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146-475: Count Five was an American garage rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1964, best known for their hit single " Psychotic Reaction ". The band was founded in 1964 by lead guitarist John "Mouse" Michalski (born 1948, Cleveland, Ohio) and bassist Roy Chaney (born 1948, Indianapolis, Indiana). The two were friends at Pioneer High School , who had previously played in several short-lived bands, most notably

292-762: A fuzzbox , teamed with bass and drums. Guitarists sometimes played using aggressive-sounding bar chords or power chords . Portable organs such as the Farfisa were used frequently and harmonicas and hand-held percussion such as tambourines were not uncommon. Occasionally, the tempo was sped up in passages sometimes referred to as "raveups". Garage rock acts were diverse in both musical ability and style, ranging from crude and amateurish to near-studio level musicianship. There were also regional variations in flourishing scenes, such as in California and Texas. The north-western states of Idaho, Washington and Oregon had

438-797: A surf rock group named The Citations. As the British Invasion '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, Ireland) played rhythm guitar and performed lead vocals; Kenn Ellner played tambourine and harmonica, while sharing lead vocals; and Craig "Butch" Atkinson (1947–1998, born San Jose, California) played drums. The Count Five were recognizable for their habit of wearing Count Dracula -style capes when playing live. "Psychotic Reaction", an acknowledged cornerstone of garage rock,

584-423: A "back to basics" or " do-it-yourself " musical approach. The term "garage rock", often used in reference to 1960s acts, stems from the perception that many performers were young amateurs who rehearsed in the family garage. While numerous bands were made up of middle-class teenagers from the suburbs, others were from rural or urban areas or were composed of professional musicians in their twenties. Referring to

730-496: A "dirty" or "gritty" tone. When asymmetrical, it produces both even and odd harmonics. Electronically, this is usually achieved by either amplifying the signal to a point where it is clipped by the DC voltage limitation of the power supply rail, or by clipping the signal with diodes. Many solid-state distortion devices attempt to emulate the sound of overdriven vacuum valves using additional solid-state circuitry. Some amplifiers (notably

876-502: A Boy or Are You a Girl ". In 1964, the group appeared on the T.A.M.I. Show on same bill as the Rolling Stones and James Brown . In the film of the show, their drummer, Victor "Moulty" Moulton, is seen holding one of his drumsticks with a prosthetic clamp while playing—the result of a previous accident in which he lost his left hand. In 1966, Moulton recorded " Moulty ", a spoken monologue set to music, in which he recounted

1022-531: A Curbstone" and "I'm Movin' On". Like the United States, Canada experienced a large and vigorous garage rock movement. Vancouver's the Northwest Company , who recorded "Hard to Cry", had a power chord-driven approach. The Painted Ship were known for primal songs such as the angst-ridden "Frustration" and "Little White Lies", which Stansted Montfichet called a "punk classic". Chad Allan and

1168-531: A DI jack on the guitar amp, or from the Line Out jack of a power attenuator. The output transformer sits between the power valves and the speaker, serving to match impedance . When a transformer's ferromagnetic core becomes electromagnetically saturated a loss of inductance takes place, since the back E.M.F. is reliant on a change in flux in the core. As the core reaches saturation, the flux levels off and cannot increase any further. With no change in flux there

1314-659: A big hit for Chicago's the Shadows of Knight , and "I Can Only Give You Everything". Keith Richards 's use of fuzz distortion in the Rolling Stones' 1965 hit, " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction " affected the sound of countless American garage bands. Also influential were the Pretty Things and the Downliners Sect , both of whom were known for a particularly raw approach to blues-influenced rock that has sometimes been compared to garage. By 1965, bands such as

1460-438: A clear, undistorted bass sound, professional bass players in these genres use high-powered amplifiers with a lot of " headroom " and they may also use audio compressors to prevent sudden volume peaks from causing distortion. In many cases, musicians playing stage pianos or synthesizers use keyboard amplifiers that are designed to reproduce the audio signal with as little distortion as possible. The exceptions with keyboards are

1606-401: A clipping "overdriven" condition; as such, the musician will get the distortion from the fuzz which is then distorted further by the amp. During the 1990s, some Seattle grunge guitarists chained together as many as four fuzz pedals to create a thick " wall of sound " of distortion. In some modern valve effects, the "dirty" or "gritty" tone is actually achieved not by high voltage, but by running

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1752-536: A completely clean amplifier to generate the whole overdrive/distortion effect. With care—and with appropriately chosen pedals—it is possible to "stack" multiple overdrive/distortion pedals together, allowing one pedal to act as a 'boost' for another. Fuzz boxes and other heavy distortions can produce unwanted dissonances when playing chords. To get around this, guitar players (and keyboard players) using these effects may restrict their playing to single notes and simple " power chords " (root, fifth, and octave). Indeed, with

1898-431: A contract with Motown Records and recorded several songs including "It's My Time". Outside of the mainland, garage rock became a fixture in the islands and territories adjacent to the continent. The Savages from Bermuda recorded the album Live 'n Wild , which features " The World Ain't Round It's Square ", an angry song of youthful defiance. The garage phenomenon, though most often associated with North America,

2044-720: A controlling influence and sought to market more conventionally acceptable recordings. Electric musical instruments (particularly guitars) and amplification were becoming more affordable, allowing young musicians to form small groups to perform in front of local audiences of their peers; and in some areas there was a breakdown, especially among radio audiences, of traditional black and white markets, with more white teenagers listening to and purchasing R&B records. Numerous young people were inspired by musicians such as Chuck Berry , Little Richard , Bo Diddley , Jerry Lee Lewis , Buddy Holly , and Eddie Cochran , whose recordings of relatively unsophisticated and hard-driving songs from

2190-478: A different way. Power amplifier distortion may damage speakers. A Direct Inject signal can capture the power-tube distortion sound without the direct coloration of a guitar speaker and microphone. This DI signal can be blended with a miked guitar speaker, with the DI providing a more present, immediate, bright sound, and the miked guitar speaker providing a colored, remote, darker sound. The DI signal can be obtained from

2336-459: A distinct genre and had no specific name, but critical hindsight in the early 1970s—and especially the 1972 compilation album Nuggets —did much to define and memorialize the style. Between 1971 and 1973, certain American rock critics began to retroactively identify the music as a genre and for several years used the term " punk rock " to describe it, making it the first form of music to bear

2482-508: A distinctly recognizable regional sound with bands such as the Sonics and Paul Revere & the Raiders . In the 1960s, garage rock had no name and was not thought of as a genre distinct from other rock and roll of the era. Rock critic and future Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye remarked that the period "dashed by so fast that nobody knew much of what to make of it while it

2628-543: A few years earlier proclaimed personal independence and freedom from parental controls and conservative norms. Ritchie Valens ' 1958 hit " La Bamba " helped jump-start the Chicano rock scene in Southern California and provided a three-chord template for the songs of numerous 1960s garage bands. By the end of the 1950s regional scenes were abundant around the country and helped set the stage for garage rock

