For 13 years, SIRSY’s Melanie Krahmer & Rich Libutti have entertained thousands of fans with their superb songs and incredible shows. (Photo courtesy of Julia Zave)
By: Jacob Elyachar
The Albany, New York based indie rock duo is the latest duo to have to take my 5 Questions challenge!
Melanie Krahmer and Rich Libutti are two of the hardest working people in the music industry.
They perform over 200 shows a year, have already conquered the East Coast and have their eyes on expanding their sound nationwide.
SIRSY has also had the privilege of performing with several outstanding recording artists including Maroon 5, Train, Third Eye Blind and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.
In this edition of 5 Questions, SIRSY’s Melanie discussed how she met her partner-in-crime: Rich Libutti and the recording process of their fifth studio album: Coming Into Frame.
Jacob Elyachar: Could you please share SIRSY’s origin story with my readers?
Melanie Krahmer: Rich and I met because of our mutual love for Sci-Fi. We both happen to be at the premiere of a Star Trek movie. While there, I bumped into an old friend who happened to be a drummer of the band that Rich was playing base for. H e asked me to join the band, I was not sure at first, but then when I saw Rich’s Star Wars t-shirt I knew I had to join. We clicked perfectly and from that point on the two of us have been inseparable musically. When things did not work out with that first band, the two of us branched off and started writing songs and became SIRSY.
JE: There are a lot of bands that are currently rocking the music industry. What makes SIRSY stand out?
MK: I think the fact that we are able to sound like a full band but are only a two piece, makes us rather neat. You don’t see a lot of bands with a female singer who also plays a full drum kit in high heels while standing up. Sometimes I even throw in an occasional flute solo. Rich also plays guitar and base tracks with his feet all while dancing around. Another important reason why SIRSY stands out is because of our connection with our fans. We are very down in the trenches and hands on with our fans. We have a really great relationship with them. They are like our family.
JE: What are some of the most important factors that you consider when you are in your songwriting process?
MK: The most important factor is the melody and whether that melody resonates with us. We instantly know if a song is speaking to us because it’s an indefinable thing but we can feel it when we are writing it and the melody is speaking to us and it kind of makes the hair stand up on your arms. So that’s the first thing and then the lyric’s need to mean something to me when I’m writing them but I also try to make them not too specific so that other people can relate them to their lives too because I want that connect between the listener and the song.
JE: “Coming Into Frame” is your fifth studio album. What were some of the challenges that you faced while recording that album and how did you overcome them?
MK: This was the first time we actually did an album with producers and our record label. Therefore we had to write more songs than we usually do. In the last four albums that we produced ourselves, our process was to write and record ten songs – that’s it. For this particular album the label asked us to write 25 songs. After that they would choose 10 songs that they liked to go into production. That was a very big challenge for us. Our songs are our babies. Having to pick through our babies is a bit of an experience but over all we grew from it.
Another challenge, but blessing, we faced was going into a studio and working with producers. It was the first time that someone was guiding us and helping us to make decisions in the recording process. I think that’s the reason the recording came out better than some of our other recordings. They made us feel relaxed which helped capture a real performance. We did not record a lot of takes on each track. Therefore it captured the live and raw energy.
Whereas in the past when we did recordings ourselves, we were the judges of our performance so it was tough to say – “We got it – that’s a wrap”. So you kept doing it over and over to try to make it perfect and sometimes that sucks the energy out of it. So, the producers really helped us capture what was important and the raw essence of the performance.
JE: If you had the chance to meet with aspiring musicians who want to work in the entertainment industry, what advice would you share with them?
MK: I would say to make sure you’re going into the music business for the love of music, love of songwriting and love of connecting with your fans. If you are into being rich and famous, you are not going to last very long because it is a very tough road. As long as you are feeling the love of it and your passion for it, then you can get joy out of and then you know you are doing it right.
To learn more about SIRSY, visit their website: http://www.sirsy.com/
You can also connect with SIRSY through their Facebook, Twitter & YouTube accounts.
