By Gabby McIlhinney
Second half of the night, same studio, new lineup: Maddie Ruhoy, who performs and records under the pseudonym Mirriam, came in right behind Sunbather Die with her guitarist and producer, also named Henry, in tow. Two Henrys in one night. The DIY music scene apparently has a cast of six people and everyone’s named Henry. Not the last coincidence of the evening, either.
“If you don’t love me at my worst, you don’t deserve me,” Maddie said light-heartedly, mid-answer about writing uncomfortably personal songs, and it might as well be Mirriam’s mission statement in one line.
Mirriam is Maddie’s life and soul in a single project, built around her voice and her writing. Though, these days she leaves the guitar and bass to her live band, even though she plays both on the actual recordings. “I love writing on guitar,” she said, “but I think when I’m in the studio, I watch Henry, who’s obviously better at guitar than me, and I’m like, well, why wouldn’t he just do it.” Henry, for his part, plays rhythm guitar in the live band and produces the majority of the catalog.
Two songs Maddie played tonight, “Wilted” and “Something Cold,” are her first singles. Both written in high school as songwriting assignments at Interlochen Arts Academy, both later re-recorded with Henry. But “Wilted,” in its very first form, wasn’t produced by this Henry at all. It was recorded by the other Henry, Sunbather Die’s singer, in his basement, back before either project existed in its current shape. Sunbather Die had mentioned it in their own interview earlier that same night, and Maddie was quick to connect the dots live in the studio. “It’s actually kind of crazy,” she said. “We gotta talk with him.”
Every Mirriam song is about something that actually happened to her, and she’s made peace with that. “Prove Me Right” came out of a relationship where she kept getting proven right that the other person would never step up or communicate. “Ugly Crier” opens with the line “I’m sorry I’m such an ugly crier,” lifted almost directly from a breakup where, mid-sob, she got told it was gross and had a tissue box thrown at her.
She’s aware the specificity cuts both ways. “The only issue with that is the people who know that it’s about them really know,” she said. But she’s stopped worrying about it: if someone’s going to be in her life, they have to accept that might happen. Henry, who produces most of these songs with her, said the personal storytelling is exactly what sells them, though it does mean the first hour of most studio sessions functions as informal therapy before anyone touches an instrument.
Maddie stepped away from performing for a while from, in her words, “a sad era,” but she’s back playing shows regularly now, with noticeably more confidence than when she started. “I really, really want to get my music out there if I can,” she said. New music is coming, no release date yet, but both she and Henry were adamant it’s close. “The streets are calling,” as Henry put it.
All of this while finishing her undergrad degree, planning for vet school, and working multiple jobs. “That’s why I write songs,” she said, when asked if she was okay.
The band is something of a rotating cast: Jackie usually plays session drums but is busy with other projects at the moment, namely Philly-based metalcore band, In Jest. Lucas, a Seattle connection who also knows Sunbather Die, plays when his photography work allows. Work friend Simon takes up the guitar, with Toby, the newest addition, making his live debut on drums this past 31st. Lydia, the bassist, best friend, and a fixture across most of the friend group’s bands, rounds it out.
Maddie and Henry have been working together since freshman year. In fact, Maddie was Henry’s very first production client. Since then it’s become, in Henry’s words, “a very well-oiled machine,” helped along, they both agreed, by an entire friend group who write everything down. Literally… There’s a running bit that I myself have the pleasure of being a part of. The “lore book,” where a good joke gets ceremonially recorded for posterity, complete with hand-mimed dust-blowing off an imaginary cover. Do I have an entry in it? I couldn’t possibly say. Journalistic integrity.
“I think the want to archive everything comes from us all being writers,” Henry said. “Or mental illness.” “Or both,” I agreed.
Maddie’s known Sunbather Die since her Seattle days, and watching them come into their own has clearly meant something to her, particularly Henry singing lead, which he never did growing up, and Dom moving from guitar to bass. “They’re all three of the most talented musicians ever,” she said. “And they all live together, and two of them are brothers, and I love that they all hang out. It’s very wholesome.” She’s been jealous of sibling bands her whole life, she added, name-checking Greta Van Fleet and Cold Court as the only other examples she can think of that actually work.
Maddie sent love straight to the city with an, “I love you, Philadelphia, and I’m glad I met you”, and Henry, unprompted, confirmed he bleeds green.
Keep an eye out for new Mirriam music. No date yet, but both Maddie and Henry made it very clear it’s coming. In the meantime, go listen to Mirriam on all streaming platforms, and catch the many live Mirriam gigs planned for this summer.
Oh, and catch the full live session here, of course.
As always, commit radio warfare.