Psychotic Reaction

A band was born with a destiny to change the Oklahoma music scene during New Year's 2007.
After talking about music and having a toast to welcome the holiday, Nolan Dacus (vocals), Bobby Layton (lead guitar), Race Baker (bass/vocals), Turtle (guitar), and Rory Baker (drums) formed Psychotic Reaction.
Both Bakers came from the rock band Broken Sky. Dacus and Turtle were previously in the punk rock group The Raze.
The breakup of The Raze gave way to Dacus's realization about the so-called "punk scene".
He realized it was totally fake, the kids who claim to be punk rock are just jacking up their parents' credit card at Hot Topic and then thinking it would be cute to start a band.
Those types of people aren't out to make it big or to accomplish anything; they will never feel the hardship of the real world, never have to work for anything, and they won't know how it feels to be looked down on, Layton said.
"The bands do not have a meaning behind what they're saying. There is something missing in modern society. We want to inject passion into this society by giving our music substance from our hearts and souls," Psychotic Reaction members said.
All of these "scensters" who really don't care about the music inspire much of the band's angst.
Now, I have been preaching about the need for passion since I started writing the Music Stand. I am so happy to see that there are still people in the world who feel the same.
When you hear music with passion it sends a sensation throughout every bone in your body and makes you remember that you are alive!
I can't really describe what they sound like. If you get the chance to see Psychotic Reaction, you will witness the beauty of rage and true feelings. The individuals in the band are great but they are even greater as a whole.
Now, I don't want to offend any of them, but I must say that Dacus reminds me of Jim Morrison with a twist of Johnny Rotten and I mean that as a compliment.
I will list some of their influences so you can get an idea of where they are coming from:
Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Sonic Youth, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Mudhoney, Flaming Lips, Toadies, Burning Brides, Local H, Queens Of The Stone Age, Leadbelly, Nirvana and Venus Lee are just a few of their inspirations.
"We love stuff from the 60's and 70's and anything with energy, agression, angst, heaviness or weirdness," Layton said.
True rock and roll is making way back into our beloved airwaves. Hope will remain as long as bands like Psychotic Reaction continue to wave the flag of our generation.
Go see their next show with guests Electric Primadonnas and Flowers For The Damned May 12 at the Racket Room in Edmond. - Heath Sitton

A band was born with a destiny to change the Oklahoma music scene during New Year's 2007.
After talking about music and having a toast to welcome the holiday, Nolan Dacus (vocals), Bobby Layton (lead guitar), Race Baker (bass/vocals), Turtle (guitar), and Rory Baker (drums) formed Psychotic Reaction.
Both Bakers came from the rock band Broken Sky. Dacus and Turtle were previously in the punk rock group The Raze.
The breakup of The Raze gave way to Dacus's realization about the so-called "punk scene".
He realized it was totally fake, the kids who claim to be punk rock are just jacking up their parents' credit card at Hot Topic and then thinking it would be cute to start a band.
Those types of people aren't out to make it big or to accomplish anything; they will never feel the hardship of the real world, never have to work for anything, and they won't know how it feels to be looked down on, Layton said.
"The bands do not have a meaning behind what they're saying. There is something missing in modern society. We want to inject passion into this society by giving our music substance from our hearts and souls," Psychotic Reaction members said.
All of these "scensters" who really don't care about the music inspire much of the band's angst.
Now, I have been preaching about the need for passion since I started writing the Music Stand. I am so happy to see that there are still people in the world who feel the same.
When you hear music with passion it sends a sensation throughout every bone in your body and makes you remember that you are alive!
I can't really describe what they sound like. If you get the chance to see Psychotic Reaction, you will witness the beauty of rage and true feelings. The individuals in the band are great but they are even greater as a whole.
Now, I don't want to offend any of them, but I must say that Dacus reminds me of Jim Morrison with a twist of Johnny Rotten and I mean that as a compliment.
I will list some of their influences so you can get an idea of where they are coming from:
Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Sonic Youth, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Mudhoney, Flaming Lips, Toadies, Burning Brides, Local H, Queens Of The Stone Age, Leadbelly, Nirvana and Venus Lee are just a few of their inspirations.
"We love stuff from the 60's and 70's and anything with energy, agression, angst, heaviness or weirdness," Layton said.
True rock and roll is making way back into our beloved airwaves. Hope will remain as long as bands like Psychotic Reaction continue to wave the flag of our generation.
Go see their next show with guests Electric Primadonnas and Flowers For The Damned May 12 at the Racket Room in Edmond. - Heath Sitton

