Johnny Socko

Johnny Socko was an American third wave ska band formed in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, in 1990. It was founded by Joseph Welch, Mike Wiltrout, and Steve Mascari. Welch recruited Dylan Wissing at a musical instrument store in Bloomington where they both worked. Wissing recruited Eric Evans (trumpet), who in turn recruited Dave Sterner, and Al Batton (trombone). Soon after, Josh Silbert (sax) and Charlie Krone (trombone) replaced Sterner and Batton respectively. Originally signed to BiB Records and later Asian Man Records, they later started their own record label, Triple R Records. Their first album, Bovaquarium, was described by music critic Marc D. Allan of the Indianapolis Star as "intricately written and brilliantly arranged and performed." Johnny Socko performed everywhere from the legendary Whiskey-a-go-go in Hollywood, California to the infamous CBGBs, Lion's Den, and Limelight in Manhattan. They were known as a band that toured heavily, having performed over 2,000 shows since their inception, but stopped touring in 2003. One of their songs, "Full Trucker Effect", is used in its entirety as part of the introduction to the Bubba The Love Sponge show on Sirius Satellite Radio. The band takes its name from Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot, a 1960s Japanese action television show.