The Sloths

The Sloths
From left to right: Hank Daniels, Michael Rummans, Jeff Briskin, Steve Dibner and Sam Kamarass
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Garage rock
Years active	1964-1966, 2012-2016
Labels	Impression Burger
Associated acts	The Yellow Payges
Past members	Michael Rummans Jeff Briskin Hank Daniels Steve Dibner Sam Kamarass Tommy McLoughlin Dave Provost Jose Rendon Mark Weddington Patrick DiPuccio Ray Herron

The Sloths were an American garage rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. Although short-lived, the band had a profound presence on the Sunset Strip's live scene, and their lone single, "Makin' Love", while not very commercially successful during its original release, has been heavily praised since its inclusion on the Back from the Grave series. The Sloths, after their re-discovery by music historians, are now considered the "great lost garage band", and surviving band members have been conducting reunion tours since 2012.

Founding members Michael Rummans (lead guitar) and Jeff Briskin (rhythm guitar), both students enrolled at Beverly Hills High School, initially showed interest in forming the Sloths after a few months of jam sessions in 1963. Student transfer Hank Daniels (lead vocalist), who was receiving attention for his proto-hippie hairstyle, joined the band and was soon followed by Steve Dibner (bass guitar) Sam Kamarass (drums). Inspired by the more hard-edged R&B groups of the British Invasion, the Sloths encompassed cover versions of songs recorded by the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, and Them into their repertoire, which the band adamantly rehearsed at Dibner's house. After performing at social gatherings and school concerts, the Sloths made their professional debut at the Stratford on Sunset club on the Sunset Strip.

By 1965, the band was deeply intertwined in the Strip's live scene, appearing regularly at venues such as Pandora's Box, the Hullabaloo, and the Whisky a Go Go, and sharing the bill with highly-influential Los Angeles acts, including the Seeds, the Doors, and Love. Later in the year, Impression Records approached the Sloths to record their debut single at CBS Studios. Described by music critic Jonny Whiteside as a "masterpiece of overstimulated teenage arousal", it featured the two original songs "Makin' Love" and "You Mean Everything to Me". Although the single was not too commercially successful, largely due to a lack of promotional support, another garage band, the Dirty Shames, covered "Makin' Love" a year later on the same record label. In 1966, Briskin left the band to enroll in law school; thus, causing the Sloths to disband by the end of year. Rummans found the most immediate success after the group's break-up by joining the Yellow Payges.