Monday, March 3, 2014

#06 | Sidney York Interview and Photos


Saturday evening I had the opportunity of meeting up with Brandi Sidoryk and Krista Wodelet of Sidney York to pick their brains with all sorts of questions and shoot some photos as well. They played at Louis along with Rah Rah and Foam Lake. Not only did their music draw me closer to them but their charismatic personalities are also magnetic. These two are a lot of fun to talk to and they absolutely murdered the stage that evening! Below is my interview with both of the ladies.


Hi guys, I’m happy that I have been given the opportunity to meet you both. Could you give the readers and myself a little introduction as to who you are?

B: Hi! I’m Brandy and this is Krista. Together we are the duo Sidney York and have been together for two years.  We play indie electro pop music or the pretentious termed avant-pop.


I’ll be honest, I am quite new to Sidney York but I keep hearing that you guys studied and focused on classical music before this project?

K: We actually both have our Masters in classical music, Brandi sings opera and I am a bassoonist. Classical music is how we made a living
B: I started as a solo artist. The name Sidney York is a pseudo anagram of my last name.  It allowed me to have a separate entity in indie electro pop music, it did the same for Krista as well. Classical musicians haven’t always liked this new type of music but it’s neat because new people are beginning to accept this style of music.


After listening to Apocalyptic Radio Cynic and <3s Volume 1 I can’t help but feel boggled why you two had not dabbled in electro indie pop music earlier! Is there a story as to how you were led to a different style of music?

B: I think it’s the fact that we’re band geeks who always listened to this type of music. We both had a guilty pleasure for indie pop.
K: It made sense that we should play the music that we liked, this way we got to play our own music. With classical music we played others music.

I have heard a story that you guys met through a flight?

K: My sister worked as a flight attendant and Brandi also worked as a part-time flight attendant. They worked one flight together and this is how we were introduced to each other.


Well I’m glad the two of your paths crossed. The year is still early and I was wondering what big plans Sidney York has for 2014?

B: We will release the entire record <3s over the year.
K: Our first volume of <3s has already released, but there will be five volumes total. A new volume will come out every two months and will include two songs. We also have a lot of touring planned for the year!

That sounds great! What can the crowd expect to see and hear at your show tonight?

B:  The biggest thing is that we are the classical musicians that went bad. I think that we are the equivalent of students playing hooky from school. We have a lot of fucking fun!


Lastly, I would like to end it off with some more fun and personal questions. What other hobbies and interests do you guys have other than music?

B: I’m a runner and I love CrossFit.
K: I’m definitely the brainy side. I love reading. I spent our tour in Australia reading four novels over one week.
B: I’m the brawns and you’re the brains.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I read a book haha. This question here may be a bit difficult to answer but what is your favourite thing about each other?

B: It’s funny because we often joke about acting like an old married couple. But my favourite thing about Krista is that when we started Sidney York, she had never played in the pop music world or sang publicly. But in the course of two and a half years, she has been able to successfully do both! I have never seen someone so extraordinary and skilled at learning. Krista is always willing to ask questions, she shows honesty and puts pride aside to learn something. People are often too proud to ask questions, it’s a great skill and a gift. This is why Krista is such a talented person.

K: I don’t know if I can pick just one thing but Brandi has the craziest dreams, she’s a dreamer. Her ideas sometimes seem so far out, whether we don’t have the funds or the time. 90% of the time she will execute her idea from sheer force of will. We recently did a video for Electrolove and she had the idea of people wearing (secret) while dancing, we never scale it back and things always turn out the way she imagines them.


What’s your favourite thing about this city I call home?

B: Being a runner, I love running along the river. The riverside here is gorgeous! I also have some favourite places. I love Flint.
K: I love driving across the prairies, I think it’s so beautiful. We are from Calgary and I think that the bigger the sky, the happier I get. There is a beautiful sunset here in Saskatoon, it stretches a full 360 degrees. That’s my favourite thing.





Thanks for your time ladies, are there any last words that you would like to leave the readers with?

B: The record is coming out in five volumes in a subscription that people can sign up to online (subscribe.sidneyyork.com).

K: We send people two tracks every month (10 vinyl 7-inch records) and a page of a graphic novel based on each song!

Reach Sidney York through Twitter and Instagram.

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