In an e-mail interview with Gestromt, ex-Underoath singer Spencer Chamberlain answered some questions about his new project SLEEPWAVE and the debut record "Broken Compass" which will be released on September, 12th. Introduce yourself and tell the brief history of your band. My name is Spencer Chamberlain, I sing in Sleepwave and on the album I also play guitar, keys and program. How did you choose the band name?  I sent a list of about 60 plus names to our lawyer and only 4 came back that weren't copy written already... So yah we took the space out of the two words 'sleep' and 'wave' and made it one word; it's the waves recorded during R.E.M. [Rapid Eye Movement] sleep which is the only time your brain is free to do what it wants. How would you describe your music to people? Rock 'n' Roll, dark, violent and exciting. What are your influences? Everything from Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Deftones, Nine Inch Nails, to Radiohead and Sigur Ros. Tell us about your upcoming record „Broken Compass“. Who wrote the songs and what are they about? What was the inspiration for the lyrics? Me and Stephen wrote every song and I wrote all the lyrics, it's really a record about the last year and a half of my life, and the journey that was starting over losing everything and what comes with all of that. Where was it recorded, who produced and mastered it? How was the process in general (how long did it take, did everything went well…)? It was recorded in New Jersey by David Bendeth who also mixed, and it was mastered by Ted Jenson. It was the most intense and hardest record I have ever made, but it's by far the best thing I've ever been a part of and I am more proud of this album than anything I've ever done in my life. We were up in the winter storm for two months making this record. What makes this record different (maybe also compared to Underoath records)? This record is more song based and structured around melody. We took ZERO short cuts in making this album, it's real, it's honest, it's emotional. Why did you decide for 'Through the looking glass' as new single? I didn't, hahaha. I listened to the label and they thought it would be a good first single, so I trusted them. It’s not always easy to start something new and different. Did you have any difficulties with record labels or the like until now? I met everyone there was to meet, before choosing my team. I picked my people very carefully, I am 100% happy with who I went with. Who had the idea for the band logo and merchandise, who designed it? My friend Aaron Marsh came up with one and I came up with the wave logo, then he made it real and professional. Your first song 'Rock and Roll is dead and so am I' is available for free download. Do you think that digital music will someday replace formats like CDs and vinyls? What do you prefer? That actually is a DEMO version of that song, so if you like that, wait till you hear the album version. Music shouldn't be free I don't think, its hard for bands to even afford to tour, we've turned down more tours than we have taken, because we can't afford it, gas is expensive and travel isn't cheap. Any money a supporter chooses to spend on the band they love, the longer it keeps them around...fact. Since your first show in November last year you played some more and currently you’re the support act for Nothing More. What do you like the most and least about playing club shows and being on tour? I love touring... Put me in front of a small crowd or put me in front of a million people, it's where I am the most comfortable, it's where I feel alive. The hardest thing about touring is missing your loved ones, for me it's my girl, my dogs and cat and my dad. One exceptional thing about your band is that you hire live musicians for tour. Why did you chose this option instead of more permanent band members? Simple, Underoath broke up because some people didn't want to do it anymore, and if I'm writing everything with one other person, why would I ever put myself in the position to where someone else that isn't writing could tell me when my band is over, I'm never doing that again. What are your hopes for the future? Do you have plans on touring overseas? I wanna tour forever and everywhere, I want to show the entire world what SLEEPWAVE is made of, I'll be older than Mick Jagger before I stop. Tell us about your next shows and why we should go there. We are an honest rock 'n' roll band, there is no smoke and mirrors, there is no faking what we do, we always go harder, we don't stop till we puke or pass out, we play every night like it's our last show ever. (Photo by Amber Canterbury)