Interviews: Sea Sleeper

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Post-Metal/Progressive Metal/Death Metal band, Sea Sleeper, from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

S.C.: We’ve actually struggled coming up with band names in the past. And I’m not sure how we stuck, Sea Sleeper, but when we did, I was like “GOOD... we can move on with our lives and write metal.”

N.K.: We seem to write a lot of songs about sea exploration and failure and drowning, so it fit.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

N.K.: I started listening to a lot of death metal, atmospheric black metal and other proggy metal genres in my teens. There is a lot of freedom and room for exploration in that musical world, as well as a huge range of emotions the music can evoke, which makes it more compelling for me than some other genres.

J.C.: Because we've played together for a decade, this was just a natural unspoken progression for us. We played a doomish style metal, than technical death metal, and than kind of encompassed all the parts we liked. I'd say it is just straight metal, but thousands of metal heads would have my head for blasphemy.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

J.C.: Well, sort of. My brother and I knew each other coming from the same mother and all. And Nick, well we met him from craigslist! I've met a handful of musicians from craigslist...and if you've met one musican from craigslist....you've met them all. So in a way yes we did know each other.

4. Each band member favourite band?

N.K.: Blut Aus Nord

S.C.: Huge Death fan, I loved the Chuck Shuldiner/Gene Hoglan combo J.C. - While I'm proud the others guys for actually only naming one band, my favorite bands our Gojira, Death, and Tool....and so many more

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

N.K: As the bass player, my favorite writing moments are when Jess writes a new song and I immediately know what I want to do to make certain riffs richer or to play off of the drums or something that I think makes a song stronger. The collaborative moments are my favorite.

S.C: think more and more we’ve placed an emphasis on writing songs that punch live audiences in the face. My bro and I go to live shows and study... study the band, study the audience and we’ll dissect the ebbs and flows of a performance. We’ve caught on over the years that it’s important metal music be spacious enough, that people who don’t know who you are, can interpret what you are doing live. So we write music always with the live show in mind.

J.C: I enjoy the dissociate properties of song writing. Being able to lock myself in the studio for hours at a time and play a 5 second riff 1,000 different ways is cathartic. Writing is a break from responsibility. Bands dont inspire me, its segments and riffs that inspire me. I'll listen to some bands only for the one riff they have, on the 8th track at the 3 minute mark. When a segment changes my emotional state, that makes me want to transport to my guitar and capture a similar feeling.

6. Where was your last gig?

N.K: The Star Theatre in Portland Oregon, 11/11/19 with Dyscarnate and Fit for an Autopsy

7. Where would you like to act?

J.C: We would love to play Hellfest or Wacken someday. Any European festival really.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

S.C: Opening up for Meshuggah or Devin Townsend would be amazing.

9. Whom not?

N.K: I don't know... apparently Mike Huckabee is a musician. I don't want to collaborate with him.

J.C: Like Nick, Huckabee is a bass player...that probably all they have in common though...I hope anyways.

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

J.C: My first gig I was so nervous. The second I strapped on my guitar my knees wobbled and I thought my legs could not support my sweaty body any longer. The feeling slowly fades each performance you play. Your basically juiced with adrenaline because playing live is a rush, the more experiences you have the less adrenaline effects you, my advice is take 5 minutes before you play and just breath and manifest your success.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

S.C: Metallica, specifically Metallica in the And Justice For All era. Pound for pound that album still stands today as a pure cut of metal meat.

N.K: There are lots of professional bands that have made me want to play over the years but the most inspiring bands are the really good local bands we've played with that nobody knows about. The portland metal scene is really strong and I can't wait to get back into it again.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

J.C: To borrow a riff of ours

N.K: People at our shows have always been cool to me but I remember one night our vocalist Kris from our old project Southgate, was especially sweaty and a guy was just bathing and reveling in his onstage drippings. I thought that was weird.

13. What do you think of your fans?

J.C: Metal is grassroots at its core. So many bands are coveted before any streamlined success. I'm always grateful people follow us as an unsigned band with limited music available. It shows their musical taste has nothing to do with looks, trends or image. It's just folks who SEARCH for new music to love

14. What do you think of our site?

J.C: Honestly, better than facebook 1,000x over. Just like I'm thankful for our fans who support underground metal, I'm thankful for sites like Breathing the Core who interview underground metal and give us a voice. I have you bookmarked.

15. Something add?

J.C: Our debut release 'Old Guard' is due our this fall. Follow sea Sleeper on all social media platforms and thank you to breathing the core forn the interview.