For me, it was finding my mother's 45 rpm of the Standells' "Dirty Water"...then I heard Paul Revere & the Raiders on oldies radio with "Kicks" and ? and the Mysterians' "96 Tears"...the Outsiders' "Time Won't Let Me" came afterwards...sure they're well known, but it started the catalyst...can't forget the Dave Clark Five's "I Like It Like That"...which led to the Fleshtones....

A hundred is crazy , especially , back then . I eventually found a good copy of The Elektra version for $8 OR $10 , I THINK. I even had the 8 Track at one point , and I should have left it teh hell alone (Or , had I known ,several years later , I'd be meeting some of these people , plus Lenny Kaye , I would've asked them all to sign it.) But , no , It tried playing it (In the 80's a lot of stereo amps still had 8 - Track players , at least if they were slightly used.), and it broke , instantly. Still , I was glad to plunk down my change to get the Rhino Nuggets box set (Both of 'em) ....I was able to find 'em both at a little under half - price. The first one , I have every song on it , save for maybe two , but the SOUND is so much better (Especially compared to their own early Rhino CDs.).

That makes a lot more sense now, that Bobby Balderrama comment.  Thanks.

Yeah, I got the Sire edition for 20 bucks but that was better than the Hundred I saw for the Elektra and a hundred bucks was harder to come by in 1986 than 20 was in 1996.  So it was a deal.
 
John Battles said:

Rockin' Rod , Bobby told me he was inspired by Joe Kelley , as they did a lot of dates together on that tour I mentioned , and , he said he loved listening to him play , live. The only then - big name Guitarist he ever mentioned looking up to at teh time was Jeff Beck. Bobby  told me , though , that the label brought in studio musicians for parts of "Action" , though , he was improving . No doubt , the whole band was . But , Allen Klein wanted it done his way. Even their post - CP singles show growth , but , they could'nt hit on a formula for another big - selling record.....Even though , now , they're credited for inadvertently creating the classic "Bubblegum" prototype with 'Do Something To Me". With Kasenetz/Katz's help , of course. Bobby , today , of course , is playing on top of his game.....He can throw in these fancy Blues - Rock leads and not detract from the song.   Joe Kelley , I've seen once , doing that predictable Hendrix/70's Albert King -style Heavy Blues - Rock. Not bad , for what it was. Better than most of his peers who are still playing in Chicagoland. I don't know how many people were aware of BFTG when the first records came out. I did'nt , personally , see the records (Grossly overpriced , but , I'm not pinning that on Tim) until about 1986. I know I was'nt seeing their hilarious ads ,with Mort Todd's artwork and Tim's hilarious "Everything sucks !'' rants , until around that time , either......I DID'NT START BUYING THEM TIL I MOVED TO CHICAGO , WHERE I COULD GET THEM FOR $8 , but.  I'd been aware of 'em for a while. The original "Nuggets " set WAS hard to score , affordably , and I , too , seldom saw the Sire re-issue. I found it with only one record , for about $3 , and bought it anyway , as I had a radio show , and wanted to play some of those songs. It IS hard to describe one's own music , if it's not just a cookie cutter , across the board , copy of an established genre. That's  why it's more fun to let people tell you what it reminds them of , and see how close  they are.  Like , when I first saw Sons of Hercules , I told them , I can hear The Seeds AND Johnny Thunders in your music. They said , you're right on the money.

