Throwing it way back by unearthing this long lost interview.

You may have heard their song "Quicksand" on the season three premiere of Grey's Anatomy or seen their video "Say" on Fuse's IMX. You may have caught them on tour with Zwan, Switchfoot or Yellowcard. But if it just so happens that you've never been properly introduced to this talented trio, it's about time you discovered Chicago's Sleeping at Last. Having caught Billy Corgan's attention with their 2000 release Capture, the band has since released 2003's Ghosts and 2006's Keep No Score. Now with a live DVD on the horizon, the politest people on the planet spared a few minutes to answer my questions. Enjoy!

Orphaned Apparel: How has 2007 been treating you so far?
Chad O'Neal: 2007 has been going really well for us so far. We are looking forward to being on the road a lot the rest of the year and I think we are all rested up for that.

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?
Dan Perdue: It's always a hard question but I'd say it's definitely a little bit on the mellower side. It's very melodic but still rock music in the broad sense of the word.

If you don't mind, why did you part ways with Interscope?
Ryan O'Neal: I don't mind at all. Interscope did a lot of good things for us, but after a while, we were a bit disappointed that our Ghosts album did not get the attention from the label that they had promised. There's not a real messy story behind it or anything, which we're very thankful for, but we parted ways peacefully. Ever since, we've been happier in our lives and careers than we've ever been!

Can you describe Keep No Score a bit for us?
Dan: I think all of us would say that it's the record we imagined making when we first started the project. We're all very proud of it. We wanted the whole thing to be very organic. The instruments, the performances, the sounds, all of it. I like to think that we achieved that. Our last record, Ghosts, was very difficult to make, but this one we had so much fun and I think you can hear that in the record.

What's the songwriting process like for you?
Ryan: Well, I sort of approach each initial element separately. I write down lyrics/words and ideas as often as a I can, and musically it's a similar process. I just play around on my piano or guitar for fun, and when I find a chord or a series of notes that I like, I use a little recorder to collect all of the ideas. And eventually, when I feel excited about an idea musically, I try and focus in the best I can to shape it into a song, by going back through my books and files of ideas and see what fits. But in reality, the song process is different every time. Sometimes things come together quickly and in unison, and other times it takes a very long time to bring shape to things. So, I try to at least write and document my ideas until things start shaping up!

What comes first: the music or the lyrics?
Ryan: It's always different. It's always switching order. But my favorite is when they both come at once!

How long does it take a song to come together?
Ryan: There have been songs that have taken me a few days to complete and a few others that have taken years, so I'm not sure exactly how long really.

How has the process of making an album changed since Capture, and how does creating an album independently compare to the "major label process" you experienced with Ghosts?
Chad: Making Capture was a new experience for us and I think it was a big learning opportunity for us to be able to make an album on our own in a studio setting. Ghosts was another new process for us in the sense that we had to work at a larger scale with someone looking over our shoulders. Both were big steps for us and it paved the way for this record. We had so much fun making Keep No Score and I think the record shows that. With Keep No Score we knew what we wanted to get done and since we knew what to do in a studio setting, it was a real joy to make.

What's it like hearing one of your songs finished for the first time? How does it feel to know you've unleashed something as gorgeous as "Needle & Thread" into the world?
Ryan: Aw, thanks a lot! That really means a lot to us! Well, completing a song is probably one of the best feelings a musician can have, if it turns out the way you were hoping for. It's a real gift to finish a song!

What is it that you hope people will walk away from your music having experienced?
Chad: I hope that people walk away with hopefully an understanding of faith and hope. I hope that people can take a special feeling and attach that to their own hopes and dreams and most importantly, make it their own.

What artists and albums would you say have had the greatest influence on you?
Chad: There are so many artists that I feel have influenced me in some form. I don't really know where to start, though.
Dan: The Beatles were probably my first and biggest influence and from there I got into U2 and then Radiohead. Most recently, I've been listening to a lot of a bit older music like Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. They're all sort of typical influences, but I think there's a reason for that.
Ryan: Over the last few years, I've been really in love with Billie Holiday's music. I've been learning a lot about music from her time period and it's been really inspiring. I've also been very into Nina Simone, Nat King Cole, Nick Drake. I've also been listening a lot of old Disney soundtrack music. Some more recent-time music that I've been listening to would be Wilco, Joanna Newsom.

What album is your music collection embarassed to be in the same company of?
Chad: Oh, there are too many to chose from. I will refrain from embarrassing them and me.
Dan: I have the first two Nelly Furtado albums. While I'm not embarrassed of them, I have been teased about them. But I will defend them both as being very good records.
Ryan: Hmm ... that's a good question! I'm not sure. I have some Seal in my collection, but I like it! So, I'm not very embarrassed of it, but I don't know if it matches any of my other music very well.

Do you prefer playing live or recording in the studio?
Dan: There are great things about both of them so it's hard to decide. Live you have the instant gratification of an audience to cheer you on. But the studio can be very rewarding, too. Just trying to find the thing that will bring the song up a level or just trying to get a certain part just right can be really fun. It can also be insanely frustrating. In the end, I think I might have to say I enjoy the studio a little bit more, but then again maybe not.

What do fans heading out to a Sleeping at Last show have in store?
Chad: Fans can expect to hear our hearts in every song we play and hopefully they can feel what we feel each time we do.

What are a few of your favorite albums from last year?
Dan: Joanna Newsom's Ys is amazing and also the Format's Dog Problems. We toured with them a few years ago and it's great to see them come out with such a good album.
Ryan: Ys by Joanna Newsom is definitely one of my most favorite records in the last 5 years, if not longer. I didn't end up listening to much other new music last year, but I really liked the Format's new record, too.

Have you discovered a 2007 album worth recommending yet?
Dan: The new Arcade Fire album Neon Bible is really, really good. I'm a big fan of their music.
Ryan: Although it doesn't release until May, I'm really enjoying Wilco's new album Sky Blue Sky. They streamed their full album on their website a few times recently and I'm really excited about it! Björk has a new record coming out soon, too. I'm real excited about that one, too!

What does the rest of 2007 have in store for you?
Chad: We have plans to be on the road a lot this year and once this year is over, we will start getting ready for another album. We will see what this year will hold for us.

Thanks for your time! Any final thoughts?
Ryan: Thanks so much for talking with us!

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