Team Sleep performed a number of live shows on the United States' west coast in late 2001 and early 2002 with Todd Wilkinson, Dan Elkan (Pocket For Corduroy), Sonny Mayugba (Phallucy), Zach Hill (Hella), Rick Verrett (Tinfed) and DJ Crook handling instrumentation.
“We were never going to make a record, or start a band,” adds Wilkinson, “I was just sitting at home, playing guitar, and I started recording some stuff. It was never about trying to play shows, record in a studio, or anything of that sort. It was just bumming around. I had never been in a band, and I never wanted to be—we were just friends.”
It was rumored that Mike Patton (Fantômas, Faith No More) and Melissa Auf Der Maur (ex-Hole, ex-Smashing Pumpkins) would be involved in recording sessions. While Mike Patton did indeed contribute vocals to the track "Kool-Aid Party", this song did not make it to the album. Due to contractual obligations, any material Team Sleep releases will be through Maverick Records. Now that the album is released, it is known that only Rob Crow of San Diego based band Pinback and Mary Timony of the band Wild Flag (ex-Helium, ex-Autoclave) lend their vocals to the project along with Chino.
The only early Team Sleep recording to have been officially released was "The Passportal," an instrumental featured on the The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack. A version of "The Passportal" with lyrics and vocals by Chino Moreno has circulated on the internet under the title "Apollonia."
A full album's worth of material was finished between 2002-2003, but Moreno was reportedly angered after Team Sleep songs were circulated on the internet, mostly by the Deftones own official message board. This, coupled with the release and supporting tour for Deftones' fourth album, kept Team Sleep's recordings from being released. In 2002 there was also a Team Sleep world premiere on POWER 106 FM in Los Angeles: "Mercedes" was played once. The new album has done away with almost all of the previous tracks, only carrying over four of the originals, three of those heavily revamped.
Team Sleep's record was originally scheduled for a November, 2004 release, but Maverick Records were reportedly so impressed by the album they postponed the release until mid-2005 to allow for promotion. Chino supposedly commented that "(I) didn't know whether to be happy that they were impressed, or pissed that they didn't expect much (from Team Sleep) in the first place."
A DJ named 'C-Minus' opening at a Deftones concert at the House of Blues in West Hollywood in October, 2004 premiered the newest version of the Team Sleep song 'Cambodia' to the crowd. This song was later changed to 'Ever.' The official Team Sleep website surfaced and included an audio/video clip of the song 'Death By Plane.'
Rumors began to circulate in January 2005 that Team Sleep had broken up due to a falling out between Chino Moreno and DJ Crook. Many fans were distraught at the fact that the long-awaited project might never surface, but the rumors were later proved false.
May 10 was finally pinned down as the date that Team Sleep's self-titled debut album would be released. "The best part about it is having completion of something you've been working on, and having it done right," Moreno said in a statement. "It's fun, working with different people, everybody works differently. When I have time off from music, I want to make other music. That's what I do, that's what's fun, that's what makes me happy." ...(mtv.com)
Team Sleep has been described as "moody" and "beat-driven." More so than the Deftones, many themes and lyrics on the album are fantastical and imaginative in nature; drawing from such literary sources as Poe and historical events like the Jonestown Massacre. The completed album is less electronic in sound and much more 'alt' or 'indie' rock than when the project began.
'Ever' is considered to be the first single from Team Sleep. Notably absent from the completed album are 'Mercedes,' 'Apollonia,' 'Iceache,' 'Death by Plane,' 'Solid Gold,' 'Acoustic One,' and 'Kool-Aid Party'. However, a newer version of 'Kool-Aid Party' was released on the 'Ever (Foreign Flag)' single.
Our Ride to the Rectory
Team Sleep Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cruising the earth
Attacking your towns
As you watch from outside
And no one felt crashes in your hearts
There's another way
Any other one couldn't stop the fingers from freezing
All you ever want
Safe inside the covers and freezing
Alive?
And no one felt anything at all
Protecting ourselves
As you watch from outside
And everyone's thrill
It crashes in you heart
There's another way
Any other one couldn't stop the fingers from freezing
Until you're driven half awake
All you ever want
Safe inside the covers and freezing
Drove so far away
No one would ever stop
Couldn't tell the difference between them
And then you struggle under quake
Hope you never stop
Hope you never finish breathing
How does it feel to clip the patient on the wing feather?
Where does the pain stop and the tearing trough begin, if ever?
Temperature lock down, way consumed
Froze in a block with a blazing view
Tazing the numbers
One through two
Fit in the standard size
Without
The lyrics of Team Sleep's song "Our Ride to the Rectory" are cryptic and open to interpretation. The song deals with themes such as alienation, fear, and the desire for safety and comfort. The opening lines, "it comes and it kills/Cruising the earth/Attacking your towns/As you watch from outside" suggest an impending danger that is out of our control. The feeling of powerlessness in the face of this threat is captured in the line "no one felt crashes in your hearts". The repetition of the phrase "watch from outside" reinforces the sense of detachment and isolation.
The chorus of the song offers a glimmer of hope, suggesting that there may be "another way" to deal with this danger - perhaps by seeking refuge "safe inside the covers and freezing". However, the repetition of the line "hope you never stop" suggests that this safety is temporary and fleeting. The final stanza of the song introduces a new set of images, such as "clipping the patient on the wing feather" and "temperature lock down". These images are obscure and difficult to interpret, but they contribute to the overall feeling of unease and uncertainty that runs through the song.
Line by Line Meaning
It comes and it kills
A destructive force arrives and causes harm
Cruising the earth
The force is moving quickly around the world
Attacking your towns
The force is causing damage to your cities and communities
As you watch from outside
You are a helpless observer, unable to control what is happening
And no one felt crashes in your hearts
The devastation is causing emotional pain and despair
There's another way
There may be an alternative solution to the problem
Any other one couldn't stop the fingers from freezing
Other options may not be effective or may cause paralysis
Until you're driven half awake
You are in a state of semi-consciousness, unable to fully understand or respond to the situation
All you ever want / Safe inside the covers and freezing / Alive?
You want to feel safe and protected, but you are unsure if you are truly alive or just surviving
And no one felt anything at all / Protecting ourselves / As you watch from outside / And everyone's thrill / It crashes in you heart
People are numb to the violence and destruction, focusing only on their own survival, but it still hurts you deeply
Drove so far away / No one would ever stop / Couldn't tell the difference between them / And then you struggle under quake / Hope you never stop / Hope you never finish breathing
You are trying to escape the chaos, but it follows you and you are struggling to survive. You hope to keep going and never give up
How does it feel to clip the patient on the wing feather? / Where does the pain stop and the tearing trough begin, if ever? / Temperature lock down, way consumed / Froze in a block with a blazing view / Tazing the numbers / One through two / Fit in the standard size / Without
These lines may be expressing confusion and despair about a medical or scientific process, possibly involving freezing or preserving something. The end result is something that fits parameters or standards, but it may be cold and lifeless
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ABE CUNNINGHAM, ABRAN CUNNINGHAM, CHI CHENG, CHINO MORENO, CHINO CAMILO MORENO, STEPHEN CARPENTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind