7 minute read
Get to Know Sleep House
Interview By Lauren Elizabeth Campbell, Editor-in-Chief
Alternative pop/punk band Sleep House released its second EP 'High Tide' August 18th. Members Adam Mink, Evan Marcinko, Nicholas Gardyasz, and Nick Marcinko started the band in 2016 while freshmen in high school. They have since released 13 original songs which they wrote, recorded, mixed, and mastered on their own. Get to know the band:
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Who/what first got you into music?
AM: My mom and dad were always huge into music and my mom actually played guitar as a teenager, so I’ve grown up my whole life listening to all the classics like The Beatles, Billy Joel, etc. My mom was really into John Mayer when I was a young kid and would play his CDs and all the 70s/80s music in the car and hearing all those songs and how John played guitar and wrote when I was that young is what really first inspired me with music.
EM: It was when my grandpa showed me Michael Jackson for the first time.
NG: I first got into music when I was a kid because my dad would put on The Beatles’ radio, and I fell in love with the songs. After that, my sister’s music taste heavily influenced me as I grew up.
NM: Music has been with me since I was born. My dad used to play in a cover band when I was a kid and they would practice at my house a couple nights a week after I was put to bed. I used to sneak out of bed every night to go sit by the door and listen to them. I always thought that playing music was the coolest thing you could do in life, so from that point on I stuck with it.
What is your favorite song to perform?
AM: I really enjoy playing "Dizzy," one of the songs from our EP 'There Is No Time for Romance,' because that song was originally conceived with us playing in our rehearsal space and we all really lock in when we play that one. I think that song, even from the initial writing stages, had been a song that really gelled together when we play it live.
EM: "Her." I think the live version of that song has so much more emotion to it, which is why I love playing it.
NG: My favorite to play right now is probably "Stephanie" because by now it’s nice and comfortable to play, and it just has a great vibe live.
NM: I love playing "Dizzy," its the last song off our second EP. The last couple of seconds of the song have one of our most unique arrangements we've ever written, and every time we play it I just close my eyes and get lost in all of the sound.
What is the best musical advice you've ever been given?
AM: I try to watch as many interviews and hear as many of my favorite artists speak about their lives, creative process, etc. as often as I can, so I try to use that a lot to help inspire me. I’ll never forget though, my first guitar teacher I had, who lived across the street from me, would always emphasize the extreme importance of constant practicing with learning and improving at guitar and I still remember his importance of practicing and patience with guitar today when I practice.
EM: Practicing and always working to be better.
NG: To keep writing songs and making sure to finish them even if they aren’t the best. The majority of ideas aren’t used but it provides practice for finishing off songs, which can sometimes be the hardest part.
NM: Never stop learning. I'm always looking for new techniques to try, books to read, videos to watch, etc.
How would you describe the music Sleep House creates?
AM: It’s really hard to describe exactly the sound we try to make with our music because our influences pull from all over and are constantly changing, but I’d say we’re an equal mix of indie, pop, and rock while trying to incorporate and fuse in our other favorite genres like R&B and Jazz.
NG: I would say our music is pretty chill and easy to listen to. Our songs are written around the basic guitar, drums, bass setup but we love experimenting on recordings with other synths and percussion.
NM: Unrestrained. Our songs are made very organically, with no linear format to how we write them. We have songs like "Her" and "Dizzy," that were written in less than 15 minutes. Then we have songs like "Stephanie," that floated around with us for about a year before we released it. Each song has its own timeline, and whenever it wants to grow it will.
What is your creative process like?
AM: Inspiration for the music really can come anywhere. Experiences, how I feel that day, just wanting to sit and write. I try not to force it too much and I just let myself sit and go wherever I lead myself. Lyrics-wise, I want to write songs that will mean something to me on a personal level but that could also relate to someone different with a different situation. I really want to connect with listeners in that way and I’ve really started to try and leave the meaning of the lyrics more up to the listener. Not that our songs are super obscure or ambiguous, but I still love when people take away an emotion or lyric from a song that I had not thought of in that way and when they have their own meanings for the songs. Up there with playing shows for people who like our music, that feeling is probably the best and most rewarding feeling for me.
EM: When we first start an idea I’ll just follow the rhythm guitar and get a feel for the main notes. Once I got that down is when I started adding more notes to the part.
NG: My creative process is usually just sitting with a guitar in my room and noodling around. On a good day, a certain idea will stick with me and that’s when I’ll bring it to the band to hopefully produce a great song.
NM: The first thing I focus on when I'm writing a drum part is figuring out what parts of a melody/riff I want to give space to or help lift. We'll usually jam an idea a couple of times till I get something I like, and then after that, I’ll spend hours refining it and tweaking it till it’s complete.
Which song of yours would you have a new fan listen to first?
AM: I would say "Skydiving in Dubai" because it displays a lot of what we’ve been able to do and accomplish musically as writers and producers throughout our career so far, and I think is also probably our most fun and exciting song to listen to.
EM: "You’re Still My Favorite Thing." I feel like that song has one of our tightest pockets, and the melodies in there are some of our best.
NG: I would have a new fan listen to "Clementine" because it’s a nice and easy tune. Plus, it’s off of our new EP, which our best sounding project yet.
NM: "Clementine." Production-wise it has all of the different sounds we've experimented with throughout our career, and it’s all executed in those three minutes.
What songs are you currently listening to?
AM: Right now, I’ve been listening to a lot of Paul Simon, The Doors, Rory Gallagher, and mostly older music, but I’ve also been really into Snoh Aalegra’s catalogue and I mean, I always have John Mayer in my playlists as well.
EM: I’ve been really into Mac Demarco lately.
NG: I’m listening to a lot of Grateful Dead and Dr. Dog right now. One song I’d recommend is "Where’d All the Time Go?" by Dr. Dog.
NM: I've been on a huge jazz binge for the past couple of months, listening to artists like Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Jim Hall, etc. I've also been listening to Onion by Chase Ceglie.
What’s next for Sleep House?
AM: We still have a lot planned for High Tide but after that, it’s really uncertain. We keep working and hoping to play shows again soon. There’s definitely new songs being made and we are always thinking of what’s next for us but right now, we hope everyone just enjoys High Tide as much as we did making it.
EM: I’m excited for some of the projects we're working on for the High Tide era. Hopefully, shows are gonna start coming back so we can get to jam with the new EP.
NG: We will play these 'High Tide' songs for y’all at a show someday, but until then, stay tuned for a lot more to come.
NM: We have a lot more planned for the 'High Tide' era that has yet to be released. If everything in the world returns to normal soon, we'll be out touring and releasing music asap!
