Armor for Sleep is an American rock band from Teaneck, New Jersey. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Ben Jorgensen, lead guitarist PJ DeCicco, bassist Anthony DiIonno and drummer Nash Breen. Currently the band consists of Jorgensen and Breen alongside guitarist Erik Rudic and bassist Chad Sabo, both members of the Cold Seas, in which Breen is also a member.
Armor For Sleep was founded by Ben Jorgensen in 2001 in Teaneck, New Jersey. Nash Breen and Peter James "PJ" DeCicco later joined the band after leaving fellow New Jersey band Prevent Falls. Jorgensen stated the name of the band comes from his early experiences of writing music and not being able to sleep. As he recalls, "I guess when I started the band I was kind of, like, retreating in my room and I kind of couldn't really fall asleep, so I started playing music. I just thought of the name Armor for Sleep, because it was really, the music was keeping me from passing out! Which was something I was procrastinating on."[1]
Ben would go on to record a two-song demo containing the songs Dream to Make Believe and Slip Like Space, which would later be re-recorded and released on their first album Dream to Make Believe. Former guitarist Paul Abrahamian went on to form It's Called the Ghost Town Symphony in November 2002. Later that month, Armor for Sleep recorded a three-song demo with producer Dan Coutant; Mark Kenask of Blind Society played drums on the demo.[9]
A Machine Shop remix of their track "Remember to Feel Real" was featured on the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack in August 2006.
The next year, the band debuted a new track entitled "End of the World" on the soundtrack for the 2007 film Transformers. This song would later appear on their next record, but with various changes, including the reduction in vocal effects and keyboards.
Armor For Sleep released their third full-length album Smile for Them on October 30, 2007.
On October 28, 2009, it was officially announced that the band would be parting ways. Frontman Ben Jorgensen released a statement informing fans of the inevitable, after the band had been inactive, not undertaking a tour for over a year.[12]
"We have no motivation for doing this other than to get up on stage and say goodbye properly to the people out there who never got the opportunity to see us one last time. Like Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap we will strive to "put right what once went wrong"...and then just like him we will poof out of existence. But for good this time- we promise."[13]
On July 20, 2015, the band announced an eight city tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of What To Do When You Are Dead.[14]
Post-disbandment projects
In January 2009, Abrahamian formed the band 1984.[15]
After the group parted ways, Ben Jorgensen briefly started an electronic project called God Loves a Challenge alongside Sierra Shardae and also embarked on a brief solo career, releasing the EP There Is Nowhere Left to Go in 2010.[16]
Return and fourth studio album
On February 24, 2020, the band announced on Facebook that they would be reuniting for a summer tour including nineteen US cities to celebrate the 15th anniversary of What to Do When You Are Dead. The tour was later postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on August 13, 2020, the band announced the new tour dates for 2021. In July 2022, the band announced a new album, The Rain Museum, which was released on September 9, 2022.[17]
In the spring of 2023, the band co-headlined the Pitch Black Forever tour with Hawthorne Heights.
In the fall of 2023, the band went on tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Dream to Make Believe, with guests the Early November (who coincidentally were celebrating the 20th anniversary of their own debut album, The Room's Too Cold) and the Spill Canvas.
In February 2024 the band performed on the 2024 Emo's Not Dead Cruise, which was headlined by Yellowcard.
On July 18, 2024 the band released a new single, "In Another Dream".[19] Then on October 11, 2024 they released another new single, "What a Beautiful World".[20]
On November 12, 2024 the band announced a 20th anniversary tour for What to Do When You Are Dead which will begin in Boston on March 6, 2025 and feature supporting acts Boys Night Out and Hellogoodbye.[21]
