Dunno if I said this before somewhere here on the forums:), but it has gotta be Psychotic Reaction (which at age 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, I thought was a Rolling Stones hit and later discovered it wasn't:)!!). But to tell it like it REALLY is, the VERY 1st song that got me into psych tunes was Stormy Weather (YES, the 20s or 30s original tune with that original megaphonic sound to it...............UNREAL MAN:):)). THE REST IS PSYCHEDELIC HISTORY!!!

Alice Cooper's first album "Pretties For You."

CHRIS , YOU GOT IT FOR YOUR birthday ? That's so cool. I had read about The Count Five in Jr. High (Middle School) and seen them , posed , in front of The Winchester Haunted House , with the insane exaggerated Brian Jones DO'S and Dracula capes . I loved Horror theatrics (Yes , I read about Lord Sutch around this time , too.) , and assumed maybe they were like a toned - down Alice Cooper or something.....But , being a wee small

 BAIRN , i COULD'NT AFFORD RECORDS , UNLESS THEY WERE USED LPS FOR 50 CENTS AT THE PAWN SHOP...  I saw a compilation , I think it was on Liberty (Of which Double - Shot WAS A SUBSIDARY ) , with "Psychotic Reaction" on it. I thought that was the trippiest name. I did'nt even know what it meant. But , I was'nt going to shell out half a dollar , out of curiosity ......But , I remember telling my Brother "Hey , I saw this old article about the original Punk Rock bands" ( 70's Punk was still happening at the time. The article was from your Story Of Pop.) He said , "Y'mean , like SLADE ?". I said , no , before them....I told him about the Count Five and their attire and everything , and he said , "That sounds IGNORANT AS HELL.".

It'd be a few years before I'd even hear "Psychotic Reaction" on the radio . Then , I realized , wow. This is a great song. I tried to imagine how it sounded to people , back then.

yEARS LATER , STILL , THERE WAS A GUY WITH A STALL AT THE FLEA MARKET i FREQUENTED . hE HAD ORIGINAL 50'S AND 60'S lpS , PLUS ALREADY - RARE REISSUES FROM EUROPE. I got "Psychotic Reaction" , the album ( On Line Records , in Germany).....for Christmas ! I know a lot of people don't like it , but , the album was remarkably consistent , considering they were'nt even old enough to buy beer , yet. A lot of their peers had two great songs , and FILLER. Their later singles were even better, I thought.

This flea market was so cool. One guy bought out the entire stock of a British record store , and opened a stall. Some of it was'nt so old. It was the first time I saw a Meteors record , which was only about 3 years old , then. Coolest thing was , they'd play the 'Girl Happy " soundtrack in the parking lot all the time. That's where I first heard "Do The Clam" ! 

picture doesn't show....?

anyhowz, the monsters compilation and then later more monster records.

and then my b/f played sonic nightmares and I got to learn about the hideout back in the day.

few years ago I guess.

bye

I REALIZE , NOW, I TOLD THE ABOVE STORY ABOUT THE COUNT V , tho' I ELA -BORE - ATED A BIT MORE , EARLIER.

I HEARD THEY WERE STILL DOING GOOD , MAYBE NOT ALWAYS GREAT , SHOWS IN SAN JOSE UP UNTIL AROUND THE TIME , SINGER , SEAN BYRNE , DIED.                           PETE CURRY , FROM LOS STRAITJACKETS , TINGLE GUILD ( CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND OFFSHOOT.) , AND FOR ONE GIG ONLY , THE CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND THEMSELVES (HE'S BEEN ERRONEOUSLY LISTED AS AN ACTUAL BAND MEMBER IN THE 60'S) , TOLD ME "THE COUNT FIVE WERE THE WORST BAND IN SAN JOSE AT THE TIME !!".

Lower Broadway Lo-Fi by Th' Legendary Shack Shakers mixed my love for punk and country. Went on to get into a million grungy bluegrass and rockabilly acts. Then came the Sonics, the King Khan and BBQ Show... and here I thought music was dead. Still finding stuff old and new that keeps me going!

Definitely Here Are The Sonics. I clearly remember hearing Strychnine at my friends house. Changed my life. 

...then not too long after that I heard I Know You Be Houserockin' by The Gories. That blew my mind even more. So you can play this music today and still make it modern and relevant?!!!

...then not too long after that I heard I Know You Be Houserockin' by The Gories. That blew my mind even more. So you can play this music today and still make it modern and relevant?!!!

IF YOU ASKED THE GORIES , THEY MIGHT SAY "BUT WE WERE'NT TRYING TO BE MODERN OR RELEVANT ! ". Just sayin'.

Ya, sounds like something a band would say. 

I guess it does , but , in their time , they stood out like a sore thumb that'd been bludgeoned with a sledge hammer. When I first saw them , in 1990 , everybody there , but me , was cowering in the very back of the venue. They were definitely into their own thing , and most people did'nt get it until after they split up. They were not of their time , and they were seldom taken seriously.

Man, what was the record that got me hot for garage rock?  Hmm...coming up in the Norfolk underground exposed me to the legendary M-80s in the late 1980s.  They hipped me to the Stooges first two LPs.  I think it was those two albums that really whet my appetite for this music.  Then I "discovered" Estrus Records!  The Makers, the Mono Men, the Mummies, the Mortals, Sugar Shack, Man or Astro Man, the Drags, early Southern Culture on the Skids...Then I found out about Crypt Records and the Gories!  The Gories really hit me.  It was simple, primitive and rockin' like a roadside jukejoint on the bad side of town.  Of course I can't forget the Oblivians and the Bassholes.  I really like that visceral lo-fi blues/R&B base trashy rock and roll.

