Should you harbor any illusions that Sloth are as lazy as their name implies, consider their summer of ’99. After toiling on a crowded L.A. club scene, the quartet—restless and anxious to take their amp-taxing act on the road—came up with one hell of an escape plan. “We decided to join the Warped Tour,” recalls guitarist Kristo Panos. There was, however, one small problem: they weren’t invited. “That didn’t stop us,” laughs Panos. “We bought a generator and a shitty old Astro Van, which had holes in the roof. We packed it with equipment—which got wet every time it rained—and followed the tour from town to town. We’d set up in the parking lots and play to people as they were going in. Over the course of a few weeks, we played for thousands of people.”
Midway through the tour, main stage artist Ice-T caught Sloth’s set and brought them in from the cold. Says Kristo, “He asked the festival’s organizer, Kevin Lyman,” who was already a fan having booked the band in ’97 and ’98 to play on some of the local L.A. and regional Warped dates, “to let us play the second stage. Kevin agreed to give us a shot and we became part of the show for the rest of the tour. We were grateful for the opportunity and made the most of it.”
Did Sloth—whose ear-seizing sound is heavy and eclectic and draws on influences ranging from Black Sabbath and Jane’s Addiction to Tool and old-world Greek bouzouki music—have a tough time winning over the predominantly punk and ska crowd? “Amazingly enough, we went over really well,” adds vocalist Richard Love. “The whole experience was pretty unbelievable.”
While most young rock bands usually balk at legwork, the blue-collar Sloth-ers—Panos, vocalist Love, bassist Andrew Kowatch and drummer Adam Figura—won’t hesitate to go the extra mile. For example, over the course of the past few years, the band has sold an impressive 10,000 copies of its first two self released CDs (22 and Acedia). What’s their sales approach? Says Kristo, “After a show, we’ll strap on backpacks filled with CDs and go into the crowd to sell them ourselves. We usually ask for $10 per disc, but wind up selling them for whatever people can afford. We do the same type of thing with t-shirts. Our attitude is, why do a show if you can’t leave any music behind?”
Sloth emerged in ’95, with Panos, Love and Figura recording a handful of demos and sharpening their sound. In ‘97 the band recorded 22, produced by John Avila (Oingo Boingo). When the disc became a hot commodity on the underground trading post, they submitted it to a nationwide contest sponsored by Guitar Center, Musicians Institute and Disc Makers and proceeded to trounce several thousand competitors. Bassist Kowatch was brought into the group and second CD Acedia—which was completely funded by their contest winnings—was released in 1998. After their aforementioned “parking lot tour,” Lyman invited them back for a proper slot in 2001. Since then, the band has become a favorite fixture on the famed traveling road show, where they’ve shared stages with the likes of Deftones, Bad Religion and Pennywise. They’ve developed a rabid following throughout the southwest thanks to a dense and diversified guitar-driven sound that’s both punishing and pop-savvy (says Panos, “It’s classic-influenced rock with a modern feel”). Packed hometown crowds have seen them play with bands such as Papa Roach, Disturbed and Alien Ant Farm.
The band recently inked a deal with Hollywood Records and is currently recording its label debut with producer Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Saliva). The highly anticipated album—to be titled Dead Generation—is scheduled for release in summer of 2003. Despite the signing, Panos insists Sloth will abide by an old-fashioned working-class ethic.
"We just want to tour," he says. "There’s a sense of freedom that comes from being on the road and playing your music for new faces. That feeling of connecting with an audience is an amazing thing. I think a lot of bands get signed and automatically think they’re rock stars. When we got signed, our attitude was, ‘Okay, we just got a loan. Now we have the financial backing to do this the right way.’ Sure, we have some pretty lofty goals and have actually managed to meet a few of them. But we’re always setting new ones and I think that drive will keep us going. Our work is just getting started." ..";..
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X FEST DAYTON OHIO BROKEN CRUTCH LIVE
SLOTH SOMEDAY
SLOTH YOU CAN't LOOK AWAY
SLOTH BILLYGOAT
SLOTH MYSELF
SLOTH DEAD GENERATION
MORE TO COME ENJOY!
Hola guys! Long time no talk. Hey how are you? Man its been forever since weve talked! U guys in Cali still. lol U guys just need to come out to San antonio to visit me n my dad! We miss u guys lots! So ya whats crackin' lackin'?
Sabado 04 de Ocubre "Grand Openning" Pure Lounge (Club Red Square cambio de nombre y ahora es Pure Longe). Todo el Club completamente remodelado. Ven a la Gran Apertura. Se esperan mas de 800 personas !Llega Temprano! Guest List 818-286-3801 o visita nuestro perfil para mas informacion -:)
Here are a couple of new spots we did that are featured on VIMBY.com. If you or someone you know wants and would be a good fit for VIMBY, let me know and we can try to shoot a video spot. http://www.mycharmsforcharity.com http://vimby.com/video/fashion/us/all/detail/7632 http://austinslam.com http://vimby.com/video/life/us/all/detail/7667
Apathy LIVE! This Saturday 9/27 @ Eck's Saloon for Round 1 of 106.7fm KBPI's Best Band In Denver. We need YOUR vote! Starting Monday at 7am vote for Apathy - Glassflower @ http://www. kbpi. com/pages/BestBand08Songs. html
Thanks for the add. I haven't seen you guys in years but I hear that things are in the works. I hope all is well with you guys and that I get a chance to see you soon
When are you fuckers gonna come play in utah? i havnt seen you guys since warped tour in like 03 or 04 or something like that. we hung out at the gas station for a bit in salt lake after the show.
What's up Adam, how have you been? Just wanted you to know I was thinking of you. Hope everything is going good. Hey and don't they know you guys are So Cal boys...Peace & Luv, Candace
