Sleeping in the Aviary

Sleeping in the Aviary was an indie rock band established in Madison, Wisconsin, but which was based in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota at the time they broke up in 2012.[1] Their musical style has been compared to that of "early XTC and Talking Heads,"[2] Violent Femmes, Nirvana, Neutral Milk Hotel,[3] and Bon Iver.[4]

Sleeping in the Aviary
Sleeping in the Aviary performing live. Elliott Kozel is on the right.
Background information
OriginMadison, WI
GenresIndie rock, Pop rock
Years active2004 (2004)–2012 (2012)
LabelsScience of Sound
MembersElliott Kozel, Phil Mahlstadt, Michael Sienkowski, Kyle Sobczak, Celeste Heule

History

The band's two core members were guitarist-vocalist Elliott Kozel and bassist Phil Mahlstadt. They formed Sleeping in the Aviary in 2003 in Madison, where it played its first show in the spring of 2004. They cycled through several additional members before deciding on drummer Michael Sienkowski as their band's third member.[2] Kozel has offered conflicting explanations for the origin of the band's name, such as that he came up with it after his uncle sent him a bottle of Australian cologne by the same name,[5] or that it, in his words, "came from a sexual experience our guitar player Porkchop [referring to Kyle Sobczak] had as a 12-year-old boy."[6] Celeste Heule, an accordion and musical saw player, joined the band in 2008.[3] Also that year, Kozel moved from Madison to Minneapolis. Late in 2010, after their third album, Great Vacation! was released, Kozel and his girlfriend parted ways, and several months later, he said he was planning for their next album to be a breakup record replete with “fuzzed-out, doo-wop music”.[7]

The band went on tour for nearly two months at the start of 2011.[8] Later that year, they promoted their fourth album, You and Me, Ghost, by making a 13-minute infomercial described by the Minnesota Daily as "a tongue-in-cheek homage to all those late night advertisements you’ve probably fallen asleep to once or twice."[9] Fancy Ray McCloney appears in the video.[10] Also in 2011, while the band was breaking up, Kozel formed a side project called Tickle Torture. His first release as Tickle Torture was an EP entitled Spiritual Machine, released in 2012, which was followed by the release of another EP, Spectrophilia, in 2014.[11] Kozel has described Tickle Torture as "like if Prince and Justin Timberlake were [having sex] in a dumpster."[12]

Reception

KCMP has described Sleeping in the Aviary's music as "energetic pop-rock".[13] A Punknews.org reviewer described the band's debut album, Oh, This Old Thing?, as "snotty, fuck-all lo-fi power-pop,"[14] while Wisconsin Public Television described their style as "country-punk-rock."[15] Reviewers have also noted that Sleeping in the Aviary's music resembles that of the 1950s and 60's,[13][16] and have compared the music on their fourth album, "You and Me, Ghost," to The Clean, the Knack, and Guided by Voices.[17] A Minnesota Daily review of You and Me, Ghost wrote that "Perhaps Sleeping in the Aviary’s most commendable feat is their ability to take some of the most basic elements of early rock ‘n’ roll and mold their music into something that sounds entirely original" and concluded that the band was "this city’s best-kept secret" [referring to Minneapolis].[9]

Influence

Caroline Smith of Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps has named Kozel as someone she respects because, Smith says, he is so hardworking.[18]

Discography

References
  1. Swensson, Andrea (24 April 2013). "Tickle Torture talks public nudity, confetti cannons, and being compared to the Purple One". The Current. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  2. Mason, Stewart. "Sleeping in the Aviary". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  3. Freedman, Pete (16 December 2008). "Gig Alert: Check Out Sleeping in the Aviary at Rubber Gloves Tonight". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  4. CG: Sleeping in the Aviary
  5. Jef (18 October 2011). "Sleeping In The Aviary: Fragrant Essential Oils & Music". Houston Press. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  6. DeCamp, Stephanie (16 February 2011). "Sleeping in the Aviary: Minneapolis punks are far from sedate". The Metropolitan. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  7. Downing, Andy (3 January 2011). "'Great Vacation!' short-lived for Sleeping in the Aviary". 77 Square. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  8. Speedwagon, Mario (7 January 2011). "Sleeping in the Aviary wake up to head out on tour; okay, but yesterday was Mr. Bean's birthday!!". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  9. Mehta, Raghav (8 September 2011). "Sleeping in the Aviary's Retro Rattle". Minnesota Daily. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  10. Vang, Youa (7 September 2011). "Sleeping in the Aviary keep it real with their new album, 'You and Me, Ghost'". Citypages. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  11. Stanley-Ayre, Sarah (3 September 2014). "The soulful, sexual release of Tickle Torture". Citypages. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  12. Mehta, Raghav (5 September 2014). "The tortured love of Tickle Torture's Elliott Kozel". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  13. "Sleeping In The Aviary perform in The Current studio". The Current. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  14. Brian (6 February 2007). "Oh, This Old Thing?". Punknews.org. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  15. "Sleeping in the Aviary". WPT. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  16. PopMatters Staff (6 October 2011). "Sleeping in the Aviary - "So Lonely" / "Talking Out of Turn" Videos (PopMatters Premiere)". PopMatters. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  17. Staff (26 December 2011). "Sleeping in the Aviary w/ Mike Krol". Shepherd Express. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  18. Gabler, Jay (3 July 2012). "Caroline Smith on the Minneapolis music scene, sexist sound guys, and the beauty of Beyoncé". Twin Cities Daily Planet. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
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