What’s (Re)New?: Sleepytime Gorilla Museum’s TRIPTYCH
To Whom It May Interest,
In 2001, the carnivalesque lunacy of prog metal crew Sleepytime Gorilla Museum was introduced to a mass of new fans thanks to the group’s first LP, Grand Opening and Closing. As nü metal hit its peak and the burgeoning garage rock revival started to gain traction, SGM’s evident flair for eccentric songcraft and theatrical sophistication acted as a salve for listeners with deeper ears, a demographic perhaps cultivated via the sounds of King Crimson, Naked City, and Mr. Bungle.
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum released two additional albums before going silent in 2011: Of Natural History (Web Of Mimicry, 2004) and In Glorious Times (The End Records, 2007).
After an extended absence, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum returned with of the Last Human Being (AVANT NIGHT, 2/23/24) and the band has announced plans to reissue their first three albums as a 6-LP boxset titled Triptych.
The release date has yet to be announced.
Links:
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum — Bandcamp / Instagram
Avant Night — Official
Joyful Noise Recordings — Official / Instagram
Links, knowledge, and sounds were handed over courtesy of Clandestine Label Services:
Riding the momentum from their 2024 reunion, avant-prog-metal collective Sleepytime Gorilla Museum is launching a U.S. tour and teasing the news that their first three records will be reissued on Indianapolis-based labels Avant Night and Joyful Noise Recordings.
On those three acclaimed releases – Grand Opening and Closing (2001), Of Natural History (2004), and In Glorious Times (2007) – the Bay Area band and its Rock Against Rock aesthetic created a soundtrack for a post-apocalyptic world, with live shows characterized by oblique costuming, unbridled theatrics, and musical extremes of delicacy and brutality. Though the CD-era classics were the heart of the SGM catalog when the group began its 13-year hiatus in 2011, the only prior vinyl pressings had come through a small European label.
The band will be touring the world to celebrate their 25th anniversary and upcoming release. The Museum lineup features original members Nils Frykdahl (guitar and flute), Carla Kihlstedt (violin and percussion guitar), Dan Rathbun (bass, Pedal Action Wiggler, Sledge hammer Dulcimer) and Michael ‘Iago’ Mellender (guitar, trumpet, percussion, and an array of outlandish homemade musical devices such as the Electric Pancreas and the All New Lever-Action Lever). Joining them will be drummer Wes Anderson, who played with Nils, Carla and Dan in predecessor bands Idiot Flesh and Charming Hostess during the dubious and incendiary 1990’s.
TOUR DATES (May)
5/21/26 Los Angeles, CA — The Lodge
5/22/26 Phoenix, AZ — Rebel Lounge
5/23/26 Sacramento, CA — Cafe Colonial (Colonial Theater)
5/27/26 San Francisco, CA — Great American Music Hall
5/28/26 Arcata, CA — Humbrews
5/29/26 Portland, OR — The Aladdin Theater
5/30/26 Seattle, WA — Substation
TOUR DATES (July / August)
7/23/26 Denver, CO — The Bluebird
7/24/26 Kansas City, MO — The Record Bar
7/25/26 Minneapolis, MN — Cedar Cultural Center
7/26/26 Chicago, IL — Chop Shop
7/27/26 Nashville, TN — The Mil
7/28/26 Ashville, NC — Grey Eagle
7/29/26 Atlanta, GA — The Earl
7/30/26 Mobile, AL — Alabama Music Box
7/31/26 Houston, TX — White Oak Music Hall (upstairs)
8/1/26 Austin, TX — The Mohawk
Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead
