The Sultans

In 2000, amid a pause in Rocket From The Crypt duties, John Reis launched the Sultans as one of two side projects, favoring a lo-fi garage rock sound unlike that of the Hot Snakes, his reunion vehicle with former Drive Like Jehu partner Rick Froberg. Switching to bass and adopting the alias ‘Slasher’, Reis assembled the original Sultans lineup with Rocket From The Crypt guitarist Andy Stamets, billed as Black Flame, and drummer Tony Di Prima. Swami Records, Reis’s own label, put out both a self-titled EP and the album Ghost Ship in 2000. Positive notices notwithstanding, outside commitments kept the second Sultans album on hold until 2004, when younger brother Dean Reis, performing as Black Velvet, took over bass while John returned to guitar following Stamets’s departure. Once Rocket From The Crypt and the Hot Snakes both ended in 2005, Reis could concentrate solely on the Sultans, whose 2006 tours featured former Rocket From The Crypt and Hot Snakes drummer Mario Rubalcaba in place of Di Prima before the band split at the start of 2007.