In the 1990�s and 2000�s, Ida�s live shows were widely considered ground zero for indie rock first dates and heartbreak. Their air-tight, three-part vocal harmonies, lo-fi, post-punk aesthetics and humor, coupled with the vulnerability at the core of their songs, earned the band an international audience and a special place on many, many mix tapes. The band got its start in 1992 in Elizabeth Mitchell and Daniel Littleton�s Brooklyn apartment. Mitchell�s folk instincts and unusual open tunings became the basis for their early songs; Littleton, a veteran of the 80�s Maryland punk scene, added distortion and feedback to their shared poetic observations of everyday life. Friends Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson of Simple Machines encouraged the duo to record, and the band released their debut album Tales of Brave Ida in 1994. Daniel�s brother, Michael �Miggy� Littleton, joined on drums for the band�s first tour, opening for Tsunami. After the 1996 release of the critically acclaimed I Know About You, Beekeeper�s Karla Schickele joined as bassist, vocalist, and contributing songwriter, establishing Ida�s most recognizable and enduring lineup. With 2000�s Will You Find Me, the band�s musical vocabulary coalesced. Ida toured widely, recording eight albums, multiple EP�s, live albums and 7� singles, and collaborated with Retsin, Low, the legendary Michael Hurley and many others. Since their last tour, to Japan in 2008, Ida�s members have been busy. Elizabeth Mitchell, now a Smithsonian Folkways artist, founded You Are My Flower, a Grammy-award-nominated folk music project. Daniel Littleton records and performs with numerous artists including Amy Helm and is overseeing the reissue by Numero Group of the complete recordings of his teenage punk band, The Hated. Karla Schickele founded Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, and Miggy Littleton formed excellent underground bands White Magic and Blood On The Wall. Ida reunites now, with violinist Jean Cook (Jon Langford, Mekons), who joined the band for 2005�s Heart Like A River album, and guitarist Storey Littleton, Dan and Liz�s 23-year-old daughter, for the band�s first tour in almost twenty years.