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That is more emblematic of our diverse influences.
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We seem to allow ourselves room to do different things on each record and within each song. There is quite a lineage of bands using different time signatures, dynamics and song structure but as far as having a specific band that we all draw influence from…there really isn’t one. I believe Chicago can bring about the best in compositional ideas. I don’t think any one of us would choose the Chicago scene as a direct influence. John played in Spanakorzo and The Swing Kids, whereas the rest of us were in a bunch of lame rock bands growing up.Ĭoming from such a vibrant city for music as Chicago, which bands/sounds were most influential to you? The core of the band has been together for five years, although John (M. How long have you been together as Sweep The Leg Johnny? Were you all in bands previously? It took me years to get hold of their final album “Going Down Swingin’”, but it proved to a wonderful epitaph for one of the finest bands I ever had the privilege of including in the pages of SALT.įirst of all, is it true that you took your name from “The Karate Kid”?Steve Sostak: Is it that obvious? Some of my questions are naïve but they were replied to with considerable eloquence by Steve, for which I will always be grateful. Before the show they could not have been nicer to me as I presented them with copies of my zine. They played with fervor and passion, and wrung every last drop of energy from us. The band played with their back to a fireplace with a giant mirror, lit from below so everyone could see their reflections as they drew closer to them. Their gig at the Adelphi in Leeds in early March 2002 was incredible. I interviewed Steve in anticipation of their album “Sto Cazzo!”, which was released on the eve of a UK tour that turned out to be their last visit to this country. All of these elements were best demonstrated on their masterpiece “Rest Stop”, a fifteen minute work of genius that remains one of my all-time favourites to this very day. Its impact on me was extraordinary: the bruising, post-hardcore guitars, the plaintive saxophone figures, the dynamic four-square tempos, the elliptical lyrics all wove their spell upon me. In the wilderness years of the late 90s music press, an ecstatic review by Tommy Udo in the NME convinced me to buy Sweep’s then new album, “Tomorrow We Will Run Faster”. It is no exaggeration to say that Sweep The Leg Johnny were a band that changed my life. It takes several hours before you succumb to your torture and the last thing you hear is the crowd chanting “Die die die!” in various tongues.This interview with Sweep The Leg Johnny singer/saxophonist Steve Sostak was conducted in late 2001 and published in SALT issue two, which appeared in early 2002. You are the last prisoner hanging as the pain starts setting in and they’ve only skinned your head and torso. You watch the rest of the prisoners scream in agony writhe to their deaths. Many other factions from all over the galaxy have come to view this spectacle. The bet is wagered on which one of you will survive the longest. All of you are crucified and then suspended upside down while being skinned alive. Unbeknownst to you and the rest of the chain gang, your meal contains a combination of a potent but temporary numbing agent and adrenaline serum. You and a few other inmates are given one last meal. It happens so, you’ve landed on a culturally brutal planet where regulated betting takes a place using their inmates as pure form of entertainment. Finally, a decision is agreed upon the intergalactic powers that be and you head to the last planet you’ll ever see before you meet your fate. You’re immediate family is also detained and as a result you are all separated and all suffer the same fate. In the process, you are held in the most inhumane conditions and suffer multiple injuries and illness during transfer from a few different planets. Multiple planets debate on where you should ultimately be punished. You’re detained by an alien planet on allegations of intergalactic espionage.