SLEEPY MEAN is part high school reunion, part family matters. Bassist Mark Lavecchia and Lead Singer/Rhythm Guitarist Michael Kanitsch are cousins, while Drummer Eric Viegas, Lead Guitarist Andrew Lambert and Michael attended the same high school in Markham, Ontario. Andrew and Michael started a folk/pop/punk band in 2006 called "Thats what he said", with two friends. After a few years of playing the Toronto bar scene the band separated to pursue other interests.

Andrew and Michael continued to play together, writing new songs and experimenting with the old as well. The band was considering taking a turn for a more folk/country direction when a bad experience with a violinist thankfully turned them off.

When Eric and Mark came into the picture the volume went up. The distortions came out, back up vocals, pedals, and a looseness which solidified the bands jam sense. The band was having fun and things were making sense. The playfulness of SLEEPY MEAN was coming to the forefront bringing with it a shoe-gaze delicacy and a hint of garage rock.

If you were to trace the musical interests of SLEEPY MEAN you might find the following along the way: Radiohead, Modest Mouse, Joy Division, Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, the Smiths, Belle and Sebastian, RHCP, Queens of the Stone Age, Pearl Jam, Surfer Blood, Plants and Animals, Broken Social Scene, CSNY, the Smashing Pumpkins, the Tragically Hip, King Crimson, Maps and Atlases, the Thermals, the Waterboys, Bright Eyes, Tera Melos, Frightened Rabbit, Black Keys, the Decemberists, Bon Iver, the National, the Pixies, Death Cab for Cutie and Mogwai .

What sets SLEEPY MEAN apart from other bands is their interest in making something completely their own while at the same time holding back from total control over their art, allowing it to surface naturally in a basement jam environment through the course of friendly experimentation.

SLEEPY MEAN has played such venues as: Rancho Relaxo, The Velvet Underground, Clinton's, The Smiling Buddha, Lee's Palace, The Duke Live, Crown and Tiger, Paupers Pub, and the El Mocombo.


Instrumentation
Michael Kanitsch - Rhythm Guitar and Lead Vocals
Andrew Lambert - Lead Guitar
Eric Viegas - Drums and Vocals
Mark Lavecchia - The Bass
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