Armor for Sleep was an American rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. They disbanded in 2009. Their final lineup consisted of lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Ben Jorgensen, lead guitarist PJ DeCicco, bassist Anthony DiIonno and drummer Nash Breen. After initial demos had been distributed, New York-based independent labelEqual Vision Records signed the band and went on to release the concept-based albums, Dream to Make Believe and What to Do When You Are Dead. The following year, they signed to Sire Records and Warner Bros. and released their last album Smile for Them. They announced their disbandment in October 2009. During their recording career, the band were known for their blend of alternative rock to atmospheric emo and dream pop.
History
Armor For Sleep was founded by Ben Jorgensen in 2001 in 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." Ben would go on to record demos of songs that would later be re-recorded and released on their first album Dream to Make Believe. Armor For Sleep originally signed to Equal Vision Records, where they released their first two albums, Dream to Make Believe in 2003 and What to Do When You Are Dead in 2005. The band signed to Warner Brothers/Sire Records in 2006, explaining it was "time for a change". A Machine Shop remix of their track "Remember to Feel Real" was featured on the soundtrack in August 2006. The next year, the band debuted a new track entitled "End of the World" on the for the 2007 filmTransformers. 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 August 20, 2008, the band announced an extended play, entitled The Way Out Is Broken.
Disbandments and reunions
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. The band regrouped to play the 2012 Bamboozle Festival in New Jersey, releasing the following statement: "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." At the Bamboozle Festival, and on the band's Facebook page, Jorgensen announced that three more shows would be played: July 14, 2012 at Irving Plaza in New York City, July 20, 2012 at The Glass House in Pomona, California, and July 22, 2012 at the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois. On July 20, 2015, the band announced an eight city tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of What To Do When You Are Dead. On February 24, 2020, the band announced on Facebook that they would be reuniting for a summer tour to celebrate the 15th anniversary of What to Do When You Are Dead.
Current projects
After the group parted ways, Ben Jorgensen 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. PJ DeCicco moved on to playing in Love Automatic with former Senses Fail bassist Mike Glita. The band is no longer active. Nash Breen was playing with New York Rivals, but now plays for the Cold Seas, who opened for Armor for Sleep on select dates of their What to Do When You Are Dead 10 year anniversary tour in 2015, and will also tour with the band on the 15th anniversary tour of the aforementioned album in 2020.
