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The Strange Familiar is coming into focus
By John Benson
Feeling like a vampire himself these days, The Strange Familiar drummer and Boardman native Nick Sainato was excited to watch his band’s song “Redemption” featured recently during an episode of the hit CW show “The Vampire Diaries.”
“I’ve seen the show and most of the ‘Twilight’ movies,” said Sainato, a 2006 Boardman High School graduate and former member of High School Rock Off-winning band Another Found Self. “It’s more of a girl thing. I don’t watch too much TV.”
However, there is one show he does watch: AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” And in a perfect world, The Strange Familiar tune “Unwanted” would appear in the zombie series.
This begs the question: With Sainato living the life of a rock star, does he feel more like a zombie or a vampire?
“We’re more like vampires because they’re aware of what’s going on,” Sainato said. “But I’m more of a fan of zombies.”
What’s going on for The Strange Familiar — Sainato, Kira Leyden (vocals), Jeff Andrea (guitar) and Frank Freeman (bass) — is nothing but one small yet high-profile step after another. Last summer the quartet made it to the top 48 on NBC reality show “America’s Got Talent.” Now the group is celebrating the release of its new album, “Chasing Shadows,” which has garnered comparisons to the likes of Sara Bareilles, The Fray and Coldplay.
“This is the first time we’ve all actually played on the same record,” said Sainato, who became a member of the act in October 2009. “When I first joined the band, they had another album out that I didn’t really play on. So this is the actual first album we put our effort into and worked on together. It came along really nicely and all flows together.”
The material has been getting a positive response, including at the band’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival debut last month. The Strange Familiar has booked a record-release show Friday at Musica in Akron. The band also is headlining a benefit show for Autism Speaks on Saturday at Cedars in Youngstown, with Blue Through Branches and Jordan DePaul.
These days you kind of get the sense that the foursome has spent the past year or so in the on-deck circle and now is finally being called up to bat in the big leagues.
For Sainato, it’s a moment he’s been waiting for his entire life. Now armed with a new CD, The Strange Familiar is ready to jump into the game and see if it can play.
So are these anxious times for Sainato?
“It’s really just more exciting because we never really got to this point yet,” Sainato said. “This is our first experience, so we’re not trying to think too far in the future. We’re just thinking about now and seeing if we can take it to the next level and get more exposure to our music and really reach different fans. We’re trying to stay focused and take in what we’re doing so we don’t miss anything.”