Shudderfluts

Well, here's the thing, okay? It's a shudderfluts kind of thing. It requires close attention and a close cropped hairstyle.

Song Farming

It's always nice when everyone's on the same page and you get to follow that one initial idea from seed to fruit as a group of musical farmers tilling and fertilizing the soil of your collective creativity! Can't wait until the harvest! Until then we'll get together, hop on our rhythmic tractors, scoot on out to the various farmer's markets with last year's yield in tow, and sell off our crops at unbelievable prices.

Touring Band!

We're not going out for two months or anything, but we are going out of town for a few consecutive shows next week. It may not seem like a big deal to some people, but it's another step in the right direction for us. You don't have to wait for a manager and label to start making things happen. In fact, if you do, you're doing it wrong. Get out of town and put yourself in front of some new faces! Even if it's just a Friday and Saturday, hit the road and have a little rock n' roll adventure!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Nick

HELP!

Hey, guise/gowls. Here's the deal: we need your help! If you're reading this, it means you care enough about our band to willfully check further into our goings on than what we post on Facebook. I suppose there's also the possibility that you're reading this to see if we say anything outlandish that you can then take back to town and spread as gossip. If that's why you're here, you're going to leave disappointed today. Congratulations, you're appointed. I appointed you and now I'm disappointing you. Sorry.

Now then. We just released a seven song ep called Exile Boy Vol. 1: The Quiet Desert, and we're giving it away for free online. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do so just after reading this! It's very simple to download from our Soundcloud page. No signing up or anything of the sort to do if you go that route. And if you don't have the time to listen right now, just grab the tunes and keep em on your hard drive until you do!

All we're asking in return is for you to send a friend or two our way. Tell a few people why you think we're awesome and why they should check us out. Link to our video for Defector vs. The Angel of Stranglehold Crime and perhaps watch it again if you haven't done so in awhile. Leave a comment on our Facebook page or start a bullshit thread on our forum. Whatever you feel like doing to help out in any small way you can will be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Nick

It's been awhile!

This past Saturday we played the release show for Exile Boy Vol. 1: The Quiet Desert, our first ep as Sleep Star Ignition. The evening went very well. We played great, had a room full of nice people to perform in front of, and even sold a few items. I'd say the night was a success!

Earlier on Saturday we also had some new pictures taken, some of which include me engaging in a very cheap fantasy roleplay where I use sticks for swords. It was pretty badass.

Oops... We're The Greatest!

You never know what it's going to be like to go from being small time to larger than life until that moment creeps up and you're The Greatest. It's something, man. It's something.

We're Just Here To Play

There's a reason it's called "playing" music. It's supposed to be fun. We're going to have fun. No. We're not going to watch the entire set of every band we play with. No. We're not going to stay until the end of the show every time we play. If someone in our band is into a band we're playing with, they'll show that by watching. If we don't watch or if we take off after we play, don't take it personally. We're not going to bullshit anyone. We're not going to pretend to dig what you're playing if we don't. And we wouldn't want anyone else to patronize or humor us by doing anything similar.

I've come to realize that striving for a unified brotherhood of musicians is not the way to go about it. I think these things arise in a natural way when they do happen to congeal into something cohesive, but not by the concerted efforts of people standing around and watching bands they aren't into and talking to people they don't feel compelled to talk to.

It's tough to get this across without sounding like a prick, and if you think I'm a prick for my sentiments here, that's fine. You are entitled to that. Believe me, I would love a big merry band of friends to go hang out with every time we play, but I don't believe this band has found it's niche yet. We aren't a hardcore band. We're not cock rock. We're not metal. We're kind of post-hardcore-ish. I don't know. We're weird. People leave the room when we play. Not all of them, but I guess you like us or you don't. And those who don't like us... again, I wouldn't want them to stand there and watch just because they're our buddies or because they feel some responsibility to do so. If you keep playing long enough and you're persistent, you'll find your little following. Maybe it will turn into a big following. But I don't desire a fake following.

It's easier to be energetic and really bring it when there's a crowded room of people who are also bouncing off the walls. It's easy to feed off that. But you should never play and feel like that has to be there for you to get it up musically. Reliance on a supportive crowd is a form of impotence where the packed house and the enthusiastic audience become a sort of inspirational Viagra. Learn to cultivate your own heat and bring it every fucking time you hit the stage. Play the same way for three people that you would for a thousand; out of your own center.

Don't pay attention to who stayed and watched and who didn't. If they didn't show up or they left early, consider it their freedom, but also their loss.

Nick

"Don't cover Buffett at singer/songwriter night."

