The recent release from the Oakland based Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, under the clever guise of an argument between The Futurists and Ted Kaczynski, states what most Americans seem reluctant to convey, whether for fear of persecution or a blind belief in old thought. Amid brilliant musical landscapes set forth by quite accomplished musicians, the lyrics swing like a pendulum between hope and despair, poignantly exploiting the fragile state of the country through which they travel not by private jet, but in an old bus earning every cent they receive.

From the opening 'A Hymn to the Morning Star' to 'Bring Back the Apocalypse' and 'FC: The Freedom Club' and back again to 'What Shall We Do Without Us' and 'Babydoctor' the listener is taken on a journey from the desperate anger of old school metal, and possibly more infuriated at times, to the hope and gratitude of a simpler and more brave perspective. The museum displays a dichotomy that seems prevalent in early 21st century American culture without blame or pretension.

On 'Of Natural History', released in October of 2004 on Web of Mimicry, Nils Frykdahl and Dan Rathbun of Idiot Flesh infame, the well traveled Carla Kihlstedt who is known primarily in jazz circles on both coasts for projects such as Tin Hat Trio and 2 Foot Yard are joined by Matthias Bossi, a former member of the Grammy nominated Skeleton Key, on drums as well as a Frank Grau / Moe! Staiano. Guitar, bass, and violin, with the addition of several less common instruments accompany a driving if not schizophrenic, rhythm section. Some of these instruments are completely unique to and hand built by the museum themselves. These interesting sound machines, which are invented and built by bass player Dan Rathbun, include the log, a horizontal fretless bass like construction that is played with or without a slide. They also include a percussion guitar and a bow contraption that is mounted on and intonated with the mechanism of a high hat stand. I believe this one is called the "thing". These unique monstrosities only begin to illustrate the unique nature of the Museum's sound and performance.

I had the pleasure of attending one of these performances recently and was equally impressed by the show as I was with the album. The band took the stage dressed in black goulashes and suspenders with their teeth blacked out wearing just enough zombie face paint to inspire a creepy aesthetic. The shows are ripe with enough audience participation and humor to stand as a performance act, but the music is definitely not secondary.

The live line-up includes Michael Mellander on percussion, vocals, guitar, and everything else he seems to have at his disposal. Nils takes center stage and delivers proficient performances both on vocals and guitar. Carla, Dan, Michael, and Matthias take the mic as well with a cohesiveness not found in many multivocalist ensembles. Nils and Carla handle the majority of the vocal duties with voices that sound as if they were lined with gold.

The most fascinating element of these performances may be the continued audience engagement after the actual show. The museum will often work their own merchandise booths giving the audience the opportunity to discover the refreshing character of the museum patrons for themselves.

These are very real people creating extraordinary art. They are quite personable and engaging. As I have already mentioned, they travel virtually year round in an old, and I mean old, tour bus running them ragged for the sake of their fans. One gets the sense that the museum is open not for notoriety, money, or any of the vices of rock and roll, but for the exhibition itself. They seem to love what they do and have proven themselves more than fit for the task.

They travel light, accompanied by only a soundman and a light technician. The members of the band drive the bus in shifts as further evidence of the astronomical effort that goes into the working of this band. This work ethic and humility can also be found in their music. The song 'Babydoctor' is one glowing example. Over a well-crafted and laborious tune Nils tells a story of a man he picked up on the streets of his hometown. The man had been enfeebled by a stroke some years earlier as was evident by his repetition of speech and slow movement. The song tells of Nils's initial annoyance with the ranting of this individual and leads to revelation "And I fall to my knees in the shade of a tree and cry. Thank you."

In 'Phthisis' Carla displays a similar attitude singing "Throw us away like a stack of old paper Learn not from our scrawls Close your ears to our rantings" which seems to stress the importance of free thought and individuality.

An example of the work ethic from 'FC: The Freedom Club' states "Let us turn our backs on this world of ease Let us turn our backs and walk away Let us close our eyes to the glory of the machine Let us close our eyes and walk away. Because we can."

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum combines the intelligent humor of Devo, the musical prowess of King Crimson, and the raw energy of Slayer into something truly original.

Check them out if you dare, but not if you are faint hearted or afraid of learning something new. Just show up or buy the records, they'll take care of the rest.

Rev. Lani Milbus