After the disbanding of Idiot Flesh, Dan Rathbun and Nils Frykdahl joined with Charming Hostess member Carla Kihlstedt (of which Rathbun and Frykdahl were also members) to form Sleepytime Gorilla Museum with Moe! Staiano and David Shamrock. Their first performance, on June 22, 1999, was to a single banana slug (Ariolimax dolichophallus)[1]. The following night's performance was their first to a human audience.
Some time during the recording of Grand Opening and Closing (2001), drummer David Shamrock left the band and was replaced with Frank Grau. Grau also co-released the album, instigated their first tour and managed the band.
During the recording of the follow up, Of Natural History (2004), Grau left the band and was replaced with a new drummer Matthias Bossi, formerly of Skeleton Key. The Of Natural History tour saw Moe! Staiano's exit, and new multi-instrumentalist Michael Mellender's entrance.

Grand Opening and Closing is the debut album.This album has an eclectic collection of music, ranging from progressive metal ("Sleep is Wrong", "1997", "Powerless") to creepy ballads ("Ablutions") and peaceful, sparse instrumentals ("The Miniature", "Sunflower"). The eclecticism of this album may be the result of several different songwriters contributing, each one with their specific style. Concept-wise this album is different from its follower, Of Natural History, since it has no continuous underlying theme.
This is also the only SGM album to feature David Shamrock on the drums before he left the band. Frank Grau came therein, and he even features on this album, playing the drums on "The Stain".
Like with Of Natural History, some of the album's lyrics are inspired by different authors and poets. For example, the track "Sleep is Wrong" quotes a section of a poem by Dylan Thomas,while "Sleepytime (Spirit is a Bone)" is inspired by William T. Vollman's The Rainbow Stories and phrenology.

FLAC and limited covers (what I was able to find searching the web ...)
very interesting music
enjoy