It's hard to classify what Sleep Walker really is. Some people play music. Others create visual art. Everyone seems set out to be a part of something unique and almost otherworldly by St. Joe's standards. But Sleep Walker's creator, Todd Long, sees the group differently.

"I'd say the main thing this feels like is just a big family," Long says. "Everyone just helps each other out."

Sleep Walker started from simple practicality. Long, who is the frontman for local alt-rock experimentalists The Waystation, says the band was spending a lot of time recording its upcoming album "The Awakening" and taking a hiatus from playing live. But Long wanted to do something to keep the creative juices flowing and pulled out songs he'd written for a new project.

"These are actual songs that I had on the burner for a minute and these were songs that I didn't necessarily feel were The Waystation songs," he explains.

Since debuting at Cafe Acoustic in January, Sleep Walker has gotten two live performances under its belt. The group features a revolving lineup from numerous local groups like The Waystation, Alice, Holy Mother Exhaust, X-Static and Jamazon Cloud, along with other guest musicians swapping instruments on stage.

Many of Long's originals are decidedly more toned down, atmospheric and darker than The Waystation, but other members also contribute material of their own. The result is the incorporation of sonic elements of rock, blues, trance, tribal music and gospel hymns. Band members also recite poetry between songs and anecdotes for the "characters" they portray on stage, adding more fuel to the creative fire.

"When I got with Sleep Walker, I was like, 'Why not push the envelope?'" Long says. "Let's do everything. Let's make it an all-out deal."

The band likes to keep an element of mystique (hence, the picture at right instead of a full-band photo) but it will deal out plenty of visual elements when performing with The Beat Common at 9 p.m. Oct. 31 at First Ward House. Sleep Walker's backdrop is comprised of paintings from local artists. The collective will don handmade costumes and (this weekend) papier mÕche heads for the Halloween performance with a light show and video visuals courtesy of their friend, known as Peter Rabbit.

Long says that so much aural emphasis isn't a gimmick It's more like an enhancement.

"I think that it's so important to have that visual aid to match the art and create new emotion," he says. "Just to hit them in a different place."

First Ward House bar manager Brett Power, who is good friends with Long, originally wanted to book The Waystation before Long proposed that Sleep Walker take over the facility for Halloween night. When he heard what the show was going to be like, he thought the band would be a perfect fit.

"It wasn't going to be one band playing a couple of cover songs. It was going to be something exciting for Halloween, something crazy," Power says. "It's just going to be a wild time down here."

As Sleep Walker continues to evolve, Long the collective keeps taking steps toward holding a unique place in the St. Joe scene.

"I definitely know for a fact that this area doesn't really have a performance/theatrical, all-out visual band," he says. "I like the spectacle of it all. It's going to be something to behold."