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Sleeper Car
Indie / Folk / Americana

visit www.myspace.com/musikantolive



Chicago, Illinois
United States

Profile Views:  51765




Last Login:  11/2/2009
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   Sleeper Car: General Info
Member Since9/12/2005
Band Websitewww.SleeperCarBand.com
Band MembersMusikanto (guitar/vocals)
Russ Mallord (drums)
Scott Schaafsma (Bass)
Mean Gene (Violin)
J.J. Evans (Guitar)
InfluencesRay Charles, Iron and Wine, Calexico, Andrew Bird, Beck, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Sean Lennon, The Kinks, Poi Dog Pondering, Uncle Tupelo, David Gray...
Sounds LikeIllinois Entertainer - Best Of Around Hear 2006
"Pick any Sleeper Car track and you will be rewarded with a richly textured sonic tapestry of shimmering melodies bursting with intricately arranged instrumentation. Delicate brushes of violin, tingling pedal steel, jangly acoustic guitar, and gorgeous, yearning vocal harmonies blend into a genuinely intoxicating sound. If I could only listen to one song this month, the title track from Shy Me would be it."

The Onion
“Depending on which song Sleeper Car starts its set with, it may appear to be a country act, a folk group, or a band of blues revivalists. Eventually, the Chicago group will sound like all and none of those things, exhibiting the range and skill of a traditional-leaning jam band compacted into concise, fluid songs that don’t rely on clichés.”


CD Baby (Editors Pick)
You know that a band has hit a musical genius vein when you can feel their music throughout your entire body- when shivers and shudders and gooseflesh come over you before you know what hit you. Sleeper Car is just such a band. Perfecting the alt country genre with the musical weight and influence of Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes and Wilco, this get-up astounds the ear with a startling balance of lush and atmospheric backdrops and simple, country-born, fiddling jangle. When the aching sounds of the countryside are mixed with this almost emo-like approach, pushed ahead by vocals that cry more than sing, you know that "Shy Me" has hit the jackpot.

WGN TV - Chicago
"eclectic and original; an enjoyable musical journey" Jeff Hoover - WGN Producer

Cleveland Scene
"Exposed Roots" By Michael Gallucci

Chicago’s Sleeper Car bends alt-country expectations on its second album, Love & Anxiety. The fiddles and pedal steel add twang, but the band’s real forte is its commitment to a folk-rock tradition that stretches all the way back to the ’60s. All five guys, plant roots in a songbook that nods to Dylan, the Byrds, and, by extension, Woody Guthrie. That’s not to say they sound anything at all like any of them, but Sleeper Car’s Americana aesthetic paints a timeless portrait of wide-open spaces and endless highways.

Eartaste.com
The sleepy tune echoes “Waitin’ Around To Die” just enough to cause shivers, then quickly moves into its own groove with lyrics that are astute enough to almost feel like our friend has returned to visit. “You broke me in like a bar room door. You spoke, you moved, you laughed and then you cried.” It’s a voice from the past in some respects, but these guys are living and breathing and chugging out songs with the power and spirit of the best. The words tumble out smoothly and feel like songs I’ve sung forever yet I know I haven’t heard them before.

Metro Spirit - Augusta, GA
The band Sleeper Car reminds me of the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Marshall Tucker Band. This culmination of steel guitar and fiddle with acoustic style and impressive lyrics on "Love and Anxiety" is almost like folk music — but with more of a rock 'n' roll sound. You can imagine hearing this band on the contemporary soft rock channels on your radio and playing on the late night shows or in rotation on VH1 and MTV.

Read Junk.com
"Lyrics are more thoughtful than the usual lonesome desert highway crap, and the production is warm and lush."

