Sweep the Leg Johnny

Sweep the Leg Johnny
STLJ live in Champaign-Urbana in the early 2000s.
Background information
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Rock
Years active	1996–2002
Labels	Divot, Southern
Associated acts	Check Engine
Past members	Steve Sostak Chris Daly Scott Anna Matt Alicea John Brady Mitch Cheney

Sweep the Leg Johnny was a Chicago-based rock band in existence from 1993 to 2002. The name is a reference to a line in the film The Karate Kid.

Alto saxophonist and vocalist Steve Sostak and guitarist Chris Daly met while attending the University of Notre Dame, where they played together in Check Engine between 1993 and 1994. The two relocated to Chicago after graduating, where they recruited drummer Scott Anna and bass guitarist Matt Alicea, forming Sweep the Leg Johnny.

Their first releases were a split single with Streganona and the "New Buffalo" single, released on Divot Records.

In 1997, the band released 4.9.21.30 on Divot Records. Following this, Matt Alicea left and was replaced by John Brady, formerly of Spanakorzo and Swing Kids. The band then signed to Southern Records for their second album Tomorrow We Will Run Faster, released in 1999.Tomorrow... was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London. Stosak and Daly re-formed Check Engine in 2000 but returned to Sweep the Leg Johnny with their third album Sto Cazzo! (the title an obscenity in Italian) which followed later that year. The band again went on hiatus as Stosak and Daly concentrated on Check Engine.

Guitarist Mitch Cheney of Rumah Sakit joined the band in 2001, appearing on their final album Going Down Swingin', released in 2002. The album featured re-recordings of older songs as well as new material. The debut Check Engine album, meanwhile, was released in January 2002. The band played over 725 shows during their original time together.

After the band split up, Steve Sostak and John Brady also played in the band ZZZZ, which released one album in 2005, Palm Reader. Chris Daly joined a group with members of June of 44 and Hoover called Just A Fire, and currently plays in Haymarket Riot. Mitch Cheney is in a project called GREENESS. Sweep the Leg Johnny also reformed for a benefit gig in Chicago near the end of 2005. Sostak subsequently relocated to Peru where he worked as a teacher.