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I'm surprised that Bobby Balderrama would mention Joe Kelley as an influence as both their singles and albums came out roughly at the same time and they really weren't travelling all that much until after the releases.  But then again, he probably meant that seeing him play encouraged him just to get better.  Bobby's playing grew by leaps and bounds by the time ACTION  had come out in 1967.   Anyway....I just thought the term "garage punk" was a bit more unique than just "punk rock" so was surprised to find it used on the NUGGETS album.  I didn't pick it up until 1996 (a friend had it but I never read the liner notes) as it was for years a very expensive album in its Elektra issue and Sire copies weren't that common in the 80s in Seattle.  Crypt's BACK FROM THE GRAVE came out in 1983 so it wasn't that far into the 80s when the phrase became popular again but I didn't pick up on it until 1987 when I bought my first BFTG and saw the catalog that included GARAGE PUNK UNKNOWNS and I didn't start using the term to describe my band until 1991.  It didn't even dawn on me to use the term when we started two years earlier because I didn't quite "get" it yet.  I'd say we were a sixties style band.  People would say "like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones?"  So then I'd say "we're a punk band" but then we'd disappoint because we didn't play any Sex Pistols or Clash or Ramones style stuff.  "60's style punk band" was confusing to people, but by 1991, Estrus Records and the Mummies were just taking off and then I thought, "wait, a lot of this stuff sounds like Crypt in a way", and then I finally got "Garage Punk" and what it really meant.  Been using it ever since.

Rockin' Rod , Bobby told me he was inspired by Joe Kelley , as they did a lot of dates together on that tour I mentioned , and , he said he loved listening to him play , live. The only then - big name Guitarist he ever mentioned looking up to at teh time was Jeff Beck. Bobby  told me , though , that the label brought in studio musicians for parts of "Action" , though , he was improving . No doubt , the whole band was . But , Allen Klein wanted it done his way. Even their post - CP singles show growth , but , they could'nt hit on a formula for another big - selling record.....Even though , now , they're credited for inadvertently creating the classic "Bubblegum" prototype with 'Do Something To Me". With Kasenetz/Katz's help , of course. Bobby , today , of course , is playing on top of his game.....He can throw in these fancy Blues - Rock leads and not detract from the song.   Joe Kelley , I've seen once , doing that predictable Hendrix/70's Albert King -style Heavy Blues - Rock. Not bad , for what it was. Better than most of his peers who are still playing in Chicagoland. I don't know how many people were aware of BFTG when the first records came out. I did'nt , personally , see the records (Grossly overpriced , but , I'm not pinning that on Tim) until about 1986. I know I was'nt seeing their hilarious ads ,with Mort Todd's artwork and Tim's hilarious "Everything sucks !'' rants , until around that time , either......I DID'NT START BUYING THEM TIL I MOVED TO CHICAGO , WHERE I COULD GET THEM FOR $8 , but.  I'd been aware of 'em for a while. The original "Nuggets " set WAS hard to score , affordably , and I , too , seldom saw the Sire re-issue. I found it with only one record , for about $3 , and bought it anyway , as I had a radio show , and wanted to play some of those songs. It IS hard to describe one's own music , if it's not just a cookie cutter , across the board , copy of an established genre. That's  why it's more fun to let people tell you what it reminds them of , and see how close  they are.  Like , when I first saw Sons of Hercules , I told them , I can hear The Seeds AND Johnny Thunders in your music. They said , you're right on the money.

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I'm surprised that Bobby Balderrama would mention Joe Kelley as an influence as both their singles and albums came out roughly at the same time and they really weren't travelling all that much until after the releases.  But then again, he probably meant that seeing him play encouraged him just to get better.  Bobby's playing grew by leaps and bounds by the time ACTION  had come out in 1967.   Anyway....I just thought the term "garage punk" was a bit more unique than just "punk rock" so was surprised to find it used on the NUGGETS album.  I didn't pick it up until 1996 (a friend had it but I never read the liner notes) as it was for years a very expensive album in its Elektra issue and Sire copies weren't that common in the 80s in Seattle.  Crypt's BACK FROM THE GRAVE came out in 1983 so it wasn't that far into the 80s when the phrase became popular again but I didn't pick up on it until 1987 when I bought my first BFTG and saw the catalog that included GARAGE PUNK UNKNOWNS and I didn't start using the term to describe my band until 1991.  It didn't even dawn on me to use the term when we started two years earlier because I didn't quite "get" it yet.  I'd say we were a sixties style band.  People would say "like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones?"  So then I'd say "we're a punk band" but then we'd disappoint because we didn't play any Sex Pistols or Clash or Ramones style stuff.  "60's style punk band" was confusing to people, but by 1991, Estrus Records and the Mummies were just taking off and then I thought, "wait, a lot of this stuff sounds like Crypt in a way", and then I finally got "Garage Punk" and what it really meant.  Been using it ever since.

