by Mike DaRonco
Having met in 1995 while attending art college in Rhode Island, Tim Harrington (vocals), Seth Jabber (guitar), Syd Butler (bass) and Gibb Slife (guitar) got together to form Les Savy Fav out of their additional musical interests in Nation of Ulysses, Fugazi, Sunny Day Real Estate and Jawbox, among others. Two years of gigging around the East Coast ensued before Sub-Pop took a shine and released their appropriately titled "SubPop7," followed by their first full-length 3/5 that same year on Self Starter Foundation Records. Following the recruitment of drummer Harrison Haynes, DeSoto Records put out a 7" DeSoto in 1999 before issuing their second album The Cat and the Cobra by the end of that year. In 2000 Emor: Rome Upside Down was released capturing the group's incendiary stage presence in the studio.