The Sonics/New Salem Witch Hunters/Archie and the Bunkers
When: Fri., June 12, 8:30 p.m. 2015
This year, some 50 years since the release of their debut, the Sonics, a proto punk garage/punk band, issued This Is the Sonics, their first proper studio album in decades. Recorded in mono by Jim Diamond (White Stripes), the album still retains that raw power for which the band is known. “[Diamond] seemed to have a good idea of what he wanted,” says Parypa. “Everyone has their own opinion. There are things I would have done differently and maybe they would have been a failure, I don’t know. But in terms of mixing, he was good at capturing the raw sound. We didn’t go in fully rehearsed. We didn’t know what songs we were going to record. Some we decided to do right there and did our version of a cover song. A couple of others we wrote. It was a process. It was real basic and real unprocessed.” Parypa says the band is now in a good place and the acknowledgement from contemporary acts has been flattering. The guys in the Swedish garage rock act the Hives have befriended the band, and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder has been a vocal fan. (Niesel)