| Syren | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United States/United Kingdom |
| Genres | Alternative/Rock Progressive Blues |
| Years active | 2006- Present |
| Labels | Independent / Unsigned |
| Associated acts | Rockbitch MT-TV Red Abyss |
| Website | www.SyrenBand.com |
| Members | |
| Erin Bennett Amanda Smith-Skinner Joanne Heeley |
|
Syren is a three piece, all female, original, Alternative/Rock band formed in The United States by singer/songwriter, Erin Bennett and ex RockBitch/MT-TV musicians, Amanda (bass) and Jo (drums).
The trio formed in 2006 playing shows in small coffee houses as well as large rock venues from Cleveland, Ohio to Detroit, MI. They quickly rose to popularity within the Ohio independent music scene with the release of their Debut album, 'Dehumanized' which has received much praise in the indie music press. It was the 'Dehumanized' album that secured the band endorsements with Hartke, RainSong, Sonor Drums and Elixir Strings and caught the attention of world renowned Psychedelic rock band, Hawkwind. Since their formation the group have toured England, Scotland, Belgium, The Netherlands and The United States with an extensive Dutch and American following.
Contents |
Erin Bennett (Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Lead Vocals, Songwriter)
Amanda Smith-Skinner (Fretless Bass, Electric Upright)
Jo Heeley (Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals)
Syren were formed in 2006 by singer/songwriter Erin Bennett and ex-RockBitch and MT-TV musicians, Amanda and Jo. The group met when MT-TV came to the United States on tour in 2005. After a coincidental meeting in a restaurant the three became immediate friends and Erin was offered a job as a stage tech for the touring MT-TV band. [1]
After a year of working for MT-TV, Erin and Amanda began 'jamming' for fun soon to be joined by Jo on drums.[2][3] Within days the group had their first show at Brewed Awakenings in Toledo, Ohio. For the first month the band played over 10 shows without a name. It wasn't until their first mini-tour of the southern states (Alabama, Georgia and Florida) that the band decided on the name, 'Syren.'
'We were trying really hard to come up with something unique and artistic. Also, we wanted something that was relevant to three women playing good music. In our deliberation, someone said, 'It's a pity the name Muse is taken,' and with that it just hit me. SIREN, based on the Greek Myths of three women playing music to lure passing ships to crash on the rocks of their island. The decision to change the 'I' to a 'Y' came simply during the process of booking 'syrenband.com'."-Erin Bennett in an interview with WKMX Radio, Dothan, Alabama.[4]
After having been together for 2 years, the band had played over 200 shows across the United States, mainly focused in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. At this time they began developing a following independent of MT-TV. This rising popularity called for some recordings to be made in order to promote upcoming shows. Syren pulled together their best 13 original songs out of a catalog of over 100 and began searching for a studio where they could at least cut demos of their singles, 'Dehumanized' and 'Seasons'. It was by chance that they ran into John Brandt, studio owner and engineer at a show in Detroit. A deal was made between John and Syren that they could record a full length album at his 'Song Garden Studios' under a song-per-song agreement. (For every song recorded on their debut album, they would contribute their talents to other musicians who were in need of session players.) This gave the girls opportunity to play for various artists from around the world including the likes of Michael Quatro, brother of renowned bass player/singer, Susie.
After the completion of the album, Syren were quickly offered hundreds of shows across the mid-west and southern, US to promote its release. During this time, Syren were approached by Dr. Lisa Apramian, writer and director of 'Not Bad for A Girl' a rockumentary co-produced by Courtney Love. She interviewed Syren for inclusion in her companion book with the re-release of the 'Not Bad For A Girl'[5] documentary due out in 2010.
After performing around the United States promoting the release of their debut album, 'Dehumanized,' Syren were quickly offered a tour by various agents in the UK. But it was their many performances booked for The Netherlands which swayed the decision to 'pack up and move' to England.[6]
In May 2008, Syren played their last US dates and moved to the UK where they based themselves for a year. During the remainder of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, Syren played countless venues around the UK including Nottingham Rock City and Manchester Academy supporting 60s rock band Hawkwind.
[7] "We were invited to play Hawkwind's Hawkfest in 2008 after one of the band members happened upon our myspace. It was a really great experience as we were billed right before Hawkwind on the main stage. I just remember looking up to see some of the Hawkwind members bopping along to 'Dehumanized' at the side of the stage."- Erin in a Myspace Blog
The band's first tour of The Netherlands came in the summer of 2008 where they were booked to play over 13 shows across Holland. Here many Rockbitch fans were quick to come out and see the ex-heavy metal muso's in their new line up. With this instant fan base Syren received much press throughout the Netherlands[8] all of which praised Syren saying, 'The balance between these three and the grand ensemble that results from it, and again interspersed with the right dose of spontaneity, provides an extraordinary musical spectacle that keeps surprising.'-RTV Rijnmond[9] Throughout 2009 the band were offered hundreds of shows performing in all regions of the Netherlands, supporting some big Dutch and American acts (The Madd, Tony Spinner) and playing large venues such as Dordrecht's Bibelot, Acedemica Big River's Festival '09, Waerdse Tempel and the Noordzee Zomer Festival in Katwijk aan Zee. Syren were described by RTV Rijnmond's Ronald Van Oudheusden as being '3 Hard Rock Chickies' after their performance on Live Uit Lloyd and were featured in a 3 page article in Holland's Gitaar Plus Magazine.[10] With Syren's growing popularity and attention in the press by 2010 Syren had relocated to The Netherlands where they based themselves and reached out to nearby territories such as Germany and Belgium.
After relocating to The Netherlands in 2010 Syren set to work on their 2nd studio album in between weekly live shows and radio performances. The new album includes 10 original tracks written and produced by Syren and takes listeners on a journey through the pendulous emotions of love unrequited. "...this album is about desperation and heartbreak, but at the same time it's about euphoria and serenity. It describes the oscillating moods of someone desiring love from another but also desperately wanting to be free from the emotions."- Erin Bennett in a Facebook Post The title track, 'Something Has To Separate'[9] is one of many tracks on the album featuring a new electric guitar sound by Erin Bennett which takes Syren in a new direction from their debut album which featured only acoustic guitars. Due to be released in 2011, Syren are planning an album release tour (to start in the Netherlands) soon after.