Interview by Chris Martin
Take everything that’s good about hard rock stick it in a blender with metal, blues and a bit of prog and you have Sleepfreak. Formerly known as Fixxer, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Aaron Simich, says the new name resulted following a debate over the band’s sound and where the name itself could take them. “I think we chose [the new name] because we had a few different styles happening and we wanted one that didn’t corner us into an area we couldn’t expand from. We wanted something that was original.”
The band came together in 2002, but the band members knew each other long before, when they were students as Seton Catholic College. “Tom (Haste, bass) and I have known each other since we were about five,” says vocalist/lead guitarist Antoni Garac. “I knew Aaron from Croatian school when we were about ten or eleven. Daniel (Da Conceicao, drums) came along in high school. That’s where the chaos began. We all had some form of classical tuition at some stage, which drove us insane as all we wanted to play was heavy stuff.”
Given certain members are of Croatian heritage, and the band tends to mix musical styles, is Sleepfreak well-versed in Croatian music? Not exactly, according to Simich. “We never did any Croatian folk songs. My old keyboard teacher, Mili (Separovic, keyboardist for Gasoline Inc.) used to do that. We’ve brought out a piano accordion on stage, slightly out of tune but it still worked.”
With the imminent release of the band’s new EP, Sleepfreak is keen to hit the road. According to Haste, the plan is to release the record and back it up with some regional shows. The latter aren’t new to the band either. Last year the boys played a gig in Narrogin in 42° heat: proof that they’re a group prepared to play to whoever will have them.
Nevertheless, the nature of the band’s music requires the right venue, something that Sleepfreak says can be hard to come by the short list of venues both north and south of the river. “There’s not a great deal of venues in Fremantle that suit us,” Simich says. “The Newport works well for us and so does Mojo’s. But it’s not just Freo that’s lacking. We did some gigs at the Lookout in Scarborough and that got closed down, and the White Sands isn’t having gigs anymore.”
This, Garac says, might mean the band will move on from Perth. “As far as how venues are set up it’s pretty much down to what Perth wants so once we’ve done the rounds we’ll expand from that.”
Catch Sleepfreak at the Decode Glam Rock Showcase at the East End Bar and Lounge on the 19th of October! Tickets are $15.00
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