Download Self-Titled, Oh, I DO Hope it's Roast Beef!, and Bovaquarium releases!
Through a die-hard work ethic and nonstop touring, Johnny Socko has sold over twenty-six thousand recordings internationally, with nationwide radio play for all five of their releases. The band has performed over two thousand shows coast to coast, sharing the stage with such acts as Kid Rock, The Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Fishbone, and Maceo Parker, building a large and rabid fan base along the way. Socko's latest self-titled release debuted at 18 Top Add on the college radio charts, peaking at 102 in seven weeks on the charts, and charted in the Top 25 on Album Network and Top 20 on R&R. The disc was awarded "Album of the Year" by the Indianapolis Star. Tracks from the group's 2000 effort Quatro appear on MTV's "Undressed", in Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights, and in the film Goat on Fire and Smiling Fish, which premiered at Sundance 2000. The album was also cited in New York's Village Voice 2000 Critics Poll.
Johnny Socko fittingly debuted on a Halloween night in Bloomington, Indiana. Taking its name from the classic Japanese TV show "Giant Robot" (which made Godzilla look like Shakespeare), Socko established a reputation early on for intense, hard rocking performances. Founding members and childhood friends Joshua Silbert (saxophone, vocals) and Dylan Wissing (drums) discovered the world of rock and roll in junior high performing covers at school dances. Quickly expanding beyond the Midwest, Silbert and Wissing sought like-minded musicians to nurture their musical vision of intelligent, irreverent songwriting, built on a solid foundation of skilled musicianship. Demian Hostetter (trumpet, vocals) was recruited from an area funk band on the basis of his musical skills and an impressive hairdo. Long time fan and solo artist Christopher Smail (guitar, vocals) joined after answering an open audition. Seasoned recording artist Matthew Wilson (bass, vocals) completed the Johnny Socko lineup.
Six albums and over two thousand shows later, Johnny Socko continues the rock and roll rampage begun in a basement on a stormy Halloween night. Rob Harvilla of the Cleveland Scene sums it up: "If you spend an enchanted evening with these guys, you'll walk away confident they genuinely enjoy what they're doing and whom they're doing it with. Not until you experience it in person do you realize how rare Johnny Socko really is."
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