Biography
Among garage ensembles generating fierce noise throughout the 1960s, the Sonics distinguished themselves through unmatched volume, ferocity, and unfiltered edge. This Tacoma, Washington quintet delivered an extreme approach built on roaring guitars, pounding drums, and the fevered howls of lead singer Gerry Roslie, foreshadowing punk’s intensity while driving rock & roll into extreme territory across their 1963-1966 peak. Within Washington they enjoyed stardom, yet wider acclaim arrived slowly, later cementing their status as one of the most legendary acts on the Pacific Northwest rock scene.
Guitarist Larry Parypa formed the Sonics in 1960 after his uncle taught him the instrument and his music-loving parents offered encouragement. The group started as an instrumental unit that included older brother Andy Parypa on guitar and, briefly, another sibling, Jerry, on sax, with their mother sometimes handling bass at rehearsals. Their early repertoire focused on tough R&B numbers and guitar-driven instrumentals modeled after Link Wray and Duane Eddy. The Sonics soon became regulars on the Tacoma teen club circuit, a thriving network that also featured the Wailers (not Bob Marley’s band) and Paul Revere & the Raiders. Early personnel changes were frequent, but stability arrived in late 1963 when three members of the Searchers (not the British pop group) joined: drummer Bob Bennett, sax player Rob Lind, and keyboardist Gerry Roslie, all departing a band led by future Moby Grape guitarist Jerry Miller. Larry stayed on lead guitar while Andy moved to bass. Although already capable, the revised lineup became explosive; Bennett struck the drums with force, Larry’s guitar playing grew sharper and more aggressive, and once Roslie was urged to sing, his leather-lunged Little Richard-style delivery emerged, quickly making the Sonics the most discussed band in the Northwest.
In 1964, Buck Ormsby, bassist with Northwest heroes the Wailers, was impressed by the new configuration and took on management duties while signing the Sonics to Etiquette Records, a local label he co-operated. For their debut single the group reworked one of their rare originals, shifting its theme from a proposed dance fad to a warning about a deceitful woman; the resulting “The Witch” carried a dark, ominous tone that, combined with Parypa’s guitar, Bennett’s drumming, and Roslie’s vocals, sounded louder and more unhinged than prior Northwest recordings. Paired with a frantic cover of Little Richard’s “Keep A’Knockin’,” the single proved too extreme for many local stations yet gained traction in smaller markets, becoming a major regional hit; to avoid ongoing publishing costs for the B-side, the band cut another original, “Psycho,” turning the release into a double-sided success. Ormsby hurried the Sonics into the studio in 1965 to complete a full album, and Here Are the Sonics!!! emerged as a garage-rock landmark—a loud, unrelenting burst of raw power that captured the group at its most wired peak, aided by recording engineer Kearney Barton’s elemental production.
“The Witch” and “Psycho” elevated the Sonics to top draws across the Northwest, filling prestigious venues such as the Seattle Coliseum and sharing bills with the Beach Boys and the Shangri-Las. In 1966 they recorded a second Etiquette album with Barton, Boom, which included further local hits like “Cinderella,” “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” and “Shot Down.” It became clear, however, that the band had reached the limit of regional possibilities while receiving only sporadic national airplay. They signed with Jerden Records, another Northwest imprint distributed through ABC-Paramount, offering improved prospects for broader success. Jerden head Jerry Dennon nevertheless sent the Sonics to Los Angeles for their third album, 1967’s Introducing the Sonics; although producer-engineer Larry Levine brought an impressive résumé that included many of Phil Spector’s classic singles, he could not replicate the hard-edged sound Barton had achieved earlier, leaving the record sounding thinner despite the group’s strong performances. Later that year the Sonics cut a cover of Frank Zappa’s “Any Way the Wind Blows” for Piccadilly Records, a Jerden subsidiary, which Uni Records promptly reissued without chart impact. Bennett and Roslie soon departed, and although Lind and the Parypa brothers continued briefly, the Sonics eventually disbanded.
Their Northwest reputation prompted a one-off 1972 reunion concert in Seattle, with several tracks later appearing on the Etiquette EP Live Fanz Only. In 1980 Roslie joined forces with a garage band called the Invaders; they recorded an album of mostly vintage Sonics material and mid-’60s covers titled Sinderella, issued under the Sonics name, though it lacked the original lineup’s raw power beyond Roslie’s vocals. By then the Sonics had become revered among vintage garage-rock enthusiasts, and later in the decade numerous grunge-era acts including Nirvana and Mudhoney cited them as an influence, as did nuevo-garage outfits such as the Hives and the White Stripes.
In 2007 the Sonics agreed to a reunion performance in New York City for the annual Cavestomp garage-rock festival; Andy Parypa and Bob Bennett declined to travel, but Gerry Roslie, Larry Parypa, and Rob Lind participated, joined by Ricky Lynn Johnson, formerly of the Wailers, on drums and Don Wilhelm of the Daily Flash on bass. The show proved successful, leading to regular club and festival dates in Europe and the United Kingdom plus occasional U.S. appearances, with Bennett guesting onstage during a 2008 Seattle concert. Don Wilhelm left in 2009, replaced by bassist Freddie Dennis.
The Sonics entered the studio in 2010 with producer Jack Endino to cut their first new material since the 1960s; the resulting EP, 8, reunited Andy Parypa with brother Larry, Roslie, Lind, and Johnson for four original songs, supplemented by four live tracks. In 2014 the Sonics—now featuring drummer Dusty Watson, previously associated with Dick Dale, the Surfaris, Davie Allan, the Boss Martians, and the Supersuckers, alongside Gerry Roslie, Rob Lind, Larry Parypa, and Freddie Dennis—began recording a full-length album with producer-engineer Jim Diamond (the Dirtbombs, the White Stripes, the Fleshtones, the Pack A.D.). The LP, This Is the Sonics, appeared on the band’s own Revox label in March 2015, followed by an American tour.
