This week I have been off of my feet due to a bike spill. Being that the record convention was this past weekend, I was able, prior to the spill, to dig up some new Texas fuzz. So please bear with me, next week will return to a normal length.
The Countdown 5 was formed out of the demise of a group called The Dominoes, a high school band, from Texas City, Texas. The Bamboo Hut was a Dance club in Galveston, Texas where the group became the house band. The Bamboo Hut would be a place for, practicing and performing and really tightening their sound, which later put them on the billboard top 100. In 1965, the Countdown recorded the single “Bamboo Hut,” recorded on the Pasadena label Pic 1. The single carries over a frat rock sound from the early sixties, a high-energy dance number, showing homage to their original stomping ground. The honkin’ saxophone layered over a theme of constant beach parties at a grass hut, just seems to have fallen out of a Frankie Avalon picture. “Bamboo Hut,” never stirred much attention for the group except for a local Galveston following.
Countdown 5, two years later recorded “Uncle Kirby,” this single gave the group a spot on the national charts. This track starts out with a slow psych tone, which drops out to reveal a paint peeling screamer, “I’m Gonna Get Rich.” This screamer was the beginning of an evolution of The 5’s sound, which continues with their singles to follow. The group changed labels to a local Galveston label, Toucan Records. It seems that the group, at the same time, released this single on the Houston Cinema label, but I cant figure out which came first, but I think the Toucan press was a much smaller local press. “Uncle Kirby,” later turned up on the Texas Flashback Compilation.
LISTEN: Countdown 5 – Bamboo Hut
