The troubles began the day before our first show in LA. We planned to leave a day early since LA is an 18 hour drive from Portland. I decided to take my own car rather than rent a car in order to keep expenses low, so I had some work done on it to make sure it was ready for the long trip. When I went to pick it up, my debit card was declined even though I deposited enough money in my bank account to cover all expenses. I called my bank and discovered that my debit card had been counterfeited and $800 had been taken from my account. Identity theft… sweeeeeet! The issue was resolved the next morning, which was the day of the show (an 18 hr drive away.)

Once this issue was resolved we started our journey to LA. We smashed all the way there, speeding pretty fast, but we didn’t arrive until 12:35 a.m. I went straight on stage and played a 45 minute set for a thinned out crowd of people who stuck around to see me. It was a good show but I felt a little rough around the edges from the long drive. After a couple of shows everything starting to come together; the shows were great and I was having a wonderful time. And then my wife’s grandmother passed away.

I didn’t really know what to do being that I was so far away, so I decided to fly my wife and son to Oakland so we could be together. This was a decision that I knew would make travel very tricky but I had to do it. We only had one more show in California and it was an all ages B Boy jam in Monterey Bay. We had to fly my brother Jon The Baptist to Albuquerque in order to make room in the car. Most of my family lives in New Mexico so it was a good place to set up camp. The B Boy battle ran over time so by the time I got on stage most of the crowd had left. This show was the first time my son had seen me perform so I felt blessed to do it. It was funny…he wouldn’t just stay and watch, he had to be part of it. So I ended up carrying him in my arms the whole peformance, which was only 15 mins. Babies are the new bling ha ha.

We left the next morning, making our way to New Mexico from Oakland. We decided to go through Las Vegas and stay the night with my dad. We ran into some pretty bad monsoon weather on our way and it looked like we’d be following that storm system for the rest of the tour. When we got to New Mexico the car started acting funny. It was shaking when the brakes were pushed, so I had to take it to a mechanic and fly to Texas for the next leg of the tour. I didn’t have enough money to fly everyone out so my family and my brother stayed in NM while DJ Zone and myself went to Texas for a few shows.

Our original plan was to fly into San Antonio and catch a ride to Austin where the show was, but during our layover in Houston there was a flash flood/ lightning storm and the airport was closed. It opened up but our flight was delayed and we would not make it in time to make the show. We ended up having a buddy drive from Austin to come get us and take us back. This was going to get us there late but it was still the better option because if we sped the whole way we could make the show. And we did. We got there 5 minutes before I had to go on stage.

The show had a good attendance and the energy was real good. This show was one of the best shows on the tour, but the other shows in Texas were good too. After Texas we headed back to NM to meet up with the family and rock some more shows. I ended up doing a show in Albuquerque with De La Soul and it was a great night. De la ripped it, we ripped it, and everyone had a blast. I can’t believe how long De La has been touring and they still look exactly the same. It’s like they don’t age. The next day we headed out to Colorado with my family and Zone in my car while my brother and manager drove in another car. The first show in Colorado was in Boulder at the Fox Theater. We were playing with DJ Newmark (who killed it by the way). There were a few heads who came out but it was not packed…and when that venue is not packed it feels very empty. Despite that fact, it was a great show. We then headed out to a venue called Mishuwaka where we played with Hay Stack.

The venue was outdoors and it had a river running behind it. Really beautiful setting. I was nervous prior to my performance because there were a lot of mainstream-ish acts who went on before me (or they at least made an attempt to make that kind of music) and the crowd seemed to love it. This made me feel like they would hate my music once I hit the stage with material from Hesitation Wounds. Thankfully, I was wrong. The crowd loved it. However, there was one guy who asked my manager “Who’s next?” When she replied that Whiskey Blanket was next he asked “Are they better than this guy?” My manager responded by saying that she didn’t think so and he said “So they suck then!” Apparently I didn’t impress this guy much. haha. I did manage to impress Hay Stack. He stopped in the middle of his set and gave respects to Whiskey Blanket and myself. He said, “Sometimes you come across a band or a lyricist that you just know is going to make it.” He said it made him smile seeing me and Whiskey Blanket smash it. It was a strange night overall but it ended being one of my favorite nights of the tour.

