Johnny Socko was an American

third wave ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

band formed in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

, United States, in 1990. It was founded by Joseph Welch, Mike Wiltrout, and Steve Mascari. Welch recruited Dylan Wissing at a musical instrument store in Bloomington where they both worked. Wissing recruited Eric Evans (trumpet), who in turn recruited Dave Sterner (Alto sax), and Al Batton (trombone). Soon after, Josh Silbert (sax) and Charlie Krone (trombone) replaced Sterner and Batton respectively. Originally signed to BiB Records and later

Asian Man Records Asian Man Records is a DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established in May 1996. History Asian Man ...

, they later started their own record label, Triple R Records. Their first album, ''Bovaquarium'', was described by music critic Marc D. Allan of the Indianapolis Star as "intricately written and brilliantly arranged and performed." Johnny Socko performed everywhere from the legendary Whiskey-a-go-go in Hollywood, California to the infamous CBGBs, Lion's Den, and Limelight in Manhattan. They were known as a band that toured heavily, having performed over 2,000 shows since their inception, but stopped touring in 2003. One of their songs, "Full Trucker Effect", is used in its entirety as part of the introduction to the '' Bubba The Love Sponge'' show on

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...

. The band takes its name from ''

Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot , also known as ''Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot'' in the United States, is a manga and tokusatsu series created by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. It is similar to Yokoyama's ''Tetsujin 28-go'' (known as ''Gigantor'' in the U.S.), but ''Giant Robo'' has ...

'', a 1960s

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese action

television show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

. Michael "Trout" Wiltrout, the group's original vocalist, has since formed The Leisure Kings with Sean Baker. He also provides lead vocals for the bands Mr. Sparkle and The Impalas. Joey Welch, the group's original guitarist, has since formed the Born Again Floozies (Formerly including Charlie Krone as well) and continues to work with the Las Vegas Body Snatchers. Chris Smail, Charlie Krone, Josh Silbert, and Matt Wilson now play as a punk/powerpop band called Coolidge. Saxophonist Josh Silbert also plays in the Impalas with Wiltrout and Wilson, and fronts the electronic/experimental band ESW. Eric Evans was the original trumpet player and toured and recorded with the band for the first four years. Before that, he toured internationally with Ringling Brother's Barnum Bailey Circus and on cruise ships. Evans plays with a number of projects including funk/soul band The Hollywood Getdown and fronts his funk/jazz group, The Raoul Duke Jazz All-Stars. The original line-up of the band reunited for one night to open the 2009

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Music Fest on October 16, 2009. The performance received the top honor in ''

The Indianapolis Star } ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, whe ...

s Metromix readers' poll. The original lineup reunited again October 18 and 19, 2013 in Bloomington, Indiana at The Bluebird https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/johnny-socko-883864ee-b215-4100-b8e3-0ed190c08d25

Influence

Johnny Socko was influenced by the American rock band

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

whose musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1979, the band plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative ...

, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Bovaquarium'' (1994, B.I.B.) *''Oh I Do Hope It's Roast Beef'' (1996, B.I.B.) *''Full Trucker Effect'' (1997,

) *''Quatro'' (1999, Scarab) *''Johnny Socko'' (2002, Triple R)

Live albums

*''Double Live'' (2001, Scarab)

Members

*Joe Welch (guitars, vocals) *Michael Wiltrout (vocals) *Steve Mascari (bass guitar) * Dylan Wissing (drums) *Eric Evans (trumpet) *Joshua Silbert (saxophone, vocals) *Charlie Krone (trombone) *Demian Hostetter (trumpet, vocals) *Matt Wilson (bass guitar, vocals) *Chris Smail (guitar, vocals) *Rob Henson (bass guitar) *Eric Lenington (trombone & bass guitar) *Al Batton (trombone) *Dave Sterner (alto sax) *Nils Fredland (trombone) *Jeremy Radway (bass guitar) *Philip Williams (bass guitar)

Related projects

*Born Again Floozies *Coolidge *ESW *Hush *Las Vegas Body Snatchers *The Leisure Kings

References

External links

Johnny Socko's Myspace pageJohnny Socko
on VH1.com {{Authority control American ska musical groups Asian Man Records artists