Minneapolis-based Sleeping in the Aviary are no strangers to Madison. After all, the band originally formed in the city and operated here for several years. Add in the fact that Sleeping in the Aviary still enjoys a strong local following, and they make sure the isthmus never goes long without being treated to their pop-punk/folk-punk/whatever the hell they feel that night sound, as well as their noteworthy on stage antics. With the band returning to their previous stomping grounds for a March 13 show at the Frequency, The Daily Cardinal spoke with singer/guitarist Elliott Kozel to find out what is in store of their Madison fans.
Q: A few years back, Sleeping in the Aviary relocated from Madison to Minneapolis. What changes have you noticed since moving from the Badger State to gopher territory?
A: The scene is better there. I guess it's a little bit bigger city, so that explains the bigger crowds. There are a lot of bands that I think are dedicated and doing a lot of interesting stuff. I think here in Madison there are good bands, but the environment, the scene here is just kind of different. And I think some of that has to do with people leaving after they're done with school.
Q: Are there any acts in Minneapolis that you've had particular success collaborating or performing with?
A: Definitely the Teenage Moods. I helped them record one of their albums. They're pretty straight-ahead rock but they write really good pop rock songs. Then there's Buffalo Moon, we've been playing with [them].Actually our guitarist [Kyle Sobczak] is their lead singer, so that's how we know them, but they're excellent, they kind of play tropicalia rock. We love those guys. I'm trying to think who else we've collaborated with. We really love Icarus Himself, he's on our label [Science of Sound] with us. He's fabulous every time we see him.
Q: This is probably just because I have a morbid sense of humor, but my favorite song off your latest album, Great Vacation, has to be"" Maria's Ghost"" – though you've had songs with that kind of humorous tone for a while now. How important to you is it to keep that kind of irreverent feel on each of your albums?
A: Well, you can't take everything so seriously, otherwise you'll drive yourself nuts. I know some people who get so serious it just takes all the fun out of it. ""Maria's Ghost"" I wrote on a beach in one of the Carolinas on a ukulele. It was just a funny song, a throwaway song, but I liked it, we figured out how to play it and it made a good selection for the album. I think it's important to vary your style. If you get up on stage and just the whole time you're singing songs about being depressed or sad slow songs, who the hell wants to go see that? It's just sad bastard music for 45 minutes. You've got to shake it up a little bit, so that's why songs like that are vital.
Q: One of the most listened to Sleeping in the Aviary songs around our office is the ""Dinosaur Theme Song,"" it's something everybody has fun with. How exactly did a track like that come about?
A: We've all been putzing around writing a lot of kids songs, it's a good way to get out of a rut. If you feel like you're not being creative and you're not thinking of anything, you can just write a kids song. And who doesn't love dinosaurs? It's the perfect kids song, I think. It's a masterpiece for kids music. And it goes over well with crowds, they love it. Everyone loves making dinosaur roars. We also do a lot of songwriting competitions where we all make up fake song titles and give them to one another and then you've got to write them. ""Dinosaurs"" is kind of the same idea, keeping the juices flowing.
Q: Other than maybe ""Blacked Out Fun,"" your latest album Great Vacation definitely seems like your most relaxed album. Exactly how did that come about, did you feel you needed a breather or a change of pace?
A: We don't want to keep making the same album. That album we recorded all ourselves in our attic space, and we wanted to take our time, just do something that was a bit more polished and thought-out. I think you can tell that on the album. It's a little bit slower, it's a little more arranged. But we still like the fast-paced rockers. We're actually starting to get bored of playing songs off the new album, just because playing slower songs in the sets, people don't want to hear a lot of slow songs. The new album we're working on now is going to have some more rockers on there.
Q: Your shows have a reputation for craziness, but considering the Charlie Sheen debacle, the standard for craziness might have changed. How do expect your show to compare?
A: God, Charlie Sheen sets the bar exceedingly high. Pun intended, I guess. You know the scene [from ""Major League""] where Charlie Sheen first comes out on the pitcher's mound with his sun glasses, and everybody's chanting ""Wild Thing""? I think it's going to be something along those lines. I think the crowd is going to be out of control. I think Wesley Snipes is going to steal home base. I think it's going to be pretty wild.
Sleeping in the Aviary headlines the Sunday, March 13 lineup at the Frequency that also includes Dial-Up, Pioneer and the aforementioned SitA collaborator Buffalo Moon. The show begins at 9pm and tickets are $5.
