Sleeping At Last

Answered by Ryan O’Neal, Chad O’Neal, and Dan Perdue 6/13/06

How did Sleeping At Last come to be?

Ryan: Well, we started playing together about 7 years ago, now. I had been playing in some local bands in the area since I was 14 and eventually, our current line up fell into place. My brother Chad started playing drums and once, when my former band's drummer was out of town, Chad filled in for a show and eventually joined. Shortly after, Dan joined too. A spine-tingling story, eh?

Chad: When I started playing with Ryan and Dan, I had really no idea about music in general. I had mainly played sports for years before joining the band. I had always wanted to play the drums and when I was 18 I started. Ryan had asked me to fill in for their drummer since he was leaving the band and I played one show on New Years Eve and that was the start of it. They then asked me to play with them even though I wasn’t very good and the rest is history.

If you didn't mention it above, how did Ryan and Chad meet Dan?

Ryan: We met Dan through his sister and through local bands that he played in at the time.

How did, if at all, did living in Wheaton influence your music?

Ryan: I’m not sure if I can pin-point any specific influence that Wheaton has had in our music...but it's been a nice place to grow up..it's nice and quiet, which may have some effect on the writing process.

Dan: When I first started playing in high school there were quite a few bands in the area that were really good. I was able to go to shows just about every weekend to see them play. It was really inspiring to be able to see live music so often. Some members of one of those bands, Doran Stambaugh and James Scott, ended up recording our first full length "Capture". They were in a band called Waterworks that was really great and they taught us a lot about recording and song writing during the making of that record.

What bands influenced Sleeping At Last, and what drew you to the type of music you play?

Ryan: There's been so many for me...early influences that made me certain that this is what i want to do were - Sunny Day Real Estate, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, etc …and through the past several years - Billie Holiday, Nick Drake, Bjork, Nina Simone, Wilco...

Dan: The first band that I really fell in love with was the Beatles. Listening to them really made me excited about music. From there I really got into Radiohead and Sunny Day too.

Chad: For me it was a little different because of not really knowing a lot of music. I started off listening to a lot of bands that Ryan and Dan would show me and at first I wasn’t drawn into it but after a little while I started to see the light. I really got into Sunny Day, Radiohead, Bjork, U2 and now the music I listen to is pretty broad.

What are your current favorite bands?

Ryan: Well most of the music that has influenced me is still much of what I listen to ...I've also been listening to Frou Frou & Imogen Heap, Sufjan Stevens, a collection of older songs from animated Disney movies and I've been really excited about some early jazz and jazz singers from the 40's-50's (Nat king Cole, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong, etc)

Dan: Lately I've been listening to a lot of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Van Morrison. Also I think Bright Eyes, the Arcade Fire and Joanna Newsom are pretty great.

Chad: I have been listening to Wilco, Phoenix, Radiohead, Muse, Coldplay, The Beatles, The Cure, Sarah McLachlan, Over The Rhine, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, etc

I've seen it mentioned in many places that you are a Christian band, is this true and is it a major factor in your music?

Ryan: Our faith is a big part of who we are and it's something that means a lot to us, so it inevitably comes through in the words, but we've always intended our music to be for anyone that cares to listen, no matter who they are or what they believe in.

How does Sleeping At Last write music? Is it a solo effort from one of the members or more a group composure?

Ryan: I write the songs and when they're ready, we all dissect them a little together, Chad adds drums and Dan adds bass, etc and we sort give each song their final shape.

Chad: The writing is such a different process for us then anything else and Ryan does a wonderful job of compiling all of thoughts onto a piece of paper and I am always amazed at how it evolves into what we in the end record down to the final work. Writing can be a challenging part of the puzzle because, for me at least, I never always know where Ryan is taking a song in the first few stages of the song’s life. Once Ryan starts playing it around the house it always falls into place and he takes some amazing journeys with his work.

What parts of a song are most important to you? Is it important for your lyrics to hold a lot of weight, or are instrumentals more important?

Ryan: I’d say for each of us, a good balance between the two is our main concern. We try to find out the best ways to support and compliment each element.

Chad: I think the most important parts to our songs would have to be the lyrics. Ryan really puts his heart into each line of every song and I think that a great song should have a great meaning.

What were the early days of Sleeping At Last like?

Ryan: We had a lot of fun and still do! early on, it was a lot of fun to discover what we wanted to do with our music and with the sound. A lot of experimenting and playing a lot of shows.

Dan: Yeah, we just played a whole lot of shows. Pretty much anywhere that would have us, we would play. Anywhere from church basements, peoples houses, bowling alleys to clubs in the city.

Chad: The early days were so much fun. We definitely experimented with our music and it was a wonderful learning experience for all of us. We spent a lot of time playing anywhere that would let us.

