Popular local band to release new album
By Katie Ionata
Upon hearing the word "ipecac", the average person is likely to frown or give a look of distaste. However, mention this same word to a teenager in Montgomery County area, and their faces will most likely light up. The ipecac that they are thinking of is Ipacak, a wildly popular local band who are about to release their latest album, A 24-Hour Night in Starlight.
Ipacak is a progressive rock band made up of lead singer/drummer/pianist Dayv Hackenberger, 21; guitarist/backup singer Chris Holland, 20; and bassist Chris Serik, 20. All three hail from Abington, PA. Hackenberger and Holland attended Abington High School, and Serik attended Cheltenham High School. After graduating, they went on to attend Montgomery Community College.
With two original albums, Shadeburn and Systematic Entropy, already released, Ipacak is well on its way to nationwide fame. The innovative rock band has a faithful following in the Montgomery County area, which continues to grow with every show they play.
Teens in Central Bucks have begun to take notice of Ipacak as well, after seeing them perform in Glenside and Willow Grove. "I couldn't believe how amazing they were," said CB South senior Shanna Duffy.
"They really sound like a professional band," said Lenape ninth grader Kristin Morgnanesi. "When you hear them, you don't think that they're a local garage band; you think that they're a band you would hear on the radio."
The band originated in 1999 in Abington with Hackenberger, Holland, and former member Mike Marotta. "Chris [Holland] and I were in the same Spanish class," Hackenberger said, "and we used to drum on our desks and sing 'That Thing You Do', by the Wonders." They went on to form the band with Marotta and former lead singer P.J. Heckman.
Ipacak quickly gained notoriety for their covers of songs from the ranks of Pink Floyd and Guns and Roses. They went on to write original songs, such as "Complain", a satire about fame, and "The Wayfarer", which was inspired by the Stephen Crane poem of the same name.
Blending influences such as Spock's Beard, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Transatlantic, and Led Zeppelin, Ipacak's music mixes power metal, traditional rock and, on the new album, violins. "I like the progressive rock nature of their music," said Mike Ryan, moderator of the band's web site forum.
In 2001, Ipacak won first place in the Y100 Battle of the Bands. Their prize was to have one of their songs, "Never Goodbye," played on Y100. They have also played at the Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia.
A 24-Hour Night in Starlight is a three-part concept album that has been in the works for two years. "It was a gradual process," said Hackenberger. "Originally [the album] was called Random Destiny. It was about a poker game with the devil for a man's soul. I didn't want it to be so clich�, so I changed things around to make them more like 'everyday life' things."
The album centers around a girl named June, whose father, Kyle, kills his first wife because she was cheating on him. As the album goes on, Kyle's mental health declines until the point where he is only hours away from receiving the death penalty.
The concept is similar in style, though not subject, to Pink Floyd's The Wall and the Who's Tommy.
Ipacak's unusual name was created with the help of an emergency medical technician. "Mike [Marotta] and I were on a bus going to the beach, trying to come up with a name," said Hackenberger, "when an EMT suggested a bunch of medical names (which were much better than the names Mike was coming up with: 'the Ballistic Hedgehogs'; 'Psychobabble'). The second we heard the name 'ipecac', we knew that would be our name. We decided to spell it phonetically to help people find our web site." The web site, which contains upcoming show dates as well as song lyrics and member biographies, can be accessed at www.ipacak.com.
Ipacak has been recording A 24-Hour Night in Starlight for several months. "We're hoping to play some shows over the summer," Hackenberger said, "and hopefully release a new free demo CD, featuring 'Bedroom Window' and '3 AM' from the new album, and possibly some select songs from our first two albums, performed acoustically."
Wondering what up-and-coming rock stars like to listen to in their spare time?
Dayv Hackenberger's Top Five Favorite Albums:
1. Bridge Across Forever, by Transatlantic
2. Animals, by Pink Floyd
3. Selling England by the Pound, by Genesis
4. V, by Spock's Beard
5. Scenes from a Memory, by Dream Theater
copyright 2005
