The Sonics were a member of the wave of Pacific Northwest American garage rock groups in the early and mid-1960s, pioneered by The Kingsmen and The Wailers . Among The Sonics' other contemporaries were The Drastics, The Dynamics, The Regents, and Paul Revere & the Raiders. This movement is credited with founding Seattle's well-known music scene which survives to the present. Seattle native Jimi Hendrix is reported to have been highly influenced by the band.^{[citation needed]} Nickname: Location of Tacoma in Pierce County and Washington State Coordinates: , Country State County Pierce Government  - Mayor Bill Baarsma (D) Area  - City  62. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. ... Frat rock was an early influential American subgenre of rock and roll / roots rock. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Norton Records, an independent New York City record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986, maintains a focus on retro rock, rockabilly, punk, garage rock, lounge music and R&B. Linna and Miller have successfully reissued many obscurities and classics from the 1950s and 1960s, and... The Pacific Northwest from space The Pacific Northwest, abbreviated PNW, or PacNW is a region in the northwest of North America. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ... The Kingsmen were a rock band from Portland, Oregon who rose suddenly to fame with their recording of Richard Berrys Louie, Louie. ... The Wailers were an American rock band from Tacoma, Washington, often considered the first garage rock group. ... The Drastics, 2006 The Drastics are a roots-orientated dub reggae group hailing from Chicago. ... The Regents were a doo-wop vocal group from New York City in the late 1950s and early 1960s. ... Paul Revere & the Raiders is an American rock band that saw enormous mainstream success in the 1960s, best-known for hits like Indian Reservation (The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian) (1971), Steppin Out(1965), Kicks(1966), Let Me (1969) and Hungry (1966). ... City nickname Emerald City City bird Great Blue Heron City flower Dahlia City mottos The City of Flowers The City of Goodwill City song Seattle, the Peerless City Mayor Greg Nickels County King County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 369. ... Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitar virtuoso, singer and songwriter. ...

The Sonics' sound is noticeably rougher, cruder, and more brutal than that of their musical peers. Although they had a fairly standard instrumental line up for the time, The Sonics made their unique sound with wild arrangements, often disturbing lyrics, peppered with screaming and howling, and electric guitars played through amplifiers customized to achieve the harshest tones possible. Although their chief period of success was coincident with the release of Gibson's first fuzzbox, The Sonics' fuzzy sound was their own creation. An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into electrical current, which is then amplified. ... For the British rock band of the same name, see Amplifier (band). ... The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is one of the worlds best-known manufacturers of acoustic and electric guitars. ... A 1965 Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1A, one of the first commercially available fuzzboxes. ...

The songs they played were a mixture of garage rock standards ("Louie, Louie", "Have Love, Will Travel"), early rock and roll ("Jenny, Jenny") and original compositions such as "Strychnine", "Psycho", and "The Witch", all based upon simple chord sequences, played hard and fast. Louie, Louie is an American rock n roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. ... Have Love, Will Travel is the title of three songs: on the album The Last DJ by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on the album Thickfreakness by The Black Keys on the album Here Are The Sonics by The Sonics Category: ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ...

The lyrics of The Sonics' original material dealt with early '60s teenage culture; cars, guitars, surfing, and girls (in songs like "The Hustler" 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 Waiting", respectively). A separate article is about the punk band called The Adolescents. ... “Car” and “Cars” redirect here. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Surfing (disambiguation). ... Strychnine (pronounced (British, U.S.), or (U.S.)) is a very toxic (LD50 = 10 mg approx. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Witchcraft. ... See Also: Antisocial Personality Disorder Theoretically, psychopathy is a three-faceted disorder involving interpersonal, affective and behavioral characteristics. ... This article is about the concept of Satan. ...

Band members

The classic Sonics lineup, as recorded on Here Are The Sonics and Boom: Here Are the Sonics is the debut album of The Sonics. ...

