Roy Loney

A native of the Bay Area, Roy Loney helped establish the great Flamin' Groovies before stepping away from the group in the early '70s with the stated aim of developing a solo path. His initial solo release surfaced only in 1979, nearly seven years after his departure. During the intervening period he held several posts in the record business, among them a sales-rep position with the now defunct ABC Records and a stint at the funky and fabulous Jack's Record Cellar in San Francisco.

Loney’s return to performing proved promising nonetheless, signaled first by the tremendous EP A Hundred Miles an Hour, dedicated to Sissy Spacek, and then by the wild and woolly full-length LP Out After Dark. Eschewing the Byrds-ian pop direction that former partner Cyril Jordan had steered the Groovies toward, Loney instead delivered wild-eyed, rockabilly-fueled chunks of joyous noise whose shaking, rattling, and rolling owed much to the great guitar playing of ex-Groovies James Ferrell and drummer Danny Mihm. Fully embedded in the late-'70s/early-'80s rock scene while retaining his deservedly hip credentials, Loney issued a string of fine records from 1979–1983 on mostly small indie labels before disappearing from view in 1984. In truth he had simply withdrawn from the wider rock circuit for a time, continuing to perform locally in the Bay Area and to work at Jack's.

The late '80s found Loney recording for roots-rock label Norton and unleashing The Scientific Bombs Away, a terrific if almost totally ignored record. Packed with raving guitars, hiccuping vocals, and his thoroughly original sense of humor, the album marked a triumphant return to rock that drew little notice. Later he cut a great cover of Sam the Sham’s “I Couldn't Spell !!*@!” alongside the Seattle band Young Fresh Fellows.

In 2009 Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan mounted a joint concert tour devoted to the early Groovies catalog. Jordan assembled a reunited edition of the Flamin' Groovies in 2013 featuring latter-day vocalist Chris Wilson; when Wilson proved unavailable for a mid-2019 tour of the United States and Europe, Loney took his place. A bad fall at an airport, however, forced Loney to withdraw from the European leg after sustaining head injuries. He died on December 13, 2019.