Safka

Leilah Schekeryk, born around 1974 in the United States, and her sister Jeordie, born about a year later in the same country, form a folk rock duo as the daughters of producer Peter Schekeryk and vocalist Melanie. Their first recordings occurred when the older sister was seven and the younger eight, yielding a version of ‘Grandma, We Love You’ that registered as a minor Canadian hit in 1982. They subsequently sang backup on their mother’s concert tours under the name the Melanoids. Once both reached the age of twenty they launched Safka—taking the title from Melanie’s maiden name—in Denver, Colorado. Drawing from the style of 10,000 Maniacs, Counting Crows and Melissa Etheridge, the pair centers its work on close harmony singing. Although they create their own songs, live performances regularly revisit Melanie’s well-known pieces such as ‘Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)’ and ‘Brand New Key’. After putting out a demo tape and cassette album early that year, the sisters joined Melanie for a three-month European tour as her support act at the end of 1995.