The Count Five
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1964-) - Craig "Butch" Atkinson (RIP 1988) -- drums, percussion - John "Sean" Byrne (RIP 2008) -- vocals, rhythm guitar - Roy Chaney -- bass - Kenn Ellner -- lead vocals, harmonica - John "Mouse" Michalski -- lead guitar
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- John Bryne (solo efforts) - Byrne and Bown - Roy Chaney (solo efforts) - The Count (Roy Chaney) - Legover (John Byrne) - Public Foot the Roman (John Byrne) - The Renegades (Roy Chaney)
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Genre: garage rock Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: Psychotic Reaction Company: Double Shot Catalog: DSM
1001 Country/State: San Jose, California and Dublin Ireland Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: mono pressing Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $180.00
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A VG+ condition "Psychotic Reaction" stands as one of my finest yard sale finds. I found it at a Saturday yard sale in New Jersey while I was on a mid-90s business trip. I think I paid about $10 for a copy. I owned it for years and in a move I regretted for years, sold it for what I thought was a significant profit. I regretted the move the minute I sold it and then it took me a couple of years to find an affordable replacement copy. As you can imagine, the replacement copy cost me a little more than $10. LOL
The Count Five story is similar to that of thousands of mid-'60s bands with the exception being they briefly achieved massive commercial success. The band's roots trace back to 1964 when school friends Ron Chaney (bass) and John "Mouse" Michalski (lead guitar) decided to form a surf band. As The Citations they quickly added drummer Skip Cordell. The following year saw the trio add buddy Kenn Ellner on vocals, followed by keyboardist Phil Evans. Bitten by the British Invasion sound, the group changed their name to The Squires, opting for a shift to an English Invasion sound. With Cordell and Evans calling it quits, the group recruited Dublin, Ireland-born neighbor/rhythm guitarist John "Sean" Byrne. Ellner subsequently recruited high school friend Craig Atkinson to serve as drummer. Along with the new recruits came another name change - Count V (or Count Five). They also adopted Dracula-styled capes and puffy styled shirts as part of their stage act. Rehearsing in various living rooms, they started playing parties, school events, battle of the bands competitions and local clubs like Loser’s South, Sunnyvale’s Bold Knight and Santa Clara's The Continental. Playing a local club the group caught the attention of local DJ Brian Lord. Lord arranged for them to audition for several record labels, eventually putting them in touch with friends Hal Winn and Joseph Hooven who had just set up Double Shot Records. Auditioning for the label they were signed when they performed "Psychotic Reaction".
Produced by Winn and Hooven, the band made their debut with a 1966 single which happened to be released the day Chaney and Ellner graduated from high school:
- 1966's "Psychotic Reaction" b/w "They're Gonna Get You" (Double Shot catalog number 104) # 5 Billboard Top-100 charts
With
the single providing the band an unexpected top-10 US hit and strong
worldwide sales, Double Shot management rushed the band into the studio to
record a supporting album. Produced
by Hooven and Winn, "Psychotic Reaction" was your
standard mid-'60s "quickie" album,
recorded at the speed of light with the aim of taking advantage of the
band's sudden exposure which had included appearances on national
television, including The Lloyd Thaxton Show, Dick Clark's American
Bandstand and Where the Action Is. Striking while the iron was hot in
terms of movi
"Psychotic
Reaction" track listing: 1.) Double-Decker Bus (John Byrne) - 2:00 rating: **** stars As a big fan of mid-'60s garage rock I was hard pressed to find anything to criticize on the pounding opener "Double-Decker Bus". Kenn Ellner's growling voice and bluesy harmonica; the song's gritty, slightly ominous melody with just a hint of psych baked in ... It made for an awesome way to start the album.. 2.) Pretty Big Mouth (John Byrne - Kenn Ellner - Roy Chaney - Craig Atkinson - Mouse Michalski) - 2:07 rating: **** stars The first of two group compositions, "Pretty Big Mouth" had a vaguely surf-rock flavor, while giving Michalski a chance to show off his affection for fuzz guitar effects. Not sure if that was the intention but the song title and sly lyrics have always made me smile. Shame the ending was so a. 3.) The World (John Byrne) - 2:12 rating: **** stars With Ellner turning in his best "snotty" vocal "The World" found the band adding a stinging bluesy edge to their garage sound. The biggest compliment I can give this one is if you were the parent of a young girl you weren't going to let these guys within a mile of your daughter. LOL 4.) My Generation (Pete Townshend) - 2:27 rating: ** stars Clearly added as "filler" "My Generation" was the first of two The Who covers. Musically their version stayed true to the original (complete with stuttering lead vocals), though it lacked the fury of The Who's performance. They clearly deserved some credit for having good taste in covers, being one of the first American bands to cover Townshend and company. Give Roy Chaney a nod for mastering John Entwistle's elaborate bass patterns. 5.) She's Fine (John Byrne) - 2:12 rating: *** stars Byrne wrote it and I'm pretty sure he handled the lead vocals on the vaguely Buddy Holly-ish "She's Fine". Surrounded by a charming folk-rock arrangement his slightly "pinched" vocals were interesting. 6.)
