The Illinois-based combo's full length debut, "The Kicks of Passion" (released 31 July 2007), sees Powerspace unleashing its own inimitable sound, a brightly colored mash-up of pure power pop and electronica-inspired invention. Tracks such as "Powerspace Snap Bracelet" and "Right On, Right Now" literally snap and crackle with the just-out-of-their-teens quartet's uncontainable charm and energy.
The Powerspace team came together back in 2005 at Ohio's Miami University. Guitarist Tom Schleiter and bassist Daniel McMahon, both of whom played in bands in their native burbs of Chicago, had long discussed making music together. A year older, Schleiter spent his freshman term at Miami working with drummer Kevin Kane in a local band, an experience the guitarist describes as "unsatisfying." He spent the next summer focusing on writing songs for an as-yet-undetermined new band. When he told McMahon what he'd been up to, the bassist suggested the two form a new combo upon Dan's arrival at school in the fall.
Once they began collaborating, the three musicians embarked on a search for a lead singer. While they were excited about this new musical outlet, they admit to treating their initial quest with a grain of salt.
They worked briefly with an avant-garde poet and a girl singer who was plagued by shyness, not a particularly helpful quality in a frontperson. Their personnel problem was solved on a car trip home from Miami, when Schleiter's mom suggested that their high school friend and fellow Miami U. student Alec Cyganowski might want to give singing a shot.
With Cyganowski behind the mic, Powerspace was complete. The band started playing shows around Miami University and Cincinnati and by the summer, felt ready to do some recording. Rather than simply cutting a standard issue demo, they decided to enlist producer Mark McClusky (Hit the Lights, Ludo, Scenes From a Movie), who McMahon worked with in one of his previous bands. They laid down five songs in five days, resulting in the "Houston, We Have a Party" EP.
The EP quickly brought Powerspace to the attention of major label bigwigs and weasels, all of whom began waving contracts under the band's noses. In the end, Powerspace inked with the label that most reflected their own aesthetic views and artistic goals – Fueled By Ramen.
Rather than splitting their focus between the band and their studies, Powerspace chose to take an indefinite breather from Miami University. They played a number of local gigs, sharing stages with such bands as June, Quietdrive, and 2*Sweet. More significantly, they spent endless time in their practice space, concentrating on their chosen craft.
By December 2006, they were ready to record, again opting to work with McClusky. But first, the producer needed the band to give him a hand setting up his new digs in Lincoln Park, dubbed "Dorisland," after McClusky's beloved pooch.
Powerspace spent much of the winter in the studio, carefully crafting what would be dubbed – for reasons the band prefers to keep close to the vest – "The Kicks of Passion." Taking off from such diverse influences as INXS, The Darkness, The Wrens, and Squarepusher, the album is bracingly creative, displaying Powerspace's multi-layered pop stance, a glamtastic sonic approach kissed with electro textures and metallic virtuosity.
"The Kicks of Passion" is alive with ingenious vigor, with soaring tracks like "It Smells Like Electricity In Here" evincing the band's artistic ambition. The skyscraping melodies and overall exuberance are counterpointed by deeply personal lyricism, often touched with a melancholy and reflection that the band attributes to its time at Miami U.
With "The Kicks of Passion" ready to go, Powerspace is turning its attention to playing out. Having spent much of the last year honing their craft, the band is full-on fired up about at last hitting the road and getting down with the kids.
Drummer Kevin Kane announced the band's break up on February 17, 2010.
The Remaining Members minus Alec are in a new band Bad City
Sleep Everyone...