What was recording "Capture" like?

Ryan: Recording "Capture" was our first lesson in recording. We worked with some amazing people, Doran Stambaugh and James Scott, who were kind enough to be patient with us, as we were young and trying to figure out what we were doing. We learned a whole lot during those sessions.

Chad: Since Capture was our first real record, it was a big learning experience. We would spend so much time playing things over and over again until it was just right. Working with Doran and James was amazing as well. They are such great guys and they taught us a lot.

Were you satisfied/excited/disappointed/etc with the way "Capture" turned out?

Ryan: I think we were pretty happy...tired by the end, but happy with how it turned out. For us now, hearing it is like looking back at a picture and thinking "wow...I looked like that?..weird" But it was an important part of our growth.

Chad: We were very happy how it turned out and we had a great time making it.

As a Smashing Pumpkins fan, I think the story of how you met Billy Corgan is amazing, could you please retell it?

Ryan: Well, we were playing a show in Chicago at the Metro, opening up for a band called Kill Hannah. Billy happened to be there, to see some friends, I believe. We saw him backstage and were obviously very excited and surprised to see him. We debated for a while whether or not to give him our CD (our capture album)..and as we were trying to decide, he walked right by and we just handed it to him. We were really excited all night and the next day..just to shake his hand. And the day after the show, we got a phone call from his assistant who said he would like to talk with us and wanted to make sure we knew he was calling...our first thought was that it was some mean joke from a friend of ours..but it wasn't. And he said he liked what we are doing and offered to sort of take us under his wing. He told some people in the industry about us and taught us a lot about the industry..the good and the ugly and just became a good friend to us. His encouragement was really inspiring to us, considering we had been fans of his growing up, so just to have him support us, made us want to be the best band we could be. It was an incredible blessing to have his encouragement.

How did Corgan's influence help shape "Ghosts"?

Ryan: He always encouraged us to discover for ourselves what we're capable of, to find our "voices" as musicians..our fingerprints, you know? And because of his encouragement to find our own way, we reached further and further to find our "sound" and gave our best, so in that sense, his support shaped how we approach creativity.

Chad: He was very good about not taking the music and trying to make it his own. He said that he wanted us to find out for ourselves what our sound and voice would be.

How was "Ghosts" different from "Capture"?

Ryan: For ghosts we knew a bit more about our abilities as a band and felt a lot more comfortable in our songs, than we had for capture. We knew exactly what we wanted it to sound like. Also, it was our first for a label (Interscope) which added some new pressures.

Chad: Capture and Ghosts are both different and the same. They are both pictures of the past in the sense that they mark each step of our journey. They are different sounds and we took very different approaches on each record.

What was recording "Ghosts" like? How was it working with the likes of Bjorn Thorsrud and Alan Moulder?

Ryan: "Ghosts" was a difficult process..for a number of reasons (being stress, our first time in a real studio, etc) but recording that record taught us even more about ourselves and our music and how to use the studio as an instrument and a tool to shape our songs. And in the end, we got exactly what we had hoped for and aimed for. Bjorn is a good friend of ours and is very devoted in the studio, is very talented and he works incredibly hard! And working with Alan was amazing, he is a true professional and is a such warm and friendly person, he did an amazing job!

Dan: The best part was definitely going to London to mix with Alan. He was so great to work with and getting to live in London for a month was definitely one of my favorite experiences with the band.

Chad: Both Bjorn and Alan were great to work with. It was definitely a plus that we were able to go to London to work with Alan. We were very blessed to work with each of them.

You guys then went on a nation-wide tour with Yellowcard, The Format, Something Corporate, some heavy hitters to say the least. What was this experience like?

Ryan: It was amazing for us! We had such a good time. We were a bit scared before we went out on that tour, because our music a bit softer and slower than all of those bands, and wondered if that would something the audience wouldn't be into, but it ended up being really perfect for us. The audiences were always wonderful and supportive. It was a really great experience for us.

Have a favorite memory from that tour?

Ryan: Just traveling and playing every night was really great...I can't think of one specific memory though, sorry!

Dan: Yeah, I think just getting to play for such great audiences every night was really the best part. When you're not performing on tour you're either driving to the next show or waiting around the venue until you get to play.

Chad: Meeting wonderful people in each of the places we played would be my favorite memories. But there are so many great memories from that tour its hard to pick.

Why did you decide to produce your new album "Keep No Score" independently and not with Interscope?

Ryan: We parted with Interscope a couple of years back and have since been talking with several other labels, but just hadn't felt right or at home with anyone just yet, so we decided to rather than waiting for a right fit, to keep on moving and make the best record we can! The music business is such a strange thing right now (and always, I suppose) and to be able to remember why we create music and to have the means to go forward without the messes that can come from the business, is a really great feeling. We couldn't be happier.

