Sniper was an early, American glam punk band that formed in New York in 1972. They were one of several bands that played at the Mercer Arts Center, Max's Kansas City and The Coventry, alongside the New York Dolls and Suicide.[1][2]
Sniper is most famous for its former members. Joey Ramone was their first singer, prior to forming the Ramones.[3] Ramone (Jeff Hyman) played with Sniper under the name Jeff Starship. Joey Ramone: "I used to wear this custom-made black jumpsuit, these like pink, knee-high platform boots- all kinds of rhinestones- lots of dangling belts and gloves". [4]. Mickey Leigh: I was shocked when the band came out. Joey was the lead singer and I couldn't believe how good he was. Because he'd been sitting in my house with my acoustic guitar, writing these songs like "I Don't Care", fucking up my guitar, and suddenly he's this guy on stage who you can't take your eyes off of.[5] He continued playing with them until early 1974, when he was replaced by Alan Turner. In 1975 they recorded their only demo, "Hots", at Record Plant Studios. Other notable members of Sniper include Frank Infante, who later joined Blondie, and Bob Butani, who played with Tuff Darts.
Sniper played regularly at Max's Kansas City, Club 82, CBGB and Mother's, as the punk scene developed. In 1975 Bob Butani left Sniper to join Tuff Darts and was replaced by Frank Infante. Later that year Sniper changed their name to Kid Blast. In 1977 Alan Turner was replaced by Michael Harrington, and Frank Infante left to join Blondie. They continued playing until 1978, when they changed the name of the band to Grand Slam. The band consisted of Harrington (vocals), Vinnie Sanchez (keyboards), and original members Danny Wray (guitars), Peter Morales (bass), and Patrick Franklyn (drums).
Grand Slam continued to play dates on the east coast and NYC, eventually recording "Stitch In Time" at the Record Plant (NYC) for the Max's Kansas City Vol.2 album. They finally disbanded in 1979. Vinnie Sanchez went on to play in various NYC clubs bands, while Peter Morales and Patrick Franklyn started the band Hunter with Bob Chabala /vocals on Click records, in London.
The band was parodied by comedian Chris Hardwick for his Christmas song "All I Want for Xmas (Is To Rock)", which was originally written for a Rock of Ages-themed Broadway compilation album.