INTERVIEW BY SHAUNA CROWLEY
PHOTOS AND VIDEO BY PAUL WIEDERHOLT, NICHOLAS KLECZEWSKI, AND ERIN KLING
Releasing their new album Let in the Light on July 14, 2015, SLEEPY BROTHER is a two-piece band from Richmond, Va. Both of the members, Heather Wiederholt and Nathan Burns, work full-time jobs but also focus their free time on being full-time musicians, as well as breaking their way into the music scene with their down to earth roots. They are a band that is more focused on their songwriting rather than becoming famous.
“Glimpse,” the first single off the album, offers the listeners a look into the rest of the album with lyrics that are inherently simple but are anything but that. The meaning digs down to every emotion that most people have experienced in their lives. The album includes a full band, but when they play shows, it is just the two of them. Even though their listeners will experience two different sounds, we ensure that you will not be disappointed with either of them.
What genre do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
Nathan: We consider our genre to be indie folk or alternative and folk. CITY AND COLOUR has been an influence for us.
Heather: I have a musical theater background. So a lot of musical theater has also been an influence for me.
What are the main themes for most of your songs?
Heather: A lot of the themes of our songs have are about light and dark, young and old. This is where we ended up getting the name for the album, Let in the Light. It coincided with what we were going through in life at the time. There are a lot of universal human being themes: things that we’re learning from; adult responsibilities; and facing the world.
How has your music evolved since you first began playing together?
Nathan: Heather had never been in a band before, and I had only been in rock bands before playing together. The band is more stripped down and something that was new for both of us. We’ve come a long way in overall songwriting in quality and letting things breathe and fill out more.
Heather: Just being able to get to know each other when we started. We mesh together better the longer that we play with each other.
What has been your biggest challenge as a band? How have you been able to overcome that challenge?
Heather: Our biggest challenge as a band has been finding where we fit in as a band. On our albums, we play with a full band. But when we play shows, it is just the two of us. So finding the right venues has been hard when the album sounds different than the live shows. Finding connections in the music community that want to collaborate with us has helped.
What is the ultimate direction for your band?
Nathan: To keep writing music and exploring songwriting as a whole. We’re not full-time musicians. We both have full-time jobs and put a lot of energy into music. But we aren’t looking to fall into stardom — just to write good songs.
Heather: To be growing musically. Also, the possibilities we haven’t thought about before and an appreciation for our music.
What has the process been for getting ready for the release of Let in the Light?
Nathan: We began recording last summer for almost a year. Then we began mixing and commissioned the art. As we finished up, we began trying to get it on people’s radar. We created a music video for our first single and are working on a lyric video for our second single so that the listeners will be excited for it and will listen to the whole thing.
Really liked what I heard from Sleepy Brother! Their blend of dream folk/pop with a soulful voice is downright beautiful!