I cannot express how happy I am to be posting this on MPAE.
I first heard of Sleestak from Mike Desert of The Jack Saints. He told me about his friend's band that was just out-of-control noise and if I liked Slug, I should check them out. As soon as the CD came out, I hunted it down, bought it and listened to it with a group of friends while we all wondered what the hell to make of it. Seemed like I was the only one who liked it, so I was glad I bought it.
The first time I saw them was at a coffee house in San Pedro (I've forgotten the name) where there was an annual noise rock festival. I met Eddie of Leopold there for the first time, too. Sleestak's set was strange. They seemed really unhappy, probably because of the rain outside, but I enjoyed the set, strange as it was.
I came to realize that all Sleestak sets were unique, like jazz sets. Then, when I joined Leopold, Sleestak became family, as they shared a practice space, so I got to know them a bit. At one point, I asked Anthony, the bass player, how they wrote their songs. "We jam them out," he said.
I really think that they never got their just due in that Downtown LA noise scene when they were around. Quite frankly, people never knew what to make of them. It was sludge-y power violence, with a brutal artistic mindset that just seemed to be a contradiction. I think that's why I liked them so much.
As horrifying and uncompromising as this CD is, it brings back good memories, and it remains a favorite of my collection. By the way, Sleestak were a HUGE influence on Pope Goat VII.
Sleestak has now morphed into the mighty Geronimo.
The images and music were uploaded with Anthony Francoso's full consent. Thank you, Anthony!
SleestakThe Power of Gemini(a CD
(Big Jesus)
1997
Sample tracks:
Mothball Coffin
Brown Bag
Phantom of the Mothra
