The Sonics were a Tacoma, Washington, band that made some of the loudest and rawest records of the 1960s.
They never had a national hit, yet their screamed vocals and hard-hit drums helped sketch the blueprint for punk.
Table of Contents
How The Sonics Started in Tacoma
The band began in 1960, when teenage guitarist Larry Parypa started playing with his twin brother Jerry on sax.
They tried "Louie Louie" with junior high friends, and their older brother Andy later joined on bass.
Tony Mabin took over the sax chair from Jerry.
The name came from the sonic booms near McChord Field that kept annoying the neighborhood.
The Classic Lineup
By late 1963 the group had settled into the lineup that made its best records.
- Gerry Roslie, electric piano and lead vocals
- Larry Parypa, guitar
- Andy Parypa, bass
- Rob Lind, saxophone
- Bob Bennett, drums
Roslie became the voice of the group, and his blood-curdling screams were its calling card.
Few acts of the era sounded this unhinged.
The Witch, Psycho and Strychnine
In 1964, Buck Ormsby of the Wailers heard "The Witch" in Bennett's basement.
The Wailers ran Etiquette Records, whose first release was their own 1960 "Louie Louie."
Ormsby signed the Tacoma band to that label.
The Witch
The song was cut in July 1964 at Commercial Productions in Seattle with engineer Lyle Thompson.
Little Richard's "Keep A Knockin'" went on the flip side.
Bennett opens with a snare blast, then a three-chord riff and Roslie's screams take over.
The single came out in late 1964 and sold about 29,000 copies in the Seattle-Tacoma market.
Seattle's KJR debuted it at number 26 on Christmas Day 1964.
Psycho and the Debut Album
Early in 1965 the band went to Audio Recording in Seattle and worked with engineer Kearney Barton.
Etiquette owed royalties on "Keep A Knockin'," so it needed a replacement B-side.
Barton later recalled, "45 minutes later, we had 'Psycho' down."
The band's debut album, "Here Are the Sonics," followed in 1965.
It was recorded on two tracks with one microphone on the drums.
The album also holds "Strychnine," Roslie's song about drinking poison.
Boom and Beyond
For the next album the group tore down the egg-carton soundproofing at Wiley/Griffith Studio in late 1965.
The room sounded rawer for it.
"Boom" arrived in February 1966 and produced "Shot Down," which reached number 15 on area charts.
Their cover of Richard Berry's 1959 "Have Love, Will Travel" also became a garage-rock touchstone.
| Release | When | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Witch" / "Keep A Knockin'" | Late 1964 | Etiquette | About 29,000 copies sold locally |
| Here Are the Sonics | 1965 | Etiquette | Includes "Psycho" and "Strychnine" |
| Boom | February 1966 | Etiquette | "Shot Down" reached No. 15 on area charts |
| Introducing the Sonics | Recorded late 1966 | Jerden | Cut at Gold Star Studios, Los Angeles |
Breakup, Reunions and Legacy
Why the Band Broke Up
In 1966 the group left Etiquette for Jerry Dennon's Jerden Records.
There it recorded a new album at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, and the record sold poorly.
The last single, "Anyway the Wind Blows," came out in December 1967.
Draft pressure from the Vietnam War sent several members back to college, and Lind became a fighter pilot there.
Larry Parypa left in February 1968.
Andy then sold the name and the band's van to singer Jim Brady, whose version played lounges for about a decade.
The Reunions
The original members played a one-off show at Seattle's Paramount Theater in 1972.
A real return came in November 2007 at the Cavestomp Festival in New York, followed by dates across Europe.
That run ended with a Halloween 2008 show back at the Paramount.
A new album, "This Is the Sonics," followed on March 31, 2015.
Who They Influenced
Kurt Cobain of Nirvana praised their drum sound, saying it was still his favorite.
The White Stripes called them "the epitome of '60s punk."
A 2004 Land Rover ad used "Have Love, Will Travel," and the song also turned up in the 2008 film "RocknRolla."
Their sound sits next to the British riff bands of The Kinks in the 60s rock story, though it came from a basement in Washington State.
FAQ
Where were The Sonics from?
The band came from Tacoma, Washington.
Guitarist Larry Parypa started the band in 1960 with his twin brother Jerry.
What is the band's most famous song?
"The Witch" is their best-known record.
It sold about 29,000 copies in the Seattle-Tacoma market in late 1964, though the band never had a national hit.
Why are they called a proto-punk band?
Their screamed vocals, distorted guitars and hard-hit drums arrived years before punk.
The White Stripes called them "the epitome of '60s punk."
Who sang lead for the band?
Gerry Roslie sang lead and played electric piano.
He wrote "Strychnine" and was known for his screams.
Did the band ever get back together?
Yes.
Original members played a one-off show in Seattle in 1972 and reunited for shows from November 2007 to Halloween 2008.
A new album followed on March 31, 2015.
Their best years were 1965 and 1966, and the music still sounds dangerous.
Fans of the garage and surf rock hub will find them at the loud end of the scene, as Wikipedia's entry on the band details.
Back to the 1960smusic.net homepage to explore every genre of the decade, and keep turning up the volume on The Sonics.