_“Distorted, exploratory, and enthusiastic.”_
That’s how Sleepy Kitty members Paige Brubeck and Evan Sult describe their sound.
Hailing from Chicago’s notoriously artistic and innovative Wicker Park neighborhood, Brubeck and Sult made a big move to St. Louis five years ago and it’s been their home ever since. They’ve performed at the City Museum, a freight elevator decked out in string lights and aluminum foil and a choreographed laser show listening party at the McDonnell Planetarium.
A School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduate, lead singer Brubeck is certainly a multitalented and experienced musician.
“I’ve been singing as long as I can remember,” she says. “I started playing drums in fourth grade and did choir all through grade school and high school and I started playing bass and guitar when I was a teenager. I’ve definitely been playing music for a long time.”
Summing up Sleepy Kitty as a rock band would be easy, but incomplete. Finding musical influences from The Fall and Pavement and gaining inspiration from ‘90s indie rock to MGM musicals, their distinctive, yet somewhat undefined sound sets them apart from other bands in the music world.
“I feel like we don’t necessarily have a ‘sound,’” Brubeck says. “I don’t think all of our songs sound the same and I think that’s a strength. I think a lot of bands feel the responsibility to make a sound and say ‘This is what we sound like. This is what kind of band we are.’ and they don’t have a lot of flexibility beyond that.”
Their fresh mindset is what makes their music not only original, but honest. Keeping their songs based on real-life experiences, Sleepy Kitty always maintains a standard of authenticity that’s clearly observed from listening to their latest album, “Projection Room.”
“There’s some weird subject matter on this record like on ‘Batman: The Ride’ and ‘What Are You Gonna Do When You Find Bigfoot?’ We don’t necessarily set out to write a song about something … we just follow our interests and that leads us to the subject matter and the stuff that we’re singing about,” Brubeck says.
So what _can_ audiences expect from a show put on by such an experimental, complex and artistic band?
“People can expect enthusiasm, loud drums and guitars, lots of harmony and rock ‘n’ roll,” Brubeck says. “Enjoy the music and think about things differently. Think things you haven’t thought before. Feel the sincerity and have fun.”
_Sleepy Kitty will play Mojo’s on August 22. Doors: 9 p.m.; Show: 9:30 p.m._