2774-401: A fuzzy and somewhat distorted sound gained widespread popularity after guitarist Dave Davies of The Kinks used a razor blade to slash his speaker cones for the band's single " You Really Got Me ". In May 1965 Keith Richards used a Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone to record " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction ". The song's success greatly boosted sales of the device, and all available stock sold out by

2920-400: A guitar solo with warm overtones created by his small valve amplifier . Pat Hare produced heavily distorted power chords on his electric guitar for records such as James Cotton 's " Cotton Crop Blues " (1954) as well as his "I'm Gonna Murder My Baby" (1954), creating "a grittier, nastier, more ferocious electric guitar sound," accomplished by turning the volume knob on his amplifier "all

3066-453: A guitar sound that paralleled the rawness of blues singers such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf , replacing often their originals with the powerful Valco "Chicagoan" pick-ups, originally created for lap-steel, to obtain a louder and fatter tone. In early rock music , Goree Carter 's "Rock Awhile" (1949) featured an over-driven electric guitar style similar to that of Chuck Berry several years later, as well as Joe Hill Louis ' " Boogie in

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3212-787: A hit in 1964 with " Farmer John ", and Thee Midniters are considered prominent figures in Chicano rock , as are the San Diego –based, Cannibal & the Headhunters , who had a hit with Chris Kenner 's " Land of a Thousand Dances ". San Jose and the South Bay area had a bustling scene featuring the Chocolate Watchband, the Count Five , and the Syndicate of Sound . The Chocolate Watchband released several singles in 1967, including "Are You Gonna Be There (at

3358-461: A musical effect, there are some musical styles and musical applications where as little distortion as possible is sought. When DJs are playing recorded music in a nightclub , they typically seek to reproduce the recordings with little or no distortion. In many musical styles, including pop music , country music and even genres where the electric guitars are almost always distorted, such as heavy metal, punk and hard rock, sound engineers usually take

3504-572: A musical solo act and television actress in the 1970s. The Luv'd Ones , also from Michigan, signed with Chicago's Dunwich Records and cut records with a sometimes somber sound, such as "Up Down Sue". San Francisco's the Ace of Cups became a fixture in the Bay Area scene in the late 1960s. Other notable 1960s female groups were the Daughters of Eve from Chicago and She (previously known as

3650-411: A number of steps to ensure that the vocals sounding through the sound reinforcement system are undistorted (the exception is the rare cases where distortion is purposely added to vocals in a song as a special effect, mainly in industrial music genres). Sound engineers prevent unwanted, unintended distortion and clipping using a number of methods. They may reduce the gain on microphone preamplifiers on

3796-633: A particularly high concentration of acts and venues, and the Beatles emerged from this thriving music scene. In London and elsewhere, certain groups developed a harder-driving, distinctively British blues style. Nationally popular blues- and R&B- influenced beat groups included the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds from London, the Animals from Newcastle , and Them , from Belfast , Northern Ireland, featuring Van Morrison . Coinciding with

3942-568: A power-valve distortion pedal. Such effects units can use a preamp valve such as the 12AX7 in a power-valve circuit configuration (as in the Stephenson's Stage Hog), or use a conventional power valve, such as the EL84 (as in the H&;K Crunch Master compact tabletop unit). However, because these are usually placed before the pre-amplifier in the signal chain, they contribute to the overall tone in

4088-463: A racially integrated band from North London whose membership included guitarist Eddy Grant , later a popular solo artist, specialized in an upbeat style of rock—their 1966 recording " Baby Come Back " was a hit in Europe before becoming a British number one in 1968. Distortion (music) The effects alter the instrument sound by clipping the signal (pushing it past its maximum, which shears off

4234-430: A racially integrated band headed by African-American musician Arthur Lee , was one of the most popular bands in the scene. Their propulsive 1966 proto-punk anthem " 7 and 7 Is " was another song often covered by other groups. The Music Machine , led by Sean Bonniwell , employed innovative musical techniques, sometimes building their own custom-made fuzzboxes. Their first album (Turn On) The Music Machine featured

4380-542: A small recording or rehearsal space, many solutions have emerged that in some way divert some of this power valve output from the speakers, and allow the player to generate power valve distortion without excessive volume. These include built-in or separate power attenuators and power-supply-based power attenuation, such as a VVR, or Variable Voltage Regulator to drop the voltage on the valves' plates, to increase distortion whilst lowering volume. Guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen have been known to use variacs before VVR technology

4526-753: A string of singles, such as " Western Union ", which became a top 10 US hit in 1967. From Phoenix, Arizona, the Spiders featured Vincent Furnier, later known as Alice Cooper , and eventually adopted that name as the group's moniker. As the Spiders they recorded two singles, most notably "Don't Blow Your Mind", which became a local hit in Phoenix in 1966. The group ventured to Los Angeles in 1967 in hopes of achieving greater success, however they found it not there, but while in Detroit several years later, re-christened as Alice Cooper . From Florida, Orlando's We

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4672-418: A strong influence on the distortion created by that stage. The output level of the guitar's pickups, the setting of the guitar's volume knob, how hard the strings are plucked, and the use of volume-boosting effects pedals can drive this stage harder and create more distortion. During the 1980s and 1990s, most valve amps featured a "master volume" control, an adjustable attenuator between the preamp section and

4818-418: A tone input progressively begins to resemble a square wave which has odd number harmonics. This is generally described as sounding "harsh". Distortion and overdrive circuits each 'clip' the signal before it reaches the main amplifier (clean boost circuits do not necessarily create 'clipping') as well as boost signals to levels that cause distortion to occur at the main amplifier's front end stage (by exceeding

4964-409: A weak instrument signal to a level that can drive the power amplifier. It often also contains circuitry to shape the tone of the instrument, including equalization and gain controls. Often multiple cascading gain/clipping stages are employed to generate distortion. Because the first component in a valve amplifier is a valve gain stage, the output level of the preceding elements of the signal chain has

5110-530: A worthy descriptive replacement". The term "garage punk" has also persisted, and style has been referred to as " '60s punk" and " proto-punk ". "Frat rock" has been used to refer to the R&;B - and surf rock - derived garage sounds of certain acts, such as the Kingsmen and others. In the late 1950s, the initial impact of rock and roll on mainstream American culture waned as major record companies took

5256-683: Is 60s punk at its sexually charged, aggressive best." Also recording for Dunwich were the Del-Vetts and the Banshees , who released the cathartic "Project Blue". Other notable Chicago acts were the Little Boy Blues and the New Colony Six . Michigan had one of the largest scenes in the country. In early 1966, Detroit's MC5 released a version of "I Can Only Give You Everything" before they went on to greater success at

