Sleep Out

From the "Not Even Dust" era (2008):
Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery is a sanctuary where the eternal slumber of the city’s most notable citizens is interrupted only by the rumbling of the Red Line train headed northbound to Wilson or southbound to Sheridan. Graceland Cemetery is the inspiration and setting for the songs on Sleep Out’s sophomore album, Not Even Dust.

Not Even Dust is deeply rooted in the city of Chicago and inspired by a curious and ceaseless exploration of life’s unpredictable trajectory and undeniable endpoint.

Graceland Cemetery offers the living a chance to wander down gracefully curving paths amidst the architecturally significant mausoleums and tombs that house the forefathers and founders of the windy city. “Graceland Cemetery” is a ghostly, auditory tour of the graveyard, – one that starts at Lorado Taft’s haunting monument Eternal Silence, and leads the listener down Centre Ave and past Victor Lawson’s grave, which is marked only by the imposing presence of an armored crusader. Not Even Dust’s 11 songs are all inspired by Graceland Cemetery, some in more explicit ways than others. Some take the vantage point of a newly interred resident while others depict the thoughts of passers by.

Sleep Out’s enthusiasm to begin the sessions for Not Even Dust was bolstered in part by the critical success of their first album I Was Your Shroud and its warm reception amongst music critics and bloggers alike. In the summer of 2007, Sleep Out left Chicago and headed to Portland, OR to begin recording with producer and Badman Recording Co label owner Dylan Magierek at Type Foundry studios. Magierek has produced and engineered albums by Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon), Call and Response, The Red Thread and tracks by Low and Erlend Øye (Kings of Convenience). Wanting to ensure Not Even Dust’s roots were firmly planted in the city of its inspiration, Magierek and the band completed the record at Chicago’s Electrical Audio studios winter of 2007.

Not Even Dust was released on July 8, 2008 with CDs available via Chicago’s Two Thumbs Down Records and digitally available via Badman Recording Co. Sleep Out have shared the stage with Retribution Gospel Choir, Jason Collett, Asobi Seksu, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, The 1990s, Robert Gomez, Ra Ra Riot, Cordero, Ladyhawk and Buffalo Tom, among others


From the I Way Your Shroud era (2006):
Having taken their brand of indie-rock to the masses through demos, shows, and radio appearances whilst receiving nary a death threat, Sleep out set off to the studio during the Fall of 2005 to record their first album, "I Was Your Shroud". The result: Eleven diverse compositions that toe the line between roadhouse donnybrooks and delicate lullabies. One can sense the longing in "Cat or a Horse," or feel the whip cracking and taste the whiskey spitting while listening to "Stay of Execution." Batting clean up are bash brothers "It Wasn't Darkness" and "Old Mare". They didn't create these songs for their own good, folks. They merely ask to be your background music. Members of: Kleenex Girl Wonder, Driftless Pony Club, May or May Not and mt.st.helens.

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