Sonic Youth Biography

Sonic Youth is another group that fits in easily with the punk, alternative, and rock genres and despite their fledgling beginnings have exploded in the mainstream alternative genre since their start in 1981. With inspirations including The Stooges, Velvet Underground, and Patti Smith, Sonic Youth is best known for their unorthodox use of guitars and timbre easily making them a leader in the alternative music industry.

The Sonic Youth story, starts with dismal beginnings in New York in 1981 with their then line-up including Lee Ranaldo on guitars, Kim Gordon on bass and vocals, and Thurston Moore on guitars. Here was the height of the punk movement in New York, and the group began work with Glenn Branca, a composer whose guitar revelations were later recognized as the basis for the early sound of Sonic Youth. Thurston Moore and his girlfriend, Kim Gordon, administrated the first “Noise Festival” a ten day event that sponsored their first live appearance. Here they featured Anne DeMarinis on keyboard, and Richard Edson on drums. While DeMarinis left after this first event, Edson stayed on with the other three members to release the first EP with Neutral Records, then Branca’s label.

Moore developed the name Sonic Youth using inspiration from Fred “Sonic” Smith of MC5 and reggae phenoms Big Youth. It has been said that with the launch of their official name, the launch of the official Sonic Youth sound was born. In 1983 Edson left to pursue acting, and drummer Bob Bert took his place though Jim Sclavunos quickly replaced him for the launch of their debut Confusion is Sex which was further supported by a tour in Europe. Unfortunately Sclavunos’s debut was short lived, and Bert returned to the Sonic Youth sound.

The punk rock scene was taking America by a storm, and as such, so was Sonic Youth and they were quickly being associated with the heavy punk sounds of Big Black, Pussy Galore, and Butthole Surfers. Later this year, Kill Yr Idols their first EP was released off a German label Zensor.

1984 was a year of constant flux for Sonic Youth and was marked by the battle of the labels. Moore initially tried to sign the band to the British Doublevision label, but were rejected. An owner of Doublevision created the label Blast First so that Sonic Youth could record. This was followed by a distribution contract with Rough Trade and Sonic Youth began to see some dollar signs coming in. It was then that their live record Sonic Death: Sonic Youth Live was released through Ecstatic Peace. Bad Moon Rising quickly followed and marked their first record with Blast First, being released in 1985. This album soon became a signature Sonic Youth sound piece with its unique guitar transitions, pulsing rhythms and feedback. The Death Valley ’69, an inspiration from the Manson murders, was their next release and featured Lydia Lunch. Bert left the band at this time with Steve Shelley from Crucifucks took his spot as a permanent band fixture.

With the success of Bad Moon Rising on their heels, Sonic Youth opted to sign with a label they had long admired, SST Records and consequently released EVOL in 1986. This gave them permanent position on radio play lists and the release of Sister in 1987 gave them some notoriety in Rolling Stone magazine. Their acclaim led them to reach top twenty status on the Village Voice Pazz and Jop critic line.

Administrative troubles forced them out of the SST label and they were happily received by Enigma Records to produce Daydream Nation in 1988. This earned them a national profile until distribution issues became a concern and Sonic Youth searched for another label eventually signing to DGC in 1990. At this point, Sonic Youth had proved to be a prevalent influence in alternative and rock, and were making waves in what was then being known as the grunge era. In 1990 they released Goo and saw the hit “Kool Thing” launch them into unprecendented success, and they then toured with a band only known as Nirvana.

Dirty came out in 1992 and at this point they received an invitation from Neil Young for support during his Ragged Glory tour. Nirvana was quickly signed by DGC and with the grunge era in mass production all across America, Sonic Youth ensured more success with their hits “Youth Against Fascism”, “Sugar Kane”, and “100%”. Dirty went gold very quickly and Sonic Youth was being acclaimed as the leaders of the alternative grunge world that was now the most popularly played music in America.

1994 saw the launch of their Experimental Jet Set, Trash, and No Star album which hit the UK at 10 on the charts and 34 in the United States, locking it in as their highest charted record. This album also marked a switch in sound from punk to one of more melody and low key singles such as “Bull in the Heather”. In 1995 they headlined at Lollapalooza and released Washing Machine following Lollapalooza. The group then began a series of side projects on their own, to resurface in 1998 with their full-length record A Thousand Leaves.

In the later years of 1990’s and early 2000 years, they developed their own record label SYR and this launched a series of records that were almost entirely instrumental and marked some language transitions as well as keeping them very busy in record production. These records included the French SYR1 (1997), the Dutch SYR2 (1997), and Esperanto SYR3 (1997), the Japanese SYR5 (1997), and the Lithuanian SYR6 (1997).

1999 they made a tribute to the end of the millennium with SYR 4 Goodbye 20th Century featuring William Winant, Jim O’Rourke, Takehisa, Christian Wolff, Coco Hayley Gordon Moore, Christian Marclay, and Wharton Tiers. In 2000, they released NYC: Ghosts and Flowers as a tribute to the 9/11 attacks. Their further work marked changes in group dynamics when in 2002 they featured Jim O’Rourke as producer for Murray Street. 2004 saw the release of their Sonic Nurse album, and 2005 O’Rourke left the band to pursue film. 2005 came the release of SYR6 and featured Tim Barnes on percussion.

In 2006 came the release of their Rather Ripped album, one that melded together the feel of their previous albums with a sleeker sound. This album includes shorter more conventional melodies, with fewer improvisations. They also played Lollapalooza this year and were recognized by the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry with Daydream Nation. At the end of 2006, The Destroyed Room: B-sides and Rarities was released, featuring cutting room floor versions of songs only available previously on vinyl and other material never released.

Today, the band consists of Thurston Moore for vocals and guitars; Lee Ranaldo on organ, vocals, and guitars, Kim Gordon on guitar, bass, and vocals, and Steve Shelley on drums.