— by Tori Goodrich
It is most likely that if you hear someone call something “punk rock,” you have some idea of what they’re referring to, and that can mean different things to a lot of people. Some may picture dyed mohawks and body piercings, some think of rebellious teenagers rocking out in a garage. Considering the monumental impact that the punk scene has made on global cultures, you may have a lot of different perspectives on what it truly means to be punk rock. The term “punk” has historically referred to a counterculture in the U.S and the U.K. that influenced music, fashion and even political ideologies starting in the 1970s. The world has seen several movements of punk and has woven itself into an audible evolution of rock music.
While headlines tend to locate centers of punk rock on the East coast like New York and Detroit, a handful of heavily influential groups for the alternative rock/punk scene during this time originated on the West Coast. Specifically, this sound had been incubated from up north in Tacoma, Washington. It goes without saying that The Sonics hold a throne in Tacoma-based groups cultivating rock sounds we hear in more modern genres. Punk and “garage rock” as a genre has stayed relatively consistent in terms of sound and expression, which makes sense; ever since the birth of a genre, we hear music directly inspired from that time period. That is why we hear this 80s-90s techno/synthe in main-stream pop artists like The Weekend, etc. Music genres are simply revisiting and rediscovering these sounds over time, and often contributing contemporary revelations to it.
For example, we can hear the true transitions of early 60’s rock and roll, and the new age of rock that will come to follow in The Sonic’s song The Witch:
As shown, The Sonics have some leftover rhythm of classic 60s rock and roll, but it still sounds ahead of its time, showcasing those rough, echoey vocals that are very prominent in more modern punk and grunge. This more recent live performance of The Witch especially stresses the song’s original intentions when it was first released: this band’s sound was going to change history. We can hear its remnant rhythmic baseline in Tacoma’s garage bands well into the late 1900s. A striking comparison in sound would remain in the 80s and reach across the U.S, in bands like The Gories, a Detroit-Based rock group. Their cover of There but For the Grace of God Go I not only has similar sound to old school rock, but emanates the raunchy energy in a live performance like The Sonics:
Tacoma-based rock groups like Seaweed were also a local vessel that carried this “edgy” sound through the 90s and we can hear almost uncanny echoes of this deep, heavy overdrive in the background carrying the tempo of their songs, like in their song Losing Skin. We can hear almost uncanny echoes of the raspy guitar in slightly more modern songs like this, which is what makes the song from the Sonics sound so representative of punk and rock songs, especially local ones:
As punk rock travelled all the way to the 2000s, it reached another peak in popularity. Punk rock started to leak into mainstream pop culture, we have seen a surge of pop-punk groups like Blink-182 and Green Day around the turn of the century. This is where we see the implementation of contemporary takes to classic punk from the previous decades. This may have been influential in the grasp that it still has today in popular music, as well as the local music scene.
We even see relatively modern-day musicians utilizing this sound in the Tacoma area. For example, a group called Ghost Runner on Third, while not very big, represents a strand of the evolution of punk rock. While this group arguably fits into the Emo genre of high energy rock music, there are still undertones of its punk origins. As Emo music did not emerge until decades after the punk movement was initiated, it is reasonable to assume that punk music branched off into emo music, especially after it trickled more into popular culture. High, raunchy vocals, fit tempo and guitar heavy runs in Ghost Runner on Third are all present in our last few examples. Their song, Sex with Mike is a representation of that merging sound from the perspective of local Tacoma music:
Through the ages of musical evolution, it is clear to see that Tacoma has been keeping up with the ever-changing sounds of rock music. However, if you look closely, you can hear the subtle similarities in which we utilize the foundation of our Northwest sounds. While Tacoma is not historically the epicenter of these rock ages, it has been heavily influential in incubating the ruggedness provided by this diverse port city. Tacoma has been riding the wave of punk rock since its start, and Tacoma residents should be proud of its contributions to music!
About the Author
Tori Goodrich prepared this article as her final project for TARTS 225: Musical History of Tacoma, taught by Kim Davenport at the University of Washington, Tacoma. At the time she took the class in Spring Quarter 2024, she was a senior majoring in Environmental Science.
Tacoma Music History 
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