Mmmmm, Grungy! If you’re a fan of real music and not that over-processed crap you hear on the radio, you are going to fall in love with Psychotic Reaction very quickly! Psychotic Reaction is going to Rock your ass off with their catchy riffs, stiff beats and devil-may-care vocals. A cross of Rock, Garage, Punk, Psychedelia – and probably a few other awesome things – Psychotic Reaction is not only fun to listen to, it is exciting. This is Old-School. This is what I wish more music was like.

I loved the guitars for this music, as they had that crunchy, biting sound to them, like in my favorite song “Outta My Head”. That song absolutely Rocked my world and immediately made me a fan of the band. The simple yet hypnotizing beat, biting guitar and thumping bass are everything you could ever ask for in a song. I’ll admit, listening to this song gave me a massive headache. Why? I couldn’t stop from headbanging. And I got a little out of control. And my guess is that when you listen you’ll get a little out of control as well. The song is brilliant.

Psychotic ReactionThe vocals are truly unique, as you quickly get that “real” Punk sound. Not that stupid teeny-bopper “Punk” crap, but real Punk, like Panic (or Black Flag as you may know them). What’s fun about the vocals is the switch from an almost singing-to-no-one-in-particular to screaming at the top of their lungs, ripping your attention from anything else and focusing it squarely on the brilliance that is Psychotic Reaction.

If you haven’t already started listening to the songs below brought to you by the good folks over at ReverbNation, I suggest you start with “Outta My Head” and then jump to “Cavestomp”. Cavestomp was another dazzling song with a ferocious pace, ferocious guitar, ferocious everything. It also has a pretty awesome guitar solo type deal going on. Then, if you’re like me and a huge fan of the drums, check out “No Way Out”. The drumming in that song is superb and coming from a former (not so great) drummer, a truly impressive effort.

If you ever happen to be walking around and you hear someone listening to crappy radio Punk or, heaven forbid, you have a family member who listens to that putrid stuff, direct them to Psychotic Reaction and wait for the “thank you”. Honestly, as a lover of music, it is your duty to save the ears of those who don’t know better. Presenting anyone with Psychotic Reaction will impress them with your knowledge of music and surely gain you some new friends. And speaking of friends, after checking out all of Psychotic Reaction’s links, giving them some “Likes”, follows, sharing, and all that good stuff, share the wealth and tell your friends! Enjoy! - Mars Band

What brought on the Psychotic Reaction? Was it a virus germinated in dank basements, dusty garages and dirty barns? A side effect of living among fanatical music-loving outcasts? Or perhaps a hereditary psychedelic malady borne by forefathers Black Flag, Blue Cheer and The Stooges?

Whatever its origin, Psychotic Reaction’s members hope their new album, “I Don’t Know How to Tell You This But Here’s Psychotic Reaction,” is the beginning of an outbreak.

Although the grimy, garage-rock scene has become increasingly paisley around the edges in recent years, the local five-piece is still all about a fat, throbbing groove attacked with feral ferocity. Like the inspiration for the name (The Count Five’s signature Top 10 single), the act’s members share an abiding love for raw, obscure ’60s garage-rock. It’s a throaty, wall-rattling approach that covers a wide spectrum, from stoner rock to old-school punk and amplified guitar psychedelia.

Psychotic Reaction developed out of a tight-knit community of underground music fans beyond the metro’s glow, south of Norman.

“We were all the freaks of the small towns that bonded together, found members of our tribe,” said guitarist Bobby Lee Layton about the group’s humble beginnings. “We didn’t have a practice space for a while. We had to practice in some abandoned houses out in the country and barns.”

