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With next CD, Asleep aims to widen audience
The band spent three months recording the project.
As 2008 dawned, it was decision time for Asleep.
The Youngstown-based band had gotten interest from the record industry for its debut disc, a progressive-rock opus. The next step was to either buy its way onto the national tour of a bigger act, or head back to the studio to make an even better record.
Asleep — Todd Kaden (vocals), Jon Dean (guitar, vocals), Jeremy Hanhold (bass), Larry Serb (keys, vocals) and Dave Ardale (drums) — chose the second option, and is glad it did.
After three grueling months at Vudu Studios in Freeport, Long Island, N.Y., working with producer Mike Watts (Genesis), the band has emerged with a new record that exceeded its goals.
“It was a daunting task, but it worked out fine,” said guitarist Dean.
With its dense and layered sound, Asleep is obviously not another power-rock band looking for a single. Finding the nexxus where its experimental sound crosses into radio-accessibility took a while.
“We walked a fine line,” said Serb, “but our producer gave us the record we needed. When he talked, we listened. He has a phenomenal ear.”
Asleep remains unsigned, but will take its time shopping the new record to labels. “We would fit best on an independent label, but we’re going to start at the top and then work down,” said Serb, explaining that the major labels will get first crack. “In the end, we will sign with whoever is most excited.”
In March, the band will head to Austin, Texas, for the South by Southwest Festival, which is like the Super Bowl of unsigned rock acts. A showcase performance is also scheduled for A&R reps in New York.
Asleep has done showcases before, beginning with one in December of 2007 at The Cellar in Struthers. A label rep from Los Angeles saw the band play for 350 rabid fans that night even though a foot of snow had fallen. The rep was impressed with the devotion, but offered no contract.
Asleep did more than just make a record while in New York this year. The band also got an education.
“We gained perspective on the music business,” said Serb. “It’s a rat race. Any misstep can come back and bite you later.”
The group also was able to reintroduce itself to industry players.
“In New York, it’s all networking,” said Serb. “That’s hard to do in Youngstown. You have to get on the road and live it.”
Still, Asleep is unlikely to make a sudden splash. “Labels see us as a development project,” said Serb. “We can fit in on rock radio, but how do you market us?”
The new record might provide those answers. Serb says it has at least five songs that have radio potential.
Topping the list is “Who I Am,” which, Serb said, “sounds the least like us. It’s a songwriter’s song that can capture people. It could cross over.”
Other possibilities are “The Machine and the Ghost” (“We get amazing feedback when we play that one,” said Serb); “Cavities” (“an early ’90s throwback to The Cure and Smashing Pumpkins”); “Pumpkins and Slippers”; and the Coldplay-ish “Conversations End.”