Entertaining audiences comes naturally to fun-loving band
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By LIZ STINSON / GZO
The guys who make up the Lincoln band The Sleepover were setting up their gear in drummer Brock Beckman’s basement last Sunday evening when keyboardist Sarah Rosenau walked down the stairs with a candy-striped nightgown and cap in tow.
“I’ve got a present for one of you guys to wear,” Rosenau said as she held up the outfit for the guys to examine.
“Oh my God, that is so awesome,” said Cory Kibler, guitarist and vocals for the band.
What: Pajama party with The Sleepover with Crush the Clown and Binfield Broke It
When: Sunday, 9 p.m.
Where: Box Awesome, 815 O St.
Admission: $5, 18 and over
The reason for his excitement was simple.
This Sunday The Sleepover is hosting its own kind of early-evening pajama party complete with pajamas, confetti and an Eastern-Orthodox Easter egg hunt. The idea came about after James Tucci (bass) and Kibler deemed it necessary to add an activity to the already full lineup with Crush the Clown and Binfield Broke It.
“I think with some bands their goal is to make it so everybody is watching them intently during the show,” Kibler said. “But I would be completely pleased if everyone was just running around, and we just happened to be playing.”
The band’s attitude toward performing can be traced back to Kibler and Tucci’s earlier projects Shacker and Robot Creep Closer, where the band created a reputation for keeping the audience entertained.
“Haven’t you ever gone to see one of your favorite bands and you kind of feel bad because half- way through you’re kind of hoping it ends soon? I do that all the time,” Kibler said. … “So we (Robot Creep Closer) used fog and bubbles and a confetti cannon and all sorts of crazy stuff, and basically, it’s because we thought to ourselves, you can go see a show and even if the band is awesome, I don’t know, I just think it’s cool to go to a show and have it just be fun and have it be a show and really entertaining.”
Both Kibler and Tucci have been perfecting their concert- time antics since they met in college in the early 2000s. The Sleepover is the pair’s latest project, for which they have added Beckman on drums and Rosenau on keys.
“I think it (The Sleepover) kind of sits in between Shacker and Robot. We have songs that are more driven and aggressive and then we have other songs that are really mellow and just really beautiful,” Tucci said. “I think we have a nice, full sound compared to some of the other bands that Cory and I have been in, where it’s been kind of lopsided sometimes.”
The Sleepover’s sound is a little bit pop and definitely rock, but there’s something about it that blends the two together in an obvious way, but not so obvious that you can give it a name.
“I like to be a little bit edgy. Not Prince edgy, but you know what I mean,” Kibler said.
The group leans against simple melodies, making it the kind of music you can turn to when you want something reliable, comfortable and memorable.
“Our goals have always been to write really awesome songs that don’t have too many crazy frills to them, but are just kind of simple and straightforward, really catchy and fun to play, and I think we’re getting better at it,” Kibler said. “I’m really into a song that’s deceptively simple sounding.”
“We want something that people can walk away singing in their head,” Rosenau added.
Reach Liz Stinson at 473-7254 or at estinson@journalstar.com.
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