That was me , in the 90's. Five new records a week , and even my little shIt job paid all right. I found myself trading in a lot of my Estrus stuff , except THE BROOD  AND THE WOGGLES, BUT , i'D BEEN INTO GARAGE ROCK FOR 10 + YEARS , BY THAT TIME. NOT KNOCKING IT, IF IT STILL DOES IT FOR OTHER PEOPLE. BY THE TIME THE NOMADS STARTED TOURING TEH STATES , I'D BEEN LISTENING TO THEM FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS. I SAW THEM 3 TIMES , THEY WERE GREAT TWICE , AND AWFUL , ONCE. THE WASTE KINGS , BRIEFLY ON ESTRUS ,OPENED FOR THE NOMADS, AND THEY KILLED IT !

THEY COULD'NT GET ARRESTED IN CHICAGO , BECAUSE THEY DID'NT INTENTIONALLY SUCK.

......oh , yeah , I did a show wih 68 Comeback , once. tHE bASSHOLES WERE SUPPOSED TO PLAY , TOO, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE A GIBSON  BROS. REUNION, ALMOST...... BUT , DON HOWLAND HAD A PENCHANT FOR MISSING HIS OWN GIGS , VERY "GEORGE JONES". He called Jeff and said he'd be there , but , he did'nt show , so, I had to hold much of the shoe, myself, playing an hour or more.....The audience was really good, though.

I suppose this is a good place to make my entrance.  The Cramps Bad Music lp (cassette rather) was the first intentionally "garage rock" type music I heard.  I think the cover art intrigued me.  At the time (high school, early/mid eighties) I was only interested in hardcore and straight ahead punk mixed with a little black sabbath and motorhead since metal was all my friends were into.  I remember popping the tape in and thinking "Is this like surf music or something?"  My friends unanimously voted that it sucked balls but I thought there was something important going on although expanding my horizons really was a process that happened a bit at a time.  Not too long after I met some hillbilly who turned me on to Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker & Lightnin Hopkins and the dots started connecting.  

OK . MY REPLY GOT 'ET. I first heard The Cramps and The Fleshtones in 1981 , and I saw the connection to stuff like The Music Machine , Electric Prunes and The Seeds. I was aware of the so-called "Paisley Revival" , but had only heard a couple of those bands in the early 80's. I was also getting into Blues  ,and there were two things it was'nt cool to be into at the time - Blues music and The Cramps.  "Punk Blues" SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED ABOUT 10 YEARS BEFORE IT DID. Jeffrey Evans deserves , but does not recieve , all the credit for kicking it off........well , you could say Hound Dog Taylor was the real Godfather.

The Crushers from Moscow... they did not sound like any other local groups

Defiance by Dead Moon, brought the LP on a whim and it blew my mind, I haven't looked back since. Still one of my fav garage rock albums

That's pretty cool. . When  Dead Moon were still around  , there was no buying their records on a whim.....They very rarely turned up in stores until the last few years of their reign. Or , if stores carried 'em , they'd seldom restock.   Most of their stuff , I had to order from Fred and Toody , or buy in person , when they finally started doing gigs , here.....

I bought my first Dead Moon record at the legendary Wax Trax Record store , which was about to go out of busines. It was '92 , and I might not have even seen it , as it was in the Hardcore section !

For me, I'd have to say the first Monkees album. I watched the TV show all the time as a kid and was obsessed with the Monkees. That's probably what got me into garage rock, but actually "hot" for it would probably be the Nuggets comps. Blew my mind to hear so many insanely killer bands mixed with a few things that I was already into through my dad's records like Paul Revere and the Raiders, Amboy Dukes, Status Quo...etc. I listened to every song, read about every band and it just sort of blew up from there. Thanks Lenny!

MONKEES , Interesting answer. Of course , "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" was one of the first major Punk anthems ....."Pushin'  TOO hARD " , i THINK , WAS RECORDED FIRST. Of course , Paul Revere and The Raiders  did it first. Their version KILLS.  "She" , to me ,was a slower Punk song like "I Ain't Gonna eAT oUT mY Heart Anymore" by The Young Racals. "She " is what I call "Pity Punk". Even "Saturday's Child" has a great Garage riff. I FIRST PICKED UP "nUGGETS : tHE hITS" BECAUSE IT HAD SO MANY SONGS I LOVED FROM THe RADIO. I GOT RHINO'S STANDELLS COLLECTION , too.  In fact , I saw The Monkees on their first reunion tour, and they were playing "Nuggets : The Hits" between bands ! All these people , who were singing along to Gary Puckett , did'nt know these songs. My friends and I were dancing to "tALK tALK" , "pSYCHOTIC rEACTION", etc. Then they brought The Monkees out , in the middle of Blue Cheer's "Summertime Blues" , the only time I'd get to hear THAT on stadium speakers !!

Yeah I'd say the Monkees didn't get me cause they were over the top raw garage punk, it's just that I watched those shows every morning before school and the songs just stuck with me through out my formitive years. It's kind of hard for me to pin down a specific record. My dad had so many records and they were such a mix - Willie Nelson, Black Sabbath, UFO, Status Quo, Paul Revere, Stones,...the Monkees and KISS. So I was kind of listening to garage rock before I knew what it was, but I would also be listening to Slade or Bowie at the same time. 

So, yeah, I'd say the Nuggets is what first set aside this specific genere for me to  get into. Shortly after the Back from the Grave and Pebbles comps... I tried to seek out as many of those 45s as possible.