Fighting for Ithaca doesn't have anything against Carly Rae Jepsen, the Mission singer-songwriter whose single Call Me Maybe recently shot to Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In fact, the band is proud that a fellow 604 Records artist has done so well on the global scene.
But her success has come at a price for the pop rockers who last October finished their EP at the old Mushrooms Studios in Vancouver; it has now been shelved until the production company has wrapped up its campaign with Jepsen.
"You know, it's okay," shrugged Ithaca frontman and Coquitlam resident Curtis Steeksma. "It's not so bad having to wait. I mean, everyone [at the label] got pushed back for her, too.
"We have to juggle full-time jobs so this extra time has given us an opportunity to perform more and get ready for what's coming."
And a lot is expected for the band.
Since it signed to 604 Records last November, it has released a popular Christmas single titled Partying With Santa, which debuted at Number 19 on iTunes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cey2kL7fww).
In March, Adamm Mounstevens joined the band to replace Pat Le Breton and, last month, they shot a video for their upcoming single Last Chance, which dropped on Monday. The video airs early July on MuchMusic and, mid-month, they will headline a show at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver.
All of this - they hope - will lead to the EP release this fall, to be followed with a cross-Canada tour to promote it.
Last Chance, Steeksma explained, is about being young and carefree, hanging out with friends, taking risks and exploring what's out there. He likens the song to the band's history, which has had its ups and downs over the past year with different players, sounds and demographics.
For example, in 2009, when Fighting For Ithaca placed in the Top 20 for the Seeds contest with The Fox 99.3 radio station, the music was heavier, Steeksma said.
"We've definitely had some growing pains," he reflected. "But, I think, right now we have a real solid line-up and we're excited about the future."
As for the band's unusual name, it's rooted in the past, a reference to the home of Odysseus whose delayed return to the Greek Island following the sack of Troy is part of the Odyssey narrative.
Steeksma thought up the name, convincing his bandmates that it would represent a call to action "to get home or to get back where you belong and, for us, that's on the stage. That's what we love to do. It's a natural high."
And they love to perform, having played such popular Granville Street spaces as The Roxy, Joe's Apartment, Venue Nightclub and Tom Lee Music Hall, usually catering to all-ages crowds.
To get the word out about their shows, they rely heavily on social media. Both Steeksma and drummer Phil Maloney, a Maple Ridge resident, are online gurus, having marketed their current and previous bands through the world wide web. To date, Fighting For Ithaca boasts 3,000 Facebook Likes and some 12,000 Twitter followers.
Maloney said the band has always been self-sufficient "and I think that was one of the reasons why 604 was interested in us. We work our asses off, just doing it ourselves and loving what we do," he said.