Psychotic Reaction (Kenn Ellner - Roy Chaney - Craig Atkinson - John Byrne -
Mouse Michalski) - 3:03 rating:
***** stars
(side
2) With Byrne and Ellner sharing lead vocals, "Peace of Mind" was powered by Atkinson's frenetic drums, Chaney's hypnotic bass line and Michalski's backwards guitar interludes. The song was even trippier than the title track which might explain why it was tapped as the follow-on single:
- 1966's "Peace of Mind" b/w "The Morning After" (Double Shot catalog number 108)
YouTube has a black and white clip of the band being interviewed and lip-synching the song on Dick Clark's American Bandstand: Count Five - Peace Of Mind
2.) They're Gonna Get You (John Byrne) - 2:26 rating: *** stars Back to a more garage-rock sound, "They're Gonna Get You" found Byrne and Ellner trading lead vocals. The track mixed a rollicking rhythm with an ominous edge. Not sure who handled the goofy falsetto segments but the effects reminded me a bit of an early Monkees performance. The song had previously appeared as the "B" side of their "Psychotic Reaction" 45. 3.) The Morning After (John Byrne) - 1:57 rating: *** stars With Byrne handling lead vocals, "The Morning After" was built on a hypnotic Michalski riff and some weird lysergic/sci-fi sound effects. This was another track that sounded rushed, but promising. Shame it was so short. Ironically the song was born in a fit of desperation. I read an interview with Byrne where he described Double Shot management having put the band in an LA hotel in an effort to get them to write new material for their debut album. In advance of a visit from label owner/producer Hal Winn the group had little to show for their efforts ... "So we faked something on the spot, where I hit these chords and sang ‘Some nights I’m alone … Some nights I’m alone” Winn ... comes in and says, ‘I like it.” ‘That made-up on the spot (song) became “The Morning After” – the B-side to “Peace Of Mind”. 4.) Can't Get Your Lovin' (John Byrne) -1:47 rating: *** stars The bouncy "Can't Get Your Lovin'" sounded like something that was written and recorded in the early-'60s,. That was underscored by the harmless lyrics, echo-rich production and Byrne andEllner's shared lead vocals 5.) Out in the Street (Pete Townshend) - 2:28 rating: *** stars Ellner turned in one of his more energetic performances on the second Townshend cover, but once again you were left to wonder why they bothered when their original material was so much better.
Double Shot continued releasing a series of non-LP 45s, but by 1968 the hits had dried up and the band elected to call it quits with the members heading off to college (perhaps in the hopes of avoiding the draft).
- 1967's "You Must Believe Me" b/w "Teeny Bopper, Teeny Bopper" (Double Shot catalog number 110) In Belgium, Canada and several other markets the 45 titles were flipped making "Teeny Bopper, Teeny Bopper" the "A" side.
- 1967's "Merry Go Round" b/w "Contrast" (Double Shot catalog number 115) - 1968's "Revelation In Slow Motion" b/w "Declaration of Independence" (Double Shot catalog number 125) - 1969's "Mailman" b/w "Pretty Big Mouth" (Double Shot catalog number DS 141)
A number of cultural events have kept the band in the public eye. In 1971 Lester Bangs published an essay in Creem entitled "Psychotic Reaction and Carburetor Dung”. Using the name Psychotic Reaction as a band name, the story provided a "history" of the fictional band, including descriptions of their ever more elaborate album's "Carburetor Dung", "Cartesian Jetstream", "Ancient Lace and Wrought-Iron Railings" and "Snowflakes Falling On the International Dateline". Five years after Bangs death Greil Marcus compiled a number of his articles \ into a retrospective entitled "Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic: Rock 'n' Roll as Literature and Literature as Rock 'n' Roll".
The following year record store clerk/guitarist/writer Lenny Kaye compiled and produced the garage rock compilation album "Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era" (Elektra catalog number 7E 2008). Among the twenty-seven tracks was "Psychotic Reaction".
Staying in San Jose Chaney went into the construction business while played in J.J. Trag and a number of local San Jose bands and a Count Five spin-off The Count. After the loss of his son Chaney shifted to non-secular music recording at least one solo single.
Prior to his 2008 death from cirrhosis of the liver Byrne seems to he only member to have actively pursued a musical career. He recorded a 1973 album with Public Foot the Roman, a 1979 album with the band Legover and a couple of solo singles.
There have been a couple of brief Count Five unions.
1986 saw all the members reunite for a twenty year high school anniversary.
The following year they reappeared for a performance at Santa Clara's One Step Beyond Club. New drummer Rocky Astrella was brought in to support Atkinson. The April 1987 performance was subsequently released on the New Jersey-based Performance label as "Psychotic Reaction Live!" (Performance catalog number DS 396)
© Scott R. Blackerby March 2026
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"product" was clearly the driving motivation rather than Artistic
integrity. The fact all five members were still in their teens with
minimal professional experience and little support from their label made the
fact they were able to complete an album an impressive achievement.
Between the pressure of television appearances, radio interviews and touring
with the likes of The Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds The Doors and Van Morrison
and Them, it would not have been a shock to discover the album was a
complete disappointment. Given the set's overall quality was better
than expected made if even more impressive. With Double Shot
sequestering the band in an LA hotel to write new material, the debut album
was recorded in a matter of days. The end results featured a mixture
of band originals rounded out by a pair of cover tunes. Largely penned
by Byrne, tracks like "Double-Decker
Bus", "Pretty Big Mouth"
and the second single "Peace of Mind"
aptly showcased the band's low-tech garage-rock oriented repertoire.
The results were helped by the fact Ellner and Byrne were both decent
vocalists. Atkinson was
an energetic, if somewhat limited drummer , while Michalski proved an
underrated guitarist. It certainly
wasn't a perfect debut. Covers of Pete Townshend's "My
Generation" and "Out In the Street" demonstrated the group
had been listening to plenty of The Who along with The Yardbirds and other
English bands. Unfortunately the two covers didn't come close to
matching the originals. The title track was clearly that album's
classic performance, but originals like "The World" and
"Peace of Mind" were worth hearing, while tracks like "They're Gonna Get You"
and "The Morning After" were good, if short of great. 