Wonka Vision
Chicago’s Sleeper Car focuses on some of the Old West-style, with their horseshoe fonts and yellowed grainy photos. This isn’t exactly gun-slinging music, but more salt of the earth. Sleeper Car features guitar picks of The Byrds with gutsy rock similar to Memphis’ Lucero. Musikanto's passionate whines highlight this folk-Americana hybrid, especially on “Lay It Down.” The song profiles a heavy violin melody with a rambunctious beat and the verses are narrative in nature... [By: Josh Spilker]

Neufutur
"Lay It Down" is the first track on Sleeper Car's "Love & Anxiety," and the use of strings during this track imbues the track with a folksy sound not far removed with that put out by a Banhart. However, Sleeper Car takes a different tack during "I Won't Break Down". During this track, the band unites the aforementioned folk style with an early country / bluegrass hybrd that, when all parts are taken together, result in a very current and contemporary sound. The second track on the disc is "I Won't Break Down" and it gives the spotlight to the instrumentation. Where it was a strong but not central part of "Lay It Down", the renewed focus on the instrumentation during "I Won't Break Down" shows that all parts of Sleeper Car are equally strong. The intense focus that this twangy, looking-back band is why they will be named alongside acts like Lucero and the Avett Brothers in the months to come. The six tracks on this EP constitute slightly over twenty minutes of music, ensuring that listeners will be clamoring for more just as soon as "Follow" closes up shop. The linkage of a softly-sang set of vocals with the strings and traditional arrangements of Sleeper Car are one of the distinguishing factors for the band. I know that I will be looking forward to hearing more of them in the months to come.

Record Label..Type of LabelIndie


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   About Sleeper Car
Sleeper Car is a five-piece, folk/alt-country/rock-Americana band that literally fills a room with music. Sleeper Car was formed in the summer of 2005 by singer/songwriter Musikanto and drummer Russ Mallord. Musikanto, a graduate of the Hartford Art School, quickly migrated back to his roots in Chicago and began recording songs for Sleeper Car’s first e.p “Shy Me.” A fusion of acoustic guitar and bass, electric keyboard and violin, pedal steel, drums, and passionate, drawling vocals, Sleeper Car lets each sound find its place in a rich tapestry of auditory stimulation. With an overnight momentum, Musikanto & Sleeper Car quickly found their niche in the Americana/folk scene of Chicago. In 2007, the band recorded their critically acclaimed e.p “Love and Anxiety.” With the lyrical weight of artists like Tom Waits and Elliott Smith, Musikanto's narratives rattle the core of the human spirit. The band celebrates elements of orchestral music, country and Jazz while all the while maintaining the continuity of the American Folk tradition.

Hear with your own ears & support independent music: Hard copies thru CD Baby & for you techies... iTunes as well....



Shy Me

CD Baby
iTunes

Love & Anxiety

CD Baby
iTunes




Sleeper%20Car
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   Sleeper Car's Friend Space (Top 16)
Sleeper Car has 1916 friends.
 Musikanto 


 Schubas in Chicago! 


 Russ Mallord 


 Special K 


 Pedal Steel 


 Curtis Evans 


 Joe Pug 


 Andrew Bird 


 Inchworm The Worm 


 Chicago Farmer 


 Cameron McGill 


 Jeremy Miller 


 Bailiff 


 I.V. Lab Studios 


 Austin Collins & The Rainbirds 


 Company of Thieves 





Sleeper Car's Friends Comments
Displaying 25 of 585 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
Musikanto

Musikanto



Mar 4 2009 10:52 PM

Photobucket
Musikanto

Musikanto



Jan 23 2009 7:58 PM

dark room/uncommon Ground
Musikanto

Musikanto



Nov 22 2008 8:17 PM

Photobucket
Musikanto

Musikanto



Nov 22 2008 8:00 AM

Photobucket
Musikanto

Musikanto



Nov 22 2008 7:53 AM

http://c1. ac-images. myspacecdn. com/images02/9/m_58288a91e06446b6ac53ea084032c618. jpg
Musikanto

Musikanto



Nov 22 2008 7:42 AM

/Users/administrator/Desktop/sleeper car/MusikanotCD_Release-1.
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Lollipop Factory [on tour]

Lollipop Factory [on tour]



