Nate explains...

There are many reasons we want to change the name. The announcement may seem out of the blue, but we have been toying with it off and on for the last few years, only to drop the subject each time because it is a daunting task. We finally realized though, it is only going to get harder if we continue to spread our music, and if we are unhappy with the name we should change it now or be stuck with it forever.

There are some problems inherent to the name IY. When told the name of band, I think the response ought be "oh, cool" or at least "oh". Possibly "what does that mean?". It gets messy when the general response is "what? How do you spell that?" -- and the confusion doesn't ease up much when told "just the two letters, it doesn't mean anything." Furthermore, when read it is not clear how it's pronounced. These characteristics are definitely problematic to some degree when it comes to spreading the word about a band... but I certainly don't think accessibility should always be first priority in any endeavor. There are some elements of the strangeness of "IY" that I am quite fond of. My perception of these problems is undoubtedly colored by the fact that we fell into "IY" because we couldn't come up with anything better at the time when we wanted to escape "Immature Youth". I think this half-assed naming of the band combined with its confusing nature is a large part of the discontent that chris mentioned (and I share) in telling people the name of our project.

There are other reasons for changing the name that are more situational. I am proud of all the work we have done; each record we have made represents our very best effort in that point in time. That being said, I don't connect to a lot of our older work anymore. I know…that is standard sentiment for artists of any kind, but it is magnified when the scope of work is created over the transition from childhood to adulthood. Our tastes and influences are completely different now than they were when we started writing and recording. I hope that we never stagnate, and we will grow and evolve as we continue to explore our music…but I think now in particular is a time when we are arriving at a sound that separates us from our past and will carry us into the future. A name change will solidify that and be a welcomed fresh breath into our project. It is all very tricky…IY has a lot of sentimental value to our fans and certainly for us as well.

If reinvention is possible without alienating or forgetting... I'll take that.

yours,

Chris, Dana, Nate and John
New Neighbors