Sleep Braids aims to deliver songs that speak to the struggles of identity and personal growth, while honoring the genre they all grew up loving.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Casey Burgess - Guitars
EJ Olson - Drums
Andrew Serino - Vocals
Brennan Allen - Guitars
Zach Reinhart - Bass
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Sleep Braids? How long has the band been around?
Sleep Braids is the culmination of many years and many bands---Casey and EJ played together in a band called Aleen, Andrew did a song in EJ’s collaborative side project 09, and Brennan and Zach were in a band called His Legacy with Andrew. This project was a really cool way for all of us to reconnect and make music again. Casey and EJ began writing together in 2020, and we linked up with the other guys this summer to lock in this sound!
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
We should preface this by saying that some of our favorite pop punk bands have completely nonsensical names, so that’s the inspiration here. The name “Sleep Braids” originated with EJ’s luscious hair! To avoid a tangled mane, he braids his hair before sleeping---he rolled out of bed and right into the studio one morning to track with them in, and the rest was history!
Previously, Casey & EJ wrote under the artist name Coping Mechanism, but after bringing in the other guys and really developing our sound, wanted to find a name that reflected the fun loving nature of the project.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
The core of the songs were written by Casey, with EJ helping to shape the songs further before heading into the studio. Both Casey and EJ team up to write lyrics, with the songs and themes circling around mental health and hard lessons learned throughout their 20’s. The music is a vehicle for emotional release, and will most likely continue to be the driving force for lyrical content.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
The Story So Far, Neck Deep, Four Year Strong, Knuckle Puck. This modern wave of pop punk has been really cool to see.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
We are still young in our career, so there isn’t a huge sizzle reel. We’re pleased with how the release of our debut single has gone so far! It’s just great to have a core group of guys that want to make good music and being able to write stuff that resonates with people is a great feeling.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Four Year Strong - they have such a great live presence and are extremely talented. Others would include The Story So Far, Point North, Knuckle Puck, Neck Deep. For us, Sleep Braids is a celebration of this genre that we all grew up loving---touring with similar acts would really reinforce that love for us, and we’d be stoked to hit the road with guys like that.
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