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The members of Seattle band Sicko had been discussing reissuing their four classic albums for years. “The motivation is mostly to have the records back in print and available,” bassist/guitarist/vocalist Denny Bartlett says. Expense and work had delayed their plans, but there is now a chance for fans to collect the oeuvre of the legendary punk pop band in lush but punk vinyl, CD, and digital formats, to be released on September 30, 2024.

Denny met Ean Hernandez in Pullman at college, where they played together in the Pullman Allstars. Ean and Denny moved to Seattle to start a new band during the apex of the grunge era, and met drummer Josh Rubin (brother of bassist Aaron Rubin from The Mr. T. Experience). They stuck out like a sore Doc Marten-stomped on thumb, playing frantic, melodic, and fast punk like their heroes Husker Du and The Fastbacks in a time when much of the “Seattle sound” was defined by how downtempo and mercurial a group could play. Even though Denny and Josh were metal-heads (which made them good at their instruments) Sicko were musically more aligned with the East Bay of San Francisco in terms of style.

The band has an inside joke about the “Sicko Curse”: “We’re a band that has a very devoted but small following,” Ean explains. “There are many Sicko tattoos, but we didn’t sell a lot of records. Based on people’s reactions, you might get the idea that we are popular, but we’re only popular with a very few people!” The band is sidestepping the pitching of their reissue campaign to a label because they don’t want to waste some label's time and money (again), so they’re doing it themselves, following the punk ethic of making exactly what they want to make and getting it out there themselves.

The three all had different but many of the same influences, with Ean inspired by Stiff Little Fingers, Husker Du, and Soul Asylum, as well as the new bands in the wake of Green Day; Denny too loved Lookout! Records bands, MTX and Cringer; with their aesthetic featuring “a bit of Bad Religion as well” (Ean). Even though they enjoyed Nirvana, Mudhoney, The Melvins, and the other great and popular bands moving to majors at that time, one thing they all definitely had in common was a mutual shared adoration for Seattle’s own The Fastbacks.

Thus, it seemed fated, due to region and shared creative inspiration, that they would end up being produced by Kurt Bloch of The Fastbacks. They had gotten attention from Blake Wright of eMpTy Records, with Denny’s artist sister Jill bringing over a bottle of R&R with their demo to his office and making him listen to it. “She can be quite persuasive,” Ean says.

Once signed, Kurt brought them into Conrad Uno's Egg Studios and recorded their first single and album. (The later albums were recorded at House of Leisure and Hanszek Audio.) This is when they started playing favorite venues like The Offramp, OK Hotel, Re-bar, RKCNDY, and the Weathered Wall; as well as for scenemaker Kate Becker at the Redmond Y and the Velvet Elvis.

Denny says, “Playing with my girlfriend-at-the-time’s band Chinchilla when they were touring with Jawbreaker was a good time. There was also a show at Moe’s with Model Rockets and The Presidents of the United States of America around New Year’s was a pretty good show. Of course it was always a highlight playing with J Church and our Japanese tours with Husking Bee and Sprocket Wheel were some of the best times.”

Sicko were on eMpTy for all four of their full-lengths; Blake folded the label about 20 years, and gave the masters back to the bands, which was one headache the group avoided when finally putting the reissues in motion. The four albums are:

• ‘You Can Feel The Love In This Room’ (1994), with the reissue also featuring “Pain in The Ass” from ’13 Soda Punk’ comp, and the “Kathy’s Dance” single (their first 7”).
• ‘Laugh While You Can Monkey Boy’ with “80 Dollars,” a song they contributed to a split with The Mr. T. Experience.
• ‘Chef Boy RU Dum’ which also adds “Escape Velocity,” from Lookout!’s More Bounce to the Ounce comp.
• ‘You Are Not The Boss Of Me’ adds the Misfits cover “Astro Zombies” which had previously been on the Crackle records import CD; and a cover of Husking Bee’s “8.6” from the Pizza of Death import CD as well.

In terms of formats, the LPs have two options: colored splatter vinyl, or one color vinyl, for all four records; the first 100 LPs will be signed by the band; CDs with jewel cases and an eight page booklet with flyers, lyrics, and posters in each release; digital downloads (“cheaper than Bandcamp!” Ean adds); test pressings, with a special insert and signed by the band, and liner notes from all three of the members as well.

A huge part of the band’s pride was how they worked hard to win over audiences with their frenzied intensity and commitment. The band survived their “stealth touring” - “you drive into a town where no one is expecting you, no one knows you, no one knows about your show, no one comes, and then you sneak back out of town!” They learned to “suck it up” as they gave every show all they had, as fans can attest, slowly building a following, inspiring rabid dancing audiences wanting to meet them.

“It took years and years to build up steam,” Ean says. “When we did our last tour in the original period of the band (’92-’98), it was in Japan and we were playing to several thousand people on some nights, getting paid well, selling out merch, etc. There we signed autographs and posed for pictures for hours after the shows.”

Sicko also toured Spain — they had a Spanish booking company and the US record label sent them the wrong dates. By the time everyone realized this, it was too late to book a European tour, and the booker could only set up shows in Spain, but the airline tickets had already been bought! So, Sicko's tour in Spain stretched from 3 dates to 10 and included several spots that probably weren't on the regular touring circuit.

The reunion shows in 2019 also went great; “we would fly into a city hang around for a day, borrow amps and drums, play a show to a packed room of middle-aged dudes getting emotional about their salad days … and we heard stories about what Sicko meant to folks or how they found out about us from their skateboarding buddies in high school, just hanging out and soaking up the love in the room “Then we would fly home and be back to work on Monday,” Ean says. “Really easy and fun and all around a great experience. I hope we can do more of this in the coming years!”

On September 30th, a secret email will go out to the folks who have signed up for the mailing list at www.sicko.com. That site is the best place to nab these records, and they will have first crack at the goodies. The following week, they’ll let all the world know!