Sirsy
Encyclopedia
SIRSY is a female-fronted award-winning pop-rock group from Albany, New York
founded in 1999. The band's current members are Melanie Krahmer on vocals, drums, flute, and "bass with a stick" and Rich Libutti on guitar, bass, and "snare and bass with his feet". Sirsy is most notable for touring continuously throughout North America
- over 250 shows every year for several years - and for background music for several television
shows and independent films. Their relentless touring has gained them a cult following
.
On March 23, 2010, Sirsy signed a record deal with Funzalo Records.
and Canada
, most recently in a series of road trips from December 2007 through January 2008. In mid- 2008, Sirsy started a tour to the Midwest United States.
Sirsy have headlined Albany's Tulip Fest and Lark Street's Lark Fest. They play most often in New York State, New England
, New York City
, Boston
, Glens Falls, New York
, and Saratoga Springs, New York
.
A typical Sirsy show consists mostly of their own original songs mixed with a few interpreted covers of artists such as The Beatles
, Counting Crows
, Natalie Merchant
, Johnny Cash
, Prince
, and Radiohead
.
They have a "cult following
" due to their constant touring. They have been referred to as "the hardest working band in Upstate NY
."
for four years running (2003–2006). They are the only unsigned band in the United States to have appeared in Soundscan's Top 10.
In the summer of 2007 Sirsy placed fourth of over 1,000 entries in the "Last Band Standing", a national competition sponsored by mp3.com for a slot in the 2007 Lollapalooza festival.
, Blues Traveler
, Collective Soul
, Cheap Trick
, Vertical Horizon
, Lifehouse
, Undercover, and Fuel
.
and the WB Network. They were featured in the award-winning independent film Dorian Blues
. Billed in the films credits as "Bar Band".
,according to the IMDB.
Sirsy has appeared on numerous regional broadcast and cable television programs. In 2007 the band made its national cable television debut on the national cable network Your Music channel on the series entitled "City Sessions."
In January 2008 Sirsy made their national broadcast television debut on the television program Fearless Music
. The program aired in syndication
on stations throughout the United States.
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
founded in 1999. The band's current members are Melanie Krahmer on vocals, drums, flute, and "bass with a stick" and Rich Libutti on guitar, bass, and "snare and bass with his feet". Sirsy is most notable for touring continuously throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
- over 250 shows every year for several years - and for background music for several television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows and independent films. Their relentless touring has gained them a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
.
On March 23, 2010, Sirsy signed a record deal with Funzalo Records.
Ongoing tours
Sirsy are famous for playing extensively, typically over 250 shows per year, up and down the East Coast of the United StatesEast Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
and Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
, most recently in a series of road trips from December 2007 through January 2008. In mid- 2008, Sirsy started a tour to the Midwest United States.
Sirsy have headlined Albany's Tulip Fest and Lark Street's Lark Fest. They play most often in New York State, New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States. Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census...
, and Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
.
A typical Sirsy show consists mostly of their own original songs mixed with a few interpreted covers of artists such as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Counting Crows
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
, Natalie Merchant
Natalie Merchant
Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, and Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
.
They have a "cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
" due to their constant touring. They have been referred to as "the hardest working band in Upstate NY
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
."
Competitions
The band has won several regional competitions, including being voted "Best Band" by the readers of Albany's MetrolandMetroland (newspaper)
Metroland is an alternative newspaper that is published weekly in Albany, New York and mainly serves the Capital District area. Distributed free of charge, the paper offers local arts and music scene coverage, news and feature articles, and political columns with a mostly liberal bent...
for four years running (2003–2006). They are the only unsigned band in the United States to have appeared in Soundscan's Top 10.
In the summer of 2007 Sirsy placed fourth of over 1,000 entries in the "Last Band Standing", a national competition sponsored by mp3.com for a slot in the 2007 Lollapalooza festival.
Opening band
In addition to its own tours to smaller venues, the band has opened for many hit rock bands, including Maroon 5Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
, Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler is a rock band, formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. The band has been influenced by a variety of genres, including blues-rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul, and Southern rock...
