Leavitt had played guitar and electric bass before switching to cello. Balogh had played violin since the age of four. A first generation American, he inherited his musical talents from his father, a touring violinist and conductor, and grandfather, who led a Hungarian gypsy band. Although he studied classical violin for many years, he switched to rock as a member of Greased Priest, the Willies, and Lobe, where he met future 3 Leg Torso bandmate, Von Drehle. Equally proficient on saxophone, guitar, and accordion, Von Drehle received a bachelor's degree in music from Marylhurst College. A former member of Tone Dogs, Hester Street, Poikilothem, as well as Lobe, he continues to play in two bands besides 3 Leg Torso. POD (Points of Departure), is a jazz trio that he shares with piano and trumpet player Mike Van Lieu and drummer/percussionist Brian Von Davis, while the Topiary Kings are an improvisatory duo with drummer and theremin player Larold Wills.
Released in April 1998, 3 Leg Torso's debut album included Divertissments for Performing Bears, which became the theme song of a popular television series in Bosnia. The group's music was heard in #With Hope and Help, a United Nations-funded video documentary on AIDs in Thailand, and in two films by animator Joan Gratz -- #The Dowager's Feast and #The Dowager's Idyll. 3 Leg Torso became a sextet with the addition of bassist Peter Whitmore, vibes, marimba, and xylophone player Rob Lewis, and dumbek, bongos, conga, and tar player Joseph Jariga in 2000. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi