WAKING THE SLEEPER !!!

1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.

 Shon "Gunnie" Gunderson (Keys/backup vocals) and I (Raven) started this band late 2016 and finalized all our members late December of 2016.

Juni Iwasaki- Lead guitar

Ryan Stebb- Bass guitar

And we are excited to announce our newest member Wes Bannon on Drums.

 2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?

In the beginning and still stands true with the rest of the band. Shon and I wanted our band name to reflect Who We Are and our message.

Origin of the name came from wanting people to think for themselves and not let others think for them or tell them what to think. To wake up to what's really going on around them in the world and to themselves.

 3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?

 We are based out of Wichita Kansas.

I will tell you as a female in a man's metal world. I was not accepted at first, I had to work harder to prove metal was who I am.

We do have a thriving metal scene here in Kansas but it's spread out and the true metal Community is like family here in the Midwest. We have a lot of amazing bands here in Wichita and surrounding areas like Addicted Tragedy, Eve of Chaos, Librium, John Woodson's leg, Fist, Shiva, Odds Against, Penny Dreadful, Yellow King, Suffocate the Skies and so many others.

 4. How would you describe your style?

This is actually a hard question to answer since all of us in this band have different and unique influences that make each one of us find our own individual style and collectively we create what you hear. So if I had to put a name on us as a genre I would have to say melodic metal but why trap yourself in a box :-) good music is just good music.

 5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?

 We released part 1 of our self-titled concept album "The 7 Deadly Sins" last March 2017 and we are excited to be releasing the full album of The 7 Deadly Sins through our record label Rock Avenue Records, whom we've just recently signed with, before the end of 2018. 

This concept album is based off of Dante's Inferno/the Bible. It's that Journey that we all have to go through. To be awakened to who we truly are in the end.

 6. Do you have any new music in the works?

As I stated we are finishing up the full album and we will have a surprise for some of our fans on a release of a single from the second part of The 7 Deadly Sins! We will have details on the release of this single before the full album is released on our Facebook bandpage for Waking the Sleeper! So stay tuned on our fb band page for details on that!

 7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out? 

We just got back from playing Rocklahoma On the Dark Side stage. This was our second year to play and was amazing to see all the fans from last year and the new fans that we acquired in the last year. ROK has become family to us!

Our next show is June 9th in Neosho Missouri at the bands against bullying! This will also be our second year performing and we are very humbled to be a part of such an important cause. To bring our communities together to bring awareness of the horrendous crimes that our youth and even our adults are having to endure in today's society. Bullying has taken on a new face comparatively to when we were kids. Along with the suicide rates that has skyrocketed, we as a society have to stand up and rethink a solution.

8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?

 We have several tours planned for the rest of the remainder of 2018 and going into 2019. To see where we will be playing next visit our Facebook band page for waking the sleeper to find dates and venues near you.

 9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?

 Right now with the recent signing with our record label Rock Avenue Records, you will only be able to hear music through our waking the sleeper YouTube page or find links through our band Facebook page. That will be back up on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play and a few others in the next few months and we also are working on a web page for our band. Or you can catch a show on by a CD :-)

 10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?

 That we all go through hard times and we all have to figure out who we are. It's up to you to decide who you're going to be and to embrace the Journey of each song and relate it to your own life and struggles.