5402-432: Is a non-linear process that produces frequencies not originally present in the audio signal . These frequencies can be harmonic overtones, meaning they are whole number multiples of one of the signal's original frequencies, or "inharmonic", resulting from general intermodulation distortion . The same nonlinear device will produce both types of distortion, depending on the input signal. Intermodulation occurs whenever

5548-401: Is a distortion process known as "volume adjustment", which involves distorting the amplitude of a sound wave in a proportional (or 'linear') way in order to increase or decrease the volume of the sound without affecting the tone quality. In the context of music, the most common source of (nonlinear) distortion is clipping in amplifier circuits and is most commonly known as overdrive. Clipping

5694-413: Is a particular form of extreme distortion originally created by guitarists using faulty equipment (such as a misaligned valve (tube); see below), which has been emulated since the 1960s by a number of "fuzzbox" effects pedals. Distortion, overdrive, and fuzz can be produced by effects pedals , rackmounts , pre-amplifiers , power amplifiers (a potentially speaker-blowing approach), speakers and (since

5840-611: Is generally agreed that the garage rock boom peaked around 1966. That April, the Outsiders from Cleveland hit No. 5 with " Time Won't Let Me ", which was later covered by acts such as Iggy Pop . In July, the Standells from Los Angeles almost made it into the US top ten with " Dirty Water ", a song now often associated with Boston. " Psychotic Reaction " by the Count Five went to No. 5 on Billboard ' s Hot 100 and

5986-706: Is impractical; instead, most pedals use solid-state transistors, op-amps and diodes. Classic examples of overdrive/distortion pedals include the Boss OD series (overdrives), the Ibanez Tube Screamer (an overdrive), the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi (a fuzz box) and the Pro Co RAT (a distortion). Typically, "overdrive" pedals are designed to produce sounds associated with classic rock or blues, with "distortion" pedals producing

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6132-445: Is known as "sag", and is sought-after by some electric guitarists. Sag only occurs in class-AB amplifiers . This is because, technically, sag results from more current being drawn from the power supply, causing a greater voltage drop over the rectifier valve. Class AB amplifiers draw the most power at both the maximum and minimum point of the signal, putting more stress on the power supply than class A, which only draws maximum power at

6278-418: Is no back E.M.F. and hence no reflected impedance. The transformer and valve combination then generate large 3rd order harmonics. So long as the core does not go into saturation, the valves will clip naturally as they drop the available voltage across them. In single ended systems the output harmonics will be largely even ordered due to the valve's relatively non linear characteristics at large signal swings. This

6424-487: Is only true however if the magnetic core does NOT saturate. Early valve amplifiers used unregulated power supplies. This was due to the high cost associated with high-quality high-voltage power supplies. The typical anode (plate) supply was simply a rectifier , an inductor and a capacitor . When the valve amplifier was operated at high volume , the power supply voltage would dip, reducing power output and causing signal attenuation and compression. This dipping effect

6570-404: Is pushing the tubes beyond their normal rated maximum. Valve amplifiers—particularly those using class-A triodes —tend to produce asymmetric soft clipping that creates both even and odd harmonics. The increase in even harmonics is considered to create "warm"-sounding overdrive effects. A basic triode valve (tube) contains a cathode , a plate and a grid. When a positive voltage is applied to

6716-411: Is the closest we came in the 1960s to the original rockabilly spirit of rock & roll." In addition to Rolling Stone and Creem , writings about the genre appeared in various independent "fanzine" publications during the period. In May 1973, Billy Altman launched the short-lived punk magazine , which pre-dated the more familiar 1975 publication of the same name , but, unlike the later magazine,

6862-558: The HBO drama series Vinyl . The song was covered by Mouse and the Traps in a 1966 single, The Radiators From Space in a 1977 single, The Cramps on their 1983 live album Smell of Female , by The Fuzztones on their 1987 album "Live In Europe!" and The Vibrators in 2009 among others. Garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or ' 60s punk ) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in

7008-540: The Hammond organ as used in blues and the Fender Rhodes as used in rock music; with these instruments and genres, keyboardists often purposely overdrive a tube amplifier to get a natural overdrive sound. Another example of instrument amplification where as little distortion as possible is sought is with acoustic instrument amplifiers, designed for musicians playing instruments such as the mandolin or fiddle in

7154-572: The Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone in 1962, one of the first commercially-successful mass-produced guitar pedals. Shortly thereafter, the American instrumental rock band The Ventures asked their friend, session musician and electronics enthusiast Orville "Red" Rhodes for help recreating the Grady Martin "fuzz" sound. Rhodes offered The Ventures a fuzzbox he had made, which they used to record "2000 Pound Bee" in 1962. In 1964,

7300-537: The audio console ; use attenuation "pads" (a button on audio console channel strips, DI unit and some bass amplifiers ); and use electronic audio compressor effects and limiters to prevent sudden volume peaks from vocal mics from causing unwanted distortion. Though some bass guitar players in metal and punk bands intentionally use fuzz bass to distort their bass sound, in other genres of music, such as pop, big band jazz and traditional country music , bass players typically seek an undistorted bass sound. To obtain

7446-440: The heavy metal sound through a combined use of high volumes and heavy distortion. The word distortion refers to any modification of wave form of a signal , but in music it is used to refer to nonlinear distortion (excluding filters) and particularly to the introduction of new frequencies by memoryless nonlinearities. In music the different forms of linear distortion have specific names describing them. The simplest of these

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7592-597: The "British Invasion" of the US, a musical cross-fertilization developed between the two continents. In their 1964 transatlantic hits " You Really Got Me " and " All Day and All of the Night ", the Kinks took the influence of the Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie" and applied greater volume and distortion, which in turn, influenced the approach of many American garage bands. With Van Morrison, Them recorded two songs widely covered by American garage bands: " Gloria ", which became

7738-522: The "high gain, scooped mids" sounds associated with heavy metal; fuzz boxes are designed to emulate the distinctive sound of the earliest overdrive pedals such as the Big Muff and the Fuzz Face . Most overdrive/distortion pedals can be used in two ways: a pedal can be used as a "boost" with an already overdriven amplifier to drive it further into saturation and "color" the tone, or it can be used with

7884-430: The 1960s, Mike Markesich commented "teenage rock & roll groups (i.e. combos) proliferated Everywheresville USA". Though it is impossible to determine how many garage bands were active in the era, their numbers were extensive in what Markesich has characterized as a "cyclonic whirlwind of musical activity like none other". According to Mark Nobles, it is estimated that between 1964 and 1968 over 180,000 bands formed in

8030-477: The 1960s. Guitarist Link Wray has been cited as an early influence on garage rock and is known for his innovative use of guitar techniques and effects such as power chords and distortion. He is best known for his 1958 instrumental " Rumble ", which featured the sound of distorted, "clanging" guitar chords, which anticipated much of what was to come. The combined influences of early-1960s instrumental rock and surf rock also played significant roles in shaping

