Thanks for chatting guys. To be honest, we hadn’t heard much about you guys until recently, but we heard your song Crazy on Triple J, and had to know more.
Yes! Thanks for having us.
How did Art of Sleeping come about?
I was working as a contemporary dance instructor in far North Queensland coal-mines. Few would show up to my class and people would snigger behind my back when they saw my awesome patterned bandana, tights and crumple sock combination outfits. I was misunderstood. I was ahead of my time. All I wanted to do was dance, dance, dance!
When things got tough working underground for weeks without food or fresh air I would sing these silly little soliloquies and songs to cheer the guys up. Little blue birds would fly down to sit on my shoulder and tweet along in a very Walt Disney fashion while I sang.
Everyone kept asking me why I was digging coal when all I really wanted to do was sing and dance. I just wanted to make my father proud. Eventually I decided maybe they were right so I packed my bandanas, pointe shoes, shovel and grandfathers pocket watch up and hitch hiked to the big city where I started playing weeknight gigs in a bar called The Dive.
Most of the other guys in Art of Sleeping were doing table dancing at The Dive on Tuesday night to pay their way through college but the owner was a scoundrel and kept all the tips for himself. One night after the bar closed we were sharing a cold lemon ice tea and having a laugh about life when someone jokingly suggested that we should hit the road as touring musicians.
At that very moment a big time music label executive dressed in a 90s pin stripe suit and smoking a fat cigar burst in through the doors! He took the cigar from his gold teeth grin and exclaimed excitedly that we were the real deal and he wanted sign us! He immediately called Jon Bon Jovi to tell him that we would be the main supporting act on his next arena tour. We opened a bottle of expensive apple cider to celebrate. A big brass show band started playing out of no where and all these 1950s-esque cleaners started singing and dancing in unison using their mops and cleaning utensils as great stage props!
Glitter fell from the sky and Chris Martin from Coldplay turned around from the pokey machine he was playing, winked at us and raised a congratulatory glass of sparkly. The frame froze on a great wide-angle shot of us all high five-ing and throwing our heads back in laughter and the rest is history.
Is this the real story of Art Of Sleeping? I don’t know. Nobody knows. It is an elusive tale shrouded in speculation and mystery.
LOL. Okay then, so what’s the meaning behind the bands name?
We were throwing around a few ideas… ‘The Russell Crow’s Feet’, ‘Smash Beagle Berry Muffin’, ‘Colonoscopy Slide Shakers’, ‘Bugle Bag Bass Boys’. All great names in their own right but in the end we decided ‘Art Of Sleeping’ just felt right.
What can we expect at your gigs?
We just finished recording our debut album Shake Shiver and will be performing our current singles ‘Crazy’ and ‘Voodoo’ as well as some new work off the album. We have recruited super talented support artists, Triple J favourite Jesse Davidson and Psych rockers Sunbeam Sound Machine. We always aim to put every thing we have into our live shows, as it is the most enjoyable part of being a musician. We take a lot of pride in our live show and make it as dynamic as possible. I always look forward to being in a new place sharing our songs with new people.
Where do you guys draw your inspiration from?
Everything, everywhere, all the time. Usually, after coffee. It’s exhausting. We all listen to so much music. There is no one style or genre. I am in constant flux. I always get super inspired when I’m in a new space. Every time we move into a new rehearsal space I get all psyched and start throwing out all these new ideas. I like change.
What’s on the horizon for Art of Sleeping?
Our debut album Shake Shiver is out on 17 July. It’s something that we’re really proud of and can’t wait to play new music for you. Shake Shiver is available for pre-order on iTunes currently and we are on our national Australian tour all through June. We’re also playing Splendour in the Grass late July.
What are you guys most excited about playing in Canberra
We have never been to Canberra so have no idea what to expect! Will the Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce come to our show? I hope so. I’m excited, I love the cold and I love new places so can’t wait to explore!
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Art of Sleeping play Transit Bar on Friday 5 June. Click here to buy your tickets.