, Collective Soul
Collective Soul
Collective Soul is an American rock band originally formed in Stockbridge, Georgia. Collective Soul broke into mainstream popularity with their first hit single, "Shine", which came from their debut album Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid, released in 1993...
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, Vertical Horizon
Vertical Horizon
Vertical Horizon is an American alternative rock band formed at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1991. The band is best known for a string of hits in 1999 and early 2000s, including "You're a God", "Everything You Want", and "Best I Ever Had ". Their most recent album, Burning the...
, Lifehouse
Lifehouse (band)
Lifehouse is an American rock band from Los Angeles. The band came to mainstream prominence in 2001 with the hit single "Hanging by a Moment" from their debut studio album, No Name Face. The single won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year, beating out Janet Jackson and Alicia...
, Undercover, and Fuel
Fuel (band)
Fuel is an American rock band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994...
.
Television appearances and films
Sirsy has written theme music for and appeared in promotional spots for Time Warner CableTime Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
and the WB Network. They were featured in the award-winning independent film Dorian Blues
Dorian Blues
Dorian Blues is a 2004 comedy film about a gay teenager coming to terms with his identity in upstate New York. The film was written and directed by Tennyson Bardwell and is loosely based on Bardwell's college roommate.-Synopsis:...
. Billed in the films credits as "Bar Band".
,according to the IMDB.
Sirsy has appeared on numerous regional broadcast and cable television programs. In 2007 the band made its national cable television debut on the national cable network Your Music channel on the series entitled "City Sessions."
In January 2008 Sirsy made their national broadcast television debut on the television program Fearless Music
Fearless Music
Fearless Music is a musical showcase filmed in New York City, NY featuring bands that are on the cusp of the mainstream and indie rock circuits. The word "fearless" refers to the show taking a chance on musicians that other mainstream media would be afraid to promote.The show started and currently...
. The program aired in syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
on stations throughout the United States.
Discography
They have released several full-length singles and albums, as well as a DVD collection.- 2010 - BYOB: Collection B (Live)
- 2007 - Revolution
- 2006 - UncoveredUncovered (Sirsy)-Track listing:## ### #####...
- 2006 - Covered
- 2004 - Some Kind Of Winter (Christmas album)
- 2004 - Murder By Numbers (single)
- 2004 - RubyRuby (Sirsy)Ruby is the third studio album from the Albany-based pop rock band Sirsy.It was released on May 18, 2004.-Track listing:# - 3:41# - 4:01# - 4:05# - 3:59# - 4:10# - 3:43# - 3:37# - 3:16# - 4:52# - 4:16...
- 2002 - At This Time (Live)At This Time (Live)At This Time is the third release and the first live album from the Albany-based pop rock band Sirsy. It was recorded live at E. O'Dwyers in Saratoga Springs, New York and released on...
(live album) - 2001 - Away From HereAway from HereAway From Here is the second studio album from Albany-based pop rock band Sirsy, and was released March 30, 2002.-Track listing:# - 3:55# - 4:56# - 3:23# - 3:50# - 3:59# - 3:19# - 3:25# - 4:26# - 5:08#Kiss Me Here - 2:06...
- 2000 - BaggageBaggage (Sirsy)Baggage was the first studio album from the NY band Sirsy. Released September 2000 and Re-Released in November 2002.-Track listing:# - 4:22# - 3:53# - 4:43# - 3:47# - 3:44# - 4:14# - 3:43# - 4:31# - 3:10# - 5:00...
- Some Kind Of Winter was a member's feature on the WomanRock.com web site.
- Revolution was featured in 2007 on the Green Arrow radio podcast network.
Former members
- Greg Nash (drums)
- Virgil Hodges (guitar)
- Andres Jatombliansky (guitar)
- Chris Decker (guitar)
- Michael Steiner (guitar)
- Marcus Larabee (guitar)
- Jason Schultz (drums)
External links
- Sirsy.com
- http://www.last.fm/music/SirsySirsy on Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
] - Sirsy blog at the Times Union website
- Sirsy Interview at Google Video
- Video on Fearless Music TV