A Quick Chat with The Sleepyheads
Tell us about your debut album ‘Something To Balance The Sonder’:
2 years in the making! We got thrown every challenge possible during the making of this album but we weathered all the storms and made something we are incredibly proud of. This album gave us a chance to breathe new life into some older fan favourite songs like ‘Spiders’ and ‘Coronation Park’ and showcase where the sound of the band is heading on songs like ‘B.S’ and ‘Go Figure’. This album is a great mix of what we’ve done and where we’re headed. Sonically it sounds bigger and better than anything we’ve done before. We were more adventurous with the guitar work on the album and put a lot of time into the vocals as well, we wanted it to sound huge without straying too far from what we are like as a live act.
What is your creative process like?
We started writing this album mid 2020 when the pandemic was fairly fresh and nobody really knew how it was going to play out. So everything we did was over the internet for the first few months. ‘Nihilist’ and ‘Go Figure’ were the first new songs to come from this, Pat would send a rough demo idea to everyone and we would build the songs up by sending files between us adding parts incrementally. It was a new way of doing this for us that we took a while to adjust to as every song written before that was done in a room jamming out. By the end of it we were like a song assembly line. Pat brings the rough song idea, I'll start to form the whole arrangement of the song from that, Sean will piece all the parts together and make it flow, then Dan adds the tasty sauce on top.
What are some of your favourite tracks from the album?
The album closer ‘Everybody Knows’ is a track that came out way bigger and better than I imagined while we were writing. That huge end section with the choral style vocals in the background is a highlight for me for sure. ‘Go Figure’ was us experimenting with our heavier rock side, I think this one has potential to be a fan favourite on the album. ‘Spiders’ will always have a soft spot for me as well. It’s a super old song that featured on our first E.P from way back in 2017. It’s been a fan favourite for so many years now and I'm glad we got to do it some justice with a professionally recorded and mixed version. Shout out to ‘Pacifist’ as well which is a beautiful example of Pat’s acoustic song writing. We got our mate Jacob Hull to come and play keyboard on it and he smashed it out of the park.
Where did the name The Sleepyheads come from?
Pat and I were obsessed with the song ‘Sleepyhead’ by Passion Pit in high school. That synth line in the chorus is magical. So yeah it came from a love for that song.
What is the music industry like in Tasmania?
It’s a pretty tight knit community, just due to the size. Everyone seems to know everyone else. It’s taken a pretty hard hit over covid, especially in Launceston. Lack of venues makes it really hard for locals to play, and for bands to tour through, which sucks! Hobart is coming back really strong though.
If you could tour anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Doing a U.S festival circuit would be a dream. Maybe the O2 Arena, Glastonbury, Coachella, Splendour in the Grass, why not yeah?
What has been your favourite memory together as a band?
For me I'll always have fond memories of our 2019 national tour. It was the biggest tour we’d done by a long way and we were definitely nervous going into it. But we met so many amazing people, played some great shows and visited places we never thought we’d end up. Have to mention the Triple J One Night Stand in 2018 as well. Walking on stage in front of 15,000 odd people is something I will never forget.
Who are your biggest influences?
One thing that makes this band so fun is we are all influenced by so many different artists and genres. When Pat brings forward a base song idea we can really take it in any direction, we definitely tried to expand the genres we dip into on this album. For me personally the bands that have influenced me the most over the years are Coheed and Cambria, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more recently Vulfpeck, Cory Wong, Sly Withers, Phoebe Bridgers, Alex Melton, The 1975 and so on. I also have a massive love for 70’s music, probably the greatest decade of music ever (dont @ me).
Listening to ‘Spiders’ got me thinking, do any of you have any strange phobias?
I wouldn’t say strange phobias but I am terrible on planes, which makes touring great!
What’s next for The Sleepyheads?
Shows, shows and more shows. We are gonna try and get to as many cities as possible over the next 12 months to tour this album. It’s been hell of a shitty time for live music over the last two years so being able to get out there and play shows to full capacity crowds again is amazing.