Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Grand Opening and Closing Sleepytime Gorilla Museum

It should hardly be surprising that a band with the name Sleepytime Gorilla Museum would form in 1999, with the implied calm before the storm, the moment of drowsy reflection before the wave of history (which is still crashing upon us a quarter century later) arrived with its simple millennial message: Sleep is wrong. With 2000 looming, the band formed around a collective commitment to personal celebrations of the apocalypse, to be shared in the most inviting way with the broadest possible listenership. Their prior experience together, of moving through and/or baiting audiences in Idiot Flesh and Charming Hostess in the 90’s, shaped their approach to the stage as a living theater, with a rehearsed precision of apparent chaos giving way to moments of actual chaos brought in on the shoes of the nightly audience.

This first domestic vinyl release (at last!), on AVANT NIGHT and Joyful Noise Recordings, has been completely remastered by the Museum’s bassist and producer, Dan Rathbun, and is accompanied by the release of the 2nd and 3rd of their classic albums. The new live line-up, which broke ground on the European tour of 2025 and tours the U.S. this spring/summer, completes the historical family circle with the drum throne being filled by Wes Anderson, who played with both Idiot Flesh and Charming Hostess. The reformed band is thrilled to find that the wrongness which pushed them to the very precipice of the 20th century is even wronger and feels more right today!