Sleeping At Last

"Our first thought was that it was some mean joke from a friend," begins frontman Ryan O’Neal. Sleeping At Last’s musical road could easily be a mean joke, just as their chance meeting with former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan could be. "[Corgan] offered to sort of take us under his wing," continues O’Neal, "his support shaped how we approach creativity." With Corgan’s blessing and help, Sleeping At Last signed with Interscope Records to launch their sophomore album "Ghosts" before jumping into a nationwide tour with Yellowcard, The Format, and Something Corporate. The roller coaster ride ended with a 75 day recording session for their new album, "Keep No Score."

"We approached this record more organically than anything else we’ve ever done before," and as a result the album moves smoother and carries much more weight than their previous releases. Whereas "Ghosts" felt like separate pieces are artificially pieced together, "Keep No Score" feels complete, with underlying themes of hope and immediacy, especially in the face of death. Also present are more hints of faith and heaven than in their previous work. "Our faith is a big part of who we are," O’Neal says, "but we’ve always intended our music to be for anyone that cares to listen, no matter who they are or what they believe in. Everyone hears a song in a different light."

"Big labels are going to have to change the way they do things. They don’t hold the cards anymore." Proclaims Sleeping At Last’s bassist Dan Perdue. In a surprise move before releasing "Keep No Score" the band broke with their label Interscope. "The music business is such a strange thing right now and to be able to remember why we create music and to have the means to go forward without the messes that can come from the business," explains O’Neal, "We couldn’t be happier."

Confident that they can achieve the same success independently, Sleeping At Last pushes into the latter half of 2006 with more touring, possibly with their close friends Switchfoot. "We’ve reached a place where we’re happier now than we’ve ever been before," finishes O’Neal, "What you’re hearing is exactly who we are and where we want to be."

More information on Sleeping At Last can be found here.