Jonathan Ifergan didn’t know his band, Color Radio, was on mtvU’s Best Music on Campus Web site. Although he signed the band up for it, he didn’t know they were actually on the site.
“We were featured on there? I had no idea,” the band’s guitarist and vocalist said.
It’s no surprise the band is on the MTV site after playing a show at music venue Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday as part of MTV’s Choose or Lose Tour, but while it took years for several of the other bands who performed there to reach that level, Color Radio only took one.
In addition to the MTV concert, the one-year-old Logan Square pop rock quartet has already been a semi-finalist in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition, received airplay on radio stations Q101.1 and WXRT-FM, released its first EP last month – “Feeling Like You Used To” – and played shows at well-known Chicago venues such as the Metro. This fast-paced momentum is indicative of the band’s progression in a short amount of time.
“We’re happy where we’re at with only being together for a year, especially playing with bands that have been together for five years and they’re in the same position as we are,” keyboardist Tohm Ifergan said.
Weeks after the band formed it got off to an impressive start. Jonathan Ifergan already had a lot of material for a song, so the band made a cheap recording just to have something to give out at their shows. On a whim, he entered the song, “Hangover,” into the songwriting competition.
“There were thousands and thousands of entries, so it was cool to end up as a semi-finalist,” he said.
View the video for the song "Hangover" below:
Another surprise was the phone call from MTV. Tohm Ifergan, who is Jonathan Ifergan’s younger brother, said the call came after the band signed up on Sonic Bids, a company that serves as an electronic musician’s press kit, and sent their material to MTV.
“I didn’t think it was going to happen because there was like 250 bands who submitted to be in the concert,” Jonathan Ifergan said. “We got to play with bands from New York that have been together for a long time that are doing what we want to do – touring and playing great shows.”
Even the way the band found their bassist, Nick Morford, took almost no time at all. Tohm Ifergan said his brother put an ad on facebook for a bassist. Morford was the only person to respond, but he cliqued with the other guys – including drummer Josh Stillman – right away.
“After one audition, it was pretty much set in stone that I was going to be in the band,” Morford said with a laugh.
After playing a few shows around Chicago, the guys wanted to put out more music. They spent the summer recording with Brian Zieske, who has also worked with bands such as The Hush Sound, Sars Flannery and The Academy Is.
Tohm Ifergan said the guys wanted to record a full-length record but decided against it because it would be cheaper to do an EP with only five songs. “A lot of local bands that aren’t as well known don’t do full-length records because you can’t access the people who haven’t really heard of you, so it has to be cheap,” he said. “We’ve gotten a lot of praise and support so hopefully it’s money well spent.”
For Jonathan Ifergan, the process was time-consuming and draining, but worth it to get their music heard. “The biggest thing you want to do as musicians is to keep putting music out there,” he said.
The guys said Color Radio’s present goal is to establish a bigger fan base and keep getting their music heard. They have an extensive online presence on sites such as myspace, iTunes, Rhapsody, Last.fm, pure volume and several others that have launched the careers of artists such as Sarah Bareilles and Colbie Caillat.
While excited about their evolution in just a year, Jonathan Ifergan said he knows that most bands spend several years recording and touring before they reach the level Color Radio is already at.
“I think our biggest problem is that we’re trying to get so far so quickly,” Jonathan Ifergan said. “But we played a show where Fall Out Boy played at Knights of Columbus Hall [in Arlington Heights, Ill.], and look where they’ve gone.”
Color Radio’s next show is Saturday at 9 p.m. at Reggie’s Music Joint. Admission is $5.
For more information visit myspace.com/colorradio.
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