The Zakary Thaks were an American

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band from

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

, United States, which formed in the mid-1960s.

History

The band developed out of The Riptides, a teen surf group which included Chris Gerniottis (vocals), Pete Stinson (lead guitar), Wayne Harrison (bass), Shelby Jordan (rhythm guitar), and Rex Gregory (drums). The group then became The Marauders, adding lead guitarist John Lopez and David Fore on drums with Gerniottis at vocals, Gregory at bass, and Stinson on rhythm guitar. In 1966, they replaced Fore with drummer, Stan Moore, and became The Zakary Thaks – the name being a mutated version of one seen in a magazine. Harrison and Fore went on to play with the Liberty Bell and the Bubble Puppy respectively. Influenced by blues guitarists as well as British and American groups of the period, the band soon gained local popularity. Their first record, for the local J-Beck label, combined an original composition, " Bad Girl", with a Kinks song, "I Need You". Released in mid-1966, it became a regional hit and was picked up nationally by Mercury Records. Its success won the band a spot supporting their heroes The Yardbirds. A second single, "Face To Face" was less successful, but the band continued to tour, supporting acts including

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

and the

13th Floor Elevators The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, a ...

. Later singles showed the band taking a more pop-focused approach. By 1968, Gerniottis had left the band for a while to join another group, the Liberty Bell, but returned later. However, the band did not repeat its early success, splitting up in the early 1970s. In 1979, "Bad Girl" was included on the

Volume 2 Volume Two, Volume 2, Volume II or Vol. II may refer to: * '' Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life'', a 1998 album by rapper Jay-Z * ''Volume 2'' (Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass album), 1963 * '' Vol. 2 (Breaking Through)'', by The West Coast Pop Art Experimenta ...

of the Pebbles anthology of mid-1960s garage bands, and has maintained its renown among collectors of the genre. The song was also included on disc four of the 1998 four-disc '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'' box set. A compilation of the band's singles was issued in May 2001. In 2015, a compilation called '' It's the End: The Definitive Collection'' was released and contained all of the group's master recordings from all six singles for the first time. Drummer Stan Moore died in 2000. In 2004 and 2005, remaining members of the band reformed to perform at festivals. Bassist Rex Gregory died on January 18, 2008. Lead guitarist John Lopez died on February 23, 2022.

Singles discography

References

{{Authority control Protopunk groups Garage rock groups from Texas Psychedelic rock music groups from Texas Musical groups established in 1966 1966 establishments in Texas