Icarus The Owl was born in 2009 spawning from members of Kill Your Ex. Original Drummer Mark Haines and Vocalist/Guitarist Joey Rubenstein help make up this new group of forward thinkers. With odd-time signatures at almost every turn, this music keeps you thinking while catching you with it’s melodic hooks. If you liked Kill Your Ex, you’ll love Icarus The Owl”. Icarus The Owl started where Rubenstein’s previous band, Kill Your Ex left off. Kill Your Ex was a solid touring machine. In only the last year the band has criss-crossed the country 7 times, putting 300+ shows and over 150,000 miles behind them. Icarus The Owl will hit the road and promote their CD on 2009’s Vans Warped Tour, followed by their own fall tour in October. The band recently released a new EP in the beginning of 2011. 
For Fans Of: The Fall Of Troy, Thrice, Kill Your Ex 

*Responses from Joey Rubenstein

How did the band come together? How have you grown since you guys started?
I (Joey-  vocals/guitar) started the band because I love to tour and write music. I found everyone on different social networks after my high school band had dissipated. I Legitimately stalked people on Youtube, Facebook, and Craigslist until people could play the music and agreed to be in a band with me.  We found our guitar player in a masturbating competition. He won the award for most awkward eye contact.

I think our live show has gotten a lot better. Using a click track live has really helped us stay tight especially while changing through different time signatures.

What do you have to offer that other bands don’t? What sets you apart from a lot of the other newer bands out there today?
I’d to like to think of our band as both enjoyable as pop music but also to people who can appreciate the technical aspect of it. There are some bands that are so technical that you have to be a musician to fully enjoy it or understand it. There are some bands that I’ll listen to and just write out their time signatures out for fun, but at the same time, they aren’t very catchy or easy to digest. And then there are bands like Coldplay who write beautiful simple, timeless and catchy songs. I am not saying we are timeless like Coldplay or even close to that. It would be ideal to have people hear our music and not know that they are listening to something outside of 4/4 rock music. Upon more listens they may figure it out, which is great- to be multi-layered. Like the Mission Impossible theme- It’s in 5/4, but no one knows or really cares that it is (besides me and other nerds)- it’s just a timeless tune that everyone knows. 

How is the live show compared to the general sound of material that’s been released?
I think we sound a little heavier live then our album. We’d like to think that we are pretty accurate at our songs as far as being able to play them well. We add intro tracks and different segues between songs sometimes. We definitely add little bits to the songs to spruce them up and keep them interesting for us to play.

More times than not, influences tend to bleed through. What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
I love Thrice and they are the one band everyone agrees on. I like that they continue to reinvent themselves every album and each time it is just as incredible. I am influenced by the way they approach writing music. I feel like they approach it in a completely selfish way and aren’t swayed by what is big at the time or who will like it, they just make what they like. We make music that we love and believe in, regardless if 5 people will like it or 5 million. I am not too sure which influences actually bleed through for us. I listen to a lot of Copeland, As Tall As Lions, Jimmy Eat World, Phoenix- Really a bit of everything. 

What would you say the band has already accomplished and what do you have your eyes set on next?
I think that being a DIY band: self booking multiple national tours, getting our CD in stores, and getting our music licensed are definitely accomplishments. We did this completely on our own terms and will continue to do that as long as possible. We want to keep touring and discover more scenes to play in. We love playing live and showing people what we are all about.

Thus far, what’s a favorite memory or something quirky that’s taken place with the band (in-studio, onstage, or elsewhere)?
Tanner left our trailer door open on the freeway once. That was pretty hilarious and scary. Las Vegas gave us a lot of good memories as well. 

Is there anything in particular that you’d like people to take away from listening to your music?
I hope it inspires people to learn some of our music and write music of their own using interesting rhythms and riffs that we inspired. That’d be my dream- to inspire future generations of musicians. Also if they think a song is catchy and put on a mix tape and always think of a certain part of their life when that songs is on, then that also makes me happy.

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