Wednesday night, Zach, Bob, and myself (Nick... I'm usually the one writing these and I'll be better about clarifying that in the future) went to the local pub. We played some darts, drank a few beers, downed an entire bottle of honey mead, and oh yeah, played an acoustic set.

We opened the collection of four songs with a cover of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. We had fun. The musical acts were more or less there for background noise, so I can't say exactly what everyone in attendance thought about it, but they clapped after we finished, so at the very least they didn't hate our tunes. Or maybe they did and were simply humoring us. Whatevz. 

The whole evening was more or less just for fun. We weren't going out to try capturing a gaggle of new fans or anything of that sort. I said our band name a few times in between songs, but I don't believe anyone went home and looked us up. Like I said, it wasn't about any of that. We hit the downtown Lebanon scene looking for a laid back hangout and that's what we got. In a nice, rusticly decorated bar with a fine selection of wines and craft beers, we enjoyed ourselves and hopefully provided satisfactory ambiance for the local patrons. 

There was one hangup, however. The guy running the show told us we shouldn't have covered Jimmy Buffett. Why?! Why not?! He didn't even elaborate! Come on, man! Now I'm going to push for us to prepare a set made up exclusively of Jimmy Buffett songs which, if all goes my way, we will perform live at singer/songwriter night next month at The Village Wine Cellars (where we played Wednesday). 

And one last thing... I am a Parrothead. If you ever see us live and we cover Buffett, we're not being cute or ironic. I genuinely love the guy's entire catalogue. 

Nick

Good Bands Do Posters

Good bands do posters, don't they? You don't see many good bands without posters of themselves for sale. You also don't see many good bands without signed 11 x 17 glossy prints. I think what we might do is go ahead and sell our van and all of our musical equipment, take the money we get from our combined sales, and throw in on some "Hi-Q" glossy prints of our band having lunch. We'll charge $15 for the glossy print and then $5 per signature from each band member. Of course, we'll be wearing dark sunglasses while we sign your print because we don't want to make eye contact for free. If you get everyone's John Hancock, we'll knock off $5 from the total. So, the total package or "Lex Luger Edition" with everyone's autograph would look like this:

Glossy print of Sleep Star Ignition having lunch - $15
Bob Tallman's signature - $0
Zach Madden's signature - $0
Max Moon's signature - $0
Nicholas Randal Villars's signature - $15

What about shows? How will we play without instruments? Ever heard of a capella, ya slapnuts? I'm going to bring this up at tonight's practice and see if I can convince everyone that this is definitely the way to go in moving forward. We had been kicking around this "Boss Fights" idea for the next EP, but I think we should go with something like "Harmonious Existing in the Key of Us".

Prepare your walls for Sleep Star Ignition a capella posters and signed glossy prints.

Monday Morning Cheese Sandwich Factory

Welcome to the official Monday Morning Cheese Sandwich Factory. If you're just getting your week started and things are feeling a bit sluggish, read on for inspiration concerning life.

This looks like a pretty tasty cheese sandwich. Notice the way the cavernous gulf in the center of the top piece of the sandwich seems to be oozing a savory mixture of a melty blend of at least two unique cheeses? It looks like a very high quality French bread was used in the construction of this particular sandwich, as well, which only does more to cement its place in cheese sandwich history. What does any of that have to do with Sleep Star Ignition? Well, it may not seem so apparent at first glance, but if you look closely, you will find that this picture sums up our band pretty well. How is this? How can this be? Well, you see, obviously, people take pictures of cheese sandwiches. Now check this out...

Have you made the connection? If not, allow me to literally spell it out for you. People also take pictures of us! So now you understand. Sleep Star Ignition is a band just like a cheese sandwich has cheese on it. Let's face it, a cheese sandwich with no cheese is like Sleep Star Ignition with no band members. The logic here is  flawless, my friends. It's a match made in heaven, really. Us and cheese sandwiches. We play music while cheese sandwiches get eaten. If you want a special edition Sleep Star Ignition cheese sandwich, let us know on our Facebook page and we'll see about bringing cheese sandwich supplies to our next show.

One day we will open the console and put in a command to fill Bogart's with cheese wheels and we will play music for them. Sorry, no humans at that show besides us. We won't even have a sound guy. Gotta make room for cheese.

What a Show...

Last night's show was hands down the most intense and  personally rewarding show I've ever had the good fortune of playing. Why exactly? Because when it was over, I knew with absolute certainty that there wasn't one thing I could have done to a higher degree with what I had in me.

