Frank + Derol's Brandi Cyrus and Codi Caraco Break Into the Family Business, With an Alternative Twist

Posted on Jan 4th 2013 4:00PM by Dan Reilly
Comments

Gino DePinto, AOL

First things first: We have no idea what Frank + Derol means. And the duo -- insisting of singer/keyboardist Codi Caraco and singer/guitarist Brandi Cyrus (yes, older sister of Miley, daughter of Billy Ray) -- are determined to keep it that way.

"We could have been Brandi and Codi, but that's not that exciting," Caraco says, lounging on a couch in Spinner's New York office next to her bandmate. "It's literally about the music, not us. Obviously, the label isn't OK with it, but I don't care. I just want people to hear the music."

The dream-pop project started thanks in part to Codi's brother who served alongside the now-25-year-old Brandi as a touring guitarist for Miley. After initially meeting backstage at L.A.'s Staples Center, Codi and Brandi met up months later and wrote a song during their first jam session. Now, a few years later, they have a self-titled EP (released September 2012) and full-length debut in the works.

Through all that, they've intentionally kept a low profile, waiting two months after recording finished to play gigs. "We played under a different name, like a test. After a couple of those, we were ready," Brandi says. "These Girls, that's our fake name. It's [named after] a Ryan Adams song."

In House With Frank + Derol

See All Spinner Galleries »

Cyrus says that most people they meet after shows have been fans that have never heard of them before. "Those are almost my favorite kind," she admits. "They've never heard the record, they've only seen us live. It's cool to have people be stoked on you from seeing that."

Of course, being recognized for something other than her last name is also a plus. "Obviously people are going to notice and ask me about it or whatever, but on this tour there's been very little of that. Even if they've made the connection, they haven't really said anything."

"The obvious route would be to go pop and I think everyone was expecting that," Caraco adds. "We didn't want that."

Gigging in L.A. offers both of their families plenty of opportunities to see Frank + Derol live (Codi says having them in the audience makes her the most nervous, while Brandi says it's performing for friends and other musicians). And even if Cyrus doesn't sound like her poppy sister or country dad, she still looks to them for guidance.

"My dad is a huge influence on me, not just musically but in life in general. It's cheesy, but [he says to] really stay true t yourself and who you are. Once I learned a few chords on guitar, he would sit with me for hours and just play his songs and old country songs. He wouldn't even teach me -- he would just play andI would catch up and follow along."

Cyrus' love of rock cameos from her mom Tish's side. "My mom is a huge '80s rock fan. I grew up going to see bands with her. My first concert with friends -- I was 14, 15 -- was to see Taking Back Sunday in this tiny little club in Nashville."

The band is currently looking forward to more touring in 2013, just a few months after their first single, "Barely Love You Too," became a viral hit after Neon Gold Records raved about it.

"It was nice because we didn't push it much at all. Our label didn't either, at first," Brandi says. "We met so many people who were like, 'Oh my gosh, I heard about it from this blog, or this person.'"

"For Neon Gold to post that was a big deal," Caraco adds. "It's an incredible blog and they've discovered so many really cool bands. For us, it was always like, 'We want to go the more alternative route' and everyone's like 'That's very unlikely for you two.' We want to try. We don't want to go pop. Not that it's easy."

"I'm glad we picked that song to release first," says Cyrus. "It was a good first impression."

And now that they've made their first impression, keep an eye out for their debut full-length, which they expect to be out this Spring. "It's more in depth of what we do. The EP is the four corners of the album."

Adds Brandi, "And the rest of the songs will fill that in."