Slim Cessna's Auto Club

by Erik HageSlim Cessna's Auto Club plays country gospel with a fervor that seems to emanate from a punk pulpit. The group's leader Slim Cessna, a tall, lanky gentleman with a gold tooth and large white hat, sings in a high-lonesome voice and yodel, and "preaches" with conviction. (Sample sentiment from "Last Song About Satan": "So I said, Lucifer you piece of sh*t/I should kick your ass right where you sit.../My mother cries because of you.") The group released its self-titled debut in 1995; the album was tweaked and reissued in September 2001. By the time of 2000's Always Say Please & Thank You (released on the Jello Biafra punk label Alternative Tentacles) Auto Club's lineup included Danny Pants, Reverend Dwight Pentacost, Jay Munly (who has released records as Munly De Har He), John Rumley (who builds instruments at the Denver Folklore Center), and Ordy Garrison. Despite the fact that Cessna moved to his wife's home state of Rhode Island and Pentacost took up residence in Chicago, the band remained Denver based, performing there regularly. In 2004 the group released The Bloudy Tenant Truth Peace, followed by 2005's Jesus Let Me Down (which came out on Smooch Records), and Cipher (back on Alternative Tentacles) in 2008.