8176-590: The 2000s) by digital amplifier modeling devices and audio software . These effects are used with electric guitars , electric basses ( fuzz bass ), electronic keyboards , and more rarely as a special effect with vocals. While distortion is often created intentionally as a musical effect, musicians and sound engineers sometimes take steps to avoid distortion , particularly when using PA systems to amplify vocals or when playing back prerecorded music. The first guitar amplifiers were relatively low-fidelity , and would often produce distortion when their volume ( gain )

8322-523: The American bands who often attempted to emulate them, and the music of certain UK acts has been mentioned in particular relation to garage. Beat music emerged in Britain in the early 1960s, as musicians who originally came together to play rock and roll or skiffle assimilated American rhythm and blues influences. The genre provided the model for the format of many later rock groups. The Liverpool area had

8468-997: The Atlantic coast, with acts such as the Vagrants , from Long Island, and Richard and the Young Lions from Newark, New Jersey, and the Blues Magoos from the Bronx, who got their start in New York's Greenwich Village scene and had a hit in 1966 with " (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet ", which appeared on their debut album, Psychedelic Lollipop , along with a lengthy rendition of the Nashville Teens ' " Tobacco Road ". The garage craze came into full swing in California, particularly in Los Angeles. The Sunset Strip

8614-699: The B-52's , the Cramps , and Bruce Springsteen . Two months later, the Music Machine reached the top 20 with fuzz guitar-driven " Talk Talk ", whose sound and image that helped pave the way for later acts such as the Ramones . The Syndicate of Sound 's " Little Girl ", which featured a cocksure half-spoken lead vocal set over chiming 12-string guitar chords, reached No. 8 on the Billboard charts and

8760-664: The Beau Brummels broke into the national charts with " Laugh, Laugh ", followed by " Just a Little ". According to Richie Unterberger, they were perhaps the first American group to pose a successful response to the British Invasion. That year, Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs ' " Wooly Bully " went to No. 2, and they followed it up a year later with another No. 2 hit, "Little Red Riding Hood". Also in 1965,

8906-629: The Castaways almost reached Billboard 's top ten with " Liar, Liar ", which was later included on the 1972 Nuggets compilation. Featuring a lead vocal by Rick Derringer , " Hang On Sloopy " became a No. 1 hit for Indiana's the McCoys , topping the Billboard charts in October 1965. They were immediately signed to Bang Records and followed up with another hit in 1966, a cover of " Fever ", originally recorded by Little Willie John . It

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9052-560: The First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 . This inclusion was noted as bringing the single and the band to a whole new generation of listeners. The band was immortalized in a 1971 essay by rock journalist Lester Bangs , entitled " Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung ." In the essay, Bangs credited the band for having released several albums after Psychotic Reaction : Carburetor Dung , Cartesian Jetstream , Ancient Lace and Wrought-Iron Railings , and Snowflakes Falling On

9198-686: The Hairem) from Sacramento, California. All-female bands were not exclusive to North America. The Liverbirds were a beat group from the Beatles' home city of Liverpool, England, but became best known in Germany, often performing in Hamburg's Star-Club . All-female groups of the 1960s anticipated later acts associated with the 1970s punk movement, such as the Runaways and the Slits . In 1964 and 1965,

9344-709: The International Dateline —each displaying an increasing sense of artistry and refinement. However, none of these subsequent albums existed except in Bangs' own imagination. "Psychotic Reaction" can be heard playing on the jukebox in an early scene in Wim Wenders ' 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

9490-573: The Kingsmen, frat rock also thrived elsewhere. In 1963, singles by several regional bands from other parts of the United States began appearing on the national charts, including " Surfin' Bird " by the Trashmen from Minneapolis, which essentially fused together parts from two songs previously recorded by the Rivingtons , " The Bird is the Word " and " Papa Oom Mow Mow ". " California Sun " by

9636-567: The Love In)", which was also featured on their debut album No Way Out . The album's opening cut was a rendition of "Let's Talk About Girls", previously recorded by the Tongues of Truth (aka the Grodes ). Chicago, known for electric blues, continued to have a strong recording industry in the 1960s and was also a hotbed of activity for garage rock. Chicago blues as well as the Rolling Stones,

9782-461: The Marshall JCM 900) utilize hybrid designs that employ both valve and solid-state components. Guitar distortion can be produced by many components of the guitar's signal path, including effects pedals, the pre-amplifier, power amplifier, and speakers. Many players use a combination of these to obtain their "signature" tone. The pre-amplifier section of a guitar amplifier serves to amplify

9928-401: The Mysterians as an "exposition of punk rock". Conjuring up the mid-1960s, Lester Bangs in June 1971 wrote "...then punk bands started cropping up who were writing their own songs but taking the Yardbirds' sound and reducing it to this kind of goony fuzztone clatter ... oh, it was beautiful, it was pure folklore, Old America, and sometimes I think those were the best days ever". Much of

10074-477: The Pacific Northwest is sometimes referred to as "the Northwest Sound" and had its origins in the late 1950s, when a handful of R&B and rock & roll acts sprang up in various cities and towns in an area stretching from Puget Sound to Seattle and Tacoma, and beyond. There and elsewhere, groups of teenagers were inspired directly by touring R&B performers such as Johnny Otis and Richard Berry , and began to play cover versions of R&B songs. During

10220-861: The Park " (1950). In the early 1950s, guitar distortion sounds started to evolve based on sounds created earlier in the decade by accidental damage to amps, such as in the popular early recording of the 1951 Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm song " Rocket 88 ", where guitarist Willie Kizart used a vacuum tube amplifier that had a speaker cone slightly damaged in transport. Electric guitarists began "doctoring" amplifiers and speakers to emulate this form of distortion. Electric blues guitarist Willie Johnson of Howlin' Wolf ′s band began deliberately increasing gain beyond its intended levels to produce "warm" distorted sounds. Guitar Slim also experimented with distorted overtones, which can be heard in his hit electric blues song " The Things That I Used to Do " (1953). Chuck Berry 's 1955 classic " Maybellene " features

10366-462: The People came about as the result of the merger of two previous bands and featured songwriters Tommy Talton and Wane Proctor. They recorded a string of self-composed songs, such as primitive rockers, "You Burn Me Upside Down" and "Mirror of my Mind", as well as the esoteric "In the Past", later covered by the Chocolate Watchband. Evil from Miami, had a hard, sometimes thrashing sound and a reputation for musical mayhem, typified in songs such as "From

10512-435: The Pretty Things , and the Yardbirds influenced the Shadows of Knight , who recorded for Dunwich Records and were known for a tough, hard-driving sound. In 1966 they had hits with versions of Them 's Van Morrison -penned " Gloria " and Bo Diddley's "Oh Yeah", and also released the aggressive "I'm Gonna Make You Mine", which Mike Stax remarked "was recorded live in the studio with the amps cranked beyond distortion, this

