The Sonics !

Hell Hell Hell, Ted from The Real Thing was faster than me on that one but it’s Friday so…..HERE ARE THE SONICS (anyway)!

The Sonics from Tacoma, Washington were formed in 1963 in the wake of the early 60s success of local favorites the Kingsmen and the Wailers (whose Etiquette label they recorded for). The original members were Gerry Roslie (lead singer and piano/organ), Andy Parypa (bass), Larry Parypa (guitar), Bob Bennett (drums), and Rob Lind (saxophone).

They combined the classic Northwest-area teen-band raunch with early English band grit (particularly influenced by the Kinks), relentless rhythmic drive, and unabashed '50s-style blues shouting for a combination that still makes their brand of rock and roll perhaps the raunchiest ever captured on wax.
Lead singer Gerry Roslie was no less than a White Little Richard, whose harrowing soul-screams were startling even to the Northwest teen audience, who liked their music powerful and driving with little regard to commercial subtleties.
Unlike what was customary in those days the Sonics used to play as loud as possible. One of the semi-legendary stories going around about their recording sessions tells that the Sonics were only satisfied about the studio sound when all VU-meters were continuously in the red (Remember Spinal Tap ?), thus driving the technicians to despair.
Their first album was a masterpiece: rough, aggressive, distorted with sweaty and frantic rock and roll. The songs "(She's a) Witch", "Psycho" and "Strychnine" written by Gerry Roslie were outstanding.
Well, they played classic songs by Little Richard and Chuck Berry, but wrote their own work too. It is by those songs that the Sonics have reached the legendary status they still have. The horror inspired texts, distorted and loud guitar playing and the hysterically screaming vocals make the Sonics true heroes to me !

The Sonics - Witch

The Sonics - Strychnine

The Sonics - Psycho





Friday Bonus !

Jesters Of Newport - Stormy


Stormy by The Jesters Of Newport is a wild California crunch rocker with lovely organ, recorded in a backroom studio of a record store in Santa Clara.



Back on Monday. Be Good. Be Bad. Be Yourself.