Decade of Sleep

On Friday September 24, Decade of Sleep will be performing live at Fanshawe's Out Back Shack alongside The Scenarios, Wormwood Scrubs, and the Broken Lyre. Described as having a "progressive indie-rock sound," vocalist Phil Laffin is joined by Matt Pataki on drums, Lance Schibler on guitar, and Eric Walker on bass. They hail from Toronto, but the members have roots scattered from Newfoundland to Thunder Bay, as well as Wallaceburg and Ottawa.

Laffin quotes a range of older influences (such as Led Zeppelin and the Beatles), to newer independent artists such as Joel Plaskett, Zeus and The Waking Eyes. This wide range has allowed them the opportunity to be signed to Canadian indie label Tangents North Music, which is also the home of John Landry and David Francey. Decade of Sleep have been nominated for a Toronto Indie Music Award for best live band. They have had their song The Lull from their Morning Sun EP featured in an episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation. Decade of Sleep have also played at some of Toronto's most storied venues like The Horseshoe Tavern, Lee's Palace and The Molson Amphitheatre.

With the release of their new self-titled full-length debut this fall, Decade of Sleep builds on the energy of Morning Sun with harder, more mature songs. Engineer Denis Tougas and mixer John "Beetle" Bailey, capture the energy and sound of a live performance while highlighting the subtleties hidden within the songs. Quoted that although "their pop influences are undeniable, Decade of Sleep write sophisticated songs, mixed with rousing drum beats and sophisticated lyrics. There's no stadium big enough to hold them in, but also no room small enough to capture the nuances of their songs."

Decade of Sleep was formed right here at Fanshawe: "We've played at Fanshawe a few times now. We all met while in MIA, and we were all in bands previously," said Laffin.

Laffin, who hails from Newfoundland, studied music in Nova Scotia and left the student life behind to hone his chops as a front man of a popular east coast band. He later moved to Iqaluit, Nunavut where he captured the hearts of the locals singing his heart out three nights a week. Guitarist Schibler brings with him a Humber College jazz guitar education, along with significant engineering talent made even sharper from his day job at a successful Toronto recording studio. Drummer Pataki has been playing music since he was a teenager and has become a rising star in the Canadian engineering scene. Bass player Walker has been playing professionally in bands since the age of 16 and was the house guitarist at The Rainbow in Ottawa before he was old enough to drink. Walker joined DOS in 2009.

When Decade of Sleep play live, a lively and entertaining show is guaranteed. Catchy, clever lyrics are the repertoire: strong writing that relies heavily on choruses and just-left-of-centre musical ideas. Friday, September 24 will be the night they return to Fanshawe, to reminisce of a friendship that began at Fanshawe and continues to grow. - Interrobang

I would like to introduce you to a band that is definitely going places – they are The Decade of Sleep. Their debut EP, Morning Sun, is probably the best music I've personally heard in 2 years. Their music is very original, but you can hear some influences throughout their songs.

“Pushing Daisy” is the first track on the EP. The song opens with a slow, melodic rise with the instruments. Eric Walker on the bass plays funky and fast, and there is some really good intricate guitar work by Lance Schibler with the bass on the off beats. The drums give the song it's backbone courtesy of Mat Pataki. The bridge is fast paced and grinding when suddenly it goes back to a mellow groove. Lyrically this is a very solid song. And vocally, Phil Laffin has a voice that is his own but you can hear some influences like Chris Cornell and Billy Joel.

“Soldiers of Spring” is a song that starts with a 4 bar start on guitars, and Mat's drumming is particularly hard and punky, meshing perfectly with Lance's guitar work and Eric's bass lines. The vocals are soft and melodic towards the end with good range on Phil's voice.

The song “Morning Sun” sounds completely their own and original. The vocals are raunchy and loud but well controlled on Phil's part. There's a good build through the bridges and it has a melodic and jazzy feel to it. Mat's drumming is hard and Lance's guitars sound big and crunchy.

“Pressure” is a very cohesive song that Lance Schibler wrote. The very beginning reminds me of Billy Joel's music from the mid to late 1970's. Phil's vocals are strong, melodic and powerful and I'm reminded of Chris Cornell's voice in this song. I really like the guitar on the off beat which in turn off-sets the drums and bass. This is a well constructed and well played song by all 4 members.

