Von Iva, with Jillian Iva, Kelly Harris and Bex, performs with Zooey Deschanel in the upcoming film ‘Yes Man’ starring Jim Carrey. (Photos by Melissa Moseley)
Viva Von Iva San Fran band featured in new Jim Carrey flick includes lesbian rockers
KELLY
HARRIS,
ALSO
KNOWN
AS
LAY
LAY,
is
a
bit
tired
as
she
and
her
bandmates
—
Jillian
Iva
and
Bex
—
make
their
way
through
Milwaukee
on
the
way
to
their
next
gig,
promoting
their
self-released
EP
“Girls
on
Film.”
“I
actually
don’t
know
where
we
are
right
now,”
Harris,
the
drummer,
says
in
a
phone
interview
from
the
road.
“We
drive
eight
hours,
we
play
all
night,
catch
some
sleep,
and
then
hit
the
road
again.”
The
hard
work
is
evidently
paying
off
for
the
band
described
as
“fashion-forward
dance
punk
queens.”
The
indie
band
is
about
to
hit
some
major
mainstream
notoriety
after
playing
the
band
fronted
by
actress
and
singer
Zooey
Deschanel
in
the
Jim
Carrey
movie
“Yes
Man,”
set
to
be
released
in
December.
They’re
ready,
though,
says
Harris,
who
keeps
the
band
steady
with
her
beats
as
the
drummer
and,
yes,
is
openly
gay.
Bex,
who
plays
keyboards,
is
also
openly
gay.
“Making
the
movie
was
a
pretty
amazing
experience,”
Harris
says.
“The
whole
reason
we
were
discovered
to
be
in
the
film
was
because
we
put
the
EP
out
ourselves,”
she
adds.
“And
I
firmly
believe
the
more
you
put
out
yourselves,
the
more
you
get
back.”
The
movie,
a
comedy
about
a
man
who
decides
to
say
“yes”
to
everything
for
a
year
even
when
he
perhaps
should
say
“no,”
also
offered
the
band
a
chance
to
work
with
Deschanel,
who
has
acted
in
such
films
as
“Almost
Famous”
in
2000
and
“Bridge
to
Terabithia”
in
2007.
In
March
2008,
she
also
released
her
debut
album,
“Volume
One,”
under
the
band
name
“She
&
Him.”
TWO
WEEKS
OF
INTENSE
rehearsals
and
writing
resulted
in
Von
Iva
and
Deschanel
developing
the
band
Munchausen
by
Proxy
featured
in
“Yes
Man.”
And
Von
Iva,
as
the
fictional
band,
was
given
the
go-ahead
to
sing
their
original
songs
“Uh
Huh”
and
“Sweet
Ballad.”
Jillian
even
shares
vocals
with
Deschanel
in
a
few
scenes.
Von
Iva
also
wrote
the
song
“Yes
Man”
specifically
for
the
film
which
will
be
performed
over
the
closing
credits.
“Working
with
Zooey
was
great,”
Harris
says.
“It
was
a
super
collaborative
effort
and
we
were
given
a
lot
of
artistic
freedom,
to
come
up
with
the
band’s
attitude,
look,
sound.”
Have
they
seen
the
movie
yet?
“No,
no,”
Harris
says.
“We’re
going
to
wait
for
the
premiere.
But
we’ve
heard
from
others
that
it’s
really
good.”
VON
IVA
perhaps
makes
it’s
mark
in
the
rock
scene
by
not
fitting
squarely
into
one
set
genre.
They’ve
been
dubbed
everything
from
electro
pop
punk,
soul
rock
dance,
synth
rawk,
gay
icons,
dirty
disco,
punk
soul
as
well
as
“a
booty-shaking
mix
of
soul,
disco,
and
dirty
raw
rock
and
roll.”
That
unique
style
has
captured
the
attention
of
many
talent
scouts.
Von
Iva
wrote
the
theme
song
for
“Curl
Girls”
on
Logo
and
their
song
“Birds
of
Prey”
was
featured
in
the
2008
movie
“Baby
on
Board,”
starring
Jerry
O’Connell
and
Heather
Graham.
Their
song
“Same
Sad
Song”
was
played
also
on
Showtime’s
“The
L
Word”
in
2006.
Von
Iva
also
has
opened
for
groups
such
as
the
Go-Go’s,
Lady
Sovereign,
the
Walkmen,
the
Gossip,
the
Raveonettes,
Imperia
l
Teen,
Girl
in
a
Coma,
Noisepop
and
The
Warped
Tour.
Critics
constantly
rave
about
their
live
shows
and
Jillian,
who
apparently
garners
the
love
of
many
gay
men
while
Bex
and
Harris
have
the
girls
swoon
for
them,
is
known
for
some
crazy
antics
on
stage.
Apparently
Jillian
has
been
known
to
stand
on
Harris’s
drum
kit
while
belting
out
a
song.
“We
just
like
to
do
what
feels
good,”
Harris
says.
“There
was
never
a
philosophy
or
strategy
of
what
we
would
do
on
stage.
The
chemistry
with
us
just
ignited
when
we
played
our
first
live
show.”
Having
what
happens
on
stage
come
about
organically
rather
than
forced
and
rehearsed
makes
for
a
better
live
show,
she
adds,
and
allows
the
band
to
be
more
creative.
AS
AN
OPENLY
GAY
MUSICIAN,
HARRIS
says
she
doesn’t
try
to
bring
the
issue
up
too
much
unless
people
ask
her
about
it.
But
she
also
doesn’t
shy
away
from
it
either.
“I’m
definitely
out
and
openly
gay,”
she
says.
“I’ve
never
really
been
big
on
bringing
it
up
because
I
don’t
want
to
be
pigeonholed
—
not
by
my
sexuality
or
by
our
genre.”
However,
it
is
important
to
be
open
about
who
she
is,
she
acknowledges.
“I
know
when
I
was
growing
up
I
wish
I
had
female
rockers
who
I
knew
were
gay,”
she
says.
The
band
has
never
played
Atlanta
before,
but
Harris
promises
a
great
show.
“We
know
it’s
a
great
place
and
we’re
super
excited
to
be
playing
there,”
she
says.
“It’s
going
to
be
even
more
special
because
it’s
Jillian’s
birthday
the
night
of
the
Atlanta
show.”
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