the SIR band
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the SIR band

Denver, CO | Established. Jan 01, 2016 | SELF

Denver, CO | SELF
Established on Jan, 2016
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"Get To Know A Denver Band: Sarah & The Meanies"

Since forming in 2013, Sarah & The Meanies have performed at Film on the Rocks at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, SXSW (unofficial showcases), and later this month, at Denver’s Higher Ground Music Festival. Last November, the quartet released the single “Down Deep Down,” a wonderful demonstration of each member’s talents and influences. Called S.A., lead singer and Pacific Northwest transplant Sarah Angela chatted with AXS about her up-and-coming band.

AXS: Are you all Denver natives? If not, where is everyone originally from?
Sarah Angela: I am originally from Olympia, Washington, Kim (O’Hara, bass) was born in Georgia, grew up in Mexico City, but has been in Denver since 1997. Luke (Mehrens, drums) is a full blown Native.

AXS: What brought Sarah & the Meanies together?
S.A.: The Vortex of Destiny. No, but really, yes. At one point before we all knew each other, the three of us were at the same show and had strange encounters, that we, years later, learned of. Keems began playing by my side and never left, weird. Then Luke, who I'd only daydreamed of having someone like as my own drummer, walked right up to me only a year ago and asked if I was in the market. Boom, then we were us and it was magic.

AXS: Where was your first show in Denver, and what was the experience like? Who else did you play with at the show?
S.A.: My very first week living in Denver was spent perusing the open mic scene - starting with Summit Music Hall. There I played on the same open mic lineup with DELLA (Luke's former band), My Body Sings Electric, PLACES & Shelby Britton. Eargasm.

AXS: Have any Denver musicians inspired Sarah & the Meanies?
S.A.: Kim & Luke & their former bands, FOR SURE. My Body Sings Electric. I'm a total fan-girl for Air Dubai & Red Fox Run.

AXS: What projects is Sarah & the Meanies currently working on?
S.A.: Right now we are focused on writing. We are planning to record an EP at the end of this year, make a new music video in conjunction with a tour to SXSW 2015 & the West Coast.

AXS: What else is Sarah & the Meanies involved in locally, either as individuals or as a group?
S.A.: The band is collectively involved in supporting local non-profit, Love, Hope, Strength. We have LHS at events to find bone marrow donors and “Get On The List”.

AXS: Does Sarah & the Meanies have a goal in mind for the sound the band produces? Are there certain influences or themes the band tries to inject into its own music?
S.A.: Between the three of us we have really broad spectrum of styles, but our collective sound has an obvious soul/rock vibe. Influences for this genre come from the like-vibes of bands such as The Wknd, Sia (her old school stuff), Phantogram and City And Colour.

AXS: For the Higher Ground Music Festival attendee who have never seen or heard Sarah & the Meanies, what would you tell them to entice them to watch your set?
S.A.: Come to us Jungle Friends... Every song has a different something you can connect with. There will be people dancing, probably moshing lez be honest & a few crying, but all for the good of man. You'll leave feeling all warm & fuzzy and possibly with someone to go home with.

AXS: What would Sarah & the Meanies’s ideal live show look like? Where would it take place? Any particular time of year? Would a specific band/musician share the bill with or open for Sarah & the Meanies?
S.A.: Nothing beats Red Rocks. We were already blessed with the opportunity to fulfill the fantasy of playing that perfect stage and sound system. So without debate, Red Rocks Amphitheater, at sundown on a summer night wins. And as far as sharing the stage, there are far too many idol bands to choose from, but today, we'll fantasize sharing the bill with one of our favorites Matt Corby, an up and coming artist from Australia.

AXS: Besides your upcoming performance at the Higher Ground Music Festival, what other shows are you looking forward to this summer?
S.A.: We are super excited to play for the first time at Mishawaka on Sept 19th alongside Rob Drabkin, Dragondeer, Zach Heckendorf, + more. Looking forward to shakin' it at the SpokeBuzz stage during Higher Ground for Shatterproof's (Fort Collins) set.

