Well, when I think of garage bands, I think of young teens playing in their first band. There are no Marshall stacks, most of the guitars are from Japan and two of you are plugged into the same underpowered amp along with the sole microphone. A drummer was a scarce luxury and always hard to hang on to there were so few of them.
Most fledgling guitarists know the riff to Sunshine of Your Love, the problem starts when Clapton begins to cut loose. There are few fifteen year olds that could keep up with him. Same goes for Hendrix, etc.
During the golden era of garage bands ('64 to '69?) most of the gigs were high school dances. There were so many bands at the time that Battle of the Bands became extremely popular. You could get five or six bands to play but only have to pay one, usually no more than five dollars a man as I recall.
Equipment was always an issue. My father was a carpenter and there was no money in the family budget for electric guitars and such nonsense. Part time jobs after school paid for guitars and amps. One band I played in was well equiped thanks to a stage mother who thought we were going to be the next Beatles. She sprung for Vox Royal Guardsman amps and a PA system. Trouble was, her son, our new lead guitarist wasn't that good and she tried to run the band. Two months of that and the boys and I started to look for a new lead guitarist, preferably one who was an orphan. It was hard to leave those Vox amps behind. They sure were pretty.
Did the counter-culture die or was it murdered?
http://www.TheWoodstockConspiracy.com
http://www.ClassicRockEsoterica.com
