Between 2010 and 2014, Matt Steele worked as a sound technician, burning the midnight oil to stretch long days into longer nights, all to serve his music community. However, as a self-proclaimed guy who struggles to maintain his energy levels off the stage, those long hours can be grueling, and, as the title of “Falling Asleep at the Metal Show” suggests, keeping your eyes open isn’t always the easiest task.
Matt Steele’s latest song is a “love letter to the music scene, an apology to Pipe Dreams, and a shout out to Mötörhead.”
If there was a ranking of industries most respectful of your sleep cycle, the music industry wouldn’t be anywhere near that list. Not by a long shot. And, honestly, Matt Steele isn’t even the only person we’ve known to fall asleep at the metal show. That wall of sound may not be the comforting white noise of your air conditioner, but it’s not far off either.
For Steele, however, this doesn’t seem to be an isolated event. He’s been habitually falling asleep at shows for a while now.
“I fell asleep at a Bruce Cockburn show (sorry Bruce!), and I almost got bounced from the Seahorse once for ‘closing my eyes’ while sitting in a chair,” says Steele.
“I love loud music, being pushed around in the pit, and feeling the sound hit my body like an ocean wave. I also love the camaraderie of people united by the music. But that said, it’s a running joke among my friends that I could literally sleep through anything.”
Which isn’t really a problem, so long as your role in the whole affair is as a paying audience member, but when you’re the sound guy that can quickly turn into an issue. During this particular incident, it was 2014, Steele was working at Baba’s in Charlottetown and, in his defense, there seems to have been a number of contributing factors.
“It was a time in my life where I worked full time, did sound 2-3x a week, and was gigging too,” says Steele. “Oh, and I was partying like a young Charlottetown lad was wont to do. Charlottetown has power Night Owl energy. I never stayed up half as late once I moved to Halifax. Can’t imagine that he anything to do with it either. So, the Sunday night show was often a real sleepy affair on my end.
“If you’ve ever been to Baba’s you’ve seen the little sound guy booth. It’s not plush, but it’s comfy enough when the power amp fans are dispersing heat and you’re fighting exhaustion. This band, Pipe Dreams was playing. They were a pretty good pop-punk/screamo-type band. Giving it 100%, people having a good time, etc. but I could not stay awake.”
It wasn’t long before Steele began nodding off, his head bobbing left and right as he fought off sleep, and then the next thing he heard was… “HEY! SOUND GUY! WAKE UP, I NEED MORE VOCAL IN MY MONITOR!”
“I was definitely chastened for my mid-set nap,” says Steele. “The flip side is that I really enjoyed all those shows. It was nice to see people show up on a Sunday, rock all the way out, get drunk and sweaty for some ear-piercing raucous rock music. I loved the sense of community the punk and metal shows had.”
So, next time you see your local sound guy slouching in the corner, maybe give them a quick tap before someone turns it into a venue-wide issue using the PA. They’re probably doing their best at the end of a long day and miss their pillows as much as anyone else.
“Falling Asleep at the Metal Show” also gets paid with a tasty B-side called “Cupcake” about tinder and getting rejected wrapped up in a heavy metaphor about culinary delights.
“You can listen to the whole song and not know it’s about getting rejected on tinder,” says Steele. “It’s just a weird, tender song about wanting a cupcake over any other kind of dessert.”
“Falling Asleep at the Metal Show” has a fun video coming soon, produced by the legendary Jeff Miller, and, in the meantime, you can enjoy a fun rollout contest over on Matt Steele’s socials. Check his socials for a fun game of Guess The Riff and learn about all the other places Steele has accidentally fallen asleep.