Sleepercar is the
alternative country
Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...
project of
Jim Ward, a member of
Sparta
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...
and former member of
At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (drums ...
. Regarding the band, Ward has noted that: "I think it will always be 'my' band. People can come and go as they please: I don’t want the stress of trying to maintain five or six happinesses, I love playing with the guys and when they want to move on, I will support them in whatever ways I can."
Career
Sleepercar's beginning can be traced back to the end of
At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (drums ...
. The oldest Sleepercar song, "Fences Down", was written during a sound check at one of At the Drive-In's last shows. After the band had parted ways, Ward had expressed interest in the genre of alt-country and thought about starting a band to pursue it. However,
Sparta
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...
was formed and it became the main focus. During down time between Sparta albums and tours, Ward worked on finishing Sleepercar material. It would take several writing sessions before the songs had achieved their final incarnations. During these sessions, Ward was introduced to Chris Heinrich. Heinrich would go on to perform pedal steel guitar on the Sparta album
''Threes'', ukulele on Ward's
''Quiet'' EP, and finally pedestal for Sleepercar. Micah Adams (guitar), Clint Myers (drums), Ward's father Jeff Ward (bass), and Gabriel Gonzalez (piano) rounded out the line-up during the early practices. Gonzalez has also performed in Sparta during the band's earlier tours for ''
Wiretap Scars''.
In 2005, Sleepercar was approached to open a show in El Paso. They would perform with a revised line up now including Matthew Schmitz on drums and Ward's brother in law Clay Anderson on guitar. Videos of this show were taken and have shown up on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
.
In the Summer of 2008, the band toured with
City and Colour
Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist, songwrite ...
.
In the Fall of 2008, they supported
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
on their U.S. tour.
In September 2010, the band's trailer was stolen in San Antonio, with a large amount of gear inside of it. A list of the missing gear was published on their website.
On November 17, 2015, Sleepercar released their newest album, titled ''Breathe & Count'', as a digital download at Tembloroso.com.
Discography
* ''
West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...
'' – 2008
* ''Breathe & Count'' – 2015
External links
Sleepercar Official WebsiteSleepercar Official MyspaceSleepercar 2009 live performance song: wednesday nightsDiscussion with Jim from Absolutepunk.netJim Ward interview by Synthesis.netInterview at StereokillSleepercar '05 part 1Sleepercar '05 part 2Sleepercar '05 part 3Sleepercar '05 part 4
References
{{Authority control
Rock music groups from Texas
American alternative country groups
American country rock groups
Americana music groups
Musical groups from El Paso, Texas