"The Day The Light Went Out" The Strange Familiar, Returns

The Strange Familiar

The Pop/Rock Band The Strange Familiar are back! After the success of their album "Chasing Shadows" the group took some down time for various reasons. That down time went on to shape their new, and in my opinion best effort yet, "The Day The Light Went Out."

I caught up with the band front woman, Kira Leyden Andrea to get the 411 on their latest, and the things that life throws at you...

MS: Hi Kira, I was watching a "Pretty Little Liars" rerun before you called I remembered when songs  from TSF's "Chasing Shadows" were featured prominently on a previous season. What about songs from the new CD? Do you think they will be heard on the show?

KLA: I hope so, I believe the music supervisor for "Pretty Little Liars" has a copy of the album. I'm hoping they'll use it, I think they are kind of waiting for something super emotional and dramatic to happen, but hopefully they will. (laughs)

MS: "Pretty Little Liars" is always super emotional and dramatic so I am sure it will happen. (laughs) While listening to the album last night all I could think was: "Wow, this is really good."

KLA: Awwwwww, Thank You!

MS: Reading some of the comments you guys made about the album, like how much more personal and deeper it was than your previous efforts, "Well, yeah." Talk about that.

KLA: We did the songs on the album at two different times and somehow they ended up fitting together. The first couple of songs we wrote were "Surrender" & "Painkiller" we had those for a little while, we played them live, sort of "road tested" them you might say, we noticed they were getting a great reaction from fans. The songs were totally a different direction than what we had done on "Chasing Shadows" in the sense they were coming from darker places.

"Painkiller" is asking the question about going through life and living it numb and letting all of these things pass you by. It started with those two songs, then when we went to do the second half we had "Rain" which we didn't even think we were going to end up using. We were really short on songs, honestly (both laugh) we had a few that we liked and we thought were good, and solid, we knew we needed more and it needed to fit with the other stuff. But we didn't know if the producers would go for it, we showed all these songs to them including "Rain" and they said this is definitely going on the album, I thought: "Really?" We really thought of it as just this cute little song, this little lullaby - we kind of went with it. I like the song on the record because it does fit. It talks about being in the desert, and it talks about being in a dark, tough place in your life that someone is bringing you through. It's a cool thing.

We went through a lot of that too, like having the baby and when I was sick for a while...you  know I was in intensive care after I had the baby, and it was scary. I was really, really sick with an abscess and I think that plays into the rest of the record. That's "The Day The Light Went Out" so, yeah.

MS: I remember seeing that on your Facebook page, I believe your husband Jeff posted it, about how ill you were. One can definitely see how it influenced the album, sometimes the best stuff creatively comes out of the most challenging of times.

Kira And TSF's Latest CD

KLA: To me the message of the album is you can experience horrible things and tragedies in your life, but out of those, that's where you really become who you want to be. It's where you become stronger and you grow so much, while you're in it, it's like: "Whoa!" But when you look back at it, you think I wouldn't be who I am today without that, believe it or not it's a good thing actually.

MS: If you actually make it through you do become a different and better person.

KLA: Yeah, I think so.

MS: Me too. What was it like being in the hospital for you?

KLA: Well, you are really going in and out of morphine la la la feelings. (both laugh) In my situation I did not know how big my abscess really was. You can't see it and you feel horrible. One day I remember this one Doctor came in, one I had never seen before and said: "Where changing your antibiotic" and he did to this really super strong one, and I'm like, Okaaaaay. I was freaking out about all these antibiotics, and the Doctor says: "You have to you are in intensive care and you are really sick." That's when it started to sink in that "Dang this is serious." We were scared and it was a really dark time, I just wanted to go home and be with my baby, I feel like I can appreciate things so much more, there are people who are stuck in the Hospital who don't get to leave for months. You can relate and empathize more with them. That's part of what feeds into the album and it's title, "The Day The Light Went Out" a lot of it too does have to do with my faith.

Because I am a Catholic, a Christian, I just like to be honest the song does have to do with that. You don't have to believe anything I believe - to appreciate the message of the song that out of something horrible and dark can come something beautiful.

MS: One of the things I like about you guys is that I get the message you put out there is an inclusive one.

Hey Everyone, It's Us!

KLA: Yeah, it doesn't matter at the end of the day we are all human beings. We are all going to go through suffering, experience loss...we can all relate to each other and that is the message I want to bring to as many people as I can.

MS: It's a good message. All the songs do fit together well, "Surrender" was a particular favorite of mine.

KLA: Very cool, that's actually my favorite. We are going to shoot a video for that one, that is our next big thing, to try and get that video done. (laughs)

MS: "Surrender" is the perfect choice for a video! So let's talk about something a little lighter, (both laugh) how is your daughter Rayne?

KLA: She is great! She is so full of life and so fun, the happiest little child. She is starting to talk and walk now.

MS: My goodness, that went quick!

KLA: She's a total person walking around, she says Mama, Dada, door...(laughs) Also she has to say "Hi" to every person she sees.

MS: It so much fun to be around kids because they see the world so differently.

KLA: Everything is exciting, everything is an adventure and everything you do is fun when you are a kid. (laughs)

Turn and face "The Strange Familiar" on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thestrangefamiliar
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tsfmusic
Own The Strange Familiar Here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_srch_drd_B00199RF86?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=digital-music&field-keywords=The%20Strange%20Familiar

The Strange Familiar + "Pretty Little Liars" = An Awesome 2013...!

The Strange Familiar

After having their haunting hit song "Unwanted" featured on one of my favorite shows "Pretty Little Liars" last year, one of my favorite bands The Strange Familiar is back on the show with "Alibi", "Unwanted", and "Runaway Heart" on Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars on January 29, February 12, and March 12 episodes.

