A documentary about the pioneering garage rock band the Sonics is finally set for wide release next month, over five years after Boom burst onto the film festival circuit.
Later name-checked by artists like Kurt Cobain and LCD Soundsystem (who immortalized the Sonics on “Losing My Edge”), the core members of Tacoma, Washington quintet formed in the early Sixties and released a pair of now-classic LPs before first splitting by 1968.
However, those two albums — 1965’s Here Are the Sonics and 1966’s Boom — would serve as one of the foundations for the proto-punk movement spearheaded by bands like the Stooges and MC5. Further down the line, the Sonics influenced grunge acts from their native Pacific Northwest, including Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, all of whom were interviewed for Boom.
After debuting at film festivals back in 2018, Boom: A Film About the Sonics finally secured nationwide distribution last year, with the Forge bringing the documentary to dozens of theaters starting September 13. Ahead of the doc’s full release, Rolling Stone exclusively shares the new official trailer for the film:
Boom also boasts interviews with Heart’s Nancy Wilson, Sub Pop producer Jack Endino, as well as all five core members of the Sonics: Singer Jerry Roslie, saxophonist Rob Lind, brothers Larry and Andy Parypa (guitar and bass, respectively) and drummer Bobby Bennett.
“The Sonics represent more than just a band to me,” Boom’s writer/director Jordan Albertsen said in a statement. “They were my first obsession, rocking harder and faster than anything I’d heard. And they were from the Sixties! The music was dangerous. Sexy. It was fucking hard. This was punk rock before punk rock.”
Boom will first screen at a premiere event in the band’s native Seattle on September 7, at the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), with the present-day lineup of the Sonics, which still features Lind, also set to perform. Check out the Boom site for more screening information.
