Sniper was an early American

glam punk Glam punk is a term used retrospectively to describe a short-lived trend for bands which produced a form of proto-punk that incorporated elements of glam rock, initially in the early to mid-1970s. History Glam punk has been seen as a backlash to ...

band that formed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1972. They were one of several bands that played at the

Mercer Arts Center The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was founde ...

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...

and the Coventry alongside the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

and

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, and were most famous for its former members, which included frontman

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician, best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the R ...

(Jeff Hyman), prior to his forming the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

, and guitarist

Frank Infante Frank Infante (born November 15, 1951) is an American guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of the new wave band Blondie. Early career and Blondie Infante began his music career playing guitar in hard rock and electric blues ...

, later of Blondie.

History

Sniper formed in 1972, with the original lineup consisting of Joey Ramone, guitarists Bob Butani and Danny Wray, bassist Peter (Morgan) Morales, and drummer Patrick Franklyn. Ramone played with Sniper under the name "Jeff Starship". He later recalled, "I used to wear this custom-made black jumpsuit, these like pink, knee-high platform boots- all kinds of rhinestones- lots of dangling belts and gloves". Ramone's brother,

Mickey Leigh Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

, later said, "I was shocked when the band came out. Joey was the lead singer and I couldn't believe how good he was. Because he'd been sitting in my house with my acoustic guitar, writing these songs like "I Don't Care", fucking up my guitar, and suddenly he's this guy on stage who you can't take your eyes off of". Ramone continued playing with them until early 1974, when he was replaced by Alan Turner, formerly of 1960s Bronx rock band the Age of Reason. Sniper played regularly at Max's, Club 82 and

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

as the punk scene developed. In 1975, they recorded their only demo, ''Hots'', at

Record Plant Studios The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

. In 1975, Butani left Sniper to join

Tuff Darts Tuff Darts was an American punk rock band. They were one of the first bands to establish an audience at CBGB. They reached their greatest fame in the mid-late 1970s with such songs as "Slash", "(Your Love Is Like) Nuclear Waste" and their bigge ...

and was replaced by Infante. Later that year, Sniper changed their name to Kid Blast and added Vinny (Bank) Sanchez on keyboards. In 1977, Turner was replaced by Michael Harrington, and Infante left to join Blondie. They continued playing until 1978, when they changed the name of the band to Grand Slam. Grand Slam continued to play dates in New York City and the East Coast, eventually recording "Stitch in Time" at the Record Plant for the ''Max's Kansas City Volume 2'' compilation album. They finally disbanded in 1979. Wray became a studio session guitarist, later joining the DCvers, Sanchez stayed in New York and joined Mrozinski Music, while Morales and Franklyn formed the band Hunter in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with vocalist Bob Chabala. Turner reformed the Age of Reason in 2015, while Wray continues to perform with Wrayband. In 2022 discovered footage of Sniper with frontman Jeff Hyman appeared on YouTube.

References

{{Reflist Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups disestablished in 1978 Punk rock groups from New York (state) Musical groups from Queens, New York