By Natasha Clark

The life of a professional musician is not always filled with luxurious tour buses and fancy restaurants, but rather old Ford shuttle buses and six mile hikes to Subway.

It’s a Friday and a very cold winter. A 1990 Ford shuttle bus is broken down on the side of Interstate-80 in the middle of Pennsylvania. Four Long Island musicians on tour are told that it will take the weekend for a part to arrive that will fix their bus.

They discovered that in order to feed their hunger they must walk six miles to the closest exist through a haze of intoxicating diesel fumes where they will arrive at a Subway filled with Penn State University hockey players.

After hours and hours of keeping themselves entertained and warm, their bus part finally arrives, they continue their tour but within two weeks the bus is broken down again.Cameron Keym, a 2001 University alumnus, insists that he would not trade his career or the adventures that his band faces for anything.

“You have to love it or it’s not worth it,” Keym said.

Keym’s love for music started in the fourth grade when he began playing the piano; it continued to grow when he asked his mom if he could play both the piano and guitar because he and his friends wanted to form a band.

Now at 27, his band, The Sleeping, are getting to experience what some groups will only dream of, touring the world and the country performing their music for hundreds of fans every night.

Keym said he knew music was going to be his major when he entered the University. Although, he didn’t know if making the move to become a professional musician was what he was going to pursue after graduating.

“[Being in a band] you don’t make a lot of money and some musicians struggle their whole lives,” Keym said.

In 2003, Keym along with Sal Mignano, friend and former band mate from SkyCameFalling, helped form The Sleeping.

“The Sleeping is kind of a tribute to our lazy friends,” Keym said. “A lot of people sleep through life not doing what they want to do because they’re too afraid to quit what they’re already doing.”

There was no “Plan B” for Keym, guitar, and the rest of The Sleeping, Mignano, bass, Joe Zizzo, drums, and Doug Robinson, vocals. They set out to play their music and reach as many people as possible, so they sold their cars and began touring the country without the helpful tools of a booking manager, a label or money.

“In the beginning, we did everything on our own. It was hard, but we appreciate it more now,” Keym said. “If you want something, don’t let anything hold you back.”

Keym along with the rest of The Sleeping signed with Victory Records last October.When it came time to sit down and write their Victory Records debut album Questions and Answer the band had one thing on their minds: the terrible loss of their friend and Bayside’s drummer John “Beatz” Holohan.

“He was a great friend and musician,” Keym said. “He grew up playing in bands his whole life, driving from city to city just to play. It is very dangerous and I don’t think people realize that.”

The album is dedicated to Holohan, and Keym considers him his inspiration. The University alumnus said, sitting down and writing the album helped him cope with his loss and get his minds off the situation.

“Writing was the most therapeutic thing I could have ever done.” Keym said. “It felt very natural, very real.”

In a little over three years The Sleeping went from playing in Lindenhurst, Long Island, to playing all over Europe. They just wrapped their first European tour at the end of this September.

In London, they performed in front of one of their biggest crowds yet, over 2,200 people.”It was our first time overseas. We didn’t know what to expect besides everyone has English accents,” Keym said. “[We] came out on stage and it was on fire. Everyone knew the band, everyone knew the words. It was pretty amazing.”

Keym said he and his bandmates all have a level-head on their shoulders and they would never let their success stand in the way of their music.

Their fans won’t have to worry about hearing a few catchy songs that would turn The Sleeping into a one-hit-wonder anytime soon, Keym said.

“Too many bands conform to make money.” Keym said. “We’ll always stay true to what we do.”

The Sleeping is now on the Nintendo Fusion Tour in the United States with Hawthrone Heights, Relient K, Emery and Plain White Ts.

“I always had a good feeling about them,” Christian McKnight, manager of The Sleeping, said over the phone while battling Midtown traffic on a Friday. “They’re only going to get bigger from here.”

While at the University, Keym, a music merchandising major, remembers college life being very stressful during the four years he commuted from Massapequa.

Even with the all the stress, education still remained a very important aspect of his life, Keym said. He graduated magna cum laude.

“Cameron was a great student, he was very determined and focused,” Marc Oppenheim, assistant dean of communications and advisor of Phi Eta Sigma, said. “He enjoyed learning what he was studying.”

While at the University, Keym was very involved in Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. He was President in 2001 and accompanied Oppenheim to the National Convention of Phi Eta Sigma in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Keym said they were able to share their goals and accomplishments with Phi Eta Sigma chapters around the country.

“Cameron had a lot on his plate to balance,” Oppenheim said. “He was always on top of everything and he showed a lot of leadership. He always handled everything professionally, but with a lot of good energy and excitement.”

Cameron first joked that he is most proud of his hair, but then admitted. “No, I’m most proud of how far the band has come.”

“I’m looking forward to traveling and seeing as many new places as I can, and be glad that I have this.” Keym said. “And maybe make enough money to pay off my Hofstra loans.”