Zakary Thaks

The Zakary Thaks were an American garage rock band from Corpus Christi, Texas, United States, which formed in the mid-1960s.[1]

Zakary Thaks
Zakary Thaks 1966
Background information
Origin	Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Genres	Garage rock, psychedelic rock
Years active	1966-1970, 2005
Labels	J-Beck, Mercury, ABC-Dunhill, Cee-Bee, Thak Records
Associated acts	Marauders, Riptides
Past members	Chris Gerniottis Pete Stinson Rex Gregory John Lopez Stan Moore

The band developed out of the Marauders, a teen group which included Chris Gerniottis (vocals), Pete Stinson (guitar), and Rex Gregory (bass), and who then became the Riptides, adding lead guitarist John Lopez. By 1966, they had acquired a new drummer, Stan Moore, and had become the Zakary Thaks – the name being a mutated version of one seen in a magazine.[2][3]

Influenced by blues guitarists as well as British and American groups of the period, the band soon gained local popularity. Their first record, for the local J-Beck label, combined an original composition, "Bad Girl", with a Kinks song, "I Need You". Released in mid-1966, it became a regional hit and was picked up nationally by Mercury Records. Its success won the band a spot supporting their heroes The Yardbirds.[4]

A second single, "Face To Face" was less successful, but the band continued to tour, supporting acts including Jefferson Airplane and the 13th Floor Elevators. Later singles showed the band taking a more pop-focused approach.[1] By 1968, Gerniottis had left the band for a while to join another group, the Liberty Bell,[1] but returned later. However, the band did not repeat its early success, splitting up in the early 1970s.

In 1979, "Bad Girl" was included on the Volume 2 of the Pebbles anthology of mid-1960s garage bands,[1] and has maintained its renown among collectors of the genre. The song was also included on disc four of the 1998 four-disc Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 box set. A compilation of the band's singles was issued in May 2001. In 2015, a compilation called It's the End: The Definitive Collection was released and contained all of the group's master recordings from all six singles for the first time.

Drummer Stan Moore died in 2000.[5] In 2004 and 2005, remaining members of the band reformed to perform at festivals. Bassist Rex Gregory died on January 18, 2008.[6]