I caught up with Sonics guitarist Larry Parypa yesterday to find out how the Cavestomp gigs in New York went last weekend. He and singer Jerry Roslie had said those would be the gauge for whether they played any more gigs -- say, in Tacoma. Hmmmm?

Click here to hear his account. Sounds promising.

I also asked Larry to clarify the Sonics' somewhat convoluted history. Many bios, including this one on AllMusic.com, list the "original" lineup as follows:

Gerry Roslie (lead singer, piano, organ) (note: He actually spells it "Jerry.")
Andy Parypa (guitar)
Larry Parypa (bass)
Bob Bennett (drums)
Rob Lind (saxophone)

But it's a little more complicated than that. After my A1 reunion story ran last Friday, I started getting calls from the friends and family of drummer Mitch Jaber saying he should have gotten at least a mention. The guy's sister referenced the album cover for the CD "The Savage Young Sonics," which features Jaber and was shot in their Lakewood home. And she alluded to other band members that had come and gone before the lineup that we all know and love solidified circa 1963. So I went straight to the source to sort things out.

"If you wanna go back far enough, my mother was our first guitar player," Parypa said with a chuckle. He was being serious, though. He said his mom actually played some guitar for the band early on.

The Sonics seeds were planted in Parypa's early teens, he said, with an earlier version of the band playing instrumental songs at local dances. Eventually, the Sonics veered towards and R&B-influenced garage sound. And along with Jaber, other members that he said came and went included Bill Dean, Tony Mabin, Rich Koch, Stuart Turner, Ray Michaelson and a bass player whose name he couldn't recall.

But Parypa felt it was the same band in name only. Once Roslie came along "we changed everything," he said. "Our style and aggression and everything."

So just thought I'd clear that up for the record before I shared a few clips that I found from Cavestomp. Cheers.