I've played some really fun shows, but something about last night's was different. Maybe it was the fact that we played over an hour, which is something I don't think I've done since the farewell show The Great American Beast played in 2010. Last evening was different because there was total immersion in what was going on. I looked out and it was cool to see the people who stuck around for the whole thing, but at a point in the set, after most of the people who were there for the first song had wandered away either because we scared them, they thought we sucked, or they were bored, it was all about us.

That may sound a bit harsh, but when I say it was about us, I mean that it became an event of inner-band responsibility. Any thoughts about how we were coming across vanished. There was no consideration given to how we played compared to the other bands. When I say it was about us, I mean the only benchmark that existed was the one that we knew internally as a slightly abstract arrow pointing to a truth that said you can go THIS hard. At that point, you either go in the direction of that arrow at a full sprint or you watch it disappear and allow yourself another "decent" performance.

The way to get the most out of yourself is to do what you do to the best of your ability. It doesn't mean going out and trying to outdo another showman. You can't. That doesn't work. There's always going to be something you didn't think of that this guy or that guy ends up doing. Good for that guy. When you were playing, did you let it go and become your own performance or did you look out at the eyes on you and wonder what they were thinking? There's no time for questioning when you're up there, but sometimes I've made time for it. Last night I did not. And when I got home I was bruised, hoarse, scabbed, and fucking proud of it.

Suggestions

We will always do our best to reply to your comments, whether they're compliments or criticisms. Take this one from our Youtube page as an example.

You see, we want your input. We thrive on it. It helps us to be a better band and more importantly, better people.

***

Free show tonight in Northside at Mayday! Directions and all that on our FB event page!

Turrrrtle...

I know... I get it... just some good-natured ribbing and uh... OH  BOY!

Just wanted to take a moment or two here and wish Glen Tennis a very happy January 30, 2013. From everyone in the band, you're a shining star and a reason to believe.

Also, somehow, we have our songs up for free download on all these different websites and it doesn't look like many of you have taken advantage of that little tidbit yet. What's up with that?! It saves you the whole streaming thing! Some bands are assholes and purposely keep their songs on streaming ONLY just so their plays get super strokes. We just want you to listen to our stuff in the most convenient way possible. I guess if it's more convenient to go to one of our pages to listen to us each time, do that. 

Have a great time at Sauceman's.

-Nick

Super Cool Special Edition EP Progress

Just wanted to say hello right quick and let everyone know that the neato crafty craft version of our EP is going to be really spectacular. We'll be posting details and pictures of the progress on our Tumblr. page as we go along, so if you're interested please check that out. Also, if you think you might be interested in the limited run of the deluxe dudes, let us know. We only plan on making 20 of them, but if it seems like there's a demand for more, we'll take that into consideration. They'll be $10 a pop and come in some boss-worthy packaging. Also, I'm hand writing all of the lyric books. That probably doesn't matter to 99% of people out there, but maybe one of you is already a Sleep Star Ignition fanboy/fangirl and you think that would be awesome to have. Like I said though, follow our Tumblr. page for more details!

All right, guys and gals, I gotta get back to work. Until next time, live long and ponder.

Nick

The Big Boy Set

Playing for over an hour, while not necessarily a legendary feat, is still going to be a fun challenge while keeping the intensity up to snuff and not allowing people to become bored. Looking forward to it!

Twit.Haxxx.lol

Not sure who follows us on the Twitters, but if you happened to see us posting links to malware infested advertisements hawking acai berries, it wasn't really us. We'll throw up some odd stuff on our newsfeeds and status updates from time to time, but nothing that will ever harm your computer. I don't know how that noise came about, but none of us signed off on any such update. Needless to say, that update was removed and our password was changed to a different password. The new password is not password or 12345.

What else? I suppose that's about as exciting as it gets today.

Oh! Here's something...

A Real Awkward Moment

I'm not a big fan of the whole "that awkward moment when..." shtick. So many people fill in the blanks with ridiculously mundane scenarios that aren't even remotely awkward, and then you're just left noticing that awkward moment when a fully grown adult on your newsfeed doesn't know the meaning of the word awkward. Then again, many full grown adults (with college educations) on your newsfeed also don't know the difference between your and you're, so is it really so surprising they would think that waiting an extra five minutes on line at the drive-thru is somehow awkward? It might be inconvenient, but I hardly see how it's awkward. Unless the drive-thru attendant had to sit in your car with you in complete silence until your food was ready, it's probably just an ordinary inconvenience.

Anyway, here's something that really is awkward. It's awkward when you're playing on a bill with six other bands, your guitarist breaks a string in the middle of your fifth song, and no one loans your band another guitar so you can finish your set.

