"The Strange Familiar" contributes to soundtrack of indie feature, "Honeychild"

You may have been hearing more and more about the band The Strange Familiar in Cuyahoga Falls.  Featured on America's Got Talent and signed by Krian Music Group, their second album "Chasing Shadows" recently hit store shelves and flew off just as fast.  

I have been working with them for several years directing their music videos and documenting their concert tours.  My history with the lead singer, Kira Leyden, goes back even further -- we grew up together and performed in gymnastics.  My name is Erin Brown, and I am a film director.

Last year, one of my close friends, Leanna, discovered her mother Cynthia had been trafficked as a child.  Cynthia is now taking Leanna across the United States and sharing to story of her past.   Leanna asked me to accompany them on their trip and document their journey so that we could put together a film. 

Cynthia wrote songs throughout her teenage years to help her cope with the sexual abuse.  In this documentary, I am getting indie artists to reinterpret her lyrics into modern melodies for our soundtrack.   The song used in our teaser, "Just Past Seventeen," was actually written as a gift to Cynthia on her seventeenth birthday from another girl who lived with her in a Florida brothel.  Cynthia never forgot the words. I realized that The Strange Familiar would be perfect to reinterpret the melody and compose an original piece, and that we could use the song for our first fundraising teaser.

I approached Kira about the possibility and recording the song under the new name "Honeychild," for which we also titled the film.  She jumped at the chance.  During their tour of South by Southwest in Austin, TX, the band set up shop in a radio station recording studio and laid down the tracks.  I shot some footage, which made it into the trailer.  Cynthia and Leanna were also present, and the tears on their faces as they listened to Cynthia's life story put to music reflected so much of the power of the music and the legacy Cynthia is leaving for her family.  

Please watch the trailer at www.honeychildfilm.com.  We are still raising the funds necessary to go to our next shooting locations in Indiana and Florida.  You can also follow the film on Twitter at twitter.com/honeychildfilm or Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/honeychildfilm. 

You can buy The Strange Familiar's new album, "Chasing Shadows," in stores now or on their website at www.thestrangefamiliar.com.    

Download the movie