Draft:The Sloppy Boys

The Sloppy Boys, known until 2018 as The Sloppy Boys Jangly Band, is an American comedy rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2013. The band is composed of Jefferson Dutton (drums, lead and background vocals, guitar, tenor saxophone), Mike Hanford (lead and background vocals, guitar), and Tim Kalpakis (drums, lead and background vocals, guitar), who were previously members of sketch group, The Birthday Boys. The group originated as a cover band, but began writing and independently recording original songs in 2018. Their name was shortened to "The Sloppy Boys" prior to the release of their debut EP, Lifelong Vacation, in 2018. The band's second album, Dancing on the Wind, was released in 2019. In 2020, The Sloppy Boys released their third album, Paradiso, and started a self-titled weekly cocktail review podcast, The Sloppy Boys, with a companion Patreon podcast, The Sloppy Boys Blowout. In 2022, The Sloppy Boys were contacted by journalist and documentarian Robert Holguin, who offered them the chance to record their next album with Money Mark at Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas. The band named this album Sonic Ranch. In exchange for this opportunity, The Sloppy Boys became the subjects of Holguin's 2023 prize-winning documentary Blood, Sweat and Beers.

History
Jefferson Dutton, Tim Kalpakis, and Mike Hanford met while attending Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. The three were invested in comedy, each independently moving to Los Angeles, California, to pursue fame. Though Dutton and Hanford had met at Ithaca, the two didn't become friends until after their move to Los Angeles. Dutton, Hanford, and Kalpakis were studying improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB). In 2007 they co-founded sketch comedy group, The Birthday Boys with fellow Ithaca grads Dave Ferguson, Mike Mitchell, and Chris VanArtsdalen, as well as Matt Kowalick, whom they met at UCB. During this time, most of The Birthday Boys lived together in "The Stinkhouse". The Birthday Boys performed live comedy at UCB and made popular web videos, and were discovered by comedian Bob Odenkirk. Odenkirk executive produced, wrote, directed and acted in The Birthday Boys's 2013 self-titled TV show, which lasted for two seasons on IFC.

The Birthday Boys were set to move out their shared home of seven years in 2013, and decided to host "Fredonia Fest", a backyard music festival that served as a send-off celebration with their UCB community. Dutton and Kalpakis were in a Weezer cover band, but the hosts struggled to decide who should play first at the party. Dutton, Hanford, and Kalpakis volunteered, and played covers at what would become their first of many shows under the name "The Sloppy Boys Jangly Band."

In 2018, The Sloppy Boys were offered a spot on Highland Park TV, a neighbourhood cable-access show run by their friends Rob Getzschman and Stoney Sharp in Highland Park, Los Angeles, which motivated them to begin writing original songs. Here for the Beer and Let’s Party made their debuts on Highland Park TV.

The same year, the band recorded their first album, Lifelong Vacation, at Bedrock Studios in Echo Park, Los Angeles. On July 17 2018, The Sloppy Boys appeared on Comedy Bang! Bang!: The Podcast to promote Lifelong Vacation, two days prior to the album's July 19 release. In March of 2019, The Sloppy Boys left for their first ever tour, playing at Phila Moca in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Bell House in Brooklyn, New York, and Union Stage in Washington, D.C.. On May 26 2019, The Sloppy Boys reappeared on Comedy Bang! Bang! to perform new songs and promote their second album, Dancing on the Wind, which was released on June 7 2019. The Sloppy Boys returned to Comedy Bang! Bang! to once again on August 2 2020 to perform new songs and promote their third album, Paradiso, which debuted two days prior on July 31 2020. That summer, The Sloppy Boys used "Zoom rooms" to promote Paradiso, publishing a link every Friday for ten weeks with an invitation to their fans for a digital hangout and Q&A segment regarding a different Paradiso track every week. The Zoom rooms gathered momentum, and motivated The Sloppy Boys to start their own podcast that fall.

Podcast
On October 22 2020, The Sloppy Boys debuted a self-titled weekly podcast, released on Fridays, along with a paywalled Patreon companion podcast called The Blowout on Wednesdays. Each week, Dutton, Hanford, and Kalpakis make, try, and review a different alcoholic drink from the International Bartenders Association's list of cocktails. The podcast found quick success, and was ranked third in Vulture's "The 10 Best Comedy Podcasts of 2021" list.

Documentary
In 2022, American documentarian and journalist Robert Holguin contacted The Sloppy Boys. Holguin offered the band the opportunity to record their fourth album with producer Money Mark at the famous Sonic Ranch residential studios in Tornillo, Texas in exchange for their permission to make a documentary of the experience. The band agreed, and flew to Texas for five days of recording Sonic Ranch, an album named for the studio. Blood, Sweat and Beers, or How the Sloppy Boys Made an Album on a Farm in West Texas (also known as Blood, Sweat and Beers: The Making of a Comedy-Rock Classic and shortened to Blood, Sweat and Beers) premiered at the El Paso Film Festival on September 29 2023 and was awarded the El Paso Filmmaker Award and Audience Award. The documentary was also one of 20 films included in The 2024 Popcorn List, an annual survey of the year's most popular independent films without full domestic distribution.