Members: Dan Olason

"THE COUNTS: BALLARD's BEST R&B BAND (1958-1966)" by Peter Blecha

THE COUNTS can be counted as the first – not to mention, by far the best – rock ‘n’ roll era combo to emerge from Seattle’s little Ballard neighborhood back in the 1950s. But even though Ballard itself was long a bastion of Scandinavian fishing-industry culture, the Counts were one of the Northwest’s hottest purveyors of the local teen-R&B sounds of their time. So, just how funky were they? Well, the Counts were among the very, very few young caucasian bands who were ever hired to perform at that fabled '50s/'60s jazz- and rhythm & blues-oriented nightclub, the Birdland (2203 E. Madison) in Seattle's Central District. Formed in 1959 by Ballard High School kids, their original lineup included: Dan Olason (guitar), Peter Riches (bass), Center Charles Case (keyboards), Howard Hornsby (sax), and Jim Nichols (drums). Early on they played social club tea parties and P.T.A. dances, but by 1960 the first of many personnel changes began,
Full essay here:http://nwmusicarchives.com/artist/counts-the/