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Sleepwalk Kid
www.sleepwalkkid.com
www.myspace.com/sleepwalkkid
Nothing excites me more than to check my mailbox and there be something in it for me other than junk mail and bills– which inadvertently turn into junk mail, but that’s a whole other story. I recently received a package addressed to Audioholic Media. This excites me more. I tore into it immediately and was surprised to see a really neat CD jacket. As much as people say don’t judge a book by its cover, it still brings out the four-year old in us to see something really unique. So, this is what I saw:
[cover image]
In the notes attached to the disc, this is what I read:
Sleepwalk Kid is a rock trio that mixes the raunchy assault of The Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins with the detailed song craft of Wilco and Elliott Smith. Creating a sound for both thinkers and drinkers.
So, I popped in the CD and let the music do the talking. I find the term sleepwalk not relevant to their music whatsoever, which is a good thing. Who wants to be bored into slumber? You could really classify what these guys are doing as being totally experimental. This means that they’re not scared to try new things. That means that you’re prone to hearing new things. This fuzz-rock sound that they’re creating helped them release their 12-track album Stubborn Keys, which is totally Guitar Hero-worthy.
Purchase albums by Sleepwalk Kid through CD Baby.
- Nick Chaivarlis
9/28/2008 - Audioholic Media
Discography
'Stubborn Keys'
Recorded March 2008. Released September 10, 2008.
'Sleepwalk Kid'
Demo. Recorded Live May 2007 and given away at shows in CDR form in late 2007 and early 2008.
Photos
Bio
Sleepwalk Kid is a power trio that places detailed songwriting and lyrical depth over a bed of tight, aggressive instrumentation. Culled from classic and prog rock influences, their hard-hitting sound can be the soundtrack to a keg party or enjoyed at home on a deeper level. Sleepwalk Kid’s first record Stubborn Keys was released in September 2008, followed by a year of studio work and concerts throughout the Northwest.
Members Tim Murphy, Nick Angelo, and Christian Pokorney have been playing and recording together as Sleepwalk Kid since mid-2006. Noted for their solid live performances, the band has shared the stage with great Northwest acts such as The Mint Chicks and Symmetry/Symmetry. They have been featured on KUFO's local radio show Viva La Luna and have held concerts at most Portland clubs. 2009 saw Sleepwalk Kid recording in three local studios and hitting the road in Oregon and Washington.
Sleepwalk Kid's 12-track debut Stubborn Keys is a lesson in efficient rockage. The bulk of the recording was done in the classic 60's rock style—three guys playing very loudly together in one expensive-looking room. Most tracks were picked from three or four takes and all band performances were recorded over three days in March 2008. The resulting sound is minimalist yet muscular, an apt avenue for Sleepwalk Kid's mix of cerebral and manic tunes.
As for the background, Murphy and Angelo have been producing original music since 1999. As teenage friends in suburban Portland, they would smuggle acoustic guitars to school and spend spare minutes between classes learning their favorite songs. When enough chords were learned, the duo began writing their own material. Eventually more musical comrades were enlisted and the sludge-rock group Chrysalis was formed in 2002. A live record was recorded and a handful of shows played, but teenage friends fell away as they tend to.
Angelo and Murphy continued to write together and self-produced the record Stargazer as the psych-rock duo Featherstone in 2003. While no band was formed to play the new songs, Murphy and Angelo played gigs as a duo. At this time they also joined with songwriter Mark Shifflett to form the roots-rock group RoughCuts, for which Angelo and Murphy produced the record "The Unseen Sound" in 2005.
New York transplant Christian Pokorney joined Murphy and Angelo in 2006 to form Sleepwalk Kid. Following a year of rehearsal and songwriting, the new band began performing in Portland clubs in 2007. With the 2008 release of their full-length debut Stubborn Keys under their belts, Sleepwalk Kid is currently playing concerts throughout the Northwest and recording new material.
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