bio

The Short Story...

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Record a remarkable single “Makin’ Love”. Play up & down Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in the mid ‘60s. Break up before recording an album. Find out the single resurfaced 20 years later on a garage compilation appropriately titled “Back from the Grave.” 

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The guitarist hires a private detective to find surviving members. Re-emerge in 2011, perform local shows and tour to wide acclaim. Then, as a climax, record the band’s first full-length album—a full half century after the original 45 touched a record player. 

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No longer just a footnote in the history of garage rock, The Sloths have embarked on something more than victory lap reunion tours with their Burger/Lolipop release “Back From The Grave,” music videos “One Way Out” and “Haunted,” Outro Records split single w/The Dwarves, and the Euro release of “BFTG” on Eternal Sound Records (Germany). 

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The Whole Story...

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1965, five underage teenage boys stepped onto the stage of the famed PANDORA’S BOX on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. THE SLOTHS were born.

Some were students at Beverly Hills High School, the others dropouts. A true original ‘garage band’, they rehearsed in their parent’s garages playing the music of the British bands that inspired them; The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Them, The Who, and the American rhythm & blues musicians who had inspired those groups; Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker.

They performed at the happening Hollywood venues of the day; The Stratford, Sea Witch, Hullabaloo, Hollywood Palladium, Whiskey A Go Go, Pandora’s Box, Bito Lidos, Cheetah, Galaxy and others. They shared these stages with The Doors, Love, Iron Butterfly, The Seeds, and British icons Pink Floyd and The Animals to name a few.  

The 16 year olds knocked on record companies’ doors in Hollywood until one finally opened—Impression Records. There, ‘MAKIN LOVE’ & ‘YOU MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME’ were recorded and 300 units pressed. The boys took it upon themselves to deliver their 45 in-person to local radio stations hoping to have it played. To their dismay, ‘Makin’ Love’ was deemed too controversial for airplay at the time. By the end of Summer 1966, the group disbanded. Some returned to school, others morphed into The May Wines, The Yellow Payges, TNT, The Kingbees, and Doug Yule’s Velvet Underground.

Over the years the scant few 45s of MAKIN LOVE disappeared into basements, attics, and garage sales. Unbeknownst to them, during the 1980s, the controversial record was discovered. Having been added to a compilation of garage band music entitled BACK FROM THE GRAVE: VOL 4, a buzz began with garage and punk music fans—who were these guys?

More rare copies of the MAKIN LOVE 45 surfaced and it soon became a much sought after record by collectors and garage band enthusiasts. In 2011, The Sloths were astonished to learn that a copy of MAKIN LOVE & YOU MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME sold on eBay for $6,550.00!

Things began to take off as UGLY THINGS rock magazine publisher, MIKE STAX, wanted to do an article for his international magazine trying to solve the mystery of ‘Who Were The Sloths?’ 

He found original guitarist JEFF BRISKIN and, by some strange happenstance, at the exact same time MIKE DUGO of 60sgarageband.com found another key original member, MIKE RUMMANS. Jeff, now an attorney, hired a private investigator and slowly others were found…STEVE DIBNER, DON SILVERMAN, and BOB KRASNOW & TOMMY McLOUGHLIN of The May Wines. Sadly, it was learned that singer/songwriter HANK DANIELS and original drummer SAM KAMRASS had passed on.

The Sloths decided to get together and play for the first time in over 45 years. And, of course, it had to be in a garage. They played the songs from their 1965 song list. Somehow everything: their sound, the passion, and high energy was back exactly as it was in the 60s. Taking a risk, Mike Stax booked them on a bill with his group, The Loons, in San Diego. The crowd that night consisted of young garage, punk, and 60s rock fans. The Sloths were wildly received. 

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THE SLOTHS were back from the grave!

Since 2011, The Sloths have toured throughout the West Coast, Southwest (SXSW 4 times), the Pacific Northwest (incl: British Columbia) and have performed at music festivals in the Southeast and Spain. The band has also made triumphant returns to the Hollywood Palladium and the Whisky a Go Go.

Their long-awaited, “Back From The Grave” album was released on Burger/Lolipop Records, as well as a split single with The Dwarves on Outro Records.  The European version of the “Back From The Grave” album is now available on Eternal Sound Records in Germany. 

One of the more unique things to happen was a multi-page, feature article on The Sloths in AARP Magazine alongside their heroes, The Rolling Stones:

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https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/music/info-2016/the-sloths-back-from-the-grave.html 

The piece, seen by tens of millions of people, was a rock dream come true.

AARP also made a short documentary on The Sloths seen here: https://youtu.be/kj65YNIqu8w

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THE SLOTHS ARE: 

Tommy McLoughlin: Lead Vocals, Harmonica

Michael Rummans: Bass, Guitars, Bk Vocals

George Keller: Lead Guitar, Bk Vocals

Ray Herron:  Drums, Bk Vocals