• Gerry Roslie — organ, piano, lead vocals
• Andy Parypa — bass guitar
• Larry Parypa — lead guitar, vocals
• Rob Lind — saxophone, vocals, harmonica
• Bob Bennett — drums

Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany The organ is a keyboard instrument played using one or more manuals and a pedalboard. ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... Harry Belafonte singing, photograph by C. van Vechten Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with speech. ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... Lead guitar refers to a role within a band, that provides melody or melodic material, as opposed to the rhythm of the rhythm guitar, bass, and drums. ... The saxophone (colloquially referred to as sax) is a conical-bored instrument of the woodwind family. ... A harmonica is a free reed wind instrument. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as a cowbell, wood block or tambourines, arranged for convenience playing by a single drummer. ...

Career

The history of The Sonics begins in 1960 in Tacoma, Washington. Larry Parypa played the guitar at that time with a drummer, Mitch Graber, another guitarist named Stuart Turner, plus a saxophonist and an acoustic bassist. In 1961, Parypa's older brother Andy replaced the bass player and Tony Mabin took over as their new saxophone player. See also: 1959 in music, other events of 1960, 1961 in music, 1960s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 14 - Elvis Presley is promoted to Sergeant in the U.S. Army February 6 - Songwriter Jesse Belvin dies in an automobile accident in Los Angeles, California. ... For the comic book character, see Drummer (comics). ... For the UK magazine, see Guitarist (magazine). ... Stuart Turner Ltd is a privately owned manufacturer of pumps in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Stuart Turner left for the army and Rich Koch (who had previously played with The Wailers) joined as new lead guitarist and Marilyn Lodge joined as the band's first singer — they had been an instrumental combo until this point. A new drummer, Bill Dean then replaced Mitch. The armed forces of the United States of America consist of the United States Army United States Navy United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Coast Guard Note: The United States Coast Guard has both military and law enforcement functions. ...

Koch and Lodge left the band in 1963. The local star Ray Michelsen became the band's singer after having sung with a handful of other popular bands on the local scene. Larry began looking for a drummer to replace Bill Dean, whom he felt was uncommitted to the band, and found Bob Bennett playing in a band called The Searchers with Gerry Roslie and Rob Lind. Ray Michelsen was looking to leave the band, so the Parypas hired Bennett, Roslie, and Lind and let go their previous saxophonist Mabin. Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The well-known lineup was in place, but the Sonics' career as loved by their continuing cult following did not begin until 1964, when Gerry Roslie started singing lead vocals. See also: 1963 in music, other events of 1964, 1965 in music, 1960s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 1 - Top of the Pops premieres on BBC television. ...

With Roslie as lead singer the band started playing gigs at local halls, at such venues as the Red Carpet, Olympia's Skateland, the Evergreen Ballroom, Pearl's, the Spanish Castle Ballroom and St. Mary's Parish Hall.

They were soon scouted by Buck Ormsby, bassist for The Wailers, and signed to The Wailers' own label Etiquette Records. The first single they cut was "The Witch" (with Little Richard's "Keep A-Knockin'" as the B-side), in November 1964. This was immensely popular with local kids, and went on to become the biggest selling local single in the history of the northwest, despite its radio airplay being restricted because of its bizarre and possibly misogynistic subject matter. In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5, 1932), better known by the stage name Little Richard, is an African-American singer, songwriter, and pianist, who began performing in the 1940s and was a key figure in the transition from rhythm & blues to rock and roll in the mid-1950s. ... In recorded music, the terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles have been released since the 1950s. ... This box:      Misogyny (IPA: ) is hatred or strong prejudice against women; an antonym of philogyny. ...

Early in 1965, The Sonics began recording an LP, Here Are The Sonics was recorded at Audio Studio in Seattle, WA by famed Pacific Northwest recording engineer Kerny Barton. It was recorded on a two-track tape recorder, with only one microphone to pick up the whole drum kit. It was here that they began to pioneer some of their infamously reckless recording techniques. The next album, Boom followed in February 1966. During the recording, The Sonics ripped the soundproofing off the walls at the country and western-oriented Wiley/Griffith studio in Tacoma, WA, to "get a live-er sound." See also: 1964 in music, other events of 1965, 1966 in music, 1960s in music and the list of years in music // January 4 - Fender Guitars is sold to CBS for $13 million. ... A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... “Microphones” redirects here. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as a cowbell, wood block or tambourines, arranged for convenience playing by a single drummer. ... // January 3 - Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out. January 8 - Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who January 14 - Young singer David Jones changes his last name to Bowie to avoid... Country music, once known as Country and Western music, is a popular musical form developed in the southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, spirituals, and the blues. ...

