Sonic Spank consist of founding members and life-long friends Ian McGuire (Keys/Vocals) and Ben Karp (Guitar) who started the project in 2009. Drummer Scotty Zwang officially joined Sonic Spank in 2010, as the band won a contest to play live at a prominent electronic festival in Baltimore entitled Starscape 2010. Word-of-mouth buzz spread throughout the jam-head community and a new full-time project was born. Recently, I had the pleasure of covering Lotus‘ New Years Day extension show at The Electric Factory where Sonic Spank opened. I was hooked immediately. Where many other electronic progressive rock groups tend to lean toward more ambient grooves, Sonic Spank constantly shakes things up with it’s blend of house, hip hop, drum & bass, jazz, funk and dubstep beats. Ian and Ben collaborate on two laptops while simultaneously laying down improvisational keyboard and guitar riffs, as Scotty Zwang holds everything together with seamless percussion, for what is now known as “Sextronica.”
Sonic Spank is easily one of the best new electronic progressive rock acts coming out of Philadelphia. Having already been billed with national and international acts such as the Disco Biscuits, Pretty Lights, Lotus, Crystal Method, The New Deal, Infected Mushroom, Big Gigantic, The Egg, Conspirator, and scores of others, clearly I am not the only one on this wavelength.
If you haven’t seen Sonic Spank live, don’t worry your pretty hippy head. You can catch them around Philadelphia if you stay in touch with their Facebook page. If you are lacking in the social media department, then they are also booked to play at both Camp Bisco 10 and Jam at The Grove 5.
More info at SonicSpank.com
Words and photos by Tim Bonner.
Sonic Spank – Photo Gallery – The Blockley in Philadelphia, PA – 4-23-2011
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[youtube width=”560″ height=”349″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8sbVCe2Olc[/youtube]