AXS: What have you learned in the year Sarah & the Meanies has been together?
S.A.: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

AXS: What do you enjoy most about Denver’s music scene, and why?
S.A.: Denver is an ever-growing music mecca, with it's array of killer venues hosting the biggest acts in the industry all year round. The local music scene is a coalition of talent supporting talent & so many have been lucky in growing even too big to stick around. Go Colorado music, always showing the rest of the country how it's done! - AXS.com


"Mean Girls"

With a voice as sweet and clear as a spring morning after the rain, Sarah Angela combines her melodious vocals with an edgy soul-rock sound to make music that makes you want to dance. Sarah & The Meanies just wrapped up their West Coast run and have a Midwest tour coming up this July. They are also looking forward to playing at colleges around the country this fall and spring. The band has been featured in such magazines as “Out Front” Magazine and AutoStraddle.

Sarah is a talented music artist who seems like she was born to sing. “I have been thinking-dreaming-singing music since before I could walk” Sarah said. “Once I got a car I left my hometown of Olympia, WA and landed in Portland, OR for a few years, crashing the music scene & making pennies doing it. I then decided to just...go. I pretty much lived out of my car for over a year traveling from city to city around the country, making only enough at each gig to make it to the next city. After recording for a few weeks in Denver I decided that was where I wanted to plant some roots and everything has since just fallen perfectly into place.

The journey has most certainly changed my musical focus and my songwriting has evolved to a far more mature sound. Thank goodness! I listen to old recordings and hear a pop-country baby artist almost, whereas now we as a band have a definitive Soul/Rock vibe which is where my heart is at.”

Described as a melting pot of soul / pop / rock, Sarah & The Meanies have emerged from the burgeoning Denver music scene. Within a year of formation, The Meanies have headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre "Film On The Rocks", been featured artists at Austin's South by Southwest, and their latest video was nominated for best music video at the STARZ Film Festival, alongside Nine Inch Nails and MGMT. The band wrapped recording their new single with Bill Stevenson/Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room (Rise Against, Flobots, Gaslight Anthem, Train, Lydia) and the song is now available on iTunes / Spotify and www.sarahangelamusic.com

Hands off the ground and buried in a lifetime of musical obsession, Meanies front-woman, Sarah Angela, definitely has roots that run wide. Her sound has been compared to the styles of Lorde, Otis Redding, Grace Potter, and Sia; but despite some of her influences, she's got her own unique sound. Sarah listed some of her favorite bands and musicians saying, “OK, currently Bastille, Stationary Set, Air Dubai, and Lana Del Rey. My all time favorite artist is Otis Redding.”

As for the inspiration behind her powerful and sometimes edgy lyrics, Sarah said, “Sometimes it takes going through something awful to even put down one sentence; or on the other hand, a beautiful woman walking by has given inspiration for a melody in that moment. My life has written its own intricate story that's been written over the years that served as the basis of most of my music.”

Along with touring the nation, Sarah & The Meanies have been busy with their new single, “Down Deep Down,” which was produced by Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore at Blasting Room, which has made records for Rise Against, Flobots, Train, Gaslight, Anthem and more. They’ve also come out with a rockin’ roller derby music video, “Slam Pam Suno,” which tells the story of an underground roller derby grudge match in which Sarah Angela has a female arch nemesis and love interest that heads up the other team.

