If you want to know who to thank-or blame-for the punk rock explosion of the mid-seventies, start with Count Five. Even though Depend Five’s “Psychotic Reaction” has been derided as a ripoff of the Yardbirds, Rolling Stones and other teams, it has been lauded as a basic case in point of psychedelic rock and a forerunner of punk and garage rock. What is simple is the fresh, fascinating audio of the San Jose, California band’s 1966 debut strike.

Count Five (leave off the “the”) were 5 teenagers, some nevertheless in high faculty, who shaped in 1964. The band was turned down by seven report companies ahead of newly-fashioned label Double Shot signed them. Lead singer John “Sean” Byrne performed rhythm guitar and wrote “Psychotic Reaction,” however the relaxation of the band shared the composing credit: lead guitarist John “Mouse” Michalski, harmonica player Kenn Ellner, Roy Chaney on bass and Craig “Butch” Atkinson on drums. “Psychotic Response” was carried out without having lyrics for six months till Ellner’s father Sol, the band’s manager, recommended that Byrne set terms to the songs.

The song’s title was hatched for the duration of a lecture on psychosis and neurosis at San Jose Metropolis College when a pal of Byrne’s whispered, “Do you know what would be a wonderful title for a music? Psychotic Response!”

“I would had this song working through my head,” recalled Byrne. 1p-lsd canada “The lyrics, the melody, every little thing–but that was the lacking punch line!”

The growling fuzz-tone by guitarist Michalski has been criticized as a steal of the legendary audio of the Rolling Stones’ “Fulfillment,” but more memorable is the guitar split that follows. When Byrne sings (or screams), “And it feels like this!” halfway via the track, Michalski normally takes the cue to show on guitar what a psychotic episode would audio like.

What follows is a cacophony of guitar effects that stretched the capabilities of the amplifiers of the day even though defining psychedelic rock. Followers of the Yardbirds may identify similarities to the rave-up from the British group’s 1965 “I’m A Gentleman,” but Byrne extended preserved the Yardbirds had been not an affect.

“Psychotic Reaction” reached #5 on the Billboard charts in 1966. The band toured with the Seashore Boys, the Byrds and the Dave Clark Five, but was by no means capable to repeat its chart accomplishment Count Five was honored by the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame as a One particular Hit Ponder. The band’s job was quick-circuited when some of its associates turned down a million dollars well worth of bookings in buy to return to school to further their education and, recalled Michalski, continue to be out of the draft.