Biography
There are more than one band with this name:
1. A three-piece plain garage/avant-garage band based in Manila, Philippines.
2. An acoustroelectric indie soda-pop music collective based in Sydney, Australia.
1. The SLEEPYHEADS! This is a band composed of three like-minded individuals (JOHN JAYVEE DEL ROSARIO, drums / vox / composition; ERICK ENCINARES, bass / production / composition, plus RICO ENTICO, guitars / cook. They have had other guitarists like "Tomas," "Marvin/S.T." and "B.J.," and we are only using their first names to make them LEGENDARY!). They were formed around late-2000, but they've been in and around PLAIN GARAGE/AVANT GARAGE bands since the eighties and nineties.
John Jayvee and Erick formed the band at a school called Trinity College after the two met while visiting a common friend. Finding out they both loved THE VELVET UNDERGROUND/JONATHAN RICHMAN, and wanted to add ROCK AND ROLL FUN to their Third World lives (misery, poverty, crime, pollution, chaos, plus HEARTACHE and MUSICAL BOREDOM) they decided to meet again and rehearsed old (circa 1988-93) original compositions in that style and named the band SLEEPYHEADS (after "Wake Up, Sleepyheads," a Richman song). They are FILIPINOS! And being Filipinos– as opposed to being British or American or "Western"– that is quite remarkable! How can Asian guys, thousands of miles away from the West, be able to appreciate and be inspired by these bands/music? Well, maybe that proves that ROCK AND ROLL IS UNIVERSAL! Add to that the ECONOMIC situation in the Philippines, where people would rather have sure-paying normal jobs (like being a carpenter, jeepney driver, POLICE, electrician, etc.), how did these guys get the COURAGE to start a Rock and Roll Band (!) even if money-earning might become a problem? Well, that also proves that ROCK AND ROLL DOESN'T CARE; DREAMS MATTER! And dream is what these guys do! That's why they're THE SLEEPYHEADS!
As a result of that dreaming, since 2000 the band has played numerous gigs (they get PAID A LITTLE, of course, just like electricians, drivers, cooks, cops, etc.!) and even managed to release independently-pressed and defiantly RAW cd-albums. They've recorded songs like "I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH," "NATURE (LOVE IS LIKE)," "ADDICTION," etc. and packaged it and released it as the album "(DON'T LET OUR) TUNELESS MOANING GO TO WASTE)" in early 2006. Artist friends (painters, fellow musicians, filmmakers, etc.) have also helped them with their "career" and this album, particularly the promising and talented LOUIE CORDERO, who made the cover.
The band plays their original music and occasional covers at bars and art shows, selling their indie albums DIRECT ("Okay, after this set, meet us at the back and give us a few bucks and we give you our album with some drips of concert SWEAT, yeah!"). The music is PRIMITIVE: John Jayvee sings AND plays stand-up drums; Erick throbs a simple bass melody; Alex (or Tomas or Marvin or B.J.) strums and plucks a DIRECTLY PLUGGED (no effects) guitar with the rusty sound. That's how they pay their tribute to the Velvets, Modern Lovers and THE SHAGGS and RAW Rock and Roll, but the LYRICS/SONGS are all theirs! You could even say they're FILIPINO SONGS because of the fact that they're stuck in this country, experience it first-hand, and deliver it the PRIMITIVE FILIPINO WAY! "BOOTLEG ENGLISH" as the band would say. ROCK AND ROLL IS UNIVERSAL. So, USE ENGLISH, so everybody can understand!
And now, almost NINE ROCK AND ROLL YEARS on, the band is finishing their SECOND ALBUM! It will be called "MALNUTRITION OF LOVE.." Whereas the early music of the SLEEPYHEADS had some sort of innocent/stupid view of the world played in a RAW style, the new batch of songs are DARKER but still done in that RAW style! For the SLEEPYHEADS have gone through a lot of LOSS-OF-INNOCENCE experiences like deaths, separations, fights, intrigues, frustrations, SEXUAL ADDICTIONS (joke!), etc. AND ALL THESE EXPERIENCED IN AN EVEN MORE DEPRESSING (BUT ELECTRIFIED)
ATMOSPHERE OF CHAOS, POVERTY, MALICE, HOPELESSNESS AND ANARCHY IN A THIRD-WORLD COUNTRY LIKE THEIR BELOVED PHILIPPINES WHERE GLUE-SNIFFERS ROAM AND COPS CRUCIFY LIVE CROCODILES!!! Ergo, the new song "RAT EATERS," plus mellower ones like "MALNUTRITION OF LOVE," "MY PROBLEMS (ARE DEPRESSED?!)," "HOMOSEXUAL HOSPITAL," etc., etc. (IAN CURTIS would giggle from the grave!). "MALNUTRITION OF LOVE" has an album cover painted by the modern great MANUEL OCAMPO, who did BECK's "ODELAY"back-cover art (check out the new DELUXE edition of Beck's masterpiece on cd!). Fellow Filipino Manuel is considered by the band as "ONE OF THE COOLEST FILIPINOS– JUST LIKE JOEY SANTIAGO OF THE PIXIES!" And thanks to him, the SLEEPYHEADS are dreaming again and trying to fulfill their ROCK AND ROLL DREAM of being a band that would matter, always inspired by their heroes, never betraying their vision, and always doing it for FUN!
2. The Sleepyheads is an acoustroelectric indie soda-pop music collective based in Sydney, Australia. Initially spearheaded by Johan Ydstrand (Mr. Johan) and Ryohei Ishii (Happy Jappy), the current line up includes Dan Jackson (Dan the Fisherman), John Solomon (Trash Bag), Matt Dibbayawan (Matt), Eric Williams (Mr. Postman), Carol Tan (C-Tan) and Claire Evans (Claire Bear). They hail from various nations including Sweden, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Australia. This may explain why their musical expression tends to be playfully eclectic, with influences spanning from Broken Social Scene - Marvin Gaye, Badly Drawn Boy - Belle and Sebastian, and Jesus & Mary Chain - Hot Chip.
They are bound together by an enormous passion for songs that make them go “ahh yeah, that’s it”, and are also aficionados of a night full of inebriated adventures. The group eagerly embraces that which is melodic, and have a growing appreciation of most things funky, groovy and/or sexy.
Starting out as a guitar/vocals/harmonica duo monikered The Kobayashi’s, the group has grown exponentially by adding drums, bass, glockenspiel, cajon, eggs, keyboards and tambourine. They have finished their debut EP in May 2009 under the title This Is Not An Exit, and are currently doing shows to promote it.
The band’s motto ‘the more the merrier’ leaves an invitation/request for more musicians to join their ranks, mainly in the form of the violin, the cello and the trumpet.
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