I, Sleepwalker

As promised, here is the entire, uncut iSleepwalker iNterview.

What are the top 5 reasons to be alive today?
I mean I'm just going to take it as reasons why it's better today than any other time. No joke, this is one of the hardest questions I've ever had to answer and this is in no particular order. I guess I would have to say that it's really easy to get ahold of people now, like with the internet and stuff. It's really easy to get ahold of people, and spread music around, let people hear your band. I like wrestling a lot, and it's a lot better now than it used to be, in my opinion. Music is a lot more diverse than it used to be, you see a lot more incorporation of different styles. Technology is killer now, have you seen one of those iPhones? And definitely the fact that we live in a free place, where we can worship freely, and come and go freely, and don't have to worry about being oppressed. Maybe I'm looking at that one too far into the past.

Will Jesus come back in our lifetime? Why or why not?
Honestly, I can't say that for sure, I don't know that anybody can say that for sure. I mean a lot of the signs are there, but nobody can for sure be able to tell when that its going to happen. But if it does, I just hope that all the people I care about have their heads on straight.

Who will win the NFL Super Bowl this next season? Why?
I don't even watch football. Hopefully that doesn't set me back too much. But... for the sake of arguement, when I used to play those old school Sega NFL games, I'd always be the Raiders, because they were vikings.

How much "Southern Rock" sound is too much (if that were possible) for I, Sleepwalker's sound? Why? How little "Southern Rock" (if that were possible) would be too low of an amount for I, Sleepwalker's sound? Why?
You know, being from the south, I love southern rock. But I can't say that there is a way to have TOO much southern rock because I mean you have to represent where you're from and if when you're jamming out some songs, and that twang comes out, let it flow. And as for too little, to me, anything that isn't. No I'm just kidding though. I mean if there isn't any southern twang to a song, then there isn't I don't guess. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.

What sort of experience have any of ya'll had with snakes? Tell me some stories.
Honestly, since it's just me talking. I seriously, won't go anywhere near them. The movie Anaconda is as close as I want to get. To steal a phrase from some friends of mine, in the sense of real snakes, the last thing I want to do is "git snake bit". But Steven, our bassist, works at a pet store, so you know this guy loves snakes. He's been breeding some, so if anybody wants to buy some snakes, get at us.

What truly excites you guys musically in the current music scene?
I mean honestly, for me, there's a lot of good stuff coming out. I like the fact that I went to Warped Tour (yeah I'm sure a lot of people are haulting their reading of this) and it is something I haven't been to in like 5 years, and I was really surprised at how many killer bands were playing and getting the chance to play at something that big. There's a lot of awesome bands coming out. I think a lot more bands are being able to come out with more than one good album.

What inspires you musically from the past? What are your influences?
I don't know how far you want to go into the past. I mean, just hitting back from anything in the past man, just bands that really jam. Old Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Megadeth, Kansas, then if you want to get a little more recent, Poison The Well, As I Lay Dying, Every Time I Die, Beloved, Glassjaw, Deftones, just too many to name.

How do you perceive the fusion of art and faith? How do you guys incorporate your faith with your music? Why or why not? How did this approach develop for you guys?
Faith and art are always going to be infused if spreading the word of God is in your heart and what he wants you to do. Its really hard to seperate the two when art is an expression of yourself, and yourself is very bound with your faith. I mean not all of our lyrics and stuff are directly related with our faith, and that is something that we are going to work very hard to change on the next album, but in our own ways some of the lyrics to relate to our relationships with God. At first it wasn't something we were going to strive to do, but as time went on in being in the band, like I said, you can't help it, it's just what comes out, and it's what we want to do. We just want to spread the word of God to people through the band.

What are some of the wildest things you have ever seen from the stage or (as a fan) from the audience?
It depends on what you mean by wildest. I mean from the stage, I can't really tell what exactly is going on out there. But from the audience I've seen bands do a lot of wild things. This band played down here in our home town and by the end of the set they had thrown ice every where and cleared out a ton of people because they were all over the place.

What themes have you guys seen develop in your lyrics to the new album and/or any recurring themes from things you've said or say from the stage?
I mean I stated it earlier, that we're going to be moving to more faith based lyrics in the new material. But our lyrics on "Snake River" are all about different things. On stage we try not to stick to one thing, because a lot of times bands just have speeches rehearsed that they say every night and I hope that we never end up having to be like that. Spontinuity is what we shoot for, both from what is said on stage, and the movements we may make on stage.

What are your goals and plans for the band?
Well we just want to take it as far as we can. You know it's rough being at the level that we are at because money isn't something that we're swimming in, but I know that God will provide for us and if we need something he'll put it in our hands in one way or another. So I mean maybe next year we'll be on some big tour in the summer. You never know.

Anything else you'd like to add?
I'd just like to add that to everybody reading this, especially people in bands, just keep doing what you're doing, try hard at it while you can, and just jam out. God is looking out for you, and just everybody stay safe on the road.

What do you think of HM Magazine?
I think it's pretty boss, I don't get my hands on it as often as I'd like to, but any time I see one around I read it, pretty much cover to cover.

©2007 HM Magazine - All Rights Reserved

Related Stories :

Comments