It took time to weed out members who weren’t true believers, he said. Although founded almost four years ago, it’s only during the past year that the group finally settled on a solid lineup and pushed through with renewed vigor.

Of course, listening to Psychotic Reaction’s passionate rock ’n’ roll sound, you generally wouldn’t challenge the musicians’ energy or their ragged, sultry swagger.

“We pride ourselves on our live sound, going back to listening to The Mummies or The Sonics,” Layton said. “Those are groups we like who, like us, like to get shitty, in a good, underground way.”

The quintet also was inspired by local bands American Ruse and Forty Minutes of Hell. Although Layton’s 10 years younger than bassist Race Baker, the two have been friends for almost a decade, reveling in their love for hard-hitting, underappreciated tunes.

The band recorded some basic drum tracks in 2008, but the effort stalled. Last summer, however, the guys committed to recording nine tracks for an album, but expanded to 14. Because the release is a mix of older songs and a handful of newer ones, the record naturally reflects Psychotic Reaction’s evolution and its members’ broadening tastes.

“Every one of the songs has a wide variety of stuff,” said Layton, citing punk and garage rock. “The next one, we’ll try to sound like Spacemen 3 or The 13th Floor Elevators — just weird varieties of shit we’ve collected.”

Although they’ve been working hard on new material, the bandmates still love to feed their loyal, local fandom with an extensive catalog of covers. Layton reckons the group learns a cover for every two originals written. In the past, they’ve explored tracks such as “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” “Gimme Shelter,” and several Stooges tunes, including “TV Eye.” Indeed, a tribute to The Stooges’ “Fun House” album is in the planning stages, which will have Psychotic Reaction covering the 1970 release from start to finish.

With their odd blend of garage/punk/psychedelic rock, Layton said the members feel outcast, although they’re not complaining. It’s an advantage that he relates to a scene in The Flaming Lips documentary, “The Fearless Freaks.”

“There’s this one part where they said they were ‘too weird for the punks and too punk for the weirdos.’ That’s how we are, too,” he said.

Chris Parker
Oklahoma Gazette
July 28, 2010 - Chris Parker

The Sound Out of Space


psychoticreaction.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/psychoticreactionband

Garage punk act Psychotic Reaction released The Sound Out of Space in August, but with a pending release of its tune “Get You Alone” on 7-inch vinyl, it’s time to revisit it.

The single is a two-minute rocket ride into the angst-laden mind of a horny, single-minded man. It’s riffy, hooky, raw, punk and, really, needs to be heard in the right environment, which is to say it needs to be loud — very loud.

It was also used in the B horror flick Bloody Knuckles.

Other tunes, including “No Way Out,” “Just for Fun” and “Chumbscrubber Blues” are bleating, unstable, uneven and somehow nearly perfect all at once, resembling punk’s earlier days and surf-rock acts like Link Wray, The Animals and The Kingsmen.

These guys took a time machine ride and brought back an immutable and rough-edged masterpiece. — JC - Jennifer Chancellor

At a time when it is challenging to seek out bands hailing from regions outside of the musical mecca of NYC, Oklahoma-based group Psychotic Reaction bring forward progressive and mind-numbing sounds. The band crosses the traditional barriers of garage rock and psychedelic tunes and reintroduces subcultural drones of Lou Reed and the Stooges. While their instruments aggregate a concoction of multi-layered guitar snarls, the group constructs a type of narcotic energy that makes the listeners believe and remember the power of rock and roll. - viktorsha

There was a moment, a brief moment, when it struck us as a bit too easy, a bit too unimaginative, perhaps a bit too on-the-nose, to secure the title of what we can universally agree is one of the greatest achievements of humankind, to attach yourself to the singular, extraordinary achievement of the Count Five and take it as the name of your band.

Yet thanks to the sound of Psychotic Reaction – here referring in general to the trio hailing from the reportedly uninhabitable planet known as Oklahoma, and in particular to their recently released unhinged howitzer of an album, “The Sound Out of Space” – we remained open and calm, we let go and watched as this moment, like all moments, passed.

