Sonic Boom Six

by Chris True
A Manchester band coupling dub, hip-hop, and the spirit of '77 -- punk rock, to be more specific -- Sonic Boom Six formed from the demise of previous band Grimace. Members Laila Khan (vocals and melodica), Dave "Hellfire" Kelly (guitars), Paul "Barney Boom" Barnes (bass), Neil McMinn (drums), and Ben Childs (saxes) came together in or around April of 2002. They recorded and self-released a demo of tracks in autumn of that year, and earned their stripes touring with King Prawn and The Toasters. The group went on to sign a deal with Moon Ska, which released their first ?official' EP, the Turbo EP, in late 2003. After more touring and an appearance on BBC Radio One, Sonic Boom Six released the full length EP compilation Sounds to Consume in 2004. The band hit a bit of snag in 2005, when they split ties with guitarist Kelly, but an easy transition was in the offing, as sax player Ben Childs stepped over to fill in the vacancy. With sax parts now being handled by any number of variables (other players, other bands, or samples), the Sonic Boom Six train kept-a-rollin', and in 2005 the group scored a slot at that years' Glastonbury Festival. 2006 saw the band release their first album of original material, The Ruff Guide to Genre-Terrorism, on new label Deck Cheese Records, in addition to the band landing high profile gigs at the Reading and Leeds festivals that summer. In 2007, after spending a good deal of time on the road, and appearing a few more times radio-side, Sonic Boom Six released album number two, Arcade Perfect, on (Sonic Boom Six's own) Rebel Alliance Records. In addition to the band's duties in and of itself, members Laila, Ben, and Barney are part of Suicide Bid, "a dub-punk collective," and the full band also performs acoustic reggae shows -- mainly fundraisers and workshops and the occasional house party -- under the aegis Babyboom. In 2008, the full compliment of Sonic Boom Six could be found on the Rude Awakening tour.