Steve Sostak, frontman of Sweep The Leg Johnny, has died aged 49.
As reported by Stereogum, the news was confirmed on social networks by the former comrades of the saxophonist and singer. Sostak died last Saturday (February 4) after a brief illness, according to SNBC13. His wife and three daughters survive him.
Sostak met guitarist Chris Daly while studying at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. The couple performed together on Check Engine from 1993 to 1994, before moving to Chicago, Illinois.
They later recruited drummer Scott Anna and bassist Matt AlicHalley Kretschmer to form experimental band Sweep The Leg Johnny. The group released five albums in total, starting with “4.9.21.30” (1997) and ending with “Going Down Swingin” (2002).
After Sweep The Leg Johnny broke up, Sostak and John Brady of Swing Kids formed ZZZZ with Tekulvi drummer Greg Sharp and electric pianist Ellen Bunch. His first full album was 2005’s “Palm Reader”, produced by John Congleton. ZZZZ performed their last live concert in Chicago in 2005.
In a Facebook tribute to Sostak, Brady wrote, “Wherever you are my friend, I hope you rock as hard as we did that night in London two decades ago,” and attached a video of the late musician playing sax in the set.
On the other hand, Steve Albini praised Sostak for once being “an integral part of the Chicago gang scene.” He added, “Good bands, good guy. He played baseball and was in the CMBA Red Sox with other musicians. Requiescat.”
Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis tweeted: “RIP Steve Sostak from Sweep the Leg Johnny. Awesome band some of you may not have heard of. They inspired me and a lot of our friends.”
“Although we have never been able to see them live and can only appreciate them from a distance, the pleasure does not diminish.”
See those posts below.
After ZZZZ, Sostak spent 14 years teaching in Chicago, Lima, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. Before his death, he reportedly lived in Beijing and recently co-founded Inspire Citizens, an organization that “empowers diverse teachers and students to take impactful action.”
As co-director of the faculty-created collective, Sostak “coached diverse students in media design and global impact projects, helping to ignite educators’ and students’ passions for community building and problem solving in a challenging world”.