Powerspace Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
At least you'd think I'd find some peace in my dreams
In my dreams
But my mind still winds up on the same thing
The same scene
The same themes
Cause it's all stuck in my subconscious
So I'm stuck with these nightmares
Where you're gone and so far away
And when I wake up
I realize that everything's still wrong
I'm still here and you're still gone
It's not fair
Cause either way I spin it
Separation seems so wrong
These breaks are far too long for me
Hours and hours
I'm stuck inside this place and this town
And you're gone
Far away, you're fighting for your life all alone
I want to wake up and go home
Cause it's all stuck in my subconscious
Built up from every day
So I'm stuck with these nightmares
Where you're gone and far away
Oh, this tortures me so much that
I get sick and I throw up
In my dream and here on my bed
It's messed up how it's all in my head
Yet it's affecting me oh so bad
I guess this distance just makes me sick
Cause when I wake up
It's 4 AM and I'm still all alone
Your message on my phone
Don't tell me that sleeping through the night
Is never this hard when you're home
Cause I already know
Wake me
up when this nightmare ends
I need you here, my friend
Cause it's all stuck in my subconscious
Built up from every day
So I'm stuck with these nightmares
Where you're gone and so far away
The chorus of Powerspace’s song “Sleep Everyone...” is a heart-wrenching account of someone struggling to come to terms with the absence of a loved one. The lyrics express the singer’s frustration at their inability to find peace in their dreams, even when they are sleeping so little. The theme of separation and the difficulty of coping with it is present throughout the song, and it is particularly poignant in the repeated phrase “it’s not fair”. The singer seems to feel trapped in their own subconscious, unable to escape their increasing anxiety and frustration at being away from their loved one.
The second verse of the song expands on the first, giving more depth to the singer’s feelings of despair. They describe their partner as “fighting for their life all alone”, which adds an extra layer of heartbreak to the song. The song is incredibly personal and emotional, and it’s impossible not to feel moved by the lyrics. The chorus is particularly powerful, with the repeated plea to be woken up from the nightmare.
Line by Line Meaning
With so little sleep
Despite how little sleep I get,
At least you'd think I'd find some peace in my dreams
One would assume I would find solace in my dreams,
In my dreams
However, in my dreams,
But my mind still winds up on the same thing
My thoughts always revert to the same thing,
The same scene
The same visual imagery,
The same themes
And the same underlying themes.
Cause it's all stuck in my subconscious
These thoughts are held deep within my subconscious,
Built up from every day
Compounded from everyday experiences,
So I'm stuck with these nightmares
Thus, I am plagued with these horrific nightmares,
Where you're gone and so far away
Which depict you as absent and incredibly distant.
And when I wake up
Upon waking up,
I realize that everything's still wrong
I come to the realization that everything is still amiss,
I'm still here and you're still gone
I am still present, but you are still absent,
It's not fair
This reality is unjust,
Cause either way I spin it
No matter how I look at it,
Separation seems so wrong
The separation between us seems inherently incorrect,
These breaks are far too long for me
These periods of being apart are excessively lengthy for me.
Hours and hours
For endless hours,
I'm stuck inside this place and this town
I am trapped in this location and confined to this city,
And you're gone
And you have departed,
Far away, you're fighting for your life all alone
You are fighting for your survival from afar, without any support,
I want to wake up and go home
I long to arise and return to my desired location.
Oh, this tortures me so much that
All of this is causing me immense psychological agony,
I get sick and I throw up
To the extent that I become physically ill and vomit,
In my dream and here on my bed
Both within my dreamscape and in my waking life,
It's messed up how it's all in my head
It is disturbing how all of this is manifesting in my mind,
Yet it's affecting me oh so bad
Even so, it is impacting me immensely,
I guess this distance just makes me sick
I suppose this distance is making me quite unwell.
Cause when I wake up
Because when I awaken,
It's 4 AM and I'm still all alone
It is four in the morning, and I am still completely solitary,
Your message on my phone
The message on my phone from you,
Don't tell me that sleeping through the night
It does not persuade me when you say that sleeping all night,
Is never this hard when you're home
Is never this difficult for you when you are at home,
Cause I already know
I am already painfully aware of this fact,
Wake me
Awaken me from this nightmare.
Contributed by Levi T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.