Spencer Chamberlain - Sleepwave (01/12/2014)
After calling it quits with Underoath after thirteen years, Spencer Chamberlain is now back on his feet and touring globally for Soundwave festival as half of industrially-tinged post-hardcore outfit Sleepwave.
"This is actually he most proud I've ever been on any record. I mean, I stand by everything I did in Underoath, but with all the obstacles I had to overcome to make this record, and basically doing record by yourself, y'know. Me and my buddy writing on the guitars, all the piano, even a lot of the drum parts were thought up before the drummer even came and got in there. The workload was full, and never once did I feel like I’d bitten off more than I could chew. I’m very proud of the outcome.”
The album to which Spencer refers is Sleepwave's critically acclaimed debut Broken Compass. An record that, although a departure in many ways from Underoath's sound, didn't prove a particularly difficult accomplishment in the studio for Chamberlain's creative capacity.
"I've always dabbled in (electronic programming). Like, in Underoath I was always on guitar as far as the writing process goes. I've been playing guitar my phone entire life, I've been paying piano since I was pretty young. So if you know piano and you know guitar, programming's pretty easy. You can get stuck in on Ableton or something like that. I'm the kind of the person who loves messing with stuff, so ill get a keyboard and run it to an amp, mic that, then put it in a program and effect it out. I'd write most everything on the piano and acoustic guitar first, as crazy as that sounds. Most of this album was written on a piano, then I worked backwards from there, and transposed stuff from there.”
“I really wanted to leave guitar until closer toward the end. Obviously some songs were written around the guitar, but most of them weren’t because in Underoath it was always so much about the riff; always trying to come up with a smarter, more math-ier, more riffy riff. I was kind of burnt out on that, so when I started writing this I wanted to make it more about the melody and the song, and less about making a riff for a riff’s sake. I know there’s a lot of riffs on this record, but it definitely wasn’t the first thing I would come to the table with, and that’s pretty opposite to Underoath”.
With less of an emphasis on trying for a particular sound, Spencer elaborates on the contrastingly organic production of Broken Compass.
“Yeah, Underoath was always music written first, and then the vocals were supposed to just be an added bonus. That’s just how we worked, from the day I joined to the day we broke up. Being a singer and being a songwriter, when I decided to do my own band, I was like ‘I’ll do it all at the same time!’ Songs I wrote on (2006 Underoath gold record) Define The Great Line, I brought those songs to practice with the vocals obviously in mind from my apartment, and that’s why it flows so well. Writing the music and being the singer was easier to plan a lot of that out. There was some songs we did that, but most of the time, even in practice if Aaron was on the drums, he didn’t have a mic, my mic was off to the side, and I was wearing a guitar, so a lot of time in Underoath we were just trying to write cool music, then I’d go back and work the vocals. So (Sleepwave) is a little bit different, I was always thinking of the vocals while writing, which is why it’s all song oriented.”
Although technically a two-piece, Chamberlain and his long time friend Stephen Bowman still beef out their live show and studio sessions with additional musicians; a clear necessity for their intended sound, but not necessarily a breezy thing to organize.
“Honestly, man, it’s been tough as far as drummers go. The reason I did it the way I did it was because obviously in Underoath it wasn’t my decision to stop playing. I didn’t want to put myself in that position again. I dedicated eleven years of my life and didn’t go to college because we were touring, and when someone else tells you they don’t want to do it anymore and your left jobless and, for me, homeless… I don’t have a back up plan, because you’re not supposed to half ass a bunch of stuff. You’re supposed to sink in wholeheartedly and it’ll pay off, like Underoath did. When other people didn’t want to do it anymore, I’m left stranded while they have a little back up plan with jobs and stuff, lined up for them. Me, that’s my skill set; being a songwriter and a singer is what I do. I didn’t want to put myself in a position when I’m writing the songs, where the guy on bass or drums can tell me when we can or can’t tour, or where we can and cannot continue, or practice.”
“So what I did was do it all with my best friend Stephen. We were just sitting in room together when I started writing this stuff, so he became my partner form the start. Basically, I found some friends (to play with us). I have a guitar player and a bass player that are just guys that I have met through other bands. People that have the same passion I have, but just haven’t quite made it yet. They weren’t a group of bad guys or didn’t know the right songs, or they were with a bunch of guys that didn’t want to tour. You meet a lot of people on the road, and one guy here who was in a lot of bands that didn’t work out, so I was like ‘That’s my first pick for a live guitar player.’ Then I have a bass player that I met, and he’s great. He sings all my harmonies, and was the front man in a band and also a guitar player. He’s a pretty well-rounded musician, so he can cover some of the keys, some of the bass.”