10658-668: The Reflections from Winnipeg , Manitoba, began in 1962 and had a hit in the mid-1960s, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates ' " Shakin' All Over ", then went on to greater success in the late 1960s and early 1970s as the Guess Who . In 1966, the Ugly Ducklings from Toronto had a hit with "Nothin ' " and toured with the Rolling Stones. The Haunted from Montreal specialized in a gritty blues-based sound influenced by

10804-542: The Rivieras , from South Bend, Indiana followed, becoming a hit in early 1964. Frat rock persisted into the mid-1960s with acts such as the Swingin' Medallions , who had a top twenty hit with " Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) " in 1966. During the mid-1960s, garage rock entered its most active period, prompted by the influence of the Beatles and the British Invasion . On February 9, 1964, during their first visit to

10950-625: The Rolling Stones and released the single "1–2–5". Two other bands from Toronto were the Paupers and the Mynah Birds . The Paupers released several singles and two albums. The Mynah Birds featured the combination of Rick James on lead vocals and Neil Young on guitar, who both went on to fame as solo acts, as well as Bruce Palmer who later accompanied Young to California to join Buffalo Springfield in 1966. They signed

11096-522: The Rolling Stones on their American tour the following year. They had a hit in England with a version of " Can't You Hear My Heartbeat ". The Continental Co-ets from Fulda, Minnesota, were active from 1963 to 1967 and had a hit in Canada with "I Don't Love You No More". The Pleasure Seekers (later known as Cradle), from Detroit, featured Suzi Quatro and her sisters. Quatro went on to greater fame as

11242-581: The Smoke , the Sorrows , and Wimple Winch . Some commentators have branded the Troggs as garage rock. Extolling the virtues of their seemingly unrepentant primitivism and sexually charged innuendo, in 1971 Lester Bangs memorialized the Troggs as a quintessential "punk" [i.e. garage] band of the 1960s. They had a worldwide hit in 1966 with " Wild Thing ", written by American Chip Taylor . The Equals ,

11388-551: The Standells who are seen during the opening credits performing the theme song, as well as San Jose's the Chocolate Watchband . The Seeds and the Leaves were favorites with the "in-crowd" and managed to achieve national hits with songs that have come to be regarded as garage classics: the Seeds with " Pushin' Too Hard " and the Leaves with their version of " Hey Joe ", which became a staple in countless bands' repertoires. Love ,

11534-470: The Troggs . Their 1966 worldwide hit " Wild Thing " became a staple in countless American garage bands' repertoires. By 1965, the influence of the British Invasion prompted folk musicians such as Bob Dylan and members of the Byrds to adopt the use of electric guitars and amplifiers, resulting in what became termed folk rock . The resulting success of Dylan, the Byrds, and other folk rock acts influenced

11680-554: The U.S. charts in late 1966, and it became the title track to their only studio album in 1966. The band enjoyed limited success afterwards before breaking up in 1969. Count Five reunited in April 1987 when they performed a concert at One Step Beyond nightclub in Santa Clara, California . This was released as Psychotic Reunion LIVE! . "Psychotic Reaction" was included on the 1972 compilation album Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from

11826-536: The US prior to the arrival of the Beatles ;... [T]he indigenous popular music which functioned in this way ... was the proto-punk more commonly identified as garage rock ". As a result of cross-pollination between surf rock, hot rod music, and other influences, a new style of rock sometimes referred to as frat rock emerged, which has been mentioned as an early subgenre of garage rock. The Kingsmen 's 1963 off-the-cuff version of "Louie Louie" became

11972-658: The United States, and several thousand US garage acts made records during the era. Garage bands performed in a variety of venues. Local and regional groups typically played at parties, school dances, and teen clubs. For acts of legal age (and in some cases younger), bars, nightclubs, and college fraternity socials also provided regular engagements. Occasionally, groups had the opportunity to open at shows for famous touring acts. Some garage rock bands went on tour, particularly those better-known, but even more obscure groups sometimes received bookings or airplay beyond their immediate locales. Groups often competed in " battles of

12118-399: The United States, the Beatles made an historic appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show watched by a record-breaking viewing audience of a nation mourning the recent death of President John F. Kennedy . For many, particularly the young, the Beatles' visit re-ignited the sense of excitement and possibility that had momentarily faded in the wake of the assassination. Much of this new excitement

12264-464: The White Stripes . According to Peter Blecha , they "were the unholy practitioners of punk rock long before anyone knew what to call it". Founded in 1960, they eventually enlisted the services of vocalist Gerry Rosalie and saxophonist Rob Lind and proceeded to cut their first single, " The Witch " in 1964. The song was re-issued again in 1965, this time with the even more intense "Psycho" on

12410-723: The Who and the Small Faces tailored their appeal to the mod subculture centered in London. Some of the harder-driving and more obscure bands associated with the mod scene in the UK are sometimes referred to as Freakbeat , which is sometimes viewed as a more stylish British equivalent of garage rock. Several bands often mentioned as Freakbeat are the Creation , the Action , the Move ,

12556-404: The amplified signal are proportional to the input signal—so long as the voltage of the input signal does not exceed the valve's "linear region of operation". The linear region falls between Multiple stages of valve gain/clipping can be "cascaded" to produce a thicker and more complex distortion sound. In layperson's terms, a musician will plug a fuzz pedal into a tube amp that is being "cranked" to

12702-671: The bands ", which allowed musicians to gain exposure and a chance to win a prize, such as free equipment or recording time in a local studio. Contests were held, locally, regionally and nationally, and three of the most prestigious national events were held annually by the Tea Council of the US, the Music Circus , and the United States Junior Chamber . Performances often sounded amateurish, naïve, or intentionally raw, with typical themes revolving around

12848-415: The centre midrange (750 Hz) results in what is popularly known as a "scooped" sound (since the midrange frequencies are "scooped" out). Conversely, decreasing the bass while increasing the midrange and treble creates a punchy, harsher sound. Rolling off all of the treble produces a dark, heavy sound. While musicians intentionally create or add distortion to electric instrument signals or vocals to create

12994-409: The circuit at voltages that are too low for the circuit components, resulting in greater non-linearity and distortion. These designs are referred to as "starved plate" configurations, and result in an "amp death" sound. Solid-state amplifiers incorporating transistors and/or op amps can be made to produce hard clipping. When symmetrical, this adds additional high-amplitude odd harmonics, creating

13140-518: The country picked up guitars and started bands by the thousands. In many cases, garage bands were particularly influenced by the increasingly bold sound of a second wave of British groups with a harder, blues-based attack, such as the Kinks , the Who , the Animals , the Yardbirds , Small Faces , Pretty Things , Them , and the Rolling Stones often resulting in a raw and primitive sound. Numerous acts sometimes characterized as garage rock formed in countries outside North America, such as England's

13286-474: The de facto "big bang" for three-chord rock, starting as a regional hit in Seattle, then rising to No. 1 on the national charts and eventually becoming a major success overseas. The group unwittingly became the target of an FBI investigation in response to complaints about the song's alleged use of profanity in its nearly indecipherable lyrics. Though often associated with Pacific Northwest acts such as

