Before Jeff "Monoman" Connolly formed Boston's seminal garage rock terrorists the Lyres, he was in a late-'70s prototype known as DMZ. With the exception of a few musicians, DMZ and the Lyres were essentially same-sounding bands; DMZ just played with a little more speed and punk verve. Oddly enough, during the late-'70s signing frenzy of any... [+] Read More

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Spain, unlike some other countries in continental Europe, was not a hotbed of garage rock in the '60s, but there were a few Spanish bands. From recorded evidence, the best of these were Los Cheyenes, a Barcelona group who wrote most of their riff-heavy material. They often sounded like an extremely raw variation of the early Kinks, with... [+] Read More

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"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

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The Chocolate Watchband never charted a record nationally. Indeed, ask most casual 1960s rock fans about them and you'll probably get little more than a blank stare. Most will remember their AVI Records labelmates the Standells more clearly, because they actually managed to chart a few singles. Alas, the Watchband had the disadvantage of being a... [+] Read More

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In early 1966, the Knickerbockers hit the Top 20 with "Lies," the best and most accurate early Beatle imitation ever recorded; the lead vocals were a dead ringer for John Lennon and the whole production could have fit in snugly on the second side of A Hard Day's Night. Actually a frat rock band from New Jersey who didn't write much of their own... [+] Read More

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This Indiana group was still in high school when they were tapped by the Strangeloves production team of Feldman-Goldstein-Gottehrer as a vehicle for their material in 1965. Their first effort, "Hang on Sloopy," was a monster number one smash, built around a riff and chorus that ranks with "Louie Louie" and "La Bamba" as a garage band perennial... [+] Read More

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Most famous for "Talk Talk," a Top 20 single from 1966 that was one of the most manic '60s garage-punk hits, the Music Machine had much more depth and songwriting talent than the typical one-hit wonders of the day. Lead singer and songwriter Sean Bonniwell's strangled lyrics and dark, verbose vision paced the group's wiry psychedelic guitar... [+] Read More

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The Nightcrawlers had a small hit, "The Little Black Egg," in the mid-'60s that's remembered for its cutesy folk-rock-cum-garage sound and its enigmatic lyrics. Although it only reached number 85, it made more of an impact than that low placing might reflect, since it was a regional hit in various parts of the country after it was recorded in... [+] Read More

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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

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Along with the Haunted, the Ugly Ducklings were probably the best Canadian rock group of the mid-'60s. Like the Haunted, they drew heavily from the Rolling Stones -- as well as bits of the Kinks and Pretty Things -- for their raunchy R&B/rock sound, but had the edge over the Haunted in that they wrote stronger original material. Scoring a... [+] Read More

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