“Drummers have always been a revolving door until I find a… kind of like Nine inch Nails does; the whole band changes up, but it’s always (Trent Reznor). It’s always going to be me and Stephen, and I think I found a guitar and bass player who will always be a part of my live band, but the drummer door has been, uh, revolving (laughs). (The album drummer) is a great drummer, but he doesn’t want to tour. He did two tours with us, and we have another kid coming in. That’s actually why we’re home right now, just getting the live band together. We leave in December, and the way it’s looking right now we pretty much don’t get back until April!”
The aforementioned tour includes huge spots on the increasingly gigantic Soundwave 2015 line up in Australia this February/ March.
“Dude, I’m so stoked for people to see it and hear it live. Building a new band is hard, even in my position coming from a band that was highly successful, I mean, depending on who you ask, I suppose (laughs). Starting over there’s still a lot of people not connecting the dots yet, but I think once I get around the world once and people see it and hear about it more, it’ll translate better. It’s a different style of music and I don’t expect everyone to come with it, there’s a lot of people that didn’t like Underoath who’ll probably like Sleepwave.”
“As far as Soundwave goes I’m so stoked because it’s one of my favourite tours we’ve ever done. It’s gotten bigger and bigger, so I don’t know what’s changed, the last time I did it was 2010, I think. I still loved it. I love Australia, it’s one of my favourite countries in the world. I’m more excited to take this band there with a bunch of guys who have never been there before. The drummer we have has done Soundwave before, I’ve done Soundwave, but the rest of the guys haven’t. These are guys that I love. The live band pull their weight, and the live show is nothing to be looked down upon. It’s very important to me, and it has to be bigger, better, and louder than Underoath. I’m not someone who’d come back with a half-assed band!”
Catch Sleepwave at Soundwave 2015, or be late to the party when they blow up after this world tour.
Todd Gingell
SOUNDWAVE 2015
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - ADELAIDE
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH - SYDNEY
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH – BRISBANE
"This is actually he most proud I've ever been on any record. I mean, I stand by everything I did in Underoath, but with all the obstacles I had to overcome to make this record, and basically doing record by yourself, y'know. Me and my buddy writing on the guitars, all the piano, even a lot of the drum parts were thought up before the drummer even came and got in there. The workload was full, and never once did I feel like I’d bitten off more than I could chew. I’m very proud of the outcome.”
The album to which Spencer refers is Sleepwave's critically acclaimed debut Broken Compass. An record that, although a departure in many ways from Underoath's sound, didn't prove a particularly difficult accomplishment in the studio for Chamberlain's creative capacity.
"I've always dabbled in (electronic programming). Like, in Underoath I was always on guitar as far as the writing process goes. I've been playing guitar my phone entire life, I've been paying piano since I was pretty young. So if you know piano and you know guitar, programming's pretty easy. You can get stuck in on Ableton or something like that. I'm the kind of the person who loves messing with stuff, so ill get a keyboard and run it to an amp, mic that, then put it in a program and effect it out. I'd write most everything on the piano and acoustic guitar first, as crazy as that sounds. Most of this album was written on a piano, then I worked backwards from there, and transposed stuff from there.”
“I really wanted to leave guitar until closer toward the end. Obviously some songs were written around the guitar, but most of them weren’t because in Underoath it was always so much about the riff; always trying to come up with a smarter, more math-ier, more riffy riff. I was kind of burnt out on that, so when I started writing this I wanted to make it more about the melody and the song, and less about making a riff for a riff’s sake. I know there’s a lot of riffs on this record, but it definitely wasn’t the first thing I would come to the table with, and that’s pretty opposite to Underoath”.
With less of an emphasis on trying for a particular sound, Spencer elaborates on the contrastingly organic production of Broken Compass.
