*For part one of the interview feel free to click here
After a nice break to fill up our tea pots, grab a snack at the counter, and decompress we started treading into the evolution of Field Sleeper. From the young boy who silently watched others perform at coffee shops, to his performances at those venues, progressing all the way to self-recording, producing, and distributing his first album Stay Quiet, Stay Ahead.D3C0D3R: "We are sitting in Goldfish Tea, the place that originally got you started in performing at open mic venues, tell me what brought you into this environment?"
FS: "I was starting to write songs, though I didn't start playing originals until about eight months into playing the venues, but, my true interest was seeing what other talent was out there at these open mics. I mean in high school there's of course things for charity, the talent show, and those small events. But, I wanted to see where people who did this A LOT go and how do they perform live. Which I always had this image in my head when I went to Goldfish Tea they were gonna be these super serious, uber talented, classical trained musicians but it turned out these people were just like you and I."
D3C0D3R: "Now that you've played in multiple venues and states, what has been your favorite place to play and why?"
FS: "That's a tough one. I'd have to say Kafe Kerouac, it's a very humble atmosphere the walls are painted but there is not a ton of distractions for you, a bare bones venue if you will. It's a coffee shop that doubles as bar offering an assortment of beer, wine, coffee drinks as well as a book shop that sells old records. But my favorite part is that its a two room establishment with the the first room being the coffee shop/bar setting with record sales while the other room has the stage in it for the open mics. During the day, the coffee shop/bar half is very alive and sociable while the stage room is more of is a dead quiet study area for local students. At night though the stage room fills with people who are there to really listen to music not like a majority of open mics where you'll have people that show up to chat and eat only to find there is live music occupying the space as well. When you go on stage, you can just feel the people are there to truly listen and interpret your music, which greatly affects the performance you give out as any musician would tell you."
"'I'm gonna miss hearing you play Alex.' That right there...
was just perfect for me."
D3C0D3R: :You've played open mics for a few years now and as I'm sure you've noticed, a good majority of venues now-a-days are actually trying to stop covers to be played. What are your thoughts on that as covers can really help you find your identity as an artist before you start polishing originals?"FS: "It really is a shame as I ran into that problem hosting an open mic in Ohio as ASCAP is getting on them. The reason being is most venues have to pay a pretty hefty licensing fee for the ability to play covers in their venues. Sadly, I found out because my open mic got a fine for it, thankfully they were very nice about it, but still I feel it's kind of silly. Let's say you have a bar that has an awesome KISS cover band perform every Saturday night, I can understand paying the license for that because you, as a venue, are making money off these covers people are paying to come see and dance to. In an open mic setting though, you'll have a crowd of roughly 15-20 people two to four times a week and the people that come in are there to support their friends so the coffee shop is not making real money off those people."
D3C0D3R: "So, if you had to choose one favorite cover to perform live what would it be?"
FS: "I'd have to say Bon Iver's RE: Stacks, not only because I'm very good at it but because, like the song "Skeletons" on Stay Quiet, Stay Ahead, at the end I take a deep breathe and just feel good about myself."
D3C0D3R: "Being on the other side of the fence, what would you say to someone who is looking to perform at open mics but may be too afraid to make the jump, doesn't know enough songs, etc.?"
FS: "Ask yourself 'What are you trying to get out of playing?' Is this to have fun with friends, the nervous rush of being on stage, to be better at music, or your own personal reasons? I feel too many people get caught in making a perfect record, or other miscellaneous tasks though to me, the most important thing should be to make sure you're having fun in the long run and you can be proud of what you've done. From there, go to the open mic a few times and scope out it to see if maybe it's too loud, the talent is too good, or any number of those things. Definitely, bring some friends to support you though as it does help."
D3C0D3R: "I think that's perfect advice for everyone out there now tell me about your proudest moment so far in music."
FS: "There's this musician in Ohio by the name of Michael Kohn and he rarely talks. But, he's a phenomenal musician that you can get, through his music, that he may have a had a few hard times in life. He plays in a very awesome rag-time band while doing solo stuff on the side and would come out to the open mics when I was out there for school. We had a few conversations among friends though he never truly gave me any critic on my music until my last open mic out there when he just simply stated 'I'm gonna miss hearing you play Alex.' That right there, that confirmation that I was heading in the right direction was just perfect for me."
"...there's a lyric that sums up half of the message very well, it goes, 'Restless but too scared to move.'"
D3C0D3R: "We've barely touched upon you album entitled Stay Quiet, Stay Ahead. So why don't you tell me a little about the album such as the process of recording and what the album means to you."FS: "I feel Stay Quiet, Stay is a culmination of songs I've been writing for years as it was one of those things I felt I needed to buckle down and do to get a taste of what music had to offer outside of open mics. The process was incredible because I loved having the ability to hear my own music come out of speakers rather then live once. The captivating part was the ability to dub, layer, and re-record parts to enhance the song itself above just one guitar and one vocal track live. I really can't wait to do it again as now when I'm writing material the first thing that pops into my head is 'What else can I do with this once I'm in the studio, because it will not end just with these tracks.'
D3C0D3R: Stay Quiet, Stay Ahead is the official title but what is the message behind it?
FS: "Of course it's a very personal album to me as it shows just how far I've come but, in the song 'Silver Circles' there's a lyric that sums up half of the message very well, it goes, 'Restless but too scared to move.' I feel that very much describes the characters in the album as they are full of so much potential, ideas, and aspirations but for whatever reason they are stuck in this very nervous/tense state. The other reason for the title is in high school I always thought I would 'stay ahead' of the drama because I thought I was above it so I was staying quiet to stay ahead of my peers. Ultimately when I get to college though I realize that you will be interacting and living with other people your whole life. You have to be social especially as a musician because I've come to find that the people that are friendlier and nice have more friends which can lead to more popularity. Of course that's something I've tried myself to work on over the past year and feel I've come a long way.
