Revenge of The Sloths

Mike Rummans says to expect a vintage experience

The Sloths
The Sloths

“I remember hearing when I was a lot younger that the universe was infinite,” says Mike Rummans, bassist from ’60s garage rock band The Sloths. “If you kept traveling in space, you’d just go on forever and ever.”

Formed in 1965, The Sloths opened for several legendary bands on L.A.’s sunset strip, including The Animals, Love, Pink Floyd and The Doors. The group only recorded one 7-inch single for the song “Making Love.” The tune ended up anthologized as a lost classic of the garage-rock era; the original 7-inch record fetching thousands of dollars on eBay.

“Years later I heard this theory that you wouldn’t go on forever, you would arc around and come back again,” Rummans continues. “You’d end up coming back to where you started — it’s kind of like that really,” he explains, describing the experience of finding fame so many years after the fact.

“People had been playing it for decades,” Rummans says. “The actual 45 had become a rare record that collectors were looking for.”

He says nobody in The Sloths had any idea their record had become so valuable, but the renewed interest in the group has led to the release of their first full-length album, Back From The Grave, out now on Lolipop Records.

Rummans says to expect a vintage experience when The Sloths perform live. “You’ll hear basic rock ‘n’ roll,” he says, “but it’s done with a little more technique.”

The Sloths play with Eugene’s Snow White and Coyote 10 pm Friday, Nov. 6, at Luckey’s; $5. 21-plus.