Guitarist Larry Parypa formed the Sonics in 1960 after his uncle taught him the instrument and his music-loving parents offered encouragement. The group started as an instrumental unit that included older brother Andy Parypa on guitar and, briefly, another sibling, Jerry, on sax, with their mother sometimes handling bass at rehearsals. Their early repertoire focused on tough R&B numbers and guitar-driven instrumentals modeled after Link Wray and Duane Eddy. The Sonics soon became regulars on the Tacoma teen club circuit, a thriving network that also featured the Wailers (not Bob Marley’s band) and Paul Revere & the Raiders. Early personnel changes were frequent, but stability arrived in late 1963 when three members of the Searchers (not the British pop group) joined: drummer Bob Bennett, sax player Rob Lind, and keyboardist Gerry Roslie, all departing a band led by future Moby Grape guitarist Jerry Miller. Larry stayed on lead guitar while Andy moved to bass. Although already capable, the revised lineup became explosive; Bennett struck the drums with force, Larry’s guitar playing grew sharper and more aggressive, and once Roslie was urged to sing, his leather-lunged Little Richard-style delivery emerged, quickly making the Sonics the most discussed band in the Northwest.
In 1964, Buck Ormsby, bassist with Northwest heroes the Wailers, was impressed by the new configuration and took on management duties while signing the Sonics to Etiquette Records, a local label he co-operated. For their debut single the group reworked one of their rare originals, shifting its theme from a proposed dance fad to a warning about a deceitful woman; the resulting “The Witch” carried a dark, ominous tone that, combined with Parypa’s guitar, Bennett’s drumming, and Roslie’s vocals, sounded louder and more unhinged than prior Northwest recordings. Paired with a frantic cover of Little Richard’s “Keep A’Knockin’,” the single proved too extreme for many local stations yet gained traction in smaller markets, becoming a major regional hit; to avoid ongoing publishing costs for the B-side, the band cut another original, “Psycho,” turning the release into a double-sided success. Ormsby hurried the Sonics into the studio in 1965 to complete a full album, and Here Are the Sonics!!! emerged as a garage-rock landmark—a loud, unrelenting burst of raw power that captured the group at its most wired peak, aided by recording engineer Kearney Barton’s elemental production.
“The Witch” and “Psycho” elevated the Sonics to top draws across the Northwest, filling prestigious venues such as the Seattle Coliseum and sharing bills with the Beach Boys and the Shangri-Las. In 1966 they recorded a second Etiquette album with Barton, Boom, which included further local hits like “Cinderella,” “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” and “Shot Down.” It became clear, however, that the band had reached the limit of regional possibilities while receiving only sporadic national airplay. They signed with Jerden Records, another Northwest imprint distributed through ABC-Paramount, offering improved prospects for broader success. Jerden head Jerry Dennon nevertheless sent the Sonics to Los Angeles for their third album, 1967’s Introducing the Sonics; although producer-engineer Larry Levine brought an impressive résumé that included many of Phil Spector’s classic singles, he could not replicate the hard-edged sound Barton had achieved earlier, leaving the record sounding thinner despite the group’s strong performances. Later that year the Sonics cut a cover of Frank Zappa’s “Any Way the Wind Blows” for Piccadilly Records, a Jerden subsidiary, which Uni Records promptly reissued without chart impact. Bennett and Roslie soon departed, and although Lind and the Parypa brothers continued briefly, the Sonics eventually disbanded.
Their Northwest reputation prompted a one-off 1972 reunion concert in Seattle, with several tracks later appearing on the Etiquette EP Live Fanz Only. In 1980 Roslie joined forces with a garage band called the Invaders; they recorded an album of mostly vintage Sonics material and mid-’60s covers titled Sinderella, issued under the Sonics name, though it lacked the original lineup’s raw power beyond Roslie’s vocals. By then the Sonics had become revered among vintage garage-rock enthusiasts, and later in the decade numerous grunge-era acts including Nirvana and Mudhoney cited them as an influence, as did nuevo-garage outfits such as the Hives and the White Stripes.
In 2007 the Sonics agreed to a reunion performance in New York City for the annual Cavestomp garage-rock festival; Andy Parypa and Bob Bennett declined to travel, but Gerry Roslie, Larry Parypa, and Rob Lind participated, joined by Ricky Lynn Johnson, formerly of the Wailers, on drums and Don Wilhelm of the Daily Flash on bass. The show proved successful, leading to regular club and festival dates in Europe and the United Kingdom plus occasional U.S. appearances, with Bennett guesting onstage during a 2008 Seattle concert. Don Wilhelm left in 2009, replaced by bassist Freddie Dennis.
The Sonics entered the studio in 2010 with producer Jack Endino to cut their first new material since the 1960s; the resulting EP, 8, reunited Andy Parypa with brother Larry, Roslie, Lind, and Johnson for four original songs, supplemented by four live tracks. In 2014 the Sonics—now featuring drummer Dusty Watson, previously associated with Dick Dale, the Surfaris, Davie Allan, the Boss Martians, and the Supersuckers, alongside Gerry Roslie, Rob Lind, Larry Parypa, and Freddie Dennis—began recording a full-length album with producer-engineer Jim Diamond (the Dirtbombs, the White Stripes, the Fleshtones, the Pack A.D.). The LP, This Is the Sonics, appeared on the band’s own Revox label in March 2015, followed by an American tour.
Albums
House Party
2017
Busy Body
2017
The Sonics Meet Charlie & The Tunas
2010
Fire and Ice II - The 'Lost' Tapes
2008
Maintaining My Cool
1991
Unreleased
1980
Evil Eye
1957
Singles
