DeKALB | It has been nearly a decade since DeKalb concert-goers first heard of the punk rock band Sleeping Under 47. In the years following, despite member changes and hiatuses, the band has grown in popularity to become a regular in the Northern Illinois music scene.

 

As I sit at the House Café with bassist/vocalist Patrick McDonough and drummer Todd Easler, we wait a few minutes for the last member of the trio to arrive. Zak Beckman, guitarist and vocalist for the band, walks up holding a Ham’s beer in each hand, sets them down, and walks back to the restroom before starting the interview. While he’s gone, McDonough and Easler decide to mess with their bandmate.

McDonough picks up each beer, takes a sip and then sets them meticulously back on the table as they were.

 

“This is probably the meanest thing we’ve ever done to Zak,” he laughs.

“Well, at least while someone else was watching,” adds Easler.

When Beckman gets back to the table, he picks up one of his cans to take a drink. Before his mouth touches it, McDonough says, “We decided, before we start, that you have to figure out which one I took a sip out of.”

Beckman sets his drink back on the table and looks at both cans.

“Did you really take a sip from one?”

“From one, yeah.”

And this is how Sleeping Under 47 works. The guys never take themselves too seriously, mixing long rehearsals with a heavy dose of humor.

Northern Star: Now, you guys have become something of a local staple, how long have you been playing together?

Easler: Since St. Patty’s Day last year was our first show.

Beckman: Really, that’s it?

McDonough: Well, I’ve been in the band for almost four years.

Beckman: Well, I’ve been playing with myself since I was 13.

NS: Under then name Sleeping Under 47, right?

ZB: That too. I discovered two things that year.

NS: How did you guys get your name?

ZB: It was named after a train bridge that [Patrick Hellman, the original bassist] and I and Chet Kukuk, the original drummer, ran away to, slept under, partied under, just basically grew up hanging out at this place. It was the bridge in between the two towns the three of us had grown up in, and so we would ride bikes or hitchhike, or I think even once or twice one of us rode the train back to our respective homes. Chet ran away down there and that’s where we could always find him. And then we also had a friend who was killed at the intersection there so…a lot of things were laid to rest there.

NS: What bands inspired you guys, I’ve been told Rancid has always been a big one in the beginning.

Beckman: We kind of leave that one unspoken.

McDonough: It’s pretty obvious during our set list.

Beckman: Funeral Oration, Satanic Surfers.. Pretty much any 90’s punk rock band you can think of…

Easler: Same genre, same years, just different types of bands. Mine are more poppy, yours are more punk.

Beckman: Pat and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I like the more melodic stuff and he likes the more-

McDonough: I don’t really bring it into the music but, I’m a big fan of Bad Brains, pretty typical D.C. hardcore bands, that’s my main bread and butter. I ease it up in this band, and it works out pretty well.

NS: Sleeping Under 47 has come a long way since its early days, but now you are beginning to settle down. Are you being more selective with your shows, staying mainly in the DeKalb area?

ZB: You know, I’m married, and Pat should be married, and Todd’s cat will beat the crap out of him if he’s gone too long. Now our efforts really consist of DeKalb. It’s not like we’re forfeiting. It’s just that we were really pursuing something for a little bit. I feel that it could have kept developing, but at the same time I kind of got sick of that. I lost touch with the essence of it. It turned out to be like me being a boss, and getting really anal-retentive about shows and booking, and talking to everybody. It was just wheeling and dealing.

So what’s next for Sleeping Under 47? The guys will be rocking the stage at the House Café, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, on Friday, June 24 with She Likes Todd, Counterpunch, ‘Richardson’ Richardson and The Stockyards. They will also be performing at Punkfest, Stompkee, and Middlewest Fest.