And then we lost our fucking minds.

Or maybe we found it … in the sound of “The Sound Out of Space.”

It took about two seconds of the sneering, stomping opener, “She’s In Black” for the moment to pass and the transmission of Psychotic Reaction to take hold, for us to find ourselves within “The Sound Out of Space,” a sound and space that we find comforting if never quite comfortable.
The sound of Psychotic Reaction is the sound of the steam-driven train just barely staying on the tracks, and we mean that in the most complimentary way possible. There’s velocity here, the songs hurled forward like a hot iron ball, an urgent delivery right between the eyes, an awesome antidote to any moments in time when you feel your rock and roll has gone flat, lifeless and detached.

Ugly, urgent and uncontrollable rock and roll – no surprise when viewing the album’s liner photos of the leather-clad trio drinking beers, kicking out the jams and (apparently) attempting to eat a rototom. But wait – there’s more!

Yes, “The Sound Out of Space” is ugly, urgent and uncontrollable. But it’s also memorable, from a purely musical point-of-view. “She’s In Black” isn’t just sneering; it’s endearing, an anthem for disaffected, dissatisfied volume junkies the world over, with a hook that lodges itself in your brain before announcing, “Let’s stay here for awhile.” And the same goes for “Oklahoma City Mainline Paranoia Blues.” And the same goes for “Long Hair and Painted Faces.” And the same goes for “No Way Out.” And the same goes for “Call of the Abyss.” And …

You get the point. You can’t miss it.

They could have called themselves “Pushin’ Too Hard,” or “Complication,” or “Knock, Knock” or “insert your favorite lid-flipping tune here” and achieved the same result. In this way, Psychotic Reaction have done a great thing – they’ve done much more than simply take the name “Psychotic Reaction”; they’ve taken the spirit. Highest possible recommendation. - Revolt of the Apes

GARAGE/PSYCH/PUNK/BLUES FROM SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA AND 70S INFLUENCED STONER ROCK FROM MICHIGAN WITH PSYCHOTIC REACTION (OK) AND BLUE SNAGGLETOOTH (MI) I FOUND BOTH THESE FANTASTIC BANDS THROUGH INSTAGRAM AND BANDCAMP AND DECIDED TO REACH OUT TO THEM TO GET THEM SOME AIR PLAY ON KAOS AND THEY WERE BOTH VERY GRACIOUS AND PROVIDED ME WITH COPIES FOR TONIGHTS FEATURE PRESENTATION. WE START THINGS OFF WITH MC5 AND COUNT FIVE FROM 1965 DOING "PSYCHOTIC REACTION" THEN APPROPRIATELY MOVE IN TO THE NEW ALBUM FROM PSYCHOTIC REACTION ENTITLED "THE SOUND OUT OF SPACE" IN ITS ENTIRETY. FOLLOWING THAT WITH SOME 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS AND MOTORHEAD WITH THE TRACK "SNAGGLETOOTH" THEN WE TRUCK UP TO ANN ARBOR MICHIGAN WITH TRACKS FROM THE NEW ALBUM BY BLUE SNAGGLETOOTH CALLED "BEYOND THULE" FOLLOWED BY A HAWKWIND TRACK AND TRACKS FROM SNAGGLETOOTH'S FIRST ALBUM "DIMENSION THULE" FROM 2011. THEN CLOSE THINGS OUT WITH SOME BLACK SABBATH AND SOME PENTAGRAM. ROCK AND ROLL AINT DEAD YET. YOU JUST HAVE TO SEARCH FOR IT! ONLY ON KAOS RADIO AUSTIN. TUNE IN AND ZONE OUT FROM 7-9 PM CST - Ziggy

Trio de l'Oklahoma au lineup souvent changeant, Psychotic Reaction propose des morceaux garage rock et des chansons psychédéliques inspirés d'un je-ne-sais-quoi des Stooges ou de Lou Reed. Assez similaire à pas mal de groupes officiant dans le même genre, Psychotic Reaction n'en est pas moins inintéressant. Avec leur album The Sound Out of Space, le trio nous offre un rock tantôt nerveux, tantôt hypnotique que l'on a plaisir à découvrir et à réécouter. -

These guys are good . So for all you Garage Punk kids make sure you give Psychotic Reaction a listen. Singing about their age, their time , their way, you’ll love it for sure. The only other Band that makes me feel like Morrison is about to take over the vocals would be The Black Angels, add these guys to that very short list.

