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Band'ography
Personnel:
GERRY ROSLIE, organ, piano, lead vcls
ANDY PARYPA, bsgtr
LARRY PARYPA, lead gtr, vcls
ROB LIND, sax, vcls, hrmnca
BOB BENNETT, drms
The Story:
The story about the Sonics started in 1960 in Tacoma, Washington when Larry Parypa began to play the guitar together with the drummer, Mitch Graber, a guitar player named Stuart Turner, Andy's brother Jerry on sax and a stand up bass player.
Then in early 1961 Larry's big brother Andy replaced the bass player and a guy named Tony Mabin took over as their new sax player. The band was purely an instrumental combo at that time much inspired by bands like the local Wailers and Roamers.
Stuart Turner then got a military transfer and the band got Rich Koch as a new lead guitar player and Marilyn Lodge as a vocalist. Rich Koch was a big scoop for the band since he had played together with the Wailers. A guy named Bill Dean then replaced Mitch Graber on drums.
When Rich Koch and Marilyn Lodge left the band in 1963 Larry started playing all the guitar himself. The local star Ray Michelson then joined the band as their featured vocalist. Ray Michelson had played with many bands in the area, such as the Falcons, the Vikings, the Roamers and the Imperials and was a very popular singer.
Bill Dean was more into his car than the band and therefor Larry began looking around for another drummer. They found Bob Bennett who played in a band called the Searchers together with Gerry Roslie and Rob Lind. Since Ray Michelson decided to leave the band to settle down and get married the guys also got Gerry Roslie and Rob Lind (who replaced Tony Mabin as the sax player) into the Sonics. That was in the end of 1963 and was the beginning of' the faboulous line-up that the world know as the Sonics.
The band still worked as a instrumental combo with Gerry Roslie playing his electric piano -but suddenly in early 1964 Gerry began to sing.
With Roslie as lead singer the band started out playing at the Red Carpet, Olympia's Skateland, Evergreen Ballroom, Pearl's, Spanish Castle Ballroom and St Mary's Parish Hall etc.
It was the Wailers bassist, Buck Ormsby that discovered the band as he was out talent-scouting for their own label Etiquette Records. "They were practicing in Bob Benett's basement", he recalls. "I was looking for something that was different, something that would rock my socks off and give me a reason to live! I went down and saw them, and I found it. I liked the guitar because it sounded dirty, and I liked Jerry because he was such a screamer".
The Sonics first recording was the classic "The Witch" in 1964 backed up by the b-side "Keep A Knockin'", an insane rendition of the Little Richard song.
"The Witch" became a hit in November after the Sonics had performed at Tacoma's Curtis High School. Andy: "We had just played their homecoming dance and Pat O'Day (the regions biggest DJ) came in the next week to do one of his sockhops andg ive a few records away. A bunch of kids kept requesting, The Witch so I guess he finally played it and the place went nuts.The next day Pat started playing (the record on the air). The single then became the all-time best-selling local rock single in Northwest history".
In fact this radio station (KJR) wouldn't air the tune prior to 3pm. Andy: "O'Day later told me that eventually the song had reached No 1 in sales, but the station policy said it was too far out to chart at No 1. The station only played it after kids got out of schools".
After the hit with "The Witch" the sonics went into the studio, called Audio Recording Studio owned by Kearney Barton to cut their follow-up single "Psycho". And quickly this song also became a big hit loacally.
After that the guys decided that it was time to cut a whole album and the band when into Keaney's studio to record the classic lp "Here Are the Sonics". The album was recorded on a two-track tape recorder with only one microphone to back up the whole drum kit. To get the distortioned and agressive sound the bandmembers had to overload the amps and redline the studio deck's VU meter.
Their next Etiquette-album "Boom" was recorded the next year, in February 1966 at the Wiley/Griffith Studio which was a well known studio for country musicians! During the recording the band began to tear down half the egg cartons that lined the ceilings and studio walls "to get a liver sound". The album consisted of the great originals "Donīt Be Afraid Of The Dark", "Shot Down", "Cinderella" & "He's Waitin' " and great cover songs such as Louie Louie, Hitch Hike and Jenny Jenny.
In 1966 the Sonics were the opening act for the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Jay & the Americans, Ray Stevens, Herman's Hermits, the Righteous Brothers, the Kinks, Lovin' Spoonful, Liverpool 5, Shangri-Las, Mamas & Papas and the Byrds.
The same year the band switched over to Jerden Records owned by Jerry Dennon. The label also had the famous act the Kingsmen that made Louie Louie a big hit in 1963. They went to Hollywood and had Larry Levine at the Gold Star Studio to produce the album "Introducing the Sonics". This resulted in a much more polished sounding lp 'cause the band didn't have the same freedom and possibilities to overload the amps etc. The bandmembers themselves describe the record as "the worst garbage"!
The last 45 recorded by the original line-up was Any Way The Wind Blows. After this members departed to go to college or join other bands - with Rob Lind being the last original member to leave in 1968.
Jim Brady came in on lead vocals in 1967 and by 1968 was leading the band. From Love-itis onwards they perfected a new sound adding strings and horns but it didn't go down with their fans and they slowly faded out of the limelight.
The original Sonics reformed shortly in 1972 at the Seattle Paramount live show and this excellent live performance has been released on Etiquette Records as "Live Fanz Only".
Rob Lind now lives in LA where he is involved in the film industry.
Gerry Roslie still records and writes songs today.
Andy Parypa is now teaching.
Last updated: 17/8-99
Claus Rosenblad Olsen - k967cr@db.dk
