GERRY ROSLIE
The line-up in the Sonics stabilized in late 1963 with the addition of three members from another local band called the Searchers (not to be confused with the British Invasion band, the Searchers); their frontman was future Moby Grape guitarist Jerry Miller. Larry Parypa remained on lead guitar, while Andy Parypa switched to bass guitar. The new bandmembers were Bob Bennett on drums, Rob Lind on sax, and Gerry Roslie on keyboards and, later, lead vocals.
Mark Deming in Allmusic states: “Although the band had been solid before, the new lineup evolved into a powerhouse; [Bob] Bennett wasn’t afraid to hit the drums hard, Larry [Parypa]’s guitar work had become sharper and more ferocious with time; and when [Gerry] Roslie was encouraged to sing, they discovered he could wail like a leather-lunged Little Richard, and the Sonics quickly became the most talked-about band in the Northwest.”
Following a series of searing 45’s, beginning with “The Witch” – a song originally about dancing, but rewritten about a treacherous woman – the Sonics released the seminal album Here Are the Sonics!!! in 1965; the album was reissued in mono on Norton Records in 1999. The band has never really broken up, having gone in and out of fashion as various musical waves ran through the Pacific Northwest. In May 2016, the Sonics announced that Larry Parypa and Gerry Roslie would no longer be part of the touring band, though they will remain involved with the group.
(December 2016)
