Here are the Sonics

Back in the 1960s, what has been called "the garage band sound" was very popular where I grew up in the Pacific Northwest region of the US. Some of the popular bands from the area at that time included the Wailers, the Kingsmen, Paul Revere and the Raiders and Don and the Goodtimes to name a few.

These bands played at dances in school gyms, church basements, the halls at fraternal organizations and at dance clubs. Some of the bands became famous and had recordings that became well-known national hits. One of the most popular local bands was not well known outside of the Seattle -Tacoma area. That band was The Sonics.

The Sonics are said by some to have been the first grunge or punk rock band and many musicians who came later credit the Sonics with being a strong influence on their music. But outside of the Pacific Northwest and the world of music insiders, few people ever heard of the Sonics.

Then in a curious twist of fate, the national and international fame that eluded the Sonics back in the 1960s has started to be realized almost 50 years after they released their first album.

Here are the Sonics - a group of influential musicians that you've probably never heard of.

Young musicians from Tacoma, Washington

The Sonics were formed by Larry Parypa and some friends in about 1960. Supposedly the name they chose for their group was inspired by both the Boeing jet airplane factories in and around the area and the sound they wanted to produce. Some of the original members came and went and although they played at some local venues, they didn't become locally well known until about the time they recorded their first single "Witch" in 1964.

As seen in this photo on their first album cover the band members were

Gerry Roslie - lead vocalist and piano/organ

Andy Parypa - bass

Larry Parypa - lead guitar

Bob Bennett -drums

Rob Lind - saxophone

The Witch was the Sonics first single, released November 1964 on the Etiquette record label. Witch was an original work composed by the Sonics. They recorded their version of Little Richard's "Keep A-Knockin" on the flip side.

Although it may seem tame by today's standards, "Witch" was controversial when it was released. The lyrics were dark and raunchy, Gerry Roslie's vocalizations and screams were amazing and Bob Bennett's drums were loud and driving. After listening to this You tube recording, of "Witch" and comparing it to the top 5 hits of 1964, the others sound pretty tame. It is obvious that the Sonics were different.

Here were the top 5 hits of 1964

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling - Righteous Brothers

2. My Girl - Temptations

3. You Really Got Me - Kinks

4. House Of The Rising Sun - Animals

5. Where Did Our Love Go - Supremes

At the time the Seattle radio station that most teens listened to was KJR 950 am. The most popular DJ in Seattle was Pat O'Day. He became the station manager at KJR and helped to promote the music of Pacific NW bands. At first he wouldn't play the Sonics music because of the lyrics. Local teens who had heard the Sonics play at places like Tacoma's Curtis High School, the Red Carpet, the Evergreen Ballroom, Olympia's Skateland, Pearl's in Bremerton, the Spanish Castle and St. Mary's Parish Hall began a campaign of relentless requests to KJR to play "Witch".

Eventually the station relented and played "Witch", but not until after 3pm - after kids got home from school. The Sonics became the Seattle bad boys of rock.

"Witch" went on to become the biggest selling single in recording history in the Pacific Northwest.

Psycho was another original recording from the Sonics. It was composed by Gerry Roslie, the Sonics and Leon Payne. Gerry Roslie has been referred to as a "white Little Richard" because of his similar style of vocalizations.

Strychnine was yet another original piece composed by the Sonics with more of the dark lyrics favored by Gerry Roslie. The opening line says it all.. "Some people like water. Some people like wine. But I like the taste of straight Strychnine”

Early in 1965, The Sonics began recording their first LP, "Here Are The Sonics". It was recorded at Audio Recording in Seattle, WA by famed Pacific Northwest recording engineer Kearney 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 Sonics released a second LP in 1966. It was recorded at the Wiley/Griffith studio in Tacoma, WA which normally recorded country western groups. The Sonics reportedly wanted a louder sound so they ripped egg carton soundproofing off the walls and worried the sound technicians by having all of the equipment registering up to the max.

Some people think that the Sonics' version of Louie Louie included on this album is the best one that was ever done.

In late 1966, the Sonics recorded a third album named "Introducing the Sonics" under the Jerden Records label. It was recorded in Hollywood away from their native northwest. Whether as band members claim, they were pushed into smoothing their rough edgy sound into something more polished and tame, or if they themselves were convinced to try to do something that would be more commercially successful nationally, the music on the album wasn't the same. Not long after the group began to disintegrate. The name "Sonics" was still being used by a group of musicians but the five members who had created the Sonics had all left by 1968.

Many musicians have credited the Sonics with being an influence in their music including Pacific Northwest native musicians Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain and Mudhoney but also numerous other musicians from around the world including, The Rolling Stones, The Dead Boys,The Fall, The Thingz, Eagles of Death Metal, Cut Off Your Hands, Japandroids,The White Stripes,The Hives, The Cramps, The Flaming Lips, The Fuzztones,The Fleshtones and LCD Soundsystem.

This is the recording by the Sonics from 1965 that finally made more people aware of their music. "Have Love, Will Travel" has been recorded by several different artists since the Sonics original recording, but the Sonics version was used in a Land Rover LR3- Edge Ad and it was also featured in the soundtrack of the film RocknRolla in 2008.

The Sonics were reunited at the Cave Stomp in 2007, 35 years since their last performance together in 1972. They have been back together for several appearances since then including two tours of several European countries in 2009 and 2010.

You can also hear a "Then" and "Now" of the Sonics performing "Have Love - Will Travel". The previous video (above) is a recording from back in the 1960s and the second one (below) is a more recent performance at the Cave Stomp in 2007

From the original group, Andy Parypa and Bob Bennett have retired from touring and have been replaced by friends and fellow musicians, Dusty Watson on drums and Freddie Dennis, on bass and vocals. The group still does a limited number of performances each year, usually to sell-out crowds. Maybe the Sonics were just 50 years ahead of their time.

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No story about bands and musicians from the Pacific Northwest in the 1960s and 1970s would be complete without mentioning Pat O'Day. Pat O'Day first gained fame as the top DJ in the '60s in the northwest at KJR the most popular radio station in Seattle. Considered by many the most important person in the development of rock 'n' roll in the region, O'Day influenced the musical tastes of an entire generation of listeners. Later he founded Concerts West, at one time the largest concert promotion company in the world.

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