You guys spent 75 days recording the new album, this is pretty darn long compared to other independent bands I’ve talked to. Why so long?

Ryan: Well, thankfully we were able to afford the time we needed to focus on this album and make it the best we possibly can. 75 days is actually a lot less compared to making our last record, but for an independent release, it was a bit lengthy. Hah. A good chunk of that time was spent experimenting with each song. Another chunk was spent in Boston, where our record was mixed by John Goodmanson, who is awesome!

What was the experience like recording the album?

Ryan: Making this record was the best experience we've ever had as a band.. we could not have had more fun and it couldn't have run smoother. We approached this record more organically than anything else we've ever done before...recording less takes, being more comfortable with our performances and just enjoying the process without any stress..which lead to us being really proud of how this album turned out.

Chad: I would agree. Recording this album was so much fun since we had an idea from the beginning on what we had to do. From day one it was a lot of laughs and a ton of fun.

Do you expect the album to do well?

Ryan: You can never ever know, but i feel like it's the most personal, honest and sincere effort we've ever put out. we've already been very excited with how the pre-sales are going, so we're already happy with how it's doing.

Is the album different from "Ghosts" and your other previous recordings?

Ryan: Well, it's always tough to say exactly, but there are a few more obvious differences.. Some of this album is a bit more intimate musically and lyrically than anything we've done before. And other points are bigger and louder...hmm..I'm not good at explaining it, I suppose. Also, on this album strings are a bigger feature, we had a string quartet play on 8 songs on keep no score. other than that.. overall it's our most sincere and personal album yet.

What ís your favorite track off the album?

Ryan: Right now, I think "Dreamlife" but it changes often.

Dan: I think "Dreamlife" is one of my favorites too. Also "Envelopes" and "Umbrellas"

Chad: I would have to say that "Envelopes" is one of my favorites to play live and I love "Keep No Score" a lot as well.

What is next on the agenda for Sleeping At Last?

Ryan: Well, with the release of our album, we plan to tour/play shows a whole lot in promotion of this album all throughout the year and more.

How would you describe the music scene in Chicago today?

Ryan: Hmm..I'm not very sure! I've never been very aware of what's going on exactly in the scene, but there is really great music being made, for sure!

Are you close with any other bands?

Ryan: Yeah, we've had to pleasure to be friends with a lot of really amazing people/bands. Switchfoot have been wonderful friends to us..not only are they an incredible band, but they have been some of the nicest people ever to us and have always amazed us with their kindness.

In what direction do you see the music world going in the near future? In Chicago?

Ryan: Wow, I'm not really sure...I think people really do love good, well written songs that mean something, when they get exposed to it, so hopefully that exposure will continue to grow.

Dan: I definitely think there's a change coming in the industry. I think with the Internet, as powerful as it is now, we're going to start hearing a lot more stories of bands like Clap Your Hands and Arctic Monkeys selling like a 100,000 copies without any label. And because of that I think the big labels are going to have to change the way they do things. They don't hold all the cards anymore.

In what direction do you see Sleeping At Last going in the future?

Ryan: I'm not exactly sure either, but I know that we are planning on focusing more and more on sharpening our craft, and to put all that we have into the songs. We just hope/aim to keep writing songs that mean a lot to us.

What reasons did you have for starting Sleeping At Last? Have any of those hopes been fulfilled?

Ryan: Well, music means a lot to us, and we love that it can mean so much to strangers as well. It's such an amazing form of communication..everyone hears a song in a different light and we've always been attracted to that. We've always had the ideal that maybe our songs could bring some sort of hope to those that listen, that they could pry open new ideas and prove to be some sort of encouragement in whatever form people give them.

Which do you enjoy more, playing live or recording?

Ryan: They're both really great in their own way...I'm not sure which I like best, I think they're too different for me to choose..

Chad: I would have to say they are pretty equal to me.

In general, which form (live or recording) do you think is better for music?

Ryan: I’d say the same thing..they both can prove to be amazing art forms, you know?

What do you consider "success" in music today?

Ryan: Not to sound too cliché, but I think that creating something that means something to you and if you're able to continue creating personal art, that is success.

How successful then do you think Sleeping At Last has been up to now?

Ryan: I think we all feel very lucky to be able to do this...we couldn't be luckier in fact, as there's nothing on earth we'd rather be doing.

Would you still want to be doing this 20, 30, or 40 years from now?

Ryan: For sure, I'd love to write music for as long as it means something to me.

Chad: I would love to be doing this 50 years from now!

Has it all been worth it up to now?

Ryan: Completely.

Dan: Absolutely.

Chad: Yes, in every way.


More information can be found about Sleeping At Last here.

(Published at ComfortComes.com)