The Original Sins

The Original Sins were a garage rock band that formed in 1987 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The group were known for combining the musical stylings of punk rock, psychedelic rock, and even pop music with their songs. The band released a total of nine full-length studio albums across their entire career before they band broke up in early 1998.

History

The band emerged in 1987 from the edgy punk scene of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The city was going through a major decline at the time due to the closing of the industrial powerhouse Bethlehem Steel. After numerous unsuccessful attempts at joining bands, guitarist John Terlesky decided to form his own band with Ken Bussiere, a bassist he met through Neil Hever, a WMUH college radio disc jockey who was friends with Terlesky. Later on, the duo would meet keyboardist Dan McKinney and drummer Dave Ferrara, and the quintet would name themselves The Original Sins.

Later that same year, the band released their debut studio album Big Soul, which received moderate success within the American underground music scene. Their independent success with Big Soul continued with The Hardest Way (1989) and Self Destruct (1990), the latter included a photo of Terlesky holding a fake gun next to his head as the cover. Their 1992 album, Move was expected to be a major success for the band, as Peter Buck from R.E.M. helped with the record, but unfortunately for the band, it was not.