sLeEPy bOy mOE

November 26, 2006
Sleepyboy Moe
Hometown: Oakland
Next local show: 11/28, The Stork Club
Recent release: The Sleepyboy Moe Tapes, 2006

When it comes to homegrown East Bay music, Sleepyboy Moe is the real deal. Shaun Wargowsky, the man behind the name, moved to Oakland in 2005 and immediately became active in the local scene. The singer/bassist/guitarist began performing solo and with drummer Lindsay Cooper (of nicely named Oakland band Espionage a Trios) at small venues including Epic Arts in Berkeley. He recorded his debut CD, The Sleepyboy Moe Tapes, entirely in analog in Oakland and Berkeley. And his CD release party will take place Tuesday at The Stork Club in Oakland. (more >>)

As for the sound? It's been called sludge-folk, but that doesn't begin to convey the hiss, fuzz, and noise captured in songs like "Nice Try, Nice Guy." Most of the album sounds like a third-generation copy of a lo-fi cassette tape. Wargowsky's droning (yet enchanting) rhythms and possessed (almost feminine) vocals compliment the recording perfectly (or maybe it's the other way around), making this release more art than cheap reproduction of a live performance. You can find it at Aquarius Records in San Francisco (22nd and Valencia) and Amoeba Records in Berkeley (Telegraph and Haste), as well as online at CDBaby.com and iTunes.

CLEVELAND ROCKS:
-Before moving to Oakland, Wargowsky sang and played keyboards, bass, and guitar in a number of groups in the Akron/Kent/Cleveland area (Ohio, of course), where he attended school at Kent State University.
-These groups include the Stool Creak Circus (alternative rock), the Flavor Cat Hairparticles (ska, punk, Latin), and the Kent State African Ensemble (gospel choir).

Labels: indie folk, oakland



2 Comments:
Anonymous said...
I went to the CD release event in Oakland not knowing what to expect, but I got to tell you I was pleasantly surprised. Espionage a Trios was a really fun band to watch - it's always cool when the drummer is the lead vocalist. And Sleepyboy Moe really did have a feminine voice that was almost ethereal. He was a genuinely nice guy (the posted picture makes him look a little too tough) and it was cool to be a part of the celebration.

Thanks for writing about local artists - NASCENT does a great job of covering bands of all genres and I (for one) appreciate it.

2:08 PM
Anonymous said...
Got this CD at the show. It has a very distinct sound, good songwriting, but it would be nice to hear the songs in a real studio.


- NATE SELTENRICH

"This is the debut cd-r from lone sludge-folk troubadour Sleepy Boy Moe from Oakland. There's so much murk and hiss on his lo-lo-fi recordings that they sound like they're coming off an old cassette tape that was retrieved from the bottom of the lake. But don't let that dissuade you. Peer through the haze and listen close. You'll hear what we've likened to the tweaked instability of Daniel Johnston sung through the sandy throat of Tom Waits. "
- AQUARIUS RECORDS

sLeEPy bOy mOE is a Bay Area band that hails from Oakland and has the gritty city sound to prove it. But that doesn’t mean they’re hard on the ears. Check ‘em out on MySpace if you don’t believe me. Better yet … go see them live. They’re playing in Dolores Park on May 19 at 11 a.m. as part of the Mission Creek Music Festival and they’re also playing in Oakland on May 24th at the Stork Club.


What’s the story on how the band formed? The band originally started when bassist/songwriter Shaun Wargowsky moved to Oakland from Akron/Kent Ohio in late 2005 and started solo gigs under the name sleepyboymoe. At the beginning of 2006 he recorded a demo (called THE SLEEPYBOYMOE TAPES) on his 4-track to try to put a band together and book gigs. He passed the demo along to Richmond drummer Lindsay Cooper, who he met while on an airplane headed back to the bay. They began playing live as a two-piece in September of 2006 and have since played extensively in the bay at venues such as the Mama Buzz Cafe and Stork Club in Oakland and The Edinburgh Castle and Revolution Cafe in San Francisco. Sometimes we are also joined with guitar, keys, and trumpet players onstage.


If you had to sum up your sound, what would you say? Our sound has been called dirty, sludge folk - but I think that has a lot to do with the sound, or lack of, on our recordings. Here is a little blurb from our bio about our sound: “Their sound varies from venue to venue but is divergent from the rhythms of swamp, the basslines of Ghana, the sparsity of Tom Waits, the fuzz of Tricky, and the piercing of Dylan”. We have an interesting background as musicians (I have been in Latin, African, punk, and blues bands and Lindsay is currently playing in rock, Brazilian, indie and hip-hop bands) and I think all those experiences come out in our music.


Describe the average sLeEPy bOy mOE fan. We have an eclectic mix of interesting people, but I would say that most of them have leanings towards different, alternative sounds.


If the band was a San Francisco landmark, which one would it be and why? Well, I would say the city of Oakland, although not directly a SF landmark I would say that it qualifies due to perceptions. I say Oakland because of the soul, grit, quirkiness, contradictions, and diversity of the city.


Do you have a favorite SF venue? Definintely - my favorite venue we played at was The Revolution Cafe in The Mission. Very good people with attentive, open ears hang out there.


Which spots in the city can you be found in when you’re just out and about? Love to go to the city on a sunny weekend afternoon, take the BART into The Mission, go to Aquarius Records, have coffee and some cigarettes at the Revolution Cafe, and then take the Muni up to ocean, maybe enjoy some lovely “herb” and contemplate the world.


Where do you guys want to be (as a band) a year from now? In our romantic biography, it would be great if 2008 read that sLeEPy bOy mOE released it’s debut album for a small artist-friendly label and is playing extensively from coast-to-coast.


If there was anything that you could make sure your fans knew, what would it be? That we have a wonderfully cool video on YouTube for our song “fleein’ in the corner”. it was done in Akron, Ohio by a couple of photographers and artists and it tells a two-minute story of a reclusive artist trying to deal with the reality of day-to-day life. You can find it in the YouTube search if you type in “sleepyboy moe”.

- sanfranvoice.com