13432-426: The description, predating the more familiar use of the term appropriated by the later punk rock movement that it influenced. The term "garage rock" gained favor amongst commentators and devotees during the 1980s. The style has also been referred to as " proto-punk ", or, in certain instances, "frat rock". In the early to mid-1980s, several revival scenes emerged featuring acts that consciously attempted to replicate

13578-455: The distortion-driven "She Lied" in 1964, which Rob Fitzpatrick called "a truly spectacular piece of proto-punk, the sort of perfect blend of melody and aggression that the Ramones would go on to transform the planet with a dozen or more years later". The Squires from Bristol, Connecticut, issued a song now regarded as a garage rock classic, "Going All the Way". Garage rock flourished up and down

13724-557: The electronic circuitry of his amplifiers so as to achieve a "brighter, louder" sound and fuller distortion capabilities. Also in 1966, Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd created the song Interstellar Overdrive , a song made entirely in electric distortion. It was released a year later in modified form on their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn . In the late 1960s and early 1970s hard rock bands such as Deep Purple , Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath forged what would eventually become

13870-684: The end of 1965. Other early fuzzboxes include the Mosrite FuzzRITE and Arbiter Group Fuzz Face used by Jimi Hendrix , the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi used by Hendrix and Carlos Santana , and the Vox Tone Bender used by Paul McCartney to play fuzz bass on " Think for Yourself " and other Beatles recordings. In 1966, Jim Marshall of the British company Marshall Amplification began modifying

14016-558: The end of the decade. The Unrelated Segments recorded a string of songs beginning with local hit "The Story Of My Life", followed by "Where You Gonna Go". In 1966, the Litter from Minneapolis released the guitar-overdriven " Action Woman ", a song which Michael Hann described as "one of garage's gnarliest, snarliest, most tight-trousered pieces of hormonal aggression". In Texas, the 13th Floor Elevators from Austin, featured Roky Erickson on guitar and vocals and are considered one of

14162-462: The family garage , although many were professional. In the US and Canada, surf rock —and later the Beatles and other beat groups of the British Invasion —motivated thousands of young people to form bands between 1963 and 1968. Hundreds of grass-roots acts produced regional hits, some of which gained national popularity, usually played on AM radio stations. With the advent of psychedelia , numerous garage bands incorporated exotic elements into

14308-512: The first rock-and-roll act to be signed to Columbia Records , but did not achieve their commercial breakthrough until 1965 with the song "Steppin Out", which was followed by string of chart-topping hits such as " Just Like Me " (originally recorded by the Wilde Knights ) and " Kicks ". The Sonics from Tacoma had a raunchy, hard-driving sound that influenced later acts such as Nirvana and

14454-500: The flip side. They released several albums and are also known for other "high-octane" rockers such as "Cinderella" and "He's Waitin ' ". Prompted by the Sonics, the Wailers entered the mid-1960s with a harder-edged sound in the fuzz-driven "Hang Up" and "Out of Our Tree". The Barbarians from Cape Cod , wearing sandals and long hair and cultivating an image of "noble savages", recorded an album and several singles, such as " Are You

14600-615: The following year. Other regional scenes of teenage bands playing R&B-oriented rock were well-established in the early 1960s, several years before the British Invasion , in places such as Texas and the Midwest . At the same time, in Southern California surf bands formed, playing raucous guitar- and saxophone-driven instrumentals. Writer Neil Campbell commented: "There were literally thousands of rough-and-ready groups performing in local bars and dance halls throughout

14746-617: The fuzz-driven " It's a Cry'n Shame ", which in Mike Markesich's Teenbeat Mayhem is ranked as one of the top two garage rock songs of all time, second only to "You're Gonna Miss Me", by the 13th Floor Elevators. The Outcasts from San Antonio cut two highly regarded songs, "I'm in Pittsburgh and It's Raining", which became a local hit, and "1523 Blair", that Jason Ankeny described as "Texas psychedelia at its finest". The Five Americans were from Durant, Oklahoma, and released

14892-463: The garage outfit Thee Sixpence and had a No. 1 hit in 1967 with psychedelic " Incense and Peppermints ". Garage rock was not an exclusively male phenomenon—it fostered the emergence of all-female bands whose members played their own instruments. One of the first of such acts was New York's Goldie and the Gingerbreads , who appeared at New York's Peppermint Lounge in 1964 and accompanied

15038-414: The genre's primitive stylistic framework. After 1968, as more sophisticated forms of rock music came to dominate the marketplace, garage rock records largely disappeared from national and regional charts, and the movement faded. Other countries in the 1960s experienced similar rock movements that have sometimes been characterized as variants of garage rock. During the 1960s, garage rock was not recognized as

15184-461: The hit "Talk Talk". The Electric Prunes were one of the more successful garage bands to incorporate psychedelic influences into their sound, such as in the hit " I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) ", whose opening featured a buzzing fuzz -toned guitar, and which appeared on their self titled debut LP . Garage rock was also present in the Latino community of East L.A. The Premiers , who had

15330-471: The impact of the Beatles and the British Invasion shifted the musical landscape, presenting not only a challenge, but also a new impetus, as previously established acts in the Pacific Northwest adapted to the new climate, often reaching greater levels of commercial and artistic success, while scores of new bands formed. After relocating to Portland, Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1963 became

15476-453: The input frequencies are not already harmonically related. For instance, playing a power chord through distortion results in intermodulation that produces new subharmonics . "Soft clipping" gradually flattens the peaks of a signal which creates a number of higher harmonics which share a harmonic relationship with the original tone. "Hard clipping" flattens peaks abruptly, resulting in higher power in higher harmonics. As clipping increases,

15622-460: The instrumental "Tall Cool One". After the demise of the Blue Notes, "Rockin' Robin" did a brief stint with the Wailers, and with him on vocals in 1962, they recorded a version of Richard Berry's 1957 song " Louie Louie "—their arrangement became the much-replicated blueprint for practically every band in the region, including Portland's the Kingsmen who went on to achieve a major hit with it

15768-415: The keys; however, the performer can still control the volume with drawbars and the expression pedal). Heavy metal music has evolved around these restrictions, using complex rhythms and timing for expression and excitement. Lighter distortions and overdrives can be used with triadic chords and seventh chords; as well, lighter overdrive allows more control of dynamics. Power valves (tubes) can be overdriven in

15914-683: The late 1950s and early 1960s other instrumental groups playing in the region, such as the Ventures , formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington , who came to specialize in a surf rock sound, and the Frantics from Seattle. The Blue Notes from Tacoma, Washington, fronted by "Rockin' Robin" Roberts , were one of the city's first teenage rock & roll bands. The Wailers (often referred to as the Fabulous Wailers) had national chart hit in 1959,