I'm surprised that Bobby Balderrama would mention Joe Kelley as an influence as both their singles and albums came out roughly at the same time and they really weren't travelling all that much until after the releases.  But then again, he probably meant that seeing him play encouraged him just to get better.  Bobby's playing grew by leaps and bounds by the time ACTION  had come out in 1967.   Anyway....I just thought the term "garage punk" was a bit more unique than just "punk rock" so was surprised to find it used on the NUGGETS album.  I didn't pick it up until 1996 (a friend had it but I never read the liner notes) as it was for years a very expensive album in its Elektra issue and Sire copies weren't that common in the 80s in Seattle.  Crypt's BACK FROM THE GRAVE came out in 1983 so it wasn't that far into the 80s when the phrase became popular again but I didn't pick up on it until 1987 when I bought my first BFTG and saw the catalog that included GARAGE PUNK UNKNOWNS and I didn't start using the term to describe my band until 1991.  It didn't even dawn on me to use the term when we started two years earlier because I didn't quite "get" it yet.  I'd say we were a sixties style band.  People would say "like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones?"  So then I'd say "we're a punk band" but then we'd disappoint because we didn't play any Sex Pistols or Clash or Ramones style stuff.  "60's style punk band" was confusing to people, but by 1991, Estrus Records and the Mummies were just taking off and then I thought, "wait, a lot of this stuff sounds like Crypt in a way", and then I finally got "Garage Punk" and what it really meant.  Been using it ever since.

 A little bit different , but , they both used the same phrase , albeit differently , to describe the same kind of music.  Of course , those bands were not carbon copies of each other , though Bobby Balderrama , of the Mysterians , has frequently told me that Joe Kelley (Shadows of Knight ) and Rick Derringer (Then Zehringer) of The McCoys were two of his biggest influences as a Guitar player. Of course , The Seeds , Shadows of Knight , McCoys and ? and The Mysterians  toured the states together. Warren may have re - popularized the term , but I was hearing the phrases "Garage Punk" and "60's Punk" in the very early 80's , before Crypt came on , to describe the music still best known via Nuggets , Pebbles , and smaller pressing LPs that were starting to pop up. But , Warren deserves a lot of credit , of course. HE HATED PEBBLES AND SIMILAR COMPS ( I don't.), AND HE MADE IT HIS GOAL TO RELEASE THE BEST TRACKS FROM THOSE COMPS , AS WELL AS PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN TRACKS , WITH GOOD SOUND , BAND PHOTOS , AND QUOTES FROM BAND MEMBERS , WHENEVER POSSIBLE. He raised the bar , to be sure . I'm enjoying this article , but , it's a little late . I'll have to read it , later.  I did read , in magazines like Creem , the word "Punk" being used in conjunction with Aerosmith , if only because Steven Tyler's attitude registered as "Punk" with some. Aping David Johansen's act , then making off wth his old lady . Real Punk. Blue Oyster Cult were being referred to as "Punk", too. their connection to a still - obscure Patti Smith got played up a bit. Question Mark said people called his band "Punks" in the mid- 60's , and Bill Bulinski , of The ELECTRAS , told me that there were certain bands THAT PEOPLE CALLED "PUNK" at the same time , in Minnesota , so , who's to say where it really began , though Marsh and Kaye popularized the expression , even if it took a while to catch on , and Greg Shaw , whose magazine could'nt have been reaching many people at the time , took the ball and ran with it , according to this article. I believe that. But , he did'nt treat this music with nostalgia. It was'nt even that old. Similarly , there was a flourishing Rockabilly scene in LA at that time , and virtually no one cared , tho' even Rockabilly was'nt that old at the time.

