Before their was Punk, before Grunge, before PNW even got an NBA team, hell even before their was a Band named Death, their was the Sonics
They were probably the first punk band that didnt play like punk but more like proto-ska, in fact, they were likely proto-many things throughout their long, sometimes suspended, legendary career that began before even Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain, Jerry Cantrell, Chris Cornell were born or even in diapers yet. Jimi Hendrix was still a relatively unknown guitarist known as Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in the Cafe Wha? bar. But they were the secretly "evil" band mid-20th century parents warned us about and not to listen to under any circumstances and yet, Sonics were more brazen, rawer, nastier, had a weird strange sound, lyrical obsession with the occult, witches, Satan, sipping Strychnine, Arsenic just like a bunch of deluded, crazed frat boys on a death trip to maybe avoid serving in Vietnam. Of course, they were a true underground band, so if you loved him, you damn well better travel to see them, and gradually many in geographically-isolated PNW.
They were one of the first rock bands to really discuss taboo, unhinged topics, ideas about that new, strange girl in town that seems kind of witchy, or that some evil, demonic entity knows what you did in life that was terrible, unforgivable, and that He's was Waiting for you once you died and God cast you down amongst the Sodomites to burn forever in eternal damnation.
They were loud, abrasive, crude musical sons of beaches but they helped create a certain niche, a peculiar stew of musical and lyrical influences, themes and ideas that helped pioneer new rock sub-genres decades ahead of their initial existence. And they made many non-PNW residents take head and notice about how creatively unique, and independently natured Seattle, Portland, Vancouver and PNW as a region and as a culture and society. Their very independently-minded types and because for the longest of times, they were culturally, socially, musically and even sports-wise, isolated, they made up their own rules, norms and customs that was singular and exceptional from East and West Coast musical, entertainment scenes.
So, before their was a band called Death in Detroit, in the PNW, a strange rock band blew minds away before an NBA expansion team managed to capture the same effect later on..for the next 41 years...