Monsters Who Sleep Interview
Q: Can you talk about your history as a musician?
A: It started when I was a young boy. My parents put me in piano lessons. And even though I hated it, that laid the foundation for the rest of my musical life. In middle school I heard a rock band practicing in the school band room. They didn't have a drummer so I asked if I could join them. They played their music and I improvised to the best of my ability. It worked out because that ended up being the first band I joined. Fast forward, a few other bands and musical projects later, I joined the Tom Hess Music Corporation's 'Music Careers Mentoring Program.’ I started taking things serious from that point on, and that was the birth of Monsters Who Sleep.
Q: Did you have any idea what Beyond The Inevitable Murmur would be before you started writing it?
A: I wrote down every song idea I had, and even had names for them before I wrote a single lyric. I knew this album was going to be dark, more metal inspired, for sure. I wanted to write something that was never done before. But I still wanted it to be true to my style, and be palatable at the same time.
Q: I think a lot of people who listen to Beyond The Inevitable Murmur would find it experimental or abstract? What is your creative process like? How do the ideas manifest?
A: Yeah, I get that. It was very much a venture out into something I had never done before. For this album, like I mentioned, I wrote down my song ideas before I wrote the actual songs. Named them too. After I finished writing around 20 songs, I decided which ones were the best, and that I liked the most. I filtered the rest out and had 14 songs to keep. I also planned out the cinematic bits, where they would go and how they would sound etc. The process of writing was pretty simple - I started with lyrics, and put the appropriate guitar parts on it. I recorded everything on my phone's voice recorder before laying it all in an actual recording program. It didn't sound as lush as I hoped at that point so I layered it all with some of the weird ambient noises you hear on the album.
Q: Can you talk about your history as a musician?
A: It started when I was a young boy. My parents put me in piano lessons. And even though I hated it, that laid the foundation for the rest of my musical life. In middle school I heard a rock band practicing in the school band room. They didn't have a drummer so I asked if I could join them. They played their music and I improvised to the best of my ability. It worked out because that ended up being the first band I joined. Fast forward, a few other bands and musical projects later, I joined the Tom Hess Music Corporation's 'Music Careers Mentoring Program.’ I started taking things serious from that point on, and that was the birth of Monsters Who Sleep.
Q: Did you have any idea what Beyond The Inevitable Murmur would be before you started writing it?
A: I wrote down every song idea I had, and even had names for them before I wrote a single lyric. I knew this album was going to be dark, more metal inspired, for sure. I wanted to write something that was never done before. But I still wanted it to be true to my style, and be palatable at the same time.
Q: I think a lot of people who listen to Beyond The Inevitable Murmur would find it experimental or abstract? What is your creative process like? How do the ideas manifest?
A: Yeah, I get that. It was very much a venture out into something I had never done before. For this album, like I mentioned, I wrote down my song ideas before I wrote the actual songs. Named them too. After I finished writing around 20 songs, I decided which ones were the best, and that I liked the most. I filtered the rest out and had 14 songs to keep. I also planned out the cinematic bits, where they would go and how they would sound etc. The process of writing was pretty simple - I started with lyrics, and put the appropriate guitar parts on it. I recorded everything on my phone's voice recorder before laying it all in an actual recording program. It didn't sound as lush as I hoped at that point so I layered it all with some of the weird ambient noises you hear on the album.
Q: What are some of the themes that are touched upon throughout the album?
A: There are some more "light hearted" themes, such as on “Unicorn Blood.” Where I play around with the idea from Harry Potter, that drinking unicorn blood will keep you alive no matter how bad your condition is. Others are very personal, more specific would be “Counting Wolves.” I struggle over a very real porn addiction in that one. The overarching theme of the album is that we're only here for a short time. We've got to leave this life with something better than when we started. Whether it's for our children, friends, or whatever means something to you...fill in the blanks.
Q: What are some influences other than musicians which shaped your sound?
A: This might not be obvious based on Beyond The Inevitable Murmur. But my biggest influences are Never Shout Never, Secondhand Serenade and This Wild Life. You know, that first era of "emo acoustic" music. I would listen to them in high school and emulate their energy with my own music.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: It's not always lighthearted, but that's because I want to make music that reaches people. Some people won't enjoy it because it's not "party music.” But I'm okay with that if it helps someone get out of a dark spot in life. Some day I would love to write more upbeat, catchy music for dancing. But for now I'm okay with the grotesque...the heaviness of Beyond The Inevitable Murmur. Also, you can listen to Beyond The Inevitable Murmur and my other two albums on major streaming platforms. They're all very different from each other so there's something in it for everyone.
A: There are some more "light hearted" themes, such as on “Unicorn Blood.” Where I play around with the idea from Harry Potter, that drinking unicorn blood will keep you alive no matter how bad your condition is. Others are very personal, more specific would be “Counting Wolves.” I struggle over a very real porn addiction in that one. The overarching theme of the album is that we're only here for a short time. We've got to leave this life with something better than when we started. Whether it's for our children, friends, or whatever means something to you...fill in the blanks.
Q: What are some influences other than musicians which shaped your sound?
A: This might not be obvious based on Beyond The Inevitable Murmur. But my biggest influences are Never Shout Never, Secondhand Serenade and This Wild Life. You know, that first era of "emo acoustic" music. I would listen to them in high school and emulate their energy with my own music.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: It's not always lighthearted, but that's because I want to make music that reaches people. Some people won't enjoy it because it's not "party music.” But I'm okay with that if it helps someone get out of a dark spot in life. Some day I would love to write more upbeat, catchy music for dancing. But for now I'm okay with the grotesque...the heaviness of Beyond The Inevitable Murmur. Also, you can listen to Beyond The Inevitable Murmur and my other two albums on major streaming platforms. They're all very different from each other so there's something in it for everyone.