16060-494: The look and sound of 1960s garage bands. Later in the decade, a louder, more contemporary garage subgenre developed that combined garage rock with modern punk rock and other influences, sometimes using the garage punk label originally and otherwise associated with 1960s garage bands. In the 2000s, a wave of garage-influenced acts associated with the post-punk revival emerged, and some achieved commercial success. Garage rock continues to appeal to musicians and audiences who prefer

16206-445: The mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is characterized by basic chord structures played on electric guitars and other instruments, sometimes distorted through a fuzzbox , as well as often unsophisticated and occasionally aggressive lyrics and delivery. Its name derives from the perception that groups were often made up of young amateurs who rehearsed in

16352-412: The most extreme fuzz pedals, players may choose to play mostly single notes, because the fuzz can make even single notes sound very thick and heavy. Heavy distortion also tends to limit the player's control of dynamics (loudness and softness)—similar to the limitations imposed on a Hammond organ player (Hammond organ does not produce louder or softer sounds depending on how hard or soft the performer plays

16498-422: The ordinary input signal amplitude, thus overdriving the amplifier) Note : product names may not accurately reflect type of circuit involved - see above. A fuzz box alters an audio signal until it is nearly a square wave and adds complex overtones by way of a frequency multiplier . Vacuum tube or "valve" distortion is achieved by "overdriving" the valves in an amplifier. In layman's terms, overdriving

16644-698: The peak of the signal. As this effect is more pronounced with higher input signals, the harder "attack" of a note will be compressed more heavily than the lower-voltage "decay", making the latter seem louder and thereby improving sustain . Additionally, because the level of compression is affected by input volume, the player can control it via their playing intensity: playing harder results in more compression or "sag". In contrast, modern amplifiers often use high-quality, well-regulated power supplies. Guitar loudspeakers are designed differently from high fidelity stereo speakers or public address system speakers. While hi-fi and public address speakers are designed to reproduce

16790-414: The peaks and troughs of the signal waves), adding sustain and harmonic and inharmonic overtones and leading to a compressed sound that is often described as "warm" and "dirty", depending on the type and intensity of distortion used. The terms distortion and overdrive are often used interchangeably; where a distinction is made, distortion is a more extreme version of the effect than overdrive . Fuzz

16936-437: The plate, a current of negatively charged electrons flows to it from the heated cathode through the grid. This increases the voltage of the audio signal , amplifying its volume. The grid regulates the extent to which plate voltage is increased. A small negative voltage applied to the grid causes a large decrease in plate voltage. Valve amplification is more or less linear—meaning the parameters (amplitude, frequency, phase) of

17082-416: The power amp. When the preamp volume is set high to generate high distortion levels, the master volume lowered, keeping the output volume at manageable levels. Demo of a Big Muff Analog overdrive/distortion pedals work on similar principles to preamplifier distortion. Because most effects pedals are designed to operate from battery voltages, using vacuum tubes to generate distortion and overdrive

17228-404: The power section hard. Many valve-based amplifiers in common use have a push-pull output configuration in their power section, with matched pairs of tubes driving the output transformer . Power amplifier distortion is normally entirely symmetric, generating predominantly odd-order harmonics. Because driving the power valves this hard also means maximum volume, which can be difficult to manage in

17374-505: The prominent bands of the era. They had a regional hit with " You're Gonna Miss Me " and a string of albums, but the band was hampered by drug busts and related legal problems that hastened their demise. Richie Unterberger singled out The Zakary Thaks , from Corpus Christi, for their songwriting skills, and they are best known for the frantic and sped-up "Bad Girl". The Moving Sidewalks , from Houston, featured Billy Gibbons on guitar, later of ZZ Top . The Gentlemen from Dallas cut

17520-516: The recent powerful and "fat" Gibson humbucker pickups, and controlled "feedback" ( Larsen effect ). The resultant sound can be heard on his highly influential 1958 instrumental , " Rumble " and Rawhide. In 1961, Grady Martin scored a hit with a fuzzy tone caused by a faulty preamplifier that distorted his guitar playing on the Marty Robbins song " Don't Worry ". Later that year Martin recorded an instrumental tune under his own name, using

17666-498: The revival of interest in 1960s garage rock can be traced to the release of the 1972 album Nuggets compiled by Lenny Kaye. In the liner notes, Kaye used "punk rock" as a collective term for 1960s garage bands and also "garage-punk" to describe a song recorded in 1966 by the Shadows of Knight. In the January 1973 Rolling Stone review of Nuggets , Greg Shaw commented: "Punk rock is a fascinating genre ... Punk rock at its best

17812-487: The same faulty preamp. The song, on the Decca label, was called "The Fuzz." Martin is generally credited as the discoverer of the "fuzz effect." The recording engineer from Martin's sessions, Glenn Snoddy , partnered with fellow WSM radio engineer Revis V. Hobbs to design and build a stand-alone device that would intentionally create the fuzzy effect. The two engineers sold their circuit to Gibson , who introduced it as

17958-439: The same way that pre-amplifier valves can, but because these valves are designed to output more power, the distortion and character they add to the guitar's tone is unique. During the 1960s to early 1970s, distortion was primarily created by overdriving the power valves. Because they have become accustomed to this sound , many guitar players favour this type of distortion, and thus set their amps to maximum levels in order to drive

18104-408: The sessions, arguing that "that guitar sounds like a nice horn section". In the late 1950s, Guitarist Link Wray began manipulating his amplifiers' vacuum tubes to create a "noisy" and "dirty" sound for his solos after a similarly accidental discovery. Wray also poked holes in his speaker cones with pencils to further distort his tone, used electronic echo chambers (then usually employed by singers),

18250-413: The signal processing chain, including multiple stages of preamp distortion, power valve distortion, output and power transformer distortion, and guitar speaker distortion. Much of the distortion character or voicing is controlled by the frequency response before and after each distortion stage. This dependency of distortion voicing on frequency response can be heard in the effect that a wah pedal has on

18396-509: The signal. Some speakers are designed to have much clean headroom , while others are designed to break up early to deliver grit and growl. Guitar amp modeling devices and software can reproduce various guitar-specific distortion qualities that are associated with a range of popular "stomp box" pedals and amplifiers. Amp modeling devices typically use digital signal processing to recreate the sound of plugging into analogue pedals and overdriven valve amplifiers. The most sophisticated devices allow

18542-453: The sound and approach of numerous garage bands. In the wake of the British Invasion, garage rock experienced a boom in popularity. With thousands of garage bands active in the US and Canada, hundreds produced regional hits during the period, often receiving airplay on local AM radio stations. Several acts gained wider exposure just long enough to have one or occasionally more national hits in an era rife with " one-hit wonders ". In 1965,

18688-480: The sound garage rock. According to Lester Bangs , "the origins of garage rock as a genre can be traced to California and the Pacific Northwest in the early Sixties". The Pacific Northwest , which encompasses Washington , Oregon , and Idaho , played a critical role in the inception of garage rock, hosting the first scene to produce a sizable number of acts, and pre-dated the British Invasion by several years. The signature garage sound that eventually emerged in