“Yeah, Underoath was always music written first, and then the vocals were supposed to just be an added bonus. That’s just how we worked, from the day I joined to the day we broke up. Being a singer and being a songwriter, when I decided to do my own band, I was like ‘I’ll do it all at the same time!’ Songs I wrote on (2006 Underoath gold record) Define The Great Line, I brought those songs to practice with the vocals obviously in mind from my apartment, and that’s why it flows so well. Writing the music and being the singer was easier to plan a lot of that out. There was some songs we did that, but most of the time, even in practice if Aaron was on the drums, he didn’t have a mic, my mic was off to the side, and I was wearing a guitar, so a lot of time in Underoath we were just trying to write cool music, then I’d go back and work the vocals. So (Sleepwave) is a little bit different, I was always thinking of the vocals while writing, which is why it’s all song oriented.”
Although technically a two-piece, Chamberlain and his long time friend Stephen Bowman still beef out their live show and studio sessions with additional musicians; a clear necessity for their intended sound, but not necessarily a breezy thing to organize.
“Honestly, man, it’s been tough as far as drummers go. The reason I did it the way I did it was because obviously in Underoath it wasn’t my decision to stop playing. I didn’t want to put myself in that position again. I dedicated eleven years of my life and didn’t go to college because we were touring, and when someone else tells you they don’t want to do it anymore and your left jobless and, for me, homeless… I don’t have a back up plan, because you’re not supposed to half ass a bunch of stuff. You’re supposed to sink in wholeheartedly and it’ll pay off, like Underoath did. When other people didn’t want to do it anymore, I’m left stranded while they have a little back up plan with jobs and stuff, lined up for them. Me, that’s my skill set; being a songwriter and a singer is what I do. I didn’t want to put myself in a position when I’m writing the songs, where the guy on bass or drums can tell me when we can or can’t tour, or where we can and cannot continue, or practice.”
“So what I did was do it all with my best friend Stephen. We were just sitting in room together when I started writing this stuff, so he became my partner form the start. Basically, I found some friends (to play with us). I have a guitar player and a bass player that are just guys that I have met through other bands. People that have the same passion I have, but just haven’t quite made it yet. They weren’t a group of bad guys or didn’t know the right songs, or they were with a bunch of guys that didn’t want to tour. You meet a lot of people on the road, and one guy here who was in a lot of bands that didn’t work out, so I was like ‘That’s my first pick for a live guitar player.’ Then I have a bass player that I met, and he’s great. He sings all my harmonies, and was the front man in a band and also a guitar player. He’s a pretty well-rounded musician, so he can cover some of the keys, some of the bass.”
“Drummers have always been a revolving door until I find a… kind of like Nine inch Nails does; the whole band changes up, but it’s always (Trent Reznor). It’s always going to be me and Stephen, and I think I found a guitar and bass player who will always be a part of my live band, but the drummer door has been, uh, revolving (laughs). (The album drummer) is a great drummer, but he doesn’t want to tour. He did two tours with us, and we have another kid coming in. That’s actually why we’re home right now, just getting the live band together. We leave in December, and the way it’s looking right now we pretty much don’t get back until April!”
The aforementioned tour includes huge spots on the increasingly gigantic Soundwave 2015 line up in Australia this February/ March.
“Dude, I’m so stoked for people to see it and hear it live. Building a new band is hard, even in my position coming from a band that was highly successful, I mean, depending on who you ask, I suppose (laughs). Starting over there’s still a lot of people not connecting the dots yet, but I think once I get around the world once and people see it and hear about it more, it’ll translate better. It’s a different style of music and I don’t expect everyone to come with it, there’s a lot of people that didn’t like Underoath who’ll probably like Sleepwave.”
“As far as Soundwave goes I’m so stoked because it’s one of my favourite tours we’ve ever done. It’s gotten bigger and bigger, so I don’t know what’s changed, the last time I did it was 2010, I think. I still loved it. I love Australia, it’s one of my favourite countries in the world. I’m more excited to take this band there with a bunch of guys who have never been there before. The drummer we have has done Soundwave before, I’ve done Soundwave, but the rest of the guys haven’t. These are guys that I love. The live band pull their weight, and the live show is nothing to be looked down upon. It’s very important to me, and it has to be bigger, better, and louder than Underoath. I’m not someone who’d come back with a half-assed band!”
Catch Sleepwave at Soundwave 2015, or be late to the party when they blow up after this world tour.
Todd Gingell
SOUNDWAVE 2015
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - ADELAIDE
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH - SYDNEY
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH – BRISBANE