The Sonics

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The Sonics formed in 1960 in Tacoma, after which they released two good albums, then one bad one, before disbanding in 1967. Inspired by Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, they went on to influence Kurt Cobain, Bruce Springsteen and Robert Plant. The blown-out, overdriven sound of their albums is due to the fact that they didn't know what they were doing, recorded the albums in about two days and used bad equipment to do so. In spite of that, The Sonics broke the mold in the '60s music world. They sounded punk before the genre existed, and their music has endured ever since. Gerry Roslie, the band's singer, attributes their longstanding success to their individuality; they sounded exactly the way they wanted to, not like other bands around them at the time. The Sonics will never quite be associated with their contemporaries, the Beach Boys and the Kingsmen. They'll never be played on KBSG 97.3. They will, however, continue to be relevant. Opening for the Sonics is fellow Tacoma band Girl Trouble, who will have more stage space than ever for the band's signature group of go-go girls.
Fri., Oct. 31, 8 p.m., 2008