On Tuesday 28th July, The Sonics come to the Institute in Birmingham, with support from Electric River.
As presented by MAMA & Eastside Events, doors open at 7pm – with tickets priced at £20 (advance). For direct info from the venue, click here
Midway through their five date UK summer tour, the Sonics come to Birmingham before playing for one more date in Bristol and one final UK date in London. Moving over to mainland Europe, the seminal Garage Rockers from Washington then play a further two dates in August – before picking up their EU stint again on October 14th in Barcelona.
Full details of the Sonics’ gig schedule can be found on the home page of the band’s website www.thesonicsboom.com
Birmingham has been flush with Punk/Rock pioneers in recent months, with Birmingham Review last covering the Dead Kennedys and Richie Ramone. Now the Sonics come to town – completing a well rounded, if not rough edged, schooling in all that SCREAMS AT YOU TO LET GO. Modern metal heads and indie kids, take note.
Beginning in 1960, after brothers Larry and Andy Parypas bought a couple of guitars from the Sears catalogue and their musically inclined mum pushed them along the rock road, the Sonics would come into their own after joining Etiquette Records in 1963.
On first hearing the Sonics rock out in a garage, hence the term, the Wailers’ owned label would encourage the Sonics to progress their original material – alongside the Little Richard and other contemporary covers the band started out performing.
The culmination came in the Sonics’ debut LP Here Are the Sonics!!! (1965), which included Garage Rock covers of ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’ alongside Sonics originals such as ‘Psycho’, ‘Strychnine’, and the band’s debut single, ‘The Witch’.
After first scaring then owning the American radio station playlists, the Sonics soon became the North West’s most prominent Rock band – following their initial album success with Boom (1966) again on Etiquette Records.
A subsequent move to Jerden Records, chasing ABC/Paramount distribution, would be the beginning of the (original) end for the Sonics – with the raw sound they began with becoming modified during the production of their third album, Introducing the Sonics (1967), as produced by Larry Levine.
By 1968 the Sonics had split, with individual members reportedly parting on good terms to follow solo projects and endevours outside the music industry. Requests for reunions came to fruition from 2007 onwards, including a performance at the 2009 SXSW festival, with today’s lineup featuring original members Gerry Roslie (lead vocals, keys), Larry Parypas (guitar) and Rob Lind (tenor sax) alongside Ricky Lynn Johnson (percussion) and Don Wilhelm (bass guitar, vocals).
But to get a taste, and I must clarify WE DON’T MEAN LITERALLY (our lawyers have advised…) listen to the Sonics‘ track ‘Strychnine’ – as featured on their debut album. Click here or on the link below
‘Strychnine’ (1965) – The Sonics
The Sonics come to the Institute in Birmingham on Tuesday 28th July, with support from Electric River – as presented by MAMA & Eastside Events.
For more gig info, direct from the venue, visit http://theinstitutebirmingham.com/listings/upcoming-events/20381/the-sonics-special-guests/
For more on the Sonics, visit http://thesonicsboom.com/
For further listing from the Institute, visit http://theinstitutebirmingham.com/listings/
