1)
Sonic Youth began in 1981 in downtown New York City with
Thurston Moore on guitar and vocals;
Kim Gordon on bass, guitar and vocals;
Lee Ranaldo on guitar and vocals; and Ann Demarinis on keyboards (she played for a very
short bit). The first drummer was
Richard Edson. This is the band that made the eponymously titled mini-LP released in 1982 by Neutral Records, a label founded by NYC guitarist/composer Glenn
Branca.
Lee and
Thurston were witness to the original 1976-77 NYC
CBGB/Max's scene of Television,
Patti Smith, Suicide, the Ramones, etc. Kim was in Los Angeles at the time studying as a visual artist. She came to NYC, met up with Thurston, and they started playing together during the era (1978-