Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 80s, 90s, 00s
Pittsburgh's Cynics have matured a great deal, musically speaking, in the decade they have been around, and it's a tribute to guitarist Gregg Kostelich and singer Michael Kastelic that the group's '60s garage/punk/folk/psychedelic visions of tender love and hard breakups has endured. Utilizing a revolving lineup of bassists and drummers,... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s, 80s
This Dallas group -- too accomplished to be called a garage band in the usual sense of the term -- was pretty popular in their hometown in the mid-'60s, but never made any noise on the national level. It's ironic that much of their reputation rests on a live album of covers, Impact, that ranks among the most collectable LPs of the '60s, as the... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s
This Tyler, TX, group from the mid-'60s is most known for their uncanny imitation of Highway 61-era Dylan, "A Public Execution." Featured on the Nuggets compilation, it is to Dylan what the Knickerbockers' "Lies" is to the Beatles: one of the few rip-offs so utterly accurate that it could easily fool listeners into mistaking it for the original... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s
"The Stones, Animals and Yardbirds took the Chicago Blues and gave it an English interpretation. We've taken the English version of the Blues and re-added a Chicago touch." The Shadows of Knight's self-description was fairly accurate. Although this mid-'60s garage band from the Windy City did not match the excellence of either their British or... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 70s
Although amounting to little more than a footnote in the early days of English punk rock, the Count Bishops were a fine, energetic, R&B-based band capable of kicking out a fierce racket of noise that sounded like a grimier version of seminal British R&B revivalists Dr. Feelgood. Originally fronted by journeyman American singer Mike Spencer, the... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s, 70s
The Gentrys got their start in Memphis, TN, in 1963. The original group was made up of seven members: vocalist Bruce Bowles, saxophonist Bobby Fisher, vocalist Jimmy Hart, trumpet player Jimmy Johnson, bassist Pat Neal, vocalist Larry Raspberry, and drummer Larry Wall. Their debut album, Keep on Dancing, climbed into the Top 100 due to the... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s
One of Canada's most popular homegrown rock groups in the '60s, though they made no inroads to the rest of North America. From the English-speaking community of Montreal, the group was very explicit in their desire to emulate the Rolling Stones, and most of their 1966-1968 singles (as well as their sole LP, from 1967) were in a raunchy... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 80s
From Sacramento, CA, the New Breed recorded a few British Invasion-influenced pop-garage singles in the mid-'60s that did well in their hometown and a few other pockets of Northern California, but went unheard elsewhere. One of the many decent but somewhat colorless bands of their type, they at least had good taste in material, recording a... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s, 80s
While still at prep school in the mid-'60s, this New England group recorded one of the rarest and most respected garage band albums, divided equally between outside and self-penned material. This effort was distinguished from many other recordings of the sort not by the respectable covers (of material by Them, Wilson Pickett, Love, and fellow... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s, 80s
While still at prep school in the mid-'60s, this New England group recorded one of the rarest and most respected garage band albums, divided equally between outside and self-penned material. This effort was distinguished from many other recordings of the sort not by the respectable covers (of material by Them, Wilson Pickett, Love, and fellow... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s
Formed in San Jose, CA, in 1964, the Syndicate of Sound were one of the premier garage bands and forerunners of psychedelic rock, establishing a national following based on one massive 1966 hit, "Little Girl." Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Don Baskin, guitarist/keyboardist John Sharkey, lead guitarist Jim Sawyers, bassist Bob Gonzalez, and... [+] Read More