Now, you might say it's awkward to see a band without a backup guitar. Fine. We know. We didn't bring it to the show. We won't make that mistake again. But, as Mr. Max Moon said after the show on Saturday night, it was "very un-punk rock" for most of the other musicians who played that night to slink into the shadows and act like they didn't know what was going on. Perhaps Bob is such a monstrous beast they were all afraid he would literally ruin their instrument and render it completely unplayable after two songs (number of tunes we had left to play). We might as well go with that theory. In fact, if we ever need to borrow a guitar in the future, don't let us. This is your warning.

Bob Tallman will purposely destroy your fucking guitar.

Short and to the Point Monday.

We're approaching this band is if everyone already gives a shit about us. Not because we're cocky or we think we're reinventing the wheel here. Even the fact that our music follows a concept can be "so whatted" right along with everything else that's been done before. We're being honest, though. That's why I believe in this band. That's why we all care so much. This is just us being us, playing what we want to play and writing about what we want to write about. We know it's not cool. We know we don't fit in with whatever the fuck the scene is. Who does? Is there a scene? We're going to welcome that uncertainty. And when people do start giving a shit, we won't have to change anything about the way we operate.

Thanks for giving a shit.

Nick

Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!

Yes. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! will be the first track on our Bayside ripoff album, Killing Thyme. You can pick it up never because I'm just jolking.

Now then...

We're hard at work in the unification of all of these silly social media pages. There are too damn many! Gotta  get your Twitterers, your Facebookers, your Band Campers, your this, your that. It's all quite a lot to deal with. Help. Please.

Also, we have a show in a few days time. To be more precise with my information, the event is being held this Saturday (01/12/2013) at Paws Bingo Hall which is located at 848 Martin St., Greenville, OH 45331. All of the money made at the door will be donated to the Drivers Edge Charity, which is all about raising awareness for teen driving safety. A good cause no doubt. More info can be found here.

What else? We are getting together for a mid-week jam session tomorrow where we will yell at each other in odd voices and probably go into at least a several minutes long hardcore breakdown. Sorry I don't have more to tell you right now, but my brain is rightly fried.

G'night.

Greetings, friends!

Wake up, sleepyheads!

This is famous vocalist Nicholas R. Villars reporting to you live from my office in Lebanon, Ohio. Want a bit of a mental picture? My desk is a glass top desk. Under the glass I have placed various covers/cool pictures from old Game Informer magazines, so I have a bit of a gaming collage to look down at whenever I want to look down at my desk. On that desk I have arranged very strategically starting at my left and moving clockwise, a desk lamp, small television, blue lava lamp, lime-green candle, Moon Knight drinking glass, peach-colored salt lamp (lots of lamps, dude) and two miniature bronze Buddha statuettes. That stuff stays put. Some things on my desk that either shouldn't be here or happen to be nomadic pieces, coming and going as I need them are: a stack of Iron Man comics, an empty coffee mug from Salem, Massachusetts, cookie plate, candy wrappers, Turtle Beach headset, fork, Wonder Woman drinking glass, journal, yellow legal pad, pen, and of course, my laptop and mouse.

Now that you know what my battle station looks like, let's get on with it.

You are probably here because you want to know more about Sleep Star Ignition. We are a music band. And not only that, our music has a concept behind it. Some might call us a concept band. Surely you are familiar with the concept album, where all of the songs follow a certain theme or storyline. Well, our band's entire musical catalog will be following a very cool (in my opinion, anyway) narrative, and it starts with our upcoming EP, Exile Boy Vol. 1: The Quiet Desert (02/02/2013). We will share much more and shed more light on the project as we near the release date, but for now, we just wanted to whet your whistle. Get your blood pumpin'. Get ya'll psyched up! Because let's face it, who gets their whistles whetted, their bloodies pumpin', or their psyches psychin' for a local band? I'll tell you who... our friends! You guys! You're excited right now! Maybe you don't feel it yet, but you will. And then you'll get your other friends excited, and they'll ask what they're excited about, and you'll tell em' they're excited about Sleep Star Ignition! And they'll be like... Woah! I AM excited about Sleep Star Ignition!... What's a Sleep Star Ignition? And then you'll tell them to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation, Soundcloud, Purevolume, and Youtube! And they will! And we'll all get together after our next show and drink Honey Mead like the Norse gods and celebrate our victory as we defeat bullshitty music and boring live shows.

Nice to meet you. Check back often. I like to do this.

Cheers!

Nick (representing Bob (a guitar/ a backup vocal), Zach (a bass), and Max (a drumkit))