Factflavoredfiction

Minneapolis-born, Los Angeles raised, Ira Ingber recorded his first original song at the age of 15. Playing a Gibson J-200 belonging to Don Everly at the fabled Gold Star recording studio in Hollywood, the path to his future was clearly marked. Within a year, he was asked to become a member of a popular L.A. band called The New Generation. A recording contract with Capitol Records and prestigious live performances followed. Although the band recorded only one unreleased album, the many hours spent in Studio B at the Capitol tower whetted his appetite for learning the ins and outs of the recording process. Studying music at Los Angeles City College, UCLA and privately with the legendary conductor-educator Joseph Valenti added form and structure to the guitar playing skills he had acquired at an early age. His older brother, Elliot, had given him his first guitar, instruction, and the invaluable exposure to what was then the obscure, and relatively seditious form of music known as the blues. Elliot was a member of the first Mothers Of Invention band, later founded the Fraternity Of Man, which gave the world Don't Bogart That Joint, and then joined Captain Beefheart's Magic Band becoming known as Winged Eel Fingerling. It was with this connection that Ira eventually wrote and recorded with Captain Beefheart. An early association with Lowell George led to Ira's second record deal. Lowell produced several tracks for the band, with the executive producers being Ahmet Ertegun and Robert Stigwood. Ira returned the favor many years later by producing two tracks for the Lowell George tribute album entitled Rock and Roll Doctor . Tours and recordings with the so-called Southern California singer/songwriter Mafia included associations with J.D. Souther, Karla Bonoff, Jennifer Warnes, Andrew Gold, and Bonnie Raitt. The stage was now set for Ira's third record contract, this time with Clive Davis' Arista label, signing his band The Pets with the resulting album Wet Behind The Ears . Ira was asked to form a band for Bob Dylan that led to the recording of two Dylan albums, Empire Burlesque and Knocked Out Loaded. One song, the 12+ minute epic Brownsville Girl, went on to appear on Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. 3. A long working relationship with Van Dyke Parks resulted in Ira's involvement as both musician and producer of scores with a wide range of film, television, record and commercial projects including the Howard Stern movie Private Parts, the Robert Altman-directed The Company, and the Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks collaborative album Orange Crate Art, among many others. The motion picture, Midnight Run, with a score written by Danny Elfman, featured Ira's very prominent slide guitar over an orchestral backdrop. Prior to Midnight Run he performed on another Elfman score for the film Hot To Trot. Ira has composed and performed numerous original scores and songs for film, television and commercials. He recently completed his solo album, Here Is Where. His band,The New Corvairs, performs in the top clubs throughout the Los Angeles area. Currently, Ira is a featured guitarist on the hit Sci-Fi channel show Eureka. In addition his guitar work is featured in Battlestar Galactica, and the HBO comedy series, The Life and Times of Tim.