I'd always thought of it as a California thing until I read, and in fact have had people contest them as #1 because they couldn't be being from Austin.

Also wondering if I can start a fight between Hec and hayden by calling the 13th Floor Elevators the first psychedelic band.

What are some other contenders?

I think you have to go with The Charlatans, who were going psych in Nevada City back in '65. (Not to be confused with the much later Charlatans UK.) However, they didn't record until later. The Great Society (SF precursor to Jefferson Airplane) were also working and recording in '65-66.

AMG says:

Initially, around 1965 and 1966, bands like the Yardbirds and the Byrds broke down the boundaries for psychedelia, creating swirling layers of fuzz-toned guitars, sitars, and chanted vocals. Soon, numerous groups followed their pattern, including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, both of whom recorded psychedelia in 1966.

I might go for The Yardbirds around Having A Rave Up in '65. They're definitely getting psych on Over Under Sideways Down in '66. "Eight Miles High" by the Byrds came out in '66 - that's unquestionably psychedelic with the Coltrane-by-way-of-Rickenbacker guitar solo.

More AMG:

Did the 13th Floor Elevators invent psychedelic rock? Aficionados will be debating that point for decades, but if Roky Erickson and his fellow travelers into inner space weren't there first, they were certainly close to the front of the line, and there are few albums from the early stages of the psych movement that sound as distinctively trippy — and remain as pleasing — as the group's groundbreaking debut, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. In 1966, psychedelia hadn't been around long enough for its clichés to be set in stone, and Psychedelic Sounds thankfully avoids most of them; while the sensuous twists of the melodies and the charming psychobabble of the lyrics make it sound like these folks were indulging in something stronger than Pearl Beer, at this point the Elevators sounded like a smarter-than-average folk-rock band with a truly uncommon level of intensity.

13th Floor is about the same time- late '65. But does going psyche count as being a psyche band? Clearly there's a sound out there and various bands are playing with it, but which ones formed with that as their sound?

My gut? 13th Floor Elevators were (like every other garage band in America) copying the Jeff Beck edition of the Yardbirds. Beck's experiments with guitar tone and drone during this period (incorporating exotic middle eastern modes) were incredibly influential, endlessly copied and the basic building block of psychedlia.

Not to knock them, since I do think they were one of the earliest psych bands. But the 13th Floor Elevators all went to San Francisco and brought a lot of that influence back to Austin. So obviously they were picking up stuff from earlier innovators. It's complicated a little because the live scene in SF was where psychedlia was really fomenting - and you can't date stamp it by the albums.

Beck and Clapton are listed as influences- Huh. Also Dylan.

Huh. Also Dylan.

More for the lyrics. Like "All Along the Watchtower."

Clapton left The Yardbirds our of blues purist motives. He didn't start getting psych until he was with the Bluesbreakers. And really it wasn't until Cream that he was fully enpsychedelicized - which is pretty late in the game. Jeff Beck - he's the one.

Ah. Here's what I was looking for- where they discuss the sound. It's an interview with Roky Erickson, Danny Galindo, Powell St. John, Tary Owens, and Clementine Hall (CH).

AV: Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top has stated (Washington Post article by Richard Leiby on 6/23/1991) that "the Elevators sound was unititiated by outside sources. Essentially, a new sound was created like nothing heard before or since. How could these guys (who in 1965 were in the middle of Texas in an atmosphere that was conservative/country/redneck/Baptist) come up with this sound?

TO: One thing was that they were all incredibly talented muscians and the other thing was drugs. You can talk about the negative influence of acid, but there was a positive influence initially. The use of drugs made some magic happen to help make that music, but the Elevators were also incredibly talented musicians. Roky is probably the finest white rock and roll singer that has ever come out of Texas. Stacy Sutherland was raised in Kerrville and is one of the great guitar players of Texas---perhaps more so than Billy Gibbons---who is very much underappreciated. John Ike Walton was an excellent drummer and Benny Thurman was an excellent bass player. They were great musicians.

Stacy had this Duane Eddy-type guitar that had a high reverb and real strong bass lines, yet Stacy came up with his own sound. Stacy's guitar helped set up Roky's voice and the little weird noises that Tommy made through the jug. They wrote their own material, but they were also a great cover band. They could do covers better than the originals. Roky and Tommy have received most of the recognition for the success of the Elevators, but I also think Stacy has never received credit on how much he contributed to the musical sound of the band.

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top has stated (Washington Post article by Richard Leiby on 6/23/1991) that "the Elevators sound was unititiated by outside sources."

Bullshit. Where do you think they got their acid? They went to San Francisco to get it. From AMG:

Formed in Texas in the mid-'60s, the Elevators started as a garage rock outfit, scoring their one and only modest national hit with "You're Gonna Miss Me." While Erickson's loopy persona, along with Tommy Hall's odd "jug" percussion, were the band's most distinguishing features, several members of the group's original lineup contributed strong material to their albums. Although these inconsistent efforts sometimes wander off into a cloudy haze, they also include sturdy folk-rock tunes and driving psychedelic rockers. Trips to San Francisco established the group as up-and-coming underground favorites,