Dave Marsh actually called ? and the Mysterians a Punk Rock band.  Lenny called the Shadows of Knight a "classic garage punk band".   A little bit different, I think.  And I don't think it got revived until Tim Warren used it in BFTG reissues.http://books.google.com/books?id=lqS2EuCqO5kC&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=Shadows+of+Knight+classic+garage+punk+band&source=bl&ots=K1iygG7zSY&sig=ytupsH4qFNftDdHOhTZGYlJTavw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5D3OUf6DB8mLiwLxi4HgCg&ved=0CFsQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Shadows%20of%20Knight%20classic%20garage%20punk%20band&f=false

 

LENNY'S USE OF THE TERM SOLIDIFIED IT , THOUGH DAVE MARSH WAS AHEAD OF HIM , JUST BY A BIT ("NUGGETS " CAME OUT IN '72.) . Maybe he did'nt think the term would really take off , or thought it obvious that The Standells and Seeds were in the same league as Shadows of Knight , though certainly different from The Blues Project , Sagitarrius and The Third Rail. There was an article about 60's Garage Bands ,the better known ones and the local bands that maybe put out one 45 , in the British "Story of Pop " Magazine. Kaye may have written it. I'm not sure. It may have been published in '73, if not late '72.The article was called "PUNK ROCK: The History of The Scuz Bands.".........I HAVE'NT SEEN IT SINCE THE LATE 70's.
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

The earliest usage of the term "Garage Punk" goes back to Nuggets when Lenny Kaye was talking about the Shadows of Knight in the liner notes.  Why he didn't use it to describe the Standells or the Seeds is beyond me except that maybe they were one of the few groups to make it that actually just graduated high school.  All the others were pretty professional and in the case of side 4 of that album, studio groups.

Tyler , It's all right. Sometimes what we want to say , up here (Points to his head) comes out differently , transcribed on paper , or here , online , than it would if you were just saying it aloud, in a conversation.....I've looked at things I've posted online , then thought , that's not what I said , or meant to say , at least..... That said , When Tim Warren got Crypt Records going , which was , what? about 1985 , maybe earlier , most of those bands he later championed , like Teengenerate and The Devil Dogs , either did'nt exist yet or were just getting their thing together....with the exception of The Lazy Cowgirls , WHO'D BEEN AROUND AWHILE.    I think most people just called 'em Punk , tho' they had a mid 60's Garage , and 50's R'N'R , influence , because they refused to cave to SO. CAL. Hardcore sensiblilities. As one friend told me , almost 20 years ago , "It's music by old men , for old men". If younger people want to embrace it , that's great. But , they can , or could , PLAY , so that's a handicap, these days . Devil Dogs could play , too. They were , as Warren put it so well , "Punk Rock as in Saints - DMZ , NOT Post - Punk.". But , not many bands on Crypt seemed to have that "Back From The Grave" /60's Punk thing going on , at least , not so much that I could ever notice. One of the first bands I ever saw that "Got it" , "IT" , being the relationship between 60's and 70's Punk Rock was Sons of Hercules , and that , too , was only about 20 years ago.

There's nothing wrong with citing differences between things that are related , though.

But , I  think a lot of people , today , make too big of an issue , segregating music that obviously goes hand in hand . For the same reason (If you can call it that.) Rockabilly fans generally don't like Garage Punk (Which is like liking you Mom and not your Dad.) , in the "Hardcore Uber Alles" 80's Underground , it was'nt cool to like Rockabilly , Garage or Psych....BUT THAT CHANGED , IN TIME .
 
  Tyler said:

Shit....yeah I just worded that very badly

Back From the Grave is the definition of "60's punk" to me. I  just meant that "60's punk" and "garage rock" to me are the same thing...just one term was used later than the other (first it was "punk rock", then when punk hit as we know it today, it was relabeled "60's punk" to differeniate it from the new sound, then it became labeled "garage rock"). 

 What i meant at the end regarding Back From the Grave is that I find it funny how Tim Warren referrred to it as "garage punk" on the front cover....because, to me, Garage Punk is a term used to describe later bands like Lazy Cowgirls, Devil Dogs and Teengenerate...like, bands influenced by both the 60's stuff, AND the late 70's stuff. 

