Mouse and the Traps

Mouse and the Traps is the name of a garage rock band from Tyler, Texas that released numerous singles between 1965 and 1969, two of which, "A Public Execution" and "Sometimes You Just Can't Win", became large regional hits. The leader of the band, nicknamed "Mouse", was Ronnie Weiss. Two of their best known songs, "A Public Execution" and a cover of "Psychotic Reaction", are not actually credited to this band but, respectively, to simply Mouse and Positively 13 O'Clock instead. Their tangled history also included one single that was released anonymously under the name Chris St. John. (The band is, however, unrelated to another 1960s garage rock band, Mouse and the Boys of Jacksonville, Florida).

Early history

Ronnie Weiss and Dave Stanley (both born 1939) were members of a local band named Jerry Vee and the Catalinas (or simply the Catalinas) in 1964. Weiss had also performed on a regional hit single "Lucky Lips" by Steve Wright and The Catalinas that was later released nationally by Dot Records.A 1997 interview with Robin Hood Brians in the liner notes for The Fraternity Years, Ace Records website.

In this time period, they met Bugs Henderson (or Buggs Henderson), lead guitarist for a local instrumental band, the Sensors. Weiss and Knox Henderson – no relation to Buddy (Bugs)...
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