Music
Press
By Kris Neises | Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 09:04 PM
Urbana, Ohio, population 11,613 people, is most famous for being the hometown of Drew Daniel, the guy who won the CBS show Big Brother a couple seasons ago.
But, Urbana may soon have a new claim to fame in the 4-piece pop/rock band Small Town Sleeper.
Small Town Sleeper has recently finished recording their debut cd with the help of some of the most important people in the music industry; including Arista records V.P. Mark Shimmel, Grammy winning producer Ken Lewis, and famous string arranger David Campbell (Goo Goo Dolls, Faith Hill).
The new cd, entitled Conversations, is set to hit stores this summer and is sure to put both Small Town Sleeper and their humble hometown of Urbana on the map.
Recorded in New York at Electric Lady studios, Conversations is looking forward to having a big push from STS’s label the newly formed Upper 11 records.
The band is getting nationwide radio interest and is planning to shoot a video for MTV in order to promote the album. A tour is also in the works for the band that will span both regionally and nationally.
Currently the band is keeping a low profile in Urbana and is waiting to find out the release date of the record and the first single.
Once the record is released the fun will begin for Small Town Sleeper.
Visit www.myspace.com/smalltownsleeper or www.upper11.com for more info on the band.
I had a chance to chat with lead singer/guitarist Troy Brown about his small town roots and the future endeavors of the band.
KN - What is it like being a small town guy on the brink of making it big?
TB - It is a bit weird. The two months we spent in New York blew my mind. We also did some recording in London and L.A. and that too was overwhelming. But, home is home and that is where I am comfortable and it is always nice to come back here.
KN - What is behind the title of the record, Conversations?
TB - A lot of the songs we write are stories, mostly stories from small towns. Some are written in letter form or inspired by conversations I have had. So the title was a simple way to sum up the record and what it is about.
KN - Upper 11 is a new label and it’s success rests a lot on you. Do you feel pressure by this?
TB - The pressure from my stand point was to make the record and now that the record is finished it is out of my hands. I am relived the record is done and the amazing guys at Upper 11 know what they are doing. We love being apart of this label. We were sought out by other big labels, like Atlantic records, but we wanted to be on a label where we are a priority. We found that at Upper 11.
KN - Can I be an extra in the Video?
TB - Sure man, right on. - Dayton Daily News
Discography
"Conversations" - LP (iTunes)
"Backseat" - Single (SNOCAP/iTunes)
Photos
Bio
CONVERSATIONS was built from the very things of its title the communications that comprise our lives. Urbana, Ohios self-proclaimed underdogs, SMALL TOWN SLEEPER, have been listening to all your conversations and they arent holding back the details.
Troy, Derek, Will and Dann made their debut a well-traveled album, recording the basic tracks at Electric Lady Studios in NYC with producer/mixer Ken Lewis (Fallout Boy, Lenny Kravitz, Kanye West), then traveling to London, England to record the vocals. Later they moved on to Capitol studios in Los Angeles, CA to have strings recorded by legendary arranger/conductor David Campbell (Goo Goo Dolls/Train/Bon Jovi). The entire process of making this record was a bit strange, says Troy. As an artist, you basically spend your entire life trying to take things to the next level, but the funny thing is that you end up working so hard that when you get there, it is a total shock. I mean, you wake up one day and head out to practice in a garage then the next week you find yourself at the famed Electric Lady Studios with artists like Ryan Adams, J-Lo and Gwen Stefani in the next room, or down the hall.
SMALL TOWN SLEEPER is a true rock/pop band with a background in small town music staples. Troy was brought up with Country music, and the Johns .Fogerty, Mellencamp, and Bon Jovi, he adds. When I started doing my own thing I was really into the 90s rock movement. Looking back, anything grunge, as well as Toad the Wet Sprocket, Counting Crows, Better Than Ezra and Third Eye Blind were all big influences on what Im doing now. What Troy is doing now is using dialogue in his songs and creating distinct conversations within them.
I know, I know, I know I said. You are still angry
I know, I know, I know I said, This really isnt the
time...but how about
Backseat is the song that really made things happen for us, recounts Troy. This song was a bit different for me because it took so long to write. Usually, I can put a song together in a couple hours, but this one took a couple weeks, which for me was a lifetime. I just remember finishing the song and recording the demo. I sent it out to our producer who told me that this was the song that was gonna send my kids through college. I can only hope that he is right. The track is a mid-tempo pop song that tells a story of making up after a quarrel in that old American icon the backseat of a car.
I like the part where your lips start to quiver,
you try to talk, but theres nothing left to say
The Part That Walks Away was Troys first co-writing experience. Nashville-based, Grammy Nominated Producer/Songwriter Rob Graves made the assist on this track. Rob and I hit it off immediately. I played him a bunch of ideas that I had started, but never finished, Brown said. He really liked the feel of a song that I had verses written to, but I could never find a chorus that would do the verses any justice. Rob concocted a great chorus melody as well as a switch in the structure from a guitar-based song to a piano-based song. The Part That Walks Away is a song about romantic snapshots in a relationship, and the struggle of watching it all go away.
The way you looked in white. The way the silence
swallowed you and I. The way I met your lips. The way I
almost didnt try
I Have Been Waiting could very well be the sleeper hit the bands name suggests. The song was written around the same time as Backseat but with a distinct vibe. To me this song has a really modern yet dark sound that builds into a really anthem type chorus, explains Troy. The song itself was written about two very specific moments in my life, but I feel the chorus is extremely universal.
The members of SMALL TOWN SLEEPERS ambitions for the long run are to have a successful and lasting career doing what they love to do. If we can support our families and ourselves by doing what we love, then we feel like we have already succeeded, concludes Troy. Maybe you should call him John though
I wont lie to you
if we had Bon Jovi type success, I wouldnt be upset
Links
