4/10/11 Cain’s Ballroom — Part 1 — SLEEPER/AGENT

“Why is this wet?” I asked the five fresh faces of Bowling Green, Kentucky band SLEEPER/AGENT. I had just leaned back into a red suede couch that sat in a back room of the venue with the rest of them, only to be met by a huge spot of dampness. 

“Oh, that’s sweat, from the members of Biffy Clyro,” says band member Lee “Grizzlee” Williams. A smile plays on his lips. 

“Oh. Gross,” is my simple reply. Then all we can do is laugh. 

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This band claimed a large portion of my evening and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. They opened first in the music scheme of things, giving the crowd a jolt that was a perfect starter. The energy every member oozed was perfect. To say that they were born for the stage is an understatement! Every song had me enthralled and moving. Female lead vocalist Alex “Kidd” Kandel has both femininity and pure rock guts as she moves around the stage, throwing her long brown hair around and never missing a beat. To her right stands Tony “Tutone” Smith, who plays guitar and sings along with Alex. He plays his black and white guitar with natural skill and his vocals are a more-than-pleasant accompaniment to Alex’s. He is funny and humors the crowd when he takes the flannel shirt he wore over a white v-neck off. “I heard somebody tell me to take it off,” he says into the mic between songs. “Do you want me to take this off?” He asks. A chorus of female screams meet his question in response, and he happily begins to oblige their request. Alex helps him shimmy his arm out of one sleeve when it won’t budge, and then they get right back on their way. 

To the right of Tony stands Scott “Saga” Gardner. He is a curly haired, smiling man who plays the keys and synth with raw enthusiasm. He makes everything he does look like it’s the best thing to be doing in the world, and it was charming to witness. After the show at the merch table, he is attacked by a mob of young girls, all giggling as they run their hands over Scott’s fluffy hair. “You really stole the show!” They tell him. His smile is big as he thanks them. 

Far stage left stands the aforementioned Lee “Grizzlee” Williams, who plays bass. He is a pleasant presence on stage who stays focused and determined when it comes to his instrument, but he obviously enjoys himself and lends an important sound. He is further enjoyable in conversation later in the evening, too. Justin “Keyser” Wilson sits proudly behind the others, playing drums for the group. He smiles quite a bit at the rest of the members and various antics as he plays, and I greatly enjoyed his style and unique oomph that his playing lends to the songs. 

As a musical whole, these guys are nothing short of everything it takes to be a successful alternative rock band. Their songs are a perfect blend of lyrical and musical harmony. They come together to form a unique and addicting sound, and have come a long way to get to where they are now. They’ve been together since July 2010, but many steps were taken years before that. They fought all kinds of obstacles to get to where they are now, and fell together by consistent strokes of luck and fate. They now stand sturdy on their feet as a music family. 

Non-musically, however, they are just as wonderful as you might think. They are all happy, humorous, and helpful people who don’t hesitate to share anything we could have asked for. Once again, I feel more like I am sitting with old friends than people I hadn’t met before this moment. They tell me all about their lives and other interests, which range everywhere from neuroscience to literature. Tony has a keen interest in the 1961 sci-fi novel Stranger in A Strange Land. The quote from the book, “We laugh because it hurts,” had particular impact with him. “Humans are the only creatures who laugh,” he says with intensity in his voice. I hadn’t thought about it much before then, but he was right. “Hyenas don’t count, either,” he adds with a smile. He also has a deep love of koalas and a hatred for popsicles. “I have sensitive teeth,” he informs me. “I hate the feeling of biting into a popsicle.” Alex also adds that even seeing someone bite into a popsicle can make him cringe. I know the feeling. He also said something beautifully poetic about the way he feels about touring, and his bandmates agreed. “As dull as it might sound, every city we play is the same to me. What I notice most, though, is that the people in those cities are not the same, and I like that.” Alex added, “One crowd will be really alternative and into it, but another will be full of mellow hipsters. It just depends. They are all enjoyable, though.” 

As we continued on in conversation, other band members discussed their least-liked foods, too. Alex hates seafood, Scott and Lee can’t stand onions, and Justin really dislikes watermelon. Favorite foods include Thai and Japanese cuisine for Alex, Mexican for Tony, and Italian for Lee (though his bandmates insist that it’s chicken fingers or philly cheesesteak sandwiches). Scott and Lee both have the same lucky number, which is twenty-two. Alex recently got her lucky number tattooed on her foot, while Tony got the simple word “Hey.” tattooed on his forearm. (Which comes from Jim Croce’s wonderful song “Rapid Roy”. [He got a tattoo on his arm that say, “Baby”. / He got another one that just say, “Hey.”]) 

We talked about our mutual love for the members of Morning Teleportation — with whom they share Bowling Green roots — and even our love for The Flaming Lips. We laughed, we lounged, we joked, and generally just had a great time. I left them carrying home a happy heart, genius tee shirt, and download card. (The tee shirt reads in Helvetica font, “Hey, we’re the band Sleeper Agent and if you dig us now, you can tell everyone how you liked us before that one song was in that car commercial.” The words Sleeper Agent are colored light blue). Bottom line, they are a band that will have my adoration and promotion — both musically and as people — from here on out. If you aren’t hearing about them from me in the future, I imagine you’ll be hearing about them from others and out of the speakers of your car. They’ve come a long way, it seems… and I have no doubt that they will triumphantly go even further. May they continue kicking ass and taking names from here on out! :)

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SLEEPER/AGENT on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sleeperagentmusic

Part Two of this adventure — which contains details of Cage the Elephant and Biffy Clyro — will be posted in the near future. Keep an eye out, people!