Nov 14 2008 10:48 AM

MUSIC!!!
Friday, Nov. 14th
Cal's Bar (400 s. wells)
10pm 21+ $5
w/ FCAB

Our friend Matt says we're like Jellyfish performing a Satanic Majesty's request for a fuzz pedal cabaret or Queen melting in lava while Kenneth Anger films the whole ordeal in a lurid over exposed 8mm. So, if that sounds good to you, come hang out...and if you enjoy music, this will all be so so right.
Ronny Doll goes soft

Ronny Doll goes soft



Oct 4 2008 6:04 PM

Thanks to you!!!
Nice and Loving....
Ronny Doll
Musikanto

Musikanto



Sep 11 2008 5:27 AM

/Users/administrator/Desktop/SC-flyer11 bottom lounge..gif
Turntable Films

Turntable Films



Aug 31 2008 1:09 AM

Hello from jp,
Thanks for the add!
good stuffs!
peace
Kevin Becker

Kevin Becker



Aug 22 2008 7:22 PM

Good jams last night at the Shoe...
we (The Robert Hynes Band) have two more Thursdays over there 9/4 & 9/18... bring that slide.
-K
honest engines

honest engines



Aug 19 2008 6:18 AM

thanks for accepting our add! you dudes rule.
Yusten

Yusten



Jul 26 2008 1:50 AM

what up mike, good seeing you the other day at harcourt. ill keep my eye out for any of your future gigs. "I won't break down" is probably my fav of your tunes that ive heard. damn good stuff! later.
Backyard Tire Fire

Backyard Tire Fire



Jul 16 2008 7:40 PM

BACKYARD TIRE FIRE

Just a reminder about our FREE SHOW this Friday:

*** CHICAGO: JULY 18 ***

Friday - July 18th @ 8 PM
LIVE! @ Ravenswood
(FREE SHOW)

Also - we've got our big record release show coming on September 5th at Metro in Chicago:

*** CHICAGO: SEPTEMBER 5 ***

Friday - September 5th @ 8 PM
LIVE! @ Metro
(w/ HA HA TONKA & JOE PUG)

You can purchase tickets here at eTix. com.

All advance ticket purchasers will also receive a FREE limited edition poster:

Check out some new music from our upcoming album, "The Places We Lived" on our MySpace page...

Loony Lu

Loony Lu



Jul 14 2008 8:09 PM

Can't wait to see you guys tonight in Dallas with Lucero!!
Phalaphel

Phalaphel



Jun 23 2008 9:46 PM

It was cool playing with you guys on Friday. Let's do it again...
Chicago Farmer

Chicago Farmer



Jun 18 2008 3:21 AM

**Live @ The Store This Wednesday**
**2002 N Halsted 10pm! Free Show!**
*W/Special Guest Ernie Hendrickson*
Photobucket
Special K

Special K



May 9 2008 8:45 PM

Next week Saturday the 17th is gonna be a "kev-which" of a night @ The Horseshoe....
I'm performing w/ my new band The Robert Hynes Band for the first set
& then playin for The Butcher's Boy closing the night.

Come on out!!
Special K

Special K



May 1 2008 11:05 PM

I just personally checked out that new record by that one band
and I think I can review it in one word... and seriously no biased here....

LAME!!!..

UBOAT

UBOAT



Apr 30 2008 4:46 AM

ABSOLUTE GREATNESS !!!!
Special K

Special K



Apr 28 2008 6:17 PM

¡recorrido bien seguro y piernas de la rotura!!


or travel safe & break legs!!
peggy

peggy hanson



Apr 19 2008 9:48 PM

very nice sounds, thanks!
randy

sean gerrity



Apr 9 2008 6:24 PM

$10 gas and parking
$20 to get in the door
$10 for two beers

all to watch you guys pack up.
Ester of Ashland

Ester of Ashland



Apr 10 2008 6:37 PM

How do you like your folk music?

The Dirtroom Stage (in the basement of the Double Door)

Mike Beauchamp
Ester of Ashland
The Hobo Wives

Sunday Apr. 13
Doors 8pm, Show 9pm

(($3))
Special K

Special K



Apr 11 2008 10:33 PM

Break some legs tonight....
unfortunately the all might $$ has got me by the short ones!
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