I'm not saying I'm correct...it's just what I always thought the terms meant. I'm obviously splitting hairs here, and wording it horribly :P

 

John Battles said:

I'm following you , here , except , why would'nt you consider the bands on "Back From The Grave" to be 60's Punk. Or , AM i MISREADING YOU , AND YOU'RE REALLY SAYING THERE'S TWO HEAVILY USED TERMS "60'S PUNK" AND "GARAGE ROCK" , AND THAT MAKES IT CONFUSING TO SOME? 
 
 
 

The earliest usage of the term "Garage Punk" goes back to Nuggets when Lenny Kaye was talking about the Shadows of Knight in the liner notes.  Why he didn't use it to describe the Standells or the Seeds is beyond me except that maybe they were one of the few groups to make it that actually just graduated high school.  All the others were pretty professional and in the case of side 4 of that album, studio groups.

Shit....yeah I just worded that very badly

Back From the Grave is the definition of "60's punk" to me. I  just meant that "60's punk" and "garage rock" to me are the same thing...just one term was used later than the other (first it was "punk rock", then when punk hit as we know it today, it was relabeled "60's punk" to differeniate it from the new sound, then it became labeled "garage rock"). 

 What i meant at the end regarding Back From the Grave is that I find it funny how Tim Warren referrred to it as "garage punk" on the front cover....because, to me, Garage Punk is a term used to describe later bands like Lazy Cowgirls, Devil Dogs and Teengenerate...like, bands influenced by both the 60's stuff, AND the late 70's stuff. 

I'm not saying I'm correct...it's just what I always thought the terms meant. I'm obviously splitting hairs here, and wording it horribly :P

 

John Battles said:

I'm following you , here , except , why would'nt you consider the bands on "Back From The Grave" to be 60's Punk. Or , AM i MISREADING YOU , AND YOU'RE REALLY SAYING THERE'S TWO HEAVILY USED TERMS "60'S PUNK" AND "GARAGE ROCK" , AND THAT MAKES IT CONFUSING TO SOME? 
 
 
 

Probably Liar Liar by the Castaways heard on my beloved transistor radio in 1965, at the impressionable age of 13.  It has that eerie guitar opening and one of the best screams in all garagedom. 

I'm with Johnny Thunders on this one: "it's all all just rock'n'roll at the end of the day."

I'm following you , here , except , why would'nt you consider the bands on "Back From The Grave" to be 60's Punk. Or , AM i MISREADING YOU , AND YOU'RE REALLY SAYING THERE'S TWO HEAVILY USED TERMS "60'S PUNK" AND "GARAGE ROCK" , AND THAT MAKES IT CONFUSING TO SOME? I've used both those terms , plus "Garage Punk" , to describe the same thing. But , boil it down to a single shot , it's still Rock'n'Roll. We just have MORE GENRE PHRASES , TODAY , THAT CAN BE GOOD , OR , NOT SO GOOD.....I agree , bands like The Stooges , Velvets , MC5 , DOLLS , and Blue Cheer , tho' no one , these days , agrees , can be classified as "Proto Punk" , or you could say a lot of them WERE PUNK , for their time.  JUST AS YOU COULD SAY Screamin' Jay Hawkins , Link Wray , Lord Sutch , The Johnny Burnette Trio , etc. were Punk , in their day

 
Tyler said:

 When I think of "proto punk" though (as a genre of music), I don't think of those 60's punk groups (aka garage rock groups) at all. I think "60's punk" and "proto punk" are two separate things.
 "Proto punk" are groups that formed BEFORE the Ramones that had a heavy influence on what would become THE 70's punk sound. ex- Stooges, Mc5, Velvet Underground,  etc. To my ears, those bands do NOT fit in with the sound of those Nuggets and Pebbles groups though.
 "60s' punk" (or Punk Rock, in the early 70's Dave Marsh sense of the term) is, to me, strictly the young groups that were influenced by the rawer sounds of the british invasion. Ex- bands on Nuggets, BackfromtheGrave, Teenage Shutdown comps, etc.  I figured critics started referring to "60's punk" as "garage rock" to make things less confusing. So basically, 60's punk and garage rock are the same thing.

