Count Five
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Count Five were a garage rock band from San Jose, California.
They started off in 1964, founded by John "Mouse" Michalski and Kenn Ellner, two high school friends who had previously played in several short-lived outfits. After going shortly under the name of The Squires and several line-up changes later, the Count Five were born, with Roy Chaney taking over vocal duties, Irish-born John "Sean" Byrne on rhythm guitar and Craig "Butch" Atkinson on drums.
Almost from the start, they had a trademark song with "Psychotic Reaction" which was to become their one and only top-10 hit. The song was initially devised by Byrne, with the group refining it over the next time and turning it into the highlight of their live sets. Regarded from today's point of view, "Psychotic Reaction" is now a bonafide garage-rock classic, unashamedly borrowing on the style of contemporary bands and artists like The Standells and The Yardbirds.
Looking for a contract, the band found themselves rejected by several record companies before they finally got signed to the Los Angeles-based Double Shot Records. "Psychotic Reaction" was released as a single and found immediate popularity with the proto-punk movement that started in these days, peaking at #5 in the U.S. charts late 1966. The Count Five also gained distinction for their habit of wearing Dracula-style capes when playing live. However, subsequent issues sold disappointingly. The band got along for about another year but dropped out of view altogether when their one and only hit had fallen from public memory. Another setback to a potential career in music business was the decision of the five members (the age of whom, at the time of their '15 minutes of fame', still ranged between 17 and 19 years) to pursue college degrees.
By 1969, the Count Five were history. Their memory, however, was immortalized in a 1972 essay by rock writer Lester Bangs called Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung. In the essay Bangs credited the band for having released several albums - Carburetor Dung, Cartesian Jetstream, Ancient Lace and Wrought-Iron Railings, and Snowflakes Falling On the International Dateline - which displayed an ever-increasing sense of artistry and refinement. However, none of these albums have ever actually existed, except in Bangs' own imagination.
The original band has reunited only once; in 1987. This performance has been released as Psychotic Reaction Live.
Craig Atkinson died in 1999. Roy Chaney formed a new band in the 1990s called The Count with Byrne and drummer Rocco Astrella, who played in the last version of the original group. The Count released their debut CD, Can't Sleep, in 2002.
