YOU can usually tell superheroes by their capes. That's certainly the case with the Count Five, perhaps the most significant of the first inductees into the San Jose Rocks Hall of Fame. Fellow inductee Paul Kantner may have made more of a cultural impact in Jefferson Starship, but his only real connection to this area was his college years here. The Count Five, on the other hand, is a true San Jose rock icon. Though their mid-'60s fame may have been fleeting, their legacy will never die. That's because they wrote one of the most important rock songs of all time, "Psychotic Reaction," a garage-rock landmark so profoundly proto-punk that generation after generation of bands have reclaimed it for their own musical missions. The biggest names that have actually recorded their own versions include Tom Petty and the Cramps, but legions of rockers have loaded it into their setlists. Honored along with the Count Five and Kantner will be Syndicate of Sound, the San Jose band who made their own lasting mark on garage rock with the 1966 hit "Little Girl"; and John Tristao, the drummer for the '70s band People and currently lead singer for the CCR sequel band Creedence Clearwater Revisited; and Doug Curtis, whose Los Gatos-based Curtis Electromusic Specialties created circuits that revolutionized the election music synthesizer.

The San Jose Rocks inaugural concert, benefit and awards presentation will held at History Park on Friday, Oct. 20, from 5:30pm to 9:30pm. Tickets are $100 per person for dinner, concert, award ceremony and auctions and can be purchased at www.historysanjose.org.

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