 Another example...I would consider the Stooges "proto punk", but i'd consider the Iguanas "60's punk". In terms of the Mc5, maybe their first single (with the THEM cover on it) would be 60's punk, but by Kick Out the Jams, that's total Proto Punk.
 
...I know I'm just splitting hairs here...I know "punk" has been used to describe everything from Cooper to the Bay City Rollers eventually...and some groups could even fit into both categories (like the Monks)...
...but it's all for the sake of discussion. Good rock'n'roll is good rock'n'roll, of course :P 
...and according to those BFTG comps, those groups are called "garage punk"...which makes even less sense to me, and makes things even more confusing for everyone, including myself!
 

That's true , Marsh's description of a later ? and The Mysterians show (Which I think was in '71 , but , don't quote me.) is largely credited as the first use of the term "Punk Rock" as a musical phrase. Lillian Coxe's "The Rock Encyclopedia" had a short entry dedicated to "Punk Rock", but , it referred to bands like Alice Cooper , Black Sabbath , and even Bloodrock , implying they were musically inept , compared to the competition , like , uhhhh, Led Zeppelin? Hardly . Coxe's book lists the memebers of Led Zeppelin as being the latter day Yardbirds lineup !  So , I'm guessing the book was written in '69 , as it also referred to Randy Holden as Blue Cheer's current Guitarist , which he was , for a few months , that year, or maybe '70 if the Author was extremely , NOT JUST VERY , OUT OF TOUCH.
 
Glenn Peart said:

And now from Wikipedia: "The invention of the term "punk rock" is generally credited to critic Dave Marsh who used it in 1970 to describe the group Question Mark & the Mysterians, who scored a major hit with their song "96 Tears".^[34] Over the next few years, the term was used occasionally to describe a number of American bands, mostly active in the mid-to-late '60s, playing music that today would be classified as garage rock: a ragged, highly energetic, often amateurish form of rock and roll." So back in 1970 Iggy and the Stooges would have been considered 'garage' since the term 'proto punk' hadn't been invented yet. It seems to me that what is considered 'garage' at one point in time, is labeled 'proto punk' later. When the Ramones came out they were called a garage band, but that changed to 'punk' soon after. Some people still consider the Ramones a garage band, but as Billy Joel once said "It's still rock and roll to him".

I never knew about garage except for the radio, I was into Sabbath and Motorhead and Hendrix, Doors, Zep, etc.

I got into garage when I started performing cause it was the (only) style to suit my non talent. I played the Sonics, Mummies (Duel) and the MC5 (Looking at You) and the Stones (Out of Time) and started listening to WFMU (like Bill Kelly and Joe Belock) then found other stuff like Grunnenrocks. By then my mind was twisted and I started Nuggets, Back from the Grave, Girls in the Garage and foreign garage.

In all my travels, the finest single garage song to me is "Uptight Tonight" by Memphis Flash and the Casuals and another lost smash is Don't Ever Let Me Go by the Kinks. 

 When I think of "proto punk" though (as a genre of music), I don't think of those 60's punk groups (aka garage rock groups) at all. I think "60's punk" and "proto punk" are two separate things.
 "Proto punk" are groups that formed BEFORE the Ramones that had a heavy influence on what would become THE 70's punk sound. ex- Stooges, Mc5, Velvet Underground,  etc. To my ears, those bands do NOT fit in with the sound of those Nuggets and Pebbles groups though.
 "60s' punk" (or Punk Rock, in the early 70's Dave Marsh sense of the term) is, to me, strictly the young groups that were influenced by the rawer sounds of the british invasion. Ex- bands on Nuggets, BackfromtheGrave, Teenage Shutdown comps, etc.  I figured critics started referring to "60's punk" as "garage rock" to make things less confusing. So basically, 60's punk and garage rock are the same thing.

 Another example...I would consider the Stooges "proto punk", but i'd consider the Iguanas "60's punk". In terms of the Mc5, maybe their first single (with the THEM cover on it) would be 60's punk, but by Kick Out the Jams, that's total Proto Punk.
 
