Dead Sara Background Info

Music history is rich with rock bands fronted by dynamic duos. Looking to carry on this vital yin and yang tradition (minus the drama such chemistry often fuels) are singer Emily Armstrong and guitarist Siouxsie Medley, who front Los Angeles’ Dead Sara — an electrifying rock outfit whose supercharged music is propelled by Medley’s monster riffs and Armstrong’s wailing, passionate vocals. (via Dead Sara’s ReverbNation page)

MarsBands Review

Holy Shit.

So I was doing my daily browse for awesome music, and I came across this song called Weatherman. And I thought, that’s a fun name for a song. It’s possible I made the best mouse-click of my life. Wow, what a song! Such emotion, such passion. It was like I was listening to a mix of Rage, Nirvana, Janis Joplin, and Alanis Morissette. And let me tell ya, that’s one hell of a combination.

Remember when Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill came out and everyone was all like, “Oh my, that Alanis - she’s an edgy little thing, isn’t she!”. Now imagine that somehow Janis Joplin and Alanis Morissette had a baby, and that this new baby also, somehow, had the blood of Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine flowing through it. And just for good measure, this new baby took additional music lessons from Ryan O’Reilly. Dead Sara is simply brilliant. Screaming? Check. Unbridled passion? Check. A sincere, pissed off attitude? Check. Badass Rockstar look? Check. Keep in mind, I’m only talking about the one song. You have no idea what is in store for you as you continue to listen to Dead Sara!

Now I know what you’re thinking - “Mars, Weatherman is a cool song and all, and ya, Emily has an awesome voice… but it’s a studio version of the song. Anybody can sound good in studio”. And I would reply with, “Obviously you haven’t checked out the live version of the song yet”. You would then go check it out and be all like, Holy Shit.

And still talking about Weatherman, when you listen to it, even if you are at work (especially if you are at work), crank the volume up as high as it goes and start a mosh pit. Take a video of it, and send it to MarsBands.

I could immediately tell that Dead Sara, before I even read anything about them, were fans of Nirvana. Vocal comparisons aside (not that Emily and Kurt’s voices have any comparison besides the gravely-ness, which is really more an Emily and Janis Joplin comparison), the music sounds similar. And as strange as this is going to sound, the way the music feels is similar. Not the way the music makes you feel, but how it feels when you listen to it. Again, that may not make sense - at least not until you listen to Dead Sara’s music.

Dead Sara makes music that is simply exhilarating. If this music doesn’t get your ass up outta your chair and head-banging, you, my friend, have some serious issues you need to address. Dead Sara possesses all the tools for music domination. Emily Armstrong’s voice is incredibly unique. It’s strong and powerful, scratchy yet elegant, and perfect pitch. And the kicker? She sounds just as good live (arguably, better) as in the studio versions.

Siouxsie Medley is a badass guitarist. There are a good number of female fronted bands, and many of them have female guitarists. But there aren’t many who can play the way Siouxsie can play - it’s simply magical. Her guitar playing would fit in wonderfully with Rage Against the Machine, full of heart-pounding, head-banging guitar riffs.

Dead Sara can undoubtedly Rock Out with the best of them. But they’re not all Rock. There is a huge difference between their songs Weatherman, which is more of a harder Rock and We Are What You Say, which is a softer, Poppier Rock. Not that I would ever classify them as Pop Rock, though. And then when you listen to Sorry For it All, you hear the softer side of Dead Sara, and it too is wonderful, possessing a very nice Counting Crows vibe to it.

Dead Sara is the complete package, the real deal, all that and a bag of chips and all those other cliche sayings. Raw, untamed passion mixed with an abundance of emotion, harmony, and melody all wrapped up with perfect song structure and amazing stage presence. Just talking about Dead Sara gets me excited!

Now I’m gong to make a prediction, and it may be premature in some people’s minds, totally inaccurate in other people’s minds, and a “duh” statement in everyone else’s mind. But this band is going to be huge - IF - they don’t sell out. IF they keep making music like this. IF they don’t succumb to the temptations of mainstream radio. Otherwise, they’ll be just another mainstream band that sold out. I realize those are some lofty expectations, but this band has got so much going for them. Music, especially Rock, needs this band to stay true to its roots. Dead Sara could be the band we look back on in 20 or 30 years and say, yup, they saved Rock. They made music good again.

But I remain hopeful for Dead Sara, and here’s why:

“It was difficult to deal with people’s ideas about what we should be doing,” Armstrong says. “I ended up shutting myself off from everyone and feeling really crushed. I didn’t really come out of it until some of my close friends and fans of the band expressed concern, saying ‘What the hell are you doing? You can’t give up’… Ironically, “We Are What You Say” is Dead Sara’s poppiest song, “though it’s still kind of gnarly and sleazy,” Medley notes. “It’s like, ‘Hey, you want pop? This is our pop, so fuck off.’ (via Dead Sara’s Bio on ReverbNation)