Serena Ryder

Serena Ryder

Serena Ryder (born 1982) is a Canadian singer/songwriter and guitarist who grew up in Millbrook, Ontario, Canada. Her best-known albums include Unlikely Emergency and If Your Memory Serves You Well.

Ranging musically between folk, roots, country, and adult contemporary, Serena Ryder's three-octave range is powerful and well beyond her years. She studied in the integrated arts program at Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Peterborough, and performed solo as well as with many of Peterborough's bands as a teenager.

Career

Her first independent CD, called Falling Out, was released in December of 1999 on the Peterborough indie label Mime Radio and included the first songs she had ever written.

Other independent releases by Serena include Serena EP (cassette only) 1999; Live at The Market Hall & "A Day In The Studio" 2002; & Serena Ryder Live 2003 (a CD recording of her performance on CBC Radio's program Bandwidth).

In 2005 she released her debut major label CD Unlikely Emergency, which included the song "Just Another Day" which gained significant airplay on many radio stations, including CHUM-FM. The album was released by Hawksley Workman on his Isadora Record Label. Also released on Isadora was Live in Oz, a recording from her tour of Australia, released in limited numbers only at shows.

Serena's latest album, released on the EMI label in November 2006, is called If Your Memory Serves You Well and is a collection of notable Canadian songs from the past 100 years or so. The tracks include Leonard Cohen's "Sisters of Mercy", Galt MacDermot's "Good Morning Starshine" and The Band's "This Wheel's on Fire" as well as Paul Anka's "It Doesn't Matter Any More."

Appearing as a guest on SBS Australia television's RocKwiz in 2007, she displayed an authoritative knowledge in rock music-related questions, singing many song segments in answer and performed in the closing guest spot with Lior.

A new EP has been announced for release on June 19th, titled Told You in a Whispered Song, which is an acoustic studio collection of a few live tracks, and also some new songs.

Backing band

Ryder has recorded and performed with many session musicians and backup bands, though she currently tours and performs regularly with the following lineup:

• Kris Craig - Keyboards, guitars, and backing vocals.
• Depen Pandya - Bass guitar.
• Dan Silljer - Lead guitar.
• Mike Thompson - Drums, percussion and backing vocals.

Members of this band have performed together since the early 1990s and all originate in Regina, Saskatchewan, and have performed with Ryder since early-2006.

References

• March 31, 2007

External links

• Official Site
• Interview + Performance recorded February 20, 2007