Count Five was an American

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band, formed in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

in 1964, known for their

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

" Psychotic Reaction".

Background

The band was founded in 1964 by

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

ist John "Mouse" Michalski (born 1948,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

) and

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

Roy Chaney (born 1948, Indianapolis,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

). The two were high school friends who had previously played in several short-lived bands, most notably a surf rock group named The Citations. As the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

's influence took effect, the band changed in musical direction. After going by the name The Squires for a short time, along with several line-up changes, the Count Five was born. John "Sean" Byrne (1947–2008, born

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) played

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

and performed

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

; Kenn Ellner played

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called " zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thou ...

and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

, while sharing lead vocals; and Craig "Butch" Atkinson (1947–1998, born San Jose,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

) played

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

. The Count Five were recognizable for their habit of wearing

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some ...

-style capes when playing live. "Psychotic Reaction", an acknowledged cornerstone of garage rock, was initially devised by Byrne, with the group refining it and turning it into the highlight of their live sets. The song was influenced by the style of contemporary musicians such as

The Standells The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and Ramones. They are best known ...

and

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samw ...

. The band was rejected by several

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

s before they got signed to the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

-based Double Shot Records. "Psychotic Reaction" was released as a single, peaking at number five in the U.S. charts in late 1966. The band enjoyed limited success for a short time, dropping out of view altogether when their only hit had fallen from public memory. Another setback to a potential career in the music business was the decision of four of the five members (who at that time were between the ages of 17 and 22) to pursue college degrees. Several months before the retirement of the band, David Eugene McDowell, the youngest player at 17, hooked up with the group as a guitar player for their last several months as a band. He went on to join up with Billy Nix and the Ideals as their bass player. By 1969, the Count Five had broken up, but their memory was immortalized in a 1971 essay by rock journalist

Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for ''Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music ...

, entitled "

Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung ''Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic: Rock 'n' Roll as Literature and Literature as Rock 'n' Roll'' is a collection of essays written by famous rock music critic Lester Bangs. Named for a 1971 article of the ...

." In the essay, Bangs credited the band for having released several later albums (after '' Psychotic Reaction''): ''Carburetor Dung'', ''Cartesian Jetstream'', ''Ancient Lace and Wrought-Iron Railings'', and ''Snowflakes Falling On the International Dateline'' — each displaying an increasing sense of artistry and refinement. However, none of these subsequent albums actually existed except in Bangs' own imagination. The Count Five reunited only once, when they performed a concert on April 11, 1987, at a club in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

called "One Step Beyond". This performance has been released as ''Psychotic Reunion LIVE!''. The song "Psychotic Reaction" can be heard playing on the jukebox in an early scene in

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Doc ...

' film '' Alice in the Cities'' (1974) and in the party scene in '' The Sense of an Ending'' (2017). It can also be heard on the season one finale of the HBO drama series '' Vinyl''. Craig Atkinson died on Tuesday, October 13, 1998. John Byrne died on Monday, December 15, 2008, at 61 from

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

of the

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

. Roy Chaney formed a new band in the 1990s called The Count, with Byrne and drummer Rocco Astrella (March 20, 1951 – March 1, 2014), who played in the last version of the original group. The Count released their debut CD, ''Can't Sleep'', in 2002. In 2006, Count Five was among the first bands inaugurated into the San Jose Rock Hall of Fame.

Members

* John "Sean" Byrne – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (died 2008) * Kenn Ellner – backing and lead vocals, tambourine, harmonica * John "Mouse" Michalski – lead guitar * Roy Chaney – bass guitar * Craig "Butch" Atkinson – drums (died 1998) * David "Dave" Eugene McDowell lead guitar; last and youngest member (born 1952)

Discography

Studio album

* '' Psychotic Reaction'' (1966) US # 122

Compilations

* ''Dynamite Incidents'' (1983) * ''Psychotic Reaction'' (1987) * ''Rarities: The Double Shot Years'' (2014)

Live album

* ''Psychotic Reunion LIVE!'' (1987)Internet Archive
Audio Archive: Psychotic Reunion LIVE! (1987)

Singles

* " Psychotic Reaction" / "They're Gonna Get You" (1966) US # 5 * "Peace of Mind" / "The Morning After" (1966) US # 125 * "You Must Believe Me" / "Teeny Bopper, Teeny Bopper" (1967) * "Merry-Go-Round" / "Contrast" (1967) * "Revelation in Slow Motion" / "Declaration of Independence" (1968) * "Mailman" / "Pretty Big Mouth" (1969)

References

External links

Official Website

* {{Authority control Acid rock music groups Apex Records artists Garage rock groups from California Musical groups established in 1964 Musical groups from San Jose, California Psychedelic rock music groups from California