The Story

Austin, Texas, 1938. The first day of summer vacation. Hidden away down in her favorite creek, 10-year-old Ivy Wire sits with her battered guitar singing and playing to the birds and trees. Suddenly, the sky darkens, and Ivy nervously follows a mockingbird into a nearby cave. She hears a monstrous roar and sees a tumbling wall of muddy water rushing toward her. “FLASH FLOOD!!!” She barely escapes by scampering into a hole, but she immediately starts plunging into darkness. Thus begins her descent into the Underworld.

Can a 10 year old girl outdo the Lord of the Underworld and cajole a Supreme Deity into changing destiny? Can Flowers sing background vocals? Is it normal to take a nap when you’re falling down a cave-hole? How does gravity work in the center of the earth? No need to guess… The answers to all of these questions and more are hidden in the pages and stuck in the tracks of… Ivy and the Wicker Suitcase.

“Ivy and the Wicker Suitcase” is an Epic Surreal Ear Movie Musical, a low-tech extravaganza whose story is told with tunes, dialogue and sound effects, accompanied by a 64 page fully illustrated book, not unlike the old Disney gatefold Buena Vista album.

Songs and Story by Brian Beattie
Illustrations by Valerie Fowler

Brian Beattie, along with Kathy McCarty (who plays Celia Wire), founded the indie alternative Austin band “Glass Eye” (1983 to 1993).  He went on to produce records by the Dead Milkmen, Daniel Johnston, Shearwater and Okkervil River, among others. He lives in Austin with his wife, (artist, painter, illustrator) Valerie Fowler and their two teenagers, Felix and Ramona Beattie, all of whom participated in the making of Ivy and the Wicker Suitcase.