THE SONICS
The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on punk, garage, and hard rock music worldwide; and they have been named as inspirations to Nirvana, Bruce Springsteen, the Fall, and other major artists. The Sonics performed several early rock standards such as “Louie, Louie” and “Skinny Minnie”, as well as original compositions like “Strychnine”, “Psycho”, and “The Witch”. Their catalogue is generally based around simple chord progressions, often performed with a speed and tonal aggression that was novel for the time, making the band a notable influence on later punk rock bands. (More from Wikipedia)
The Sonics are often cited as being among the earliest garage rock bands, having formed in 1960 in Tacoma, Washington with a raw, energetic sound from the get-go. They were a key part of the Pacific Northwest scene that also included the Wailers (not Bob Marley’s band) and Paul Revere and the Raiders; in later years, this part of the country was renowned for the grunge scene of Nirvana and others and the riot grrrl scene of Sleater-Kinney and others.
The Sonics were founded by guitarist Larry Parypa; he was introduced to the guitar by his uncle and encouraged in his musical interests by his parents. The Sonics started out as a family affair, with his older brother Andy Parypa, also on guitar, and another brother, Jerry Parypa, who played saxophone for a while; their mom often played bass guitar at rehearsals. They played tough instrumentals in the mold of Link Wray and Duane Eddy and quickly became a fixture in the local teen scene.
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.”
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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.
From Wikipedia: “The lyrics of the Sonics’ original material dealt with early 1960s teenage culture: cars, guitars, surfing, and girls (in songs like ‘The Hustler’, ‘Boss Hoss’ and ‘Maintaining My Cool’) alongside darker subject matter such as drinking strychnine for kicks, witches, psychopaths, and Satan (in the songs ‘Strychnine’, ‘The Witch’, ‘Psycho’, and ‘He’s Waitin’’, respectively).”
(December 2016)
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