18834-416: The sound with as little distortion as possible, guitar speakers are usually designed so that they will shape or color the tone of the guitar, either by enhancing some frequencies or attenuating unwanted frequencies. When the power delivered to a guitar speaker approaches its maximum rated power, the speaker's performance degrades, causing the speaker to "break up", adding further distortion and colouration to

18980-422: The subsequent distortion stage, or by using tone controls built into the guitar, the preamp or an EQ pedal to favor the bass or treble components of the guitar pickup signal prior to the first distortion stage. Some guitarists place an equalizer pedal after the distortion effect, to emphasize or de-emphasize different frequencies in the distorted signal. Increasing the bass and treble while reducing or eliminating

19126-448: The term " punk rock " to characterize it, making it the first musical form to bear the description. While the coinage of the term "punk" in relation to rock music is unknown, it was sometimes used then to describe primitive or rudimentary rock musicianship, but more specifically 1960s garage as a style. In the May 1971 issue of Creem , Dave Marsh described a performance by ? and

19272-459: The traumas of high school life and songs about "lying girls" being particularly common. The lyrics and delivery were frequently more aggressive than that of the more established acts of the time, often with nasal, growled, or shouted vocals, sometimes punctuated by shrieks or screams at climactic moments of release. Instrumentation was frequently characterized by basic chord structures played on electric guitars or keyboards often distorted through

19418-680: The travails of his disfigurement, released under the Barbarians' name, but backed by future members of the Band . Boston's the Remains (sometimes called Barry & the Remains), led by Barry Tashian , became one of the region's most popular bands and, in addition to issuing five singles and a self-titled album , toured with the Beatles in 1966. Also from Boston, the Rockin' Ramrods released

19564-417: The user to customize the simulated results of using different preamp, power-tube, speaker distortion, speaker cabinet, and microphone placement combinations. For example, a guitarist using a small amp modeling pedal could simulate the sound of plugging their electric guitar into a heavy vintage valve amplifier and a stack of 8 X 10" speaker cabinets. Guitar distortion is obtained and shaped at various points in

19710-698: The way to the right until the speaker was screaming." In 1956, guitarist Paul Burlison of the Johnny Burnette Trio deliberately dislodged a vacuum tube in his amplifier to record " The Train Kept A-Rollin " after a reviewer raved about the sound Burlison's damaged amplifier produced during a live performance. According to other sources Burlison's amp had a partially broken loudspeaker cone. Pop-oriented producers were horrified by that eerie "two-tone" sound, quite clean on trebles but strongly distorted on basses, but Burnette insisted on releasing

19856-429: Was around". In the early 1970s, Kaye and other US rock critics, such as Dave Marsh , Lester Bangs , and Greg Shaw , began to retroactively draw attention to the music, speaking nostalgically of mid-1960s garage bands (and subsequent artists then perceived to be their stylistic inheritors) for the first time as a genre. "Garage rock" was not the initial name applied to the style. In the early 1970s such critics used

20002-513: Was expressed in rock music, often to the chagrin of parents and elders. In the wake of the Beatles' first visit, a subsequent string of successful British beat groups and acts achieved success in America between 1964 and 1966, often referred to in the US as "the British Invasion". Such acts had a profound impact, leading many (often surf or hot rod groups) to respond by altering their style, and countless new bands to form, as teenagers around

20148-645: Was increased beyond their design limit or if they sustained minor damage. From 1935, Western swing guitarist Bob Dunn began experimenting with a distorted or "dirty" tone. Later, around 1945, Western swing guitarist and member of the Bob Wills band, Junior Barnard , began experimenting with a rudimentary humbucker pick-up and a small amplifier to obtain his signature "low-down and dirty" bluesy sound which allowed for more "fluid and funky" chords. Many electric blues guitarists, including Chicago bluesmen such as Elmore James and Buddy Guy , experimented to get

20294-506: 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 and The Yardbirds . The band was rejected by several record labels before they got signed to the Los Angeles-based Double Shot Records. "Psychotic Reaction" was released as a single, peaking at number five in

20440-537: Was invented. Lower-power valve amps (such as a quarter-watt or less) , speaker isolation cabinets , and low-efficiency guitar speakers are also used to tame the volume. Power-valve distortion can also be produced in a dedicated rackmount valve power amp. A modular rackmount setup often involves a rackmount preamp, a rackmount valve power amp, and a rackmount dummy load to attenuate the output to desired volume levels. Some effects pedals internally produce power-valve distortion, including an optional dummy load for use as

20586-635: Was largely devoted to discussion of 1960s garage and psychedelic acts. Greg Shaw's seasonal publication, Who Put the Bomp! , was influential amongst enthusiasts and collectors of the genre in the early 1970s. Though the phrase "punk rock" was the favored generic term in the early 1970s, "garage band" was also mentioned in reference to groups. In Rolling Stone in March 1971, John Mendelsohn made an oblique reference to "every last punk teenage garage band having its Own Original Approach". The term "punk rock"

20732-480: Was later appropriated by the more commonly-known punk rock movement that emerged in the mid-1970s and is now most commonly applied to groups associated with that movement or who followed in its wake. For the 1960s style, the term "garage rock" came into favor in the 1980s. According to Mike Markesich: "Initially launched into the underground vernacular at the start of the '80s, the garage tag ... slowly sifted its way amid like-minded fans to finally be recognized as

20878-669: Was later covered by acts such as the Dead Boys , the Banned , and the Chesterfield Kings . In 1965, a Pittsburgh disc jockey discovered " Hanky Panky ", a 1964 song by a since-defunct group, the Shondells; the song's belated success revived the career of Tommy James , who assembled a new group under the name Tommy James and the Shondells and produced 12 more top-40 singles. In 1967, Strawberry Alarm Clock emerged from

21024-466: Was later memorialized by Lester Bangs in his 1971 piece "Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung". " 96 Tears " (1966) by Question Mark and the Mysterians , from Saginaw, Michigan, became a No. 1 hit in the US. The song's organ riffs and theme of teenage heartbreak have been mentioned as a landmark recording of the garage rock era and recognized for influencing the works of acts as diverse as

21170-522: Was not exclusive to it. As part of the international beat trend of the 1960s, other countries developed grass-roots rock movements that closely mirrored what was happening in North America, which have sometimes been characterized as variants of garage rock or as closely related forms. Although Britain did not develop a distinct garage rock genre in the same way as the United States, many British beat groups shared important characteristics with

21316-468: Was the center of L.A. nightlife, providing bands with high-profile venues to attract a larger following and possibly capture the attention of record labels looking to sign a new act. Exploitation films such as Riot on Sunset Strip , Mondo Hollywood , captured the musical and social milieu of life on the strip. In Riot on Sunset Strip , several bands make appearances at the Pandora's Box , including

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