Ode to Sleep. Our Journey so far
Jade, Chris, Liz. Ode to Sleep - Photo by Jack Norris 2023
Greetings from Liz, Jade and Chris. We are Ode to Sleep, a loud Punk/Grunge band from the South East of England. If we rewind back to October ish 2019 (the before times) I'll tell you about when Ode to sleep began. My entry to Ode to Sleep was quite an interesting one. At least, I think so. So, I have always loved to sing but never been good at it. I was happy playing bass in various bands but always fancied the role of frontwoman. I just loved the energy and the catharsis frontmen and women seemed to have. I felt like I needed that too, but I was a humble bass player and I had sort of retired the idea of singing. Particularly as many of my friends circle were very talented singers... It was way too intimidating and I just wasnt upto that standard. BUT ONE DAY MY SOUL SAID NO MORE!!! I saw an advert... My chance was staring me in the face. before my head had had a chance to beat me down and convince me that I wasn't good enough, my hands had already written and sent a response to the advert... Oh shit... Having never sung in public, bassist and now vocalist of Ode to sleep, Liz (it's me writing this by the way) had just responded to an advert that Jade had posted looking for a vegan punk singer. "What is the worst that could happen?" I thought. "If I totally suck and embarrass myself I never have to see the other musicians again" That's how I justified it to myself.... Plus, they dont know that I'm shy and have panic disorder... I can just 'pretend' to be a confident singer! A cunning plan some might say.... OMG I was so nervous. I was invited to a rehearsal. SHIT! what have I done?! I thought... I pretended I was confident, reminded myself that worst case scenario I tell no one of my embarrassing failed attempt and flee to Mexico. Talk about fake it till you make it... Well f*ck me, it worked! somehow I was asked to join and I'm loving every second. A voice appeared and the confidence did too! 13 year old me that used to shout along out of key to my favourite tunes, dreaming of dominating a stage, would be very proud. And thats the story of how I joined Ode to Sleep. It was Jade (Drums) and I (Bass & Vocals) for the best part of our first 2 years of Ode to Sleep. Jade had many years of gigging and touring under her belt. I remember being quite intimidated by her! I had been gigging in small sticky floor venues for about a decade as a bass player. Then we gained a Chris (Guitar and backing vocals) toward the end of 2021, who has been a great addition. We are an interesting collection of musicians with each of us drawing on diffent musical influences and experience. From old school punk to heavy metal and even a sprinkle of pop-punk, ska, reggae, pop, hip-hop, between us we have most grounds covered. Polyjamorous, I think they call it.
Jade, Chris, Liz. Ode to Sleep - Photo by Jack Norris 2023
Defining our music has always been a bit of a struggle for us, we have been described in many ways from Punk to Grunge to something a bit heavier... The point is, we have a great time making it! We are fuelled by the natural world, we write a lot about animal and human rights, the environment, social injustices and mental heatlh. We have opinions and we enjoy sharing them with our audiences.
After our Debut EP 'Night Terrors' and our latest EP 'Are You Awake?', We are gearing up to record our third EP! and we couldnt be more proud of what we have been writing together so far. We are VERY excited to get it out into the world for you to hear. More on that later! In the meantime come and see us at a show!
Jade, Liz Chris. Ode to Sleep - Photo by Jack Norris 2023
I told you mine, tell us yours!
We'd love to hear about your stories that have been led by impulse. Have you ever gotten yourself into a situation by going with what the heart wants and figuring out the details later? Leave us a comment or message us if you fancy sharing!
I'll give you some more details on our upcoming third EP in our next blog post!
Its been nice to meet you! hopefully we will see you at a show soon!