...I know I'm just splitting hairs here...I know "punk" has been used to describe everything from Cooper to the Bay City Rollers eventually...and some groups could even fit into both categories (like the Monks)...
...but it's all for the sake of discussion. Good rock'n'roll is good rock'n'roll, of course :P 
...and according to those BFTG comps, those groups are called "garage punk"...which makes even less sense to me, and makes things even more confusing for everyone, including myself!
 

And now from Wikipedia: "The invention of the term "punk rock" is generally credited to critic Dave Marsh who used it in 1970 to describe the group Question Mark & the Mysterians, who scored a major hit with their song "96 Tears".^[34] Over the next few years, the term was used occasionally to describe a number of American bands, mostly active in the mid-to-late '60s, playing music that today would be classified as garage rock: a ragged, highly energetic, often amateurish form of rock and roll." So back in 1970 Iggy and the Stooges would have been considered 'garage' since the term 'proto punk' hadn't been invented yet. It seems to me that what is considered 'garage' at one point in time, is labeled 'proto punk' later. When the Ramones came out they were called a garage band, but that changed to 'punk' soon after. Some people still consider the Ramones a garage band, but as Billy Joel once said "It's still rock and roll to him".

Wow. You've got it sorted out. I mean that. I always thought it was all part of a common thread , but , some people won't let THIS in , because some expert told 'em it was'nt Punk. Or even Garage Punk.

I’m 29, so it wasn’t until 1995 when I first heard Ramones- Rocket To Russia that everything really  snowballed. I was obsessed with that album and everything Ramones.  But living in Cape Breton Island, the only way I could learn about other bands was through reading punk history punks, and reading about  the Ramones peers and bands that influenced them…so I sort of moved backwards.  By 1996, I learned about/heard the Stooges, mc5, etc...and bought albums like Raw Power and Kick out the jams over the next year or two. Also In 1997 I got a rock history book and kept seeing the word “punk” by 60’s names like the Standells, Chocolate Watchband,  etc. Then through Junior High/High School in the late 90’s I got into the Dictators, Teenage Head, Real Kids, Undertones and stuff like that.

 To me this was all Punk Rock. When I think "garage rock" I think of the 60’s sound, not so much Proto  Punk or Late 70’s punk...so I'm not sure what to say was THE album. I don't count Stooges or Mc5.  I think the thing that really got me going on "garage rock" was when the Gruesomes reunited and CBC Radio Sonic played the show live. Radio Sonic would also play Sonics, Les Sexareenos, Von Zippers, and of course the Smugglers. From there, I officially started saying “I like garage Punk” and would track down anything related to the word, from Rip Off records to Crypt, and so on....

But it was all really just a logical extension of what I was already listening to. Time goes on, and you learn about more and more.  I mean if I like Ramones, Stooges, New York Dolls, Real kids and black Flag, I'm most likely gonna like the bands that influenced THEM, and newer bands that sound like a mix of all of them.

For me it was the Ramones Surfin Bird. Once I'd heard that and knew it was a cover I had to source out the original and that led to nuggets and that was that. Hooked.

....Similarly , songs like "Psychotic Reaction" were a mystery for me , too. I first read about it in an article in your "Story of Pop" magazine.....But, I did'nt hear it on the radio for a couple of years. I saw a Liberty records COMP LP. It had The Ventures doing Batman , and The Count Five doing a song called "Psychotic Reaction"....I could'nt believe a song with a name like that could've been a hit ! I  saw this record at a pawn shop , and , even at their prices , I could'nt afford to take a chance on an album I might only like a couple of songs on......I ALSO SAW A SHEET MUSIC BOOK WITH PICS OF sAM tHe Sham and Count Five , around that time . THAT , I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT.

I think it was being into The Ramones and a lot of surf, early rock'n'roll and psychedelia. It was a natural progression from there, methinks. Really, it was a mutual friend of my dad & I telling me about the old garage and I was eager to hear his tales. When I heard about Psychotic Reaction by The Count Five, I started seeking it and I was hooked when I got a copy for my birthday in 2003.