Interview: Don’t Wake Aislin

Don’t Wake Aislin are a five piece Alternative Christian rock band from Dallas, Texas. The female-fronted group formed in 2004 and have since gone on to have success in their home state including an appearence at the recent SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. This was followed by the release of their new EP, 'Everyone Has A Story...' .

Sean recently spoke to Don't Wake Aislin's guitarist Brandon Brown about the bands history, their new EP and being a band in the big state of Texas.

ATP: Give us a little bit of history about how Don't Wake Aislin started?
Brandon: DWA started back in December 2004. A few friends from church and I started the band and were looking for a singer. I had just met Deena and found out that she was an amazing singer/songwriter, so I asked if she wanted to audition. I honestly didn't think she'd be interested because it was a different style of music for her, but she came to one of our practices and we've been playing together ever since. Deena and I are the only original members; Joey, Justin, and Kyler joined the band at different times over the past few years. The current lineup became complete in December 2008 when Kyler started playing with us.

ATP:Where did the name come from?
B:"Aislin" is a Gaelic name that means "dreams". Aislin represents your goals, your hopes, your calling in life, your passion. The name is a call to hold onto that dream and not to let the world get in the way of the purpose you've been given.

ATP: For people who havn't heard you before, how would you describe the sound of your band?
B: It's energetic rock music with a female singer. Definitely a blend of styles and different than what you've heard from other chick-fronted rock bands!

ATP: Are there any bands or singers who have influenced you?
B:Of course! We all come from verrry different musical backgrounds, so we have a ton of influences. It's hard to list a select few that the entire band agrees on, haha. Most recently, we've been influenced by some great bands that we were on tour with, like The Wedding. Our music is different from theirs, but we learned a lot from watching them perform every night.

ATP: You recently recorded new material with producer Geoff Rockwell. How did that go and what can we expect from the new material?
B: It went extremely well! We love Geoff. He's incredibly talented and has really helped us to refine our music and make it as powerful as possible. We just released our brand new EP "Everyone Has A Story...", which was recorded at Rockwell Audio (Geoff's studio in Arlington TX), so you can hear all of the new material on the CD and see for yourself. It's a whole new sound compared to our last EP, which came out in 2006. The CD is available at www.dontwakeaislin.com and on iTunes.

ATP: Being from the large state of Texas, is it difficult to get noticed in a large music scene?
B: It can definitely be a challenge sometimes. Thankfully, we have amazing fans around the state and have been blessed with the support of some great radio stations, like 89.7 PowerFM in Dallas. Texas is a crazy place, but we absolutely love it!

ATP: I guess there are both positves and negatives from being based in such a big state?
B: Dallas has such a huge scene on its own, which is both a good and bad thing. It's good because there are a LOT of shows and a LOT of amazing music fans here, so there are always opportunities to perform and meet new people. It's bad because the scene is so saturated with rock bands that it can be hard to make a name for yourself. We've been around for over 4 years now, so we've seen a few music trends come and go. Getting noticed takes a balance between writing good music and promoting the heck out of that music. As long as the music is good, you'll always have a solid foundation to fall back on, but it still takes a lot of work. Constantly promoting and performing is key.

ATP:How would describe a normal Don't Wake Aislin show?
B:Lots of energy and lots of sweating! We have such a great time on stage, and I hope that radiates to the audience. We're up there worshiping God and spreading the message that He's given us.

ATP: What's next for Don't Wake Aislin?
B: Right now we're promoting our new EP and continuing to write new music. We'll be playing a lot of festivals, such as Celebration Fest in Alabama and Cornerstone in Illinois, and hopefully we'll be hitting the road for another tour at the end of the summer. Also, be on the lookout for a new music video soon!

ATP: Have you got anything else to say?
B: Thanks to Alter The Press for being amazing! Also, check out an organization called International Justice Mission. They're committed to raising awareness about human trafficking and rescuing people who have been forced into sex slavery and violent oppression. Human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry that affects millions of people around the world, even right here in Dallas. We donate 10% of all our merchandise sales to support what they do. www.ijm.org

For more information on Don’t Wake Aislin visit their MySpace.

Sean Reid