A hardcore-fun yet soulful experience, listening to Sarah & The Meanies always leaves you wanting more. But Sarah Angela truly cares and appreciates her band and her fans, and leaves this advice for those budding queer music artists to follow, “Lyrically, be raw, be brutally honest, but be yourself and always know you need work your ass off. The fantasy that someone will just hear you in a venue and "make you" just doesn't really happen often.” - Curve Magazine


"Denver Post Underground Music Showcase (UMS)"

SIR – Sarah and the Meanies became SIR this year. We caught them after they returned from recording in California and leading a showcase at SXSW. They released the single “Go” in July and we are waiting for word of the album release. SIR may be the one secret everyone should know. http://www.sirband.com/ - Femmusic.com


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

Photos

Bio

"Sir” is a reference usually reserved for formality. Although they are a pro-outfit, the unfolding destiny of Denver, Colorado's the SIR band has been anything but conventional. SIR are able to cultivate melodically vivid and lyrically relatable alternative pop-rock. SIRs music is jagged at its roots and sometimes somber in its hooks but takes on refined and sonically friendly character once molded into songs.

Though the band embraces everyday with a determined mentality, it’s the jointly assertive but sensual artistic style surrounding SIR's musical messages that earned the group an extensive and loyal fan base. Sarah Angela, who goes simply by S.A., says appreciatively, “Our solid listeners have religiously stood by, knowing our lyrics even before we've released songs to the masses.”  The implication of frequent listens to “Go!” – the trio's debut and only single in summer 2016 – is enough indication that the faith in their established and future fans is rock solid. 

SIR has experienced all the normal trials and tribulations a band endures, but few bands have encountered and bonded over a couple of the events that made SIR latch on to their catch phrase "We Are One".  An internal band member crisis and fall out, just prior to embarking on an initial album release and tour, left SIR in a double bind. Not only was the band faced with the daunting task of working through the hurt and confusion that follows splitting from any good friend, but alongside personal pain, the breakdown also led to a loss of all SIR's previously recorded music. Still, these challenges didn't leave the group any less dedicated to finding a way for the tour to go on. When faced with the harsh truth that this would no longer be an album release tour, nor would we even have music to leave with fans during tour, only stickers, we now had to re-learn our music. [Ultimately,] we decided we were weren't going to let this [conflict] ruin our band or cancel our tour. We wrote an entirely new set of songs to perform on tour.”  Not long after, SIR's drummer, Luke Mehren's, lost his fiancé to a four-year battle with leukemia, which ultimately led to the bands decision to get out of dodge and go live in sunny California while they recorded all new music in a whole new atmosphere.   

S.A. has no problem summing up SIR's renewal with a blunt declaration.The biggest transformation we've made personally, is shifting from a sweet singer-songwriter trio to baring it all with a big 'F–K OFF' on our foreheads.” That's not to imply SIR is a hostile band, rather, the harsh exclamation became like a reminder of the group's overall conviction. SIR chooses to continue down the well worn, but often abandoned, path of stardom, despite the bitter conflict that struck during their early days. We finally have a grasp on not giving a f–k how long it takes, not following the direction of what other people think, making music we love, and playing it as often and as loud as we can.” Ironically, what some might see as SIR's darkest and weakest times, are what make the trio uniquely compassionate and qualified to represent the virtue of perseverance beyond the typical desire of musicians to simply reach the top of the musical charts.

None of the three took early blessings like headlining at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater or multi-year showcases during South by South West for granted, knowing that there were, and still are, so many things planned for SIR down the line. The decision to record anew at Serenity West Studios in Hollywood, represented only the start of a life's worth of achievements that define a career band. With the release of their second single “So Cold” – symbolizing SIR's emotional relief and closure from its former band mate – the stage of anticipation was set for the band's debut album, released December 8th, 2017.

Planning a string of tour dates in Colorado after their album release, and then jumping back on the road at the start of 2018 for a national tour, SIR are prepared more than ever, and have an even more powerful way of jumping out and latching onto the fan base that continues to avidly grow.  

 “'So Cold' is driven primarily by sweet, soulful vocals that flow with ease and a strong beat that'll have you bobbing your head along in no time.” The Prelude Press

SIR is a Denver-based band with sexy-emotional-rock-pop vibesand a dynamic sound that is unparalleled.” All Access Music

Band Members