After a break for a week I returned to some more rocking guest fun. And indeed once again from Southend as Sleepy Wood followed in the footsteps of the likes of Stratus Rocks and joined me in the studio. It was also interesting to hear about the evolution of the band as it seemed to mirror Stratus Rocks’ to some degree. Singer and guitarist Dean and drummer Chris had been together in bands for some years and only relatively recently were joined by guitarist Shaun and bassist Jenn. Once they joined the band, the path to their seemingly seamless integration and the harmonious unit of Sleepy Wood was complete. It was lovely to notice from an outside perspective, and after only meeting them for a short time, how elegant that process is. It seemed as if they had been together as a band for a long time and it was reflected in the conversation when they spoke of the difference in the songwriting contributions.
Speaking of songwriting, we also talked about the innovative way that they are able to keep momentum even if they’re not able to see each other too often. They have an e-mail group and an online folder which they can all add to at anytime which creates a large resource of material that they’re able to refer to when they do meet up. Sleepy Wood are now in the process of recording their first EP and it was great to play an early demo version of ‘Nobody Knows’ from these sessions, before hearing their live songs.
I also played a song from one of the bands that inspired them- Pearl Jam. Last week was the 20th anniversary of the locally renowned gig at the Esplanade on Southend seafront where Pearl Jam played during the ascent to their success. It was celebrated by the covers band Pearl Jammers who played at Chinnery’s last week during a great weekend of music when show favourites Herida also played on the Saturday night.
You can find out more about Sleepy Wood here via their links:
Facebook, Twitter and Youtube
You can check out the show again here:
Sleepy Wood – Musical Meanderings 12th March 2013 by Graham Stannard on Mixcloud
I will be moving the ‘listen again’ facility from this and previous shows over to a Mixcloud page which will have easier to use features.
Here’s the playlist for 12th March 2013 (Albums in brackets)
1. The Cult – Rain (Love)
2. Depeche Mode – I Feel You (Songs of Faith and Devotion)
3. Uncle Tupelo – Outdone (No Depression)
4. Throwing Muses – Reel (Chains Chained)
5. The Stone Roses – Made Of Stone (The Stone Roses)
6. Pearl Jam – Given To Fly (Yield)
7. Sleepy Wood – Nobody Knows
8. Sleepy Wood – Under Your Influence (Live Phoenix FM Session)
9. Sleepy Wood – Weightlessness (Live Phoenix FM Session)
10. The Doobie Brothers – China Grove (The Captain and Me)
11. Sleepy Wood – Long Time Dead (Live Phoenix FM Session)
12. The Antlers – No Windows (Burst Apart)
13. Sleepy Wood – Broken Man (Live Phoenix FM Session)
14. Tool – Schism (Lateralus)
15. Bob Marley & The Wailers – Coming In From The Cold (Uprising)
16. The Temptations – Beauty Is Only Skin Deep (Greatest Hits)
17. Clarence Wheeler & The Enforcers – Right On (Doin’ What We Wanna)
18. Vibrasphere – Breathing Place (Lungs Of Life)