The songs are taken from their debut album "Chasing Shadows" - as a huge fan of both this  news is rockin' ! 

Last nights episode featured "Alibi" which is sure be be another hit for TSF.

I checked in with my friend and lead singer for the band Kira Leyden Andrea and asked her to give a shout out to all of you PLL and TSF fans as to what five things she wishes all of you in 2013.

Pretty Little Liars

Take it away Kira....!

1) Love - what's life without love? Love for our families, friends, our significant other, God, for all those who need compassion and a heping hand, and love for life!

2) Health - we often take the little things for granted - like being able to get out of bed in the morning - to see the sun rise - to share a meal with friends and family. But when things like these are taken away, we realize they are not so little after all. I wish for everyone to be blessed with good health of mind, body and spirit in 2013.

3) Peace - I know it may sound like a cliche pageant answer, but I wish for peace in 2013. Peace of mind - peace in our families, peace in our nation, peace between all nations.

4) Laughter - life can be heavy, so I wish that laughter will help lift everyone up in 2013.

5) Hope - for everyone going through a tough time, for anyone in pain... We all have our struggles, but hope is what keeps us going.

Thanks Kira for your well wishes to everyone....and being part of a band and a show that makes 2013 an already better year than 2012.

Turn and face the strange: http://thestrangefamiliar.com/

Liars are pretty: http://prettylittleliars.alloyentertainment.com/

A Night With: The Strange Familiar

Myself, Kira Leyden Andrea, & Dilani Rosa

9/18/2012 was the night I saw one of the bands I interviewed live, you got it, The Strange Familiar played The Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, CA -

I love THC - it is intimate, chill and fun! My friend Dilani Rosa was in tow, she like me LOVED the TSF's vibe and music, Ms. Rosa in partik enjoyed the performance of a new track by them "Courage" -

Kira Leyden Andrea, lead singer for TSF was just as sweet and welcoming in person as she came across in my interview for Chorus and Verse : http://www.chorusandverse.com/content.php?id=20120405A

Her husband Jeff was a cool cat as well, but more importantly if you have not checked these guys out, what are you waiting for?!

Get familiar peeps - and give their album "Chasing Shadows" and their current hot single "Unwanted" a listen.

In the meantime enjoy my non-professional but candid photos from the TSF at the THC ...!!

TSF: It's always showtime at the edge of the stage

TSF: Look at the fans enjoying the show

It's time for the post show meet & greet, oh yeah!



www.thestrangefamiliar.com

The Strange Familiar: Unwanted

"If I throw away all the garbage in my life /Happiness will come to me/ If I throw away every problem /Every pain will be undone."

One of the coolest bands, The Strange Familiar has just released the even cooler video for their song "Unwanted".

"Unwanted" is the second single from TSF's album "Chasing Shadows" and was featured on one of my favorite TV shows "Pretty Little Liars" - "Yes" that's right I am a "PLL" & "TSF" fan, so there you have that.

Written by Kira Leyden (vocals/piano) and Jeff Andrea (guitar), "Unwanted,"  is one of the most poignant songs on the album. Donning a purple wig and gothic makeup, Leyden portrays a dark character running away from her problems and enticing others to come with her-"

With Leyden's expressive piano melody and stirring vocals, "Unwanted" is a powerful and emotional track portraying the desire to shed unwelcome toxins, whether an inanimate object, a person or a feeling. The song and video, much like the rest of Chasing Shadows, shows off the band's ability to write timeless music that tells a story through its sound and visual imagery; it connects with their audience on a deep emotional level.

Great job TSF, looking forward to seeing you September 18th at The Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, CA !

Un-familiar? Log onto: thestrangefamiliar.com

10 Seconds With: The Strange Familiar

Photo: Chris Owyoung

Kira Leyden and guitarist Jeff Andrea, the husband and wife songwriting team behind Strange Familiar, make the kind of timeless music that long careers are built on. They have been writing and performing together since they met in grammar school in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. “I was in seventh grade when I saw Jeff’s band playing (Pearl Jam’s) ‘Yellow Ledbetter’ at our school dance,” Leyden recalls. “The singer forgot the words and walked off the stage, and I remember thinking, ‘I could do better than that!’”. A life long partnership sprang from that serendipitous beginning, forged by their mutual love of music and each other. By the time they were in high school, their band had morphed into Jaded Era, one of the top indie groups in the Akron, Ohio area.

When Jaded Era splintered, Kira and Jeff headed to the Leyden family basement, where they set up a studio and started writing songs that would become the foundation of The Strange Familiar. After months of performing around town and experimenting with new sounds, The Strange Familiar decided to make the move to Los Angeles.

Here to make you more “familiar” with the “strange” is Kira Leyden…!

MS: You have an album coming out “Chasing Shadows”.

KL: I’m so excited, “Chasing Shadows” is coming out on April 10th.

MS: Cool, tell me what you hope to accomplish with it?

KL: “Chasing Shadows” is the first time I feel we have been able to get into a studio as a band and do something really cohesive. The band played on all the tracks and it feels like the first time something wasn’t done in pieces. It feels like the most honest we have ever been musically. I think that it is really honest and uplifting, and it will inspire people and help them through tough times.

MS: Very cool.

KL: You know, I really can’t write anything that’s frivolous, “Being Me” is about as frivolous as it gets. (laughs) But we are still trying to send a message - “be happy with who you are”.

MS: It’s more whimsical, than frivolous.

KL: There you go! I’m going to use that from now on. Last year we did a mini school tour. We played a lot of High Schools & Grade Schools. We want to put out a positive message and ended up doing a full show….I looked at those kids and thought: “Wow! That was me a few years ago, trying to fit in”. Our overall message is be yourself, and I’m proud of that.

www.thestrangefamiliar.com