This heyday began to wane when the band transferred to Jerden Records in late 1966, and headed to Hollywood to record the poorly selling album Introducing The Sonics with Larry Levine in the Gold Star studios. The band later called this cleaner, slicker recording "the worst garbage." Greetings from Hollywood Hollywood is a district of the city of Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., that extends from Vermont Avenue on the east to just beyond Laurel Canyon Boulevard above Sunset and Crescent Heights Boulevards on the west; the north to south boundary east of La Brea Avenue...

The original band fell apart between 1966 and 1968, members leaving to go to university or to join other bands; Saxophonist Rob Lind became a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. During this time their sound changed, incorporating string and horn sections, but this proved unpopular and The Sonics passed into obscurity. // January 4 - Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel Redding. ... For the community in Florida, see University, Florida. ... A string instrument (also stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... In a symphony orchestra the horn section is the group of musicians who play the horn (sometimes referred to as the French horn). ...

The original Sonics reunited briefly in 1972 for a Seattle Paramount live show, with the recording of this show released as Live Fanz Only by Etiquette. Although the group has been asked to reunite on numerous other occasions since then, they have steadfastly refused to do so; reportedly due to Gerry Roslie's fear that the group could never possibly live up to anyone's expectations. // January 17 - Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed Elvis Presley Blvd January 20 - Pink Floyd debuts Dark Side of the Moon during a performance at The Dome, in Brighton, but due to technical difficulties, is halted during the song Money. ...

The Sonics did reunite for the 2007 Cavestomp garage rock festival in Brooklyn (November 2-4, 2007). The line up featured original members Gerry Roslie on vocals/keyboards, Larry Parypa on guitar and Rob Lind on tenor sax; with Ricky Lynn Johnson (of The Wailers) on drums and Don Wilhelm (of The Daily Flash) on bass and vocals.

Quotations

By the band

• "We were a wild, dirty, kickass band." - Bob Bennett
• "We were nasty. Everything you've heard people say about us is true." - Larry Parypa
• "If our records sound distorted, it's because they are. My brother (Larry, guitar) was always fooling around with the amps. They were always overdriven. Or he was disconnecting the speakers and poking a hole in them with an ice pick. That's how we ended up sounding like a train wreck." - Andy Parypa

About the band

• "The Sonics recorded very, very cheaply on a two track you know, and they just used one microphone over the drums, and they got the most amazing drum sound I've ever heard. Still to this day, it's still my favorite drum sound. It sounds like he's hitting harder than anyone I've ever known." - Kurt Cobain, Nirvana
• "Oh, dude, you gotta go get the Sonics! First off, you’re gonna see exactly where the Hives' 'Veni Vidi Vicious' was directly ripped off from. But you’re going to get it at the source. It’s basically the dudes that inspired the Stooges. From ’64 to about ’69, they put out two great records, 'Here Come the Sonics' and 'Sonics Boom'…it’s actually a toss-up between them…probably 'Sonics Boom' (is the better one), because it’s got "Shot Down" on it. But it’s white dudes obsessed with Little Richard, and they create something called punk rock." - Jesse Hughes, Eagles of Death Metal
• "...The Sonics, The Sonics, The Sonics, The Sonics..." - James Murphy listing influential bands on LCD Soundsystem's song "Losing My Edge".

Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. ... This article is about the American rock band. ... This article is about the Swedish band. ... This article is about the rock band. ... Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5, 1932), better known by the stage name Little Richard, is an African-American singer, songwriter, and pianist, who began performing in the 1940s and was a key figure in the transition from rhythm & blues to rock and roll in the mid-1950s. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Eagles of Death Metal (EofDM) is an American garage rock band formed by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme. ... James Murphy is a musician, producer, DJ, and co-founder of dance-punk label DFA Records. ... LCD Soundsystem is the musical project of producer James Murphy, co-founder of dance-punk label DFA Records. ... Losing My Edge was the first LCD Soundsystem single released on the 8 July 2002. ...

