5X formed in Los Angeles in 1965 with Lester and Richard Bangs, Mike Finesilver, Danny Beecham, and John Dwyer. They played a mix of folk, rock, and jazz in underground clubs, building a following before most labels would touch them. Their debut album 'Beat Generation' came out in 1967, with the title track becoming something of an anthem. The band's live shows were known for extended jams and experimental sounds that could either alienate or captivate an audience.
They put out a few more albums like 'The Revolution Starts Now' in 1968 and 'Our Time' in 1969. Danny Beecham left around 1969, but the core of the Bangs brothers, Finesilver, and Dwyer kept going with various other musicians coming through. Their songs like 'Evil Call' and 'Pain Givers' carried that same raw, improvisational feel.
5X never really fit the mainstream mold, and that was part of their appeal to the counterculture crowd. They were one of those bands that captured a particular moment in the late 1960s, playing music that felt both of its time and slightly ahead of it.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
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