“The Lull” is a very well constructed song, lyrically and musically. It has a bluesy feel with the rocking melodies, the vocals are steady and soft in the chorus but raw and powerful on the bridge. I found that the lyrics fit the music well.

The last song is called “Perfume and Cigarettes” which is a pop song that has catchy guitar riffs and drum beats that mesh wonderfully. Lyrically, this is a very well put together song, and musically, this is a choppy and up tempo song.

Overall, this is a really solid EP, and the yeasome big names. Keep an eye on this band and you will not be disappointed. You can check out the band's myspace page r and a half playing together and writing songs has paid off. I wouldn't be surprised that in the very near future, they will be opening for some big names. Keep an eye on this band and you will not be disappointed. You can check out the band's music on their myspace page located here. - NXEW Music Blog Website

The Decade of Sleep latest MIA success

TK Dallman
Interrobang

Published: Monday, April 06, 2009

Since Fanshawe College's Music Industry Arts program opened its doors over 30 years ago,
hundreds of graduates have found success as engineers, managers, publishers and record label
owners in Canada.
And though perhaps a smaller percentage, other graduates have found success as performing
artists themselves. The most notable would likely be singer-songwriter Emm Gryner, but dozens
of others have made careers out of the performing arts - several touring members of Polaris
Prize nominees Caribou are MIA graduates, for instance.
Added to this list are The Decade of Sleep, a four-piece rock group made up of Phil Laf?n, Lance
Schibler, Mat Pataki and Eric Walker who, along with their current manager (and former VP of
Entertainment) Sean Russell, have ties to the program.
Most of the band are recent graduates, except for Newfoundland native Phil Laf?n, the band's
lead vocalist who is currently a student in ?rst year.
“Lance and I met when I moved down here to start going to MIA” recalls Laf?n. “We knew each
other through a mutual friend and he called me and said ?you should actually come down and try
this out'. We've been playing music ever since then, in three or four different bands, and this is
now the band where all four of us came together.”
One of those bands was a bluegrass-rock inspired out?t The Skywriters, and when they
disbanded last year, Laf?n and Schibler were presented with the opportunity to work together on
a project more ?nely tuned to their musical sensibilities.
“I draw in?uences from Celtic music and I grew up where everyone played Irish folk music and
stuff like that, [but] I was always more interested in rock,” Laf?n said.
His Newfoundland roots aside, Laf?n has had quite a rich musical education. A former student of
music at Acadia University, he not only learned the academic side of music, but much of his
experience comes from working in small arts communities throughout Canada, like the one in Iqaluit, Nunavut, where Laf?n stayed shortly. There, he was inspired by all the town of 6,000 had
to offer.
“Music and the arts community up there is amazing,” Laf?n explained. “It's always in small
centres like that where these really cool things are explored. There's a lot of Irish folk music
going on up there and there's a great tradition of cultural music - there's a lot of throat singing.
The Inuit people up there, they love their get-togethers and their parties. They play music and
drum and throat sing.”
These rich musical landscapes are not so obviously detected in Laf?n's writing, but they, along
with more traditional in?uences in rock music add to his well-honed sense of melody.
In fact, the band have just ?nished recording a debut EP called Morning Sun. It's a short
collection of Laf?n and Schibler's musical co-operation. They're poignantly written, with well
de?ned messages. Some deal with relationships; others are dark and foreboding tales.
The title track, for instance, is an apocalyptic story about a character who “wakes up and sees
that the whole sky is falling, the morning sun is coming down and falling towards the Earth, and
it's [the] end of days, but he's noticing all the beauty in it, in the terror of it.”
It's matched perfectly with the band's sound, which lies somewhere between the alternative rock
of Incubus and the straight-ahead attitude of The Trews. From the blues-rock licks of “Perfume
and Cigarettes” to the somewhat-jazzy “Pressure”, the group are evidently well versed in many
musical styles. But the common link that tie the songs together is Laf?n's voice, which ranges
from soft and laid back, to gruff and edgy on some of the harder tracks.
The time spent in writing each song is clear, too.
“We always revise each others songs, [but] we have similar mindsets when it comes to writing
music, and we want to achieve the same thing... a great song that people can relate to and like,”
he said.
That's exactly what Morning Sun does, and although The Decade of Sleep won't be performing
around London any time in the near future, their EP, due to be released this May, will tide
listeners over until the next round of touring begins.
- Interrobang