Sleep Machine is a Los Angeles-based rock duo of powerhouse vocalist Alisha Zalkin and guitarist Dan Kalisher. Soul and swagger combines with screaming guitars and thunderous drums on the band’s debut EP, Cover Me In Gold, which will be released in Spring 2015. With the exception of the drums, which were played by Kiel Feher, Dan Kalisher played all instruments on the album, as well as produced it. Cover Me In Gold was mixed and mastered by John Spiker (Tenacious D, The Killers).Born from a need for a new creative outlet, Sleep Machine set off to see what collaboration might sound like with each member’s opposite influences. Dan grew up playing in rock bands and listening to artists like Led Zeppelin and ACDC, whereas Alisha was influenced by female singers with big voices like Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin. While song structure is definitely considered in Sleep Machine’s craft, they don’t get hung up on the traditional side of things. “Sometimes you’ve got to throw a verse or chorus away, and just play a guitar solo because you want to,” says Sleep Machine. Their straight up, take-no-prisoners attitude allows for a wild, high-energy live performance that oozes the kind of vibe that rock ‘n roll was built on. The band’s debut EP, Cover Me In Gold, includes the single “Wild For You,” which was the first song Alisha and Dan wrote and recorded together, even before they were Sleep Machine. “We were just experimenting with sounds and seeing what came out. We wanted to really exaggerate the combination of loud guitars with loads of fuzz and this sexy, swaggery female vocal, and see how it mixed. After we finished it, we knew we were on to something cool.” The song’s accompanying music video was co-directed by cousins Michael Gladis (actor, “Mad Men”) and Coleman Gladis (production, “Mad Men”).Additionally, “Cover Me In Gold,” the title track of Sleep Machine’s debut EP, was recently featured on MTV's “Finding Carter,” and is now available on iTunes. Later this year, Alisha and Dan plan to take their live band on the road with Will Herrington on keys, Kiel Feher on drums, Andrew Perusi on bass/vocals, and John Spiker on guitar/vocals.