After Colorado I went back to NM and stayed for a week so I could spend sometime with my Grandfather whose health has been bad for the past couple of years. My Grandfather actually raised me, so his failing health has been extremely difficult for me to deal with (to say the least.) While I was there I wanted to help him out with some yard work and house work. I mostly just wanted to soak up as much time with him as possible and let him meet my son. After this brief break in NM, I packed up the family one last time and headed to Arizona. On our way to the Phoenix we blew out a tire while driving in the middle of nowhere. I had a spare but it was just a doughnut and it was too late to get a new tire. I could only drive 45mph on it, but that’s what we had to do in order to make the show. We were still about 200 miles away from Phoenix so it took a long time (driving at 45mph and all), but once again we made it to the venue just in time to rock the set. It was a good show. It was the last show. And as you can imagine, by this time I was more than ready to get back home.

The drive home was very chill; just me, my wife and my son. We made it a casual thing, turning the road trip into a mini vacation…mostly stopping and visiting our family up the coast en route back home. All in all, I had driven 13,000 miles by myself and rocked some twenty odd shows. I was also pretty broke from it all but I was home! To tell you the truth I can’t wait to do it again.

All pre-orders purchased through SFRstore.com will include an 11×17 Hesitation Wounds poster SIGNED BY SLEEP and a Strange Famous Records sticker!

Click here for the FREE DOWNLOAD of the official leak of Sleep’s “Lothar” featuring Del Tha Funkee Homosapien!

“This is an infinite love in its purest form. It’s not the norm but it’s all I know so here it goes.
This speaking from the heart tore my life apart to bleed for ya, I just thought you should know.” – Sleep of Oldominion from “Talk About It”

After a decade of trail-blazing across America and cementing his reputation as one of underground hip hop’s true buried treasures, SLEEP of Oldominion & Strange Famous Records are proud to announce the release of his third album HESITATION WOUNDS.  Due out June 30, the album combines the witty and shocking decrees from the mind of vocalist Sleep with a high-speed barrage of sonic thunder from a selection of indie hip hop’s finest beatsmiths.

The first single will be “Talk About It,” an old school-style cut displaying a dizzying flow produced by SFR labelmate Reanimator. Lyrically, Sleep takes a battle stance against manufactured artists while refusing to dilute his style or message for the sake of mainstream acceptance.

“Sleep can tear off syllables at a cheetah’s pace like Aesop Rock or Busdriver, but even his fastest rhymes make sense.” – XLR8R

Hesitation Wounds is a vivid and intense journey through the psyche of one of underground hip hop’s longest tenured and most promising emcees.The follow-up to Sleep’s acclaimed 2005 LP Christopher, the album features guest appearances by Del tha Funky Homosapien, Grayskul, and boasts the production credits of Reanimator, Zebulon Dak and Smoke. Constructed from a mix of samples, live instrumentation, and a myriad of styles that all assist in the storytelling of a lifelong hip-hop veteran who has much more to offer the game than brag raps. This is real life in all its complexities, compressed into 13 solid tracks, and delivered in a way that only Sleep could do.

A co-founder of the Oldominion crew, a conglomerate of hip-hop artists based out of the Pacific Northwest, Sleep and his people have been putting it down for Seattle and Portland for the past decade. Hesitation Wounds displays an new level of strength in songwriting and the signature style that earned Sleep a devout following in the underground scene.

Click here to pre-order your copy of Hesitation Wounds!

The complete track listing for Hesitation Wounds:

01 Intro (produced by Pale Soul.)

02 Day Dreamer (produced by Zavala, scratches by DJ Z-One, horns by Ross Liquid, additional vocals Toni Hill.)

03 Talk About It (produced by Reanimator.)

04 Who to Point the Finger At (produced by Reanimator.)

05 Ginelli (produced by Samix, scratches DJ Z-One. Horns by Ross Liquid, Lambs Bread and Jamzels. Additional vocals by Toni Hill and Scott Preston.)

06 Spent (produced by Zavala, scratches by DJ Z-One.)

07 Orchestra of Strangers (produced by Leon West, featuring Toni Hill.)

08 Hesitation Wounds (produced by Zavala, featuring Grayskul.)

09 Commercial (produced by Pale Soul.)

10 Lothar (produced by Zavala, scratches by DJ Z-One, featuring Del Tha Funkee Homosapien.)

11  Get It (produced by Smoke, scratches by DJ Z-One.)

12 So Far Away (produced by Samix, scratches by DJ Z-One, additional vocals by Toni Hill.)

13 Roll Call (produced by Zavala.)

***PRE ORDER SHIPPING INFORMATION***
Please read carefully! ALL pre orders will be held until the ship date. ALL other items in your shopping cart will also be held until the ship date. If you have items that you may want to receive sooner we suggest placing a separate order for those items.

Orders will ship on or before the release date of Tuesday, June 30, 2009.