Bob Hocko

Bob Hocko is most likely best-known seeing that the lead vocalist from the Swamp Rats, the Pittsburgh-area music group that recorded some ferocious garage area rock on little brands in 1966 and 1967. While we were holding all cover variations, the group do put an especially manic and idiosyncratic spin on a few of them, specifically the hardest and fuzziest types, like “Hey Joe,” “Louie Louie,” and “Psycho.” Hocko in fact didn’t sing in the initial Swamp Rats one (“Louie Louie”/”Hey Joe”), but he is at the lineup for the rest they recorded, generally taking business lead vocals. Commensurate with the tenor of all from the group’s materials, his scream-singing was generally quite unhinged, though to great effect, especially on “Psycho,” which is truly a worthy revisiting from the already-crazed Sonics traditional. He also composed some original materials for the music group, like “Hey Freak” as well as the moody folk-rocker “I AM GOING Home,” although group didn’t launch those songs at that time. They could be noticed, however, within the Swamp Rats Compact disc compilation Disco Still Sucks! (billed to Bob Hocko & the Swamp Rats), which combines materials from their uncommon singles with many outtakes. Ahead of his stint in the Swamp Rats, Hocko have been in the great Deejays, a deserving though a lot more English Invasion pop-inclined Pittsburgh-area music group that do some local singles of their personal in the middle-’60s. Though Hocko have been a drummer/vocalist in the great Deejays, using the Swamp Rats he’d just sing on stage, although he do some drumming on the studio recordings. Following the Swamp Rats disbanded in 1967, Hocko was area of the hard rock-band Galactus, which released an recording in 1976. He passed away of lung malignancy on Oct 16, 2003.