternally grateful for every single person who has either performed at or attended our shows and we are always looking for new performers. If you ever want to play at one of our shows, just holler.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Donald Passman’s All You Need To Know About The Music Business should be required reading for every single musician on the planet. I cannot stress that enough.

I am an avid reader but I mostly read history and political science so I don’t know that any of those recommendations would be very helpful for most musicians.

I would 100% recommend searching for as much information about the people you look up to as you possibly can. Comb through every podcast, website, magazine article, youtube video, and newspaper clip you can find.

Contact Info:

• Website: jackivins.com
• Instagram: @jack_ivins