THE COUNT FIVE The Count Five are often unfairly saddled with the moniker "One Hit Wonders," but what a hit. Their story is really the story of one song, which proved to be their brief ticket to stardom and their undoing. The song in question, "Psychotic Reaction," is probably the definitive song of the garage era, and one of the finest blasts of punk ever committed to vinyl. The story begins with San Jose high school students John "Mouse" Michalski (guitar) and Ron Chaney (bass), whose surf and Beatles obsession took an unusual turn when vocalist Kenn Ellner, and more importantly guitarist Sean Byrne, joined their outfit, The Squires. It was Byrne who introduced his tune "Psychotic Reaction" to the group's repertoire, which quickly became the focus of their live set. This new number called for a new direction. When drummer Butch Atkinson joined, they changed their name to the Count Five and changed their image to spooky, Dracula cape-wearing ghouls. With the help of a local DJ, the group were spotted by L.A. label Double-Shot who, not surprisingly insisted on "that song" being their first release. The song flew up the charts eventually reaching number five nationally in 1966. The band quickly recorded an album, containing some rather weak filler material combined with stronger Byrne material including "The World" and "Pretty Big Mouth" (both 1966). But a slew of singles and the decision of the band to stay in school rather than face the draft led to the demise of the band. Their legend was created in the seventies, with Lenny Kaye's first "Nuggets" compilation, where they were considered the epitome of the garage scene, and Lester Bang's famed Creem article "Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung" which chronicled his obsession with the band, and is perhaps the finest piece of rock journalism ever created. SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY Psychotic Reaction (7" Double Shot 1966) Psychotic Reaction (LP Double Shot 1966) Peace Of Mind (7" Double Shot 1966) Merry Go Round (7" Double Shot 1967) You Must Believe Me (7" Double Shot 1967) Declaration Of Independence (7" Double Shot 1968) Mailman (7" Double Shot 1969) Links: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Brauk6j7h71t0~C CD's AVAILABLE AT: CDNOW | AMAZON.COM | TOWER RECORDS