Team Sleep started when Moreno and his friend Todd Wilkinson bought a cassette tapePortastudio-type four-track recorder in 1994. They continued this collaboration through the first two Deftones albums, though on a rather casual basis. Wilkinson said, "We were never going to make a record, or start a band ... I was just sitting at home, playing guitar, and I started recording some stuff. It was never about trying to play shows, record in a studio, or anything of that sort. It was just bumming around. I had never been in a band, and I never wanted to be—we were just good friends."[5]
DJ Crook, or CrookOne, a long-time friend and roommate of Deftones turntablist/keyboardist Frank Delgado, added beats and turntables to "Teenager", a song featuring glitch and trip hop influences.[6] Originally intended as a Team Sleep song, "Teenager" was ultimately included on White Pony (2000), the third Deftones album.
A full album's worth of material was finished in 2002–03, but not officially released. The instrumental song "The Passportal" was included on The Matrix Reloaded: The Album, the April 2003 soundtrack album for the film The Matrix Reloaded.[7]
Team Sleep's record was originally scheduled for release in November 2004, but Maverick Records were reportedly so impressed by the album that they postponed the release until mid-2005 to allow for promotion. The debut album contained only five of the original tracks; three of those were heavily reworked. In October 2004, DJ C-Minus premiered the Team Sleep demo "Cambodia" while opening for Deftones at a concert at House of Blues in West Hollywood. The title of this song, which was co-written with producer Greg Wells, was later changed to "Ever (Foreign Flag)". The official Team Sleep website appeared in early 2005 and included songs and videos for free downloading.
Team Sleep was finally released on May 10, 2005, to mostly positive reviews. "The best part about it is having completion of something you've been working on, and having it done right," Moreno said in a statement. "It's fun, working with different people, everybody works differently. When I have time off from music, I want to make other music. That's what I do, that's what's fun, that's what makes me happy."[8]
Notably absent from the completed debut album were "Mercedes", "Apollonia", "Iceache", "Death by Plane", "Solid Gold", "Acoustic One" and "Kool-Aid Party" (which featured Mike Patton as a guest vocalist). The demo of "Cambodia" was revamped and appeared on the album in the form of "Ever (Foreign Flag)", while "Natalie Portman" was revised into "Live from the Stage".
Following Team Sleep's first release, the band toured and began posting various demos on their MySpace page.
Return
In October 2014, a new Team Sleep lineup recorded a live album in front of an audience at Applehead Recording studio in Woodstock, New York. The members included Moreno, Wilkinson, Verret and DJ Crook as well as bassist Chuck Doom (also of Moreno's Crosses) and drummer Gil Sharone (ex-Marilyn Manson, ex-Dillinger Escape Plan).[9] The record, self-released in July 2015, consisted of reworkings of both tracks from the first album tracks as well as unreleased old demos.[10][11]
On May 9, 2024, Team Sleep released the Deluxe Edition of their eponymous record, including official mixes of previously unreleased tracks "Kool-Aid Party" (retitled "Kool Aide"), featuring Mike Patton, and "Let's Go," featuring Mary Timony.