Now Lets Meet The Band… Hi our name is…. Psychotic Reaction And our sound might be best described as…. Space Punk Blues/High Energy Rock-n-roll We are… Whitt Daniels- Drums Bobby Layton-Guitar/vocals Nolan Dacus-Guitar/Vocals We are originally from….. Garvin County Oklahoma The first time we met was….. Nolan and Whitt grew up together in Lindsay, Ok. Later in Highschool we met Bobby in Vo-tech for computer graphics. We knew we were going to be a Band when……… Bobby and Nolan have been original members with a revolving door of other musicians before solidifying with Whitt as the Drummer Before starting the band we were employed as……. Whitt was in the Navy and Nolan was an alcohol abuser and ran a printing press while bobby was a Janitor Our craziest gig ever was…. Thads house party in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, People shooting off fireworks and guns all while being hopped up on morphine and whiskey. Great Night! The first song we wrote was……. Nolan and Bobby (Generation Blues (2007)) With Whitt-No Way Out (2012) It’s about…… Generation Blues is about not really having an identifying common trait in our generation and not belonging to any certain groups. No Way Out is being trapped doing something that you don’t want to do What we are currently listening to…. Nolan-The Sword, Witch, The Strypes, Lecherous Gaze, Sleep, Led Zeppelin, the Limp Wizurds Bobby- Neil Young, R.L. Burnside, OFF!, Howlin Wolf, The Yardbirds, Dead Meadow, Fugazi, At the Drive-in, Verbena Whitt- Black Sabbath, Kadavar, Witchcraft, The Sword, John Bonham playing Moby Dick till my head explodes. A few albums we could never part with…. Nolan- The Sword- Warp Riders, Pink Floyd-Piper at the gates of dawn, Radio Birdman-discography. Sabbath- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Bobby- The Stooges – Fun House, MC5 -Kick Out the Jams, Black Sabbath-Masters of Reality, Grand Funk-Red Album, Yardbirds-bbc sessions, 13th Floor elevators-easter everywhere. King Crimson- In the court of the crimson king, Whitt- Black Sabbath-Paranoid, Metallica-And Justice For All, Led Zeppelin II, Anything that Jack White touches. For fun we like to….. Get Stoned and Listen to Black Sabbath in our underwear, Jump over fires naked, Drink lots of beer till we ger really really drunk and fall down on the ground, wake up in our own vomit and try to figure out where we all are and then flip off the neighbors. The one thing we want you to remember while your listening to us…… How awesome we are. And that we are only in it for the money and drugs and girls. Expect from us in 2014…. Going on our first East Coast and Midwest Tour, We have an upcoming 12″ LP and 7” release called The Sound Out Of Space vol.3, they will also be on CD via Tussin Records. We have cassettes coming out from Riding Easy Records and then we are all coming to your house, so have some beer and some chicken strips. - Scott

PSYCHOTIC REACTION. Dying On The Vine 7” (Wet Dream)

I know very little background about this band apart from they reside in the exotically-named Norman, Oklahoma, and that this, their first single (I believe) has been released by a new Essex-based label. They’re a three-piece who clearly follow in the young, loud and snotty tradition (which is to be respected) and thrash-out their brand of raucous garage-based punk rock without a care in the world. The A-side is a great, unpretentious slice of upbeat three chord supremacy while the b-side ‘Gas Station Beer’ is even better (in my humble opinion) getting harder, rawer and nastier in the process, sounding at times like New Bomb Turks, MC5, and at some points even aspiring to the magnificence of The Mummies. This is limited to a run of only 250 copies, so I suggest you nab yourself a copy soon ! - Fear and loathing fanzine