Local band tries to find its niche.

Recent graduates Nick Sessanna and Chrissy Krolewiczare just two members of Brother Keep, a local band who recently self-produced their first full-length album, Patchwork Walls, on Dec. 23rd.

Not to be confused with Brother's Keeper, the name of the band came from members Nick and Jake Sessanna, brothers who stumbled onto the name while playing video games.

The brothers said it was just a coincidence that the name came to be, but it works for them because they were trying to come up with something cool that wasn't taken.

Members Ron Walczyk, Nick Sessanna and Chrissy Krolewicz began playing together in high school and said they were all searching for a way to bring closure to ideas that had been hanging over their heads.

"We got together, wrote some new songs and liked the direction. So we added Zack and Chrissy to our sound," Nick Sessanna said.

The band now consists of Nick Sessanna, guitar and vocals; Jake Sessanna, drums;

Chrissy Krolewicz, keyboards and vocals; Ron Walczyk, bass; and Zach Vacanti,

guitar.

Their original batch of songs was titled "Under The Creaking Floorboards" and the band was working on a conceptual series, which would build off the titles. The plan would utilize the words floorboards, wall and eventually ceiling to complete the idea, Nick said. But as the music evolved, so did the meaning.

The album's title track, Patchwork Walls, is about people from all different walks of life who are family whether they're related or not.

From the title, Ron Walczyk drew the inspiration for the album artwork, a five-foot by four-foot installation on the basement wall of the Sessanna's home where the band practices. It consists of various clippings and doodles, and other random images the band collected over time, all knit together on the wall.

"We wanted to create our own art for the cover and we originally had put things on the wall without a scheme," Walczyk said. "We later arranged them by color."

The band is also very proud of their do-it-yourself approach to their music. They wrote all their songs, had a friend record them in a room above the garage and approached people in local venues on their own.

The result is their self-produced album, shows at Mohawk Place and Sugar City and an offer from Record Theater to carry the album for $6.50. The album can also be purchased on iTunes and Amazon.

The band members said they describe Buffalo's music scene as being diverse but with lots of camaraderie between local bands and many opportunities for all music types.

Krolewicz said they're grateful for any opportunity, but trying to find a niche can work against young artists with a different style than what the area is used to.

Describing themselves as being Indie Alternative, Vacanti said it's hard to find other local bands to do shows with since most of them are more punk and hardcore. Usually they are placed with artists whose music is somewhat similar, but not entirely.

"It's hard to fit in, there are so many bands with different sounds," he said.

Other local bands they said they relate to are Voice of Autumn and Young Youth.

Although they may look like any other band just starting to make a name for themselves, they said that having a drummer who is only 16 will help them stand out even more, along with the fact that they use a male singer with female harmony.

Since they just released their first album, the band said they want to reach out to other people and get their music to new fans. They're always writing songs since this is a hobby rather than a job. Most importantly, they said they want to reach out to other artists in areas like Rochester and Fredonia.

Brother Keep's next show will be at Mohawk Place on the 26th. Doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets are $8.

Jennifer Waters can be reached by email at waters.record@live.com.