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College over stardom? No regrets
 

Monday, August 18, 2003 - Ellner has become a lawyer, but remains in the entertainment industry. Some of his fellow bandmates have pursued careers as contractors and landscape contractors.

Ellner says he has few regrets about choosing Foothill College over rocking out. Well, maybe one.

"If 'Psychotic Reaction' had been released earlier, I could have gotten a better date for the prom," he jokes.

The song was released the day Ellner graduated from San Jose's Pioneer High School. He was 17.

The band's brief brush with stardom gave him a chance to see up close some of the'60s biggest rock groups -- even steal from one. Ellner recalled when a new group called The Doors opened for the Count Five during a show in Southern California.

After the gig, one of the Count Five's snare drums got swiped. Ellner suspected The Doors and plotted his revenge. He sneaked into the band's dressing room and pilfered a leather jacket from lead singer Jim Morrison.

Later, he saw Morrison.

"Morrison said, 'Have you seen my leather jacket?'" Ellner recalls. "I said, 'Have you seen this snare drum?' We both went back and got the items and exchanged them."

The Count Five got their start in 1964 as The Squires. They soon picked up a new guitarist and changed their moniker to reflect the five-person band. Several record companies including Capitol and Fantasy turned them down for contracts, but they managed to get a break at a fraternity party.

They impressed a local deejay named Brian Lord, who helped them get an audition at Decca Records, who signed the group. John Michalski, the lead guitarist, says the group could have been bigger.

"We had enough songs to have another hit," says the Campbell resident. "But we didn't get the backing from the record company."

A few years ago "Psychotic Reaction" landed on the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 most influential songs -- showing the band is still defined by its signature song.

So what's it like to be a one hit wonder?

"It's better to be a one hit wonder than to never be," says bassist Roy Chaney, a San Jose resident. "There are a lot of bands that won't make it and didn't make it."

Justin Jouvenal can be reached at (650) 348-4331 or at jjouvenal@hotmail.com .

(thanks, Beverly)

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