Sleeping at Last

Sleeping at Last is an indie rock musical project of which singer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan O'Neal is the sole member.

The project initially began as a group in Wheaton, Illinois, with Ryan O'Neal as the lead singer and programmer, Chad O'Neal as the drummer, and Dan Perdue as the bassist. In late 2008, Chad left the group to pursue different interests;^[1] Dan followed in 2011.

Sleeping at Last is also involved with the non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms.

History

Early Years: Capture and Ghosts (1999-2003)

Sleeping at Last was originally formed in 1999 in Wheaton, Illinois, and consisted of Ryan O'Neal, his brother Chad O'Neal (drummer), and Dan Perdue (bass guitarist). The group built a significant local following^[2] and opened for bands such as Kill Hannah and Plain White T's, attracting the attention of Billy Corgan, who got them signed to Interscope Records in 2002.^[3] Their major label debut, Ghosts, followed in 2003.

National touring ensued, first opening for Switchfoot, then for Billy Corgan's side project Zwan, Yellowcard, Something Corporate, The Format, and Bleu.^[4] They received airplay on Fuse TV and their song "Tethered" was featured in the third season of Grey's Anatomy.^[4] Their third full-length, Keep No Score, was released independently.^[5]

Departure of Chad O'Neal and Storyboards, Yearbook (2008-2011)

On November 29, 2008, it was announced that drummer Chad O'Neal would be moving on to pursue other interests.^[1] In 2009, the band independently released their Storyboards album, which featured a guest orchestral arrangement by the legendary Van Dyke Parks. On July 15, 2010 the band announced via their website that starting on October 1, 2010 until September 1, 2011 they would be releasing three songs on the first day of each month for one year,^[6] a project they named Yearbook. The songs were released on their website in twelve separate EPs named after the month in which they were released (e.g. January, February, etc.). As of December 8, 2011, all 12 EP's became available in one Yearbook box set for $45.00. On May 22, 2011 it was announced that bassist and keys player Dan Perdue would be stepping down to pursue other interests. The band will still continue as Sleeping at Last with Ryan O'Neal being the only permanent member.^[7]

Yearbook songs "Homesick" and "Watermark" were featured in the ABC television show, Private Practice in Season 3 (2010), followed by "Yearbook" songs "Emphasis" and "Wires" being featured on Private Practice in Season 4 (2011). "Tethered" (also on "Yearbook") was featured in season 8 (2012) of the ABC television show Grey's Anatomy. "From the Ground Up" from Yearbook: December was featured in the season 7 finale of Bones.

On September 26, 2011 it was announced that a new Sleeping at Last song will be featured in the film, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, with a song called "Turning Page", written exclusively for the film. "Turning Page" and "Turning Page (Instrumental)" will appear exclusively on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, released on November 8, 2011.

On June 6, 2012, Sleeping At Last released an 8-bit remix EP entitled "8-Bits".^[8] The EP is composed of one song from each of the last three Sleeping At Last studio albums and one song from the Yearbook project. The songs were remixed by Michael Carroll and Steven Padin from The Reign of Kindo. The EP was released for free on Noisetrade.

Atlas project (2013-present)

O'Neal teased his latest project on his blog in late 2011, showing an image with the date "12.12.12" on it.^[9] Two days before the 12th of December that year, O'Neal revealed the details of Atlas, what he described as "an ongoing series of [EP]s".^[10] In the blog post, O'Neal said that the artwork would "play a very special role in [the] project" and that he had turned to Geoff Benzing to "paint one painting for each of the 28+ songs".^[9]

In December 2013, the song "In the Embers" from the album Atlas: Light was used by Turner Classic Movies as the soundtrack for the 2013 version of "TCM Remembers," the network's annual tribute to actors, producers, and other filmmakers who died during the year. The lyrics of the song discuss leaving a legacy after death and compares the span of human lives to fireworks, stating that "till our temporary brilliance turns to ash, we pull apart the darkness while we can."

On January 29, 2014 the song "Sun" from the EP Atlas: Space 1 was used in the trailer for the upcoming book-based movie The Fault In Our Stars.^[11] Dylan Klebold is often credited as a co-writer in the song's metadata, as the song uses concepts and quotes from his journal.

On July 8, 2014, Sleeping at Last released Atlas: Year One, a compilation of the previous year's six extended plays.

in 2014 the song "Light" from the album Atlas 1 was used on the OST of The Little Death

On February 18th, O'Neal announced, via his Facebook page, that "Atlas: Year Two" would be coming out in the spring of 2015.

On April 27th, O'Neal recorded two covers that were both used in the eleventh season of Grey's Anatomy. The songs were Today Has Been Okay and Chasing Cars. The latter song was probably most noticable as it played over the death of Derek Shepherd.

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Extended Plays

Members

Current

• Ryan O'Neal — lead vocals, guitar, keys

Former

• Dan Perdue — bass guitar, keyboard
• Chad O'Neal — drums

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Street Team Email. November 29, 2008.
2. ↑ Argyrakis, Andy. "Local Heroes". Chicago Tribune, November 24, 2000.
3. ↑ Biography, Allmusic.com
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Argyrakis, Andy.Concert Review. Concert Live Wire. Accessed July 6, 2007.
5. ↑ Shellberg, Tim.Wake Up to Sleeping at Last. NWI Times. Accessed July 6, 2007.
6. ↑ Sleeping At Last's NEW project announced!!!. sleepingatlast.com. Accessed July 15, 2010.
7. ↑ http://sleepingatlast.com/a-note-from-sleeping-at-last/
8. ↑ "8-Bits Free EP!". sleepingatlast.com. Accessed June 7, 2012.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 O'Neal, Ryan (21 November 2012). "Countdown Begins...". Sleeping At Last. Retrieved 22 July 2014. 
10. ↑ O'Neal, Ryan (10 December 2012). "Atlas: In Detail". Sleeping At Last. Retrieved 22 July 2014. 
11. ↑ O'Neal, Ryan (30 January 2014). "The Fault In Our Stars - Trailer". Sleeping At Last. Retrieved 22 July 2014. 

External links

• Official website
• Sleeping at Last on MySpace
• Musician profile on Stolen Mix Tape
• An interview with Ryan and Dan on Episode 34 of The Collision Podcast
• http://lifechangingapparel.com/2011/01/30/life-changing-interview-sleeping-at-last/