Nightmare of You: LIers making music one song at a time

Nightmare of You may have played its last show to date in 2009, but bandmates Brandon Reilly and Joe McCaffrey are back making music. And, to avoid the same “funky experiences” with record labels they’ve had in the past, Reilly said, the Long Islanders aren’t doing things the conventional way.

He said their focus isn’t on getting signed or recording an entire album. Instead, each month, the band plans to put out one new song, which will be recorded in McCaffrey’s Brooklyn apartment.

“We are trying to keep them trickling out like a television series,” said Reilly, 31, of the new strategy.

“Out Of My Mind,” an upbeat love song, and “Give Us a Kiss,” a slower tune, are the first two tracks released in this format.

Both members agree that releasing one song at a time is sure to keep people’s attention.

“Play the song till you're sick of it,” McCaffrey, 31, said. “By the time you’re sick of it we’ll have another one for you.”

The band said this strategy is not only considerably cheaper than releasing an album, but it also allows the musicians to take the time to perfect each single.

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“In the past we didn’t spend enough time on music,” Reilly said. “It can suffer if you don’t give it all the love it deserves.”

Looking back, Reilly a Levittown native and McCaffrey from Wantagh, recall facing numerous obstacles with the band, and sometimes they also felt stripped of their own creative vision.

After the two formed the band on New Year’s of 2004, their life instantly went on the fast track as they hit the studio, went on tour and signed a record deal with Warner Bros.

The band released a self-titled album the following year embodying, what fans have called, a “new wave” or punk rock sound. That album also brought the group its biggest hits to date: “I Want to Be Buried in Your Backyard” and “My Name is Trouble.”

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For the first few years, Sammy Siegler, who drummed for Limp Bizkit on “The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1)” album, and bassist Ryan Heil were also a part of the band. All four members toured the United States and the United Kingdom.

“It was exciting, urgent, and unstable,” vocalist Reilly said of all the touring. “Easily some of the best and worst times of my life.”

Five years later and with two band members gone --Siegler wanted to focus on his newborn child and Heil wanted a change, Reilly said -- the duo felt it was time for them to also slow down.

“We were touring full time for years,” Reilly said. “It was a time to just really relax and take some time off.”

Even though about three years has passed since Nightmare of You made music, their new life experiences and close friendship has inspired new recordings.

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During the band’s hiatus, Reilly got married and had a son, while McCaffrey started working in the digital media and became part of a band called Minerva Lions.

Now, both members feel they are ready to let people hear Nightmare of You’s music again, one song at a time.