Influence

The Sonics had an often overlooked but notable influence on subsequent rock music, not just in the Washington area. They are often-cited contenders for the title of "the first punk band"^[1], due to their wild and unconventional style. Gerry Roslie was the first white man to record a frightening rock 'n' roll scream in earnest, thus influencing Iggy Pop and the rest of protopunk, such as The New York Dolls. The band also have a clearly marked influence on golden age American punk bands such as The Dead Boys in their brash, immature, masculine style and posturing, and on the nineties grunge bands (who originated in the same area), especially Mudhoney, who adopted some of the darker themes from Sonics music, and a lot of their techniques on over-driving and distorting electric guitars. Their reach stretched beyond the US; influential Manchester post-punk group, The Fall, covered Strychnine during a session for the late John Peel's programme in 1993 and they repeatedly performed the song live around this time. As well as all these, there have been whole generations of garage rock revival bands (such as The Things) who make no bones of plagiarizing The Sonics and their ilk. The early 21st century saw the arrival of another garage rock band that lists the Sonics as a major influence, Eagles of Death Metal. Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... James Newell Osterberg, Jr. ... Protopunk is a term used to describe a number of performers who were important precursors of punk rock, or who have been cited by early punk rockers as influential. ... The New York Dolls were a glam rock band in the 1970s that prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era. ... The Dead Boys were a punk band that formed in Cleveland, Ohio about 1975, evolving out of the band Rocket From The Tombs. ... Grunge music (sometimes also referred to as the Seattle Sound) is an independent-rooted music genre that became a commercially successful offshoot of hardcore punk, thrash metal, and alternative rock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... Mudhoney is a grunge band, formed in Seattle in 1988. ... This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ... This article is about the band. ... “Peel Sessions” redirects here. ... See also: 1993 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1993 Record labels established in 1993 // Date Unknown- Christian Rock label Tooth and Nail Records is formed. ... Eagles of Death Metal (EofDM) is an American garage rock band formed by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme. ...

Discography

LPs

• Here Are The Sonics (Etiquette Records, 1965)
• Merry Christmas (Etiquette, 1965)
• Boom (Etiquette, 1966)
• Introducing The Sonics (Jerden, 1967)
• The Sonics - Busy Body!!! Live in Tacoma 1964(Norton 2007)

Here Are the Sonics is the debut album of The Sonics. ...

45s

• "The Witch"/"Keep A-Knockin'" (Etiquette, 1964)
• "The Witch"/"Psycho" (Etiquette, 1965)
• "Psycho"/"Keep A-Knockin'" (Etiquette, 1965)
• "Boss Hoss"/"The Hustler" (Etiquette, 1965)
• "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark"/"Shot Down" (Etiquette, 1965)
• The Sonics' "Don't Believe In Christmas"/The Wailers' "Christmas Spirit" (Etiquette, 1965)
• "Cinderella"/"Louie Louie" (Etiquette, 1965)
• "You Got Your Head On Backwards"/"Love Light" (Jerden, 1966)
• "Like No Other Man"/"Love Light" (Jerden, 1966)
• "The Witch"/"Like No Other Man" (Jerden, 1966)
• "Psycho"/"Maintaining My Cool" (Jerden, 1966)
• "Love-itis"/"You're In Love" (Jerden, 1967)
• "Lost Love"/"Any Way The Wind Blows" (Piccadilly, 1967)
• "Any Way The Wind Blows"/"Lost Love" (UNI, 1967)
• "Dirty Old Man"/"Bama Lama Bama Loo" (Burdette, 1975)
• "The Witch"/"Bama Lama Bama Loo" (Great Northwest, 1979)
• "The Witch"/"Keep A-Knockin'" (Norton, 1998)
• "Psycho"/"Have Love Will Travel" (Norton, 1998)
• "Cinderella"/"He's Waitin'" (Norton, 1998)
• "Boss Hoss"/"The Hustler" (Norton, 1998)
• "Strychnine"/"Shot Down" (Norton, 1998)
• The Sonics' "Louie Louie"/The Wailers' "Louie Louie" (Norton, 1998)
• "Don't Believe In Christmas"/"Santa Claus" (Norton, 1998)

References

External links

• The Sonics at the AMG
• Interviews with Jerry Roslie and Larry Parypa before their Nov. 2007 reunion