The simplicity of music project 'Sleeping Bag'

Inspired by Weezer, The Rentals, Built to Spill and The Cranberries, IU art student and drummer Dave Segedy’s new project, Sleeping Bag, exudes a sense of the 1990s.

Characterized by tight melodies, Segedy’s demos are simple and natural, and the lyrics uncomplicated.

“I really try not to think to think about it. I do things instinctively,” Segedy said of the writing process. He said songs usually begin on bass guitar with a hook around which the song is built, followed by guitar, drums, and vocals, which he typically doesn’t write until much later in recording.

Segedy said he was intimidated by singing at first, but Matt Sharp, the vocalist for The Rentals and the first two Weezer albums, made him comfortable with singing in a higher range.

Segedy plays all instruments on his demos — no small feat, considering he has never played guitar before. For practice and shows, however, Segedy’s friends David Woodruff and Lewis Rogers accompany him on guitar and bass.

“I didn’t really know them well before, but they seemed like pretty tasteful guys,” Segedy said.

Sleeping Bag, he said, began because of a lull in the release of new material from his two other projects, Prayer Breakfast and The Native Young. A typically busy art student, Segedy found free time during winter break to pursue the developing drum project.

“I just kept doing more and more songs,” he said. “I use GarageBand, and they’re all demos. Eventually, I just had an album’s worth, and I thought they were working.”
Sleeping Bag performed its inaugural show June 3 at the Bishop, alongside Future Islands.

“It was really encouraging,” Segedy said of the turnout, but no shows are currently booked.

“I’ll still take a good show if it comes along,” he said.

Segedy produces all of his own albums, often employing his visual arts background to create the covers. The techniques range from stencil to drawing and relief print. It adds a personal aspect and contributes to Segedy’s minimalist sense in producing very few albums and numbering them.

“I really do like to make them — but I also do it because it’s cheap,” he said.

He says his interest in visual art has a big impact on what he does musically, too.

“Thinking too hard is a problem in a lot of art and music,” he said. “I’m not just talking about being simple to be simple, but eliminating clutter, focusing on an idea.”

Segedy really lives by his philosophy. A resident of Bloomington for three years, Segedy joined Prayer Breakfast to have fun jamming with his friends. The Native Young, once known as Everybody, came later, when Segedy was working as an intern at the Secretly Canadian record label. One of his coworkers recommended it to him, and they’ve been working together ever since.

Prayer Breakfast is currently mixing its upcoming album, and The Native Young is in the process of recording.

Segedy, who was originally a resident of Muncie, was also a founding member of Arrah and The Ferns. Despite the fact that The Ferns went on hiatus in 2008, Segedy said he’s been asked to join in on upcoming reunion shows.

In the 2009 SXSW Music and Media Conference, Segedy performed with DM Stith, of Asthmatic Kitty Records. He says he also had the honor of playing at the premiere of Sufjan Stevens’ movie, “The BQE,” last fall.

“I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I hope to keep making the best records I can,” he said.