The Fuzztones are the epitome of the garage rock revival in the spirit of bands like The Kingsmen, The Standells, The Sonics, and The Barbarians of the early 1960s and the second generation of bands like The 13th Floor Elevators and The Seeds in the mid-1960s and The Stooges and MC5 in the early 1970s. Garage rock is a simple, unpolished, no-frills form of classic rock 'n' roll or rhythm and blues mixed with polyphonic vocal melodies and harsh, fuzzed-out guitars. The guitarist uses a fuzzbox to create this distorted sound with lots of overtones. Garage rock is also considered the musical forerunner of punk rock and today's indie rock. - The Fuzztones were founded in New York in 1980 by singer and guitarist Rudi Protrudi. By the time the first line-up broke up in 1987, the band had achieved cult status in America and Europe for their numerous live performances of original compositions and cover versions of mostly "forgotten" songs from the 1960s, played on their original 1960s instruments.