Shoutbox

sysmalakian: Birthday month starts now!
362 days ago

diceophonic: Vampiro Classics 2024 reissue
343 days ago

SabedLeepski: Sunburn Surf Fest for some scorching hot surf music: https://sunb...
300 days ago

skeeter: I know a Polish sound guy.
228 days ago

skeeter: I know a Czech one too!
228 days ago

PatGall: Surfybear metal settings
148 days ago

Pyronauts: Happy Tanks-Kicking!
126 days ago

midwestsurfguy: Merry Christmas!
95 days ago

sysmalakian: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
88 days ago

SabedLeepski: Surfin‘ Europe, for surf (related) gigs and events in Europe Big Razz https://sunb...
49 days ago

Please login or register to shout.

Current Polls

No polls at this time. Check out our past polls.

Current Contests

No contests at this time. Check out our past contests.

Donations

Help us meet our monthly goal:

100%

100%

Donate Now

Cake March Birthdays Cake
SG101 Banner

SurfGuitar101 Forums » Best-Of SG101 »

Permalink Eddie "Mr. Rebel" Bertrand in the news

New Topic
Goto Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 713 14 Next

Eddie, at the risk of sounding mushy, I wanted to voice my (and ours, as in my band's) appreciation for all of your work, but especially for what you, Paul Johnson and the rest of the members did in the Bel-Airs.
We have 3 guitars in our band and would always list the Bel-Airs as an influence over Dick Dale. Of course, we appreciate what he did as well, but the guitar interplay between lead and rhythm that the Bel-Airs "created" as Surf Music was being born, was way more influential on our sound and outlook. This, along with the "band as a unit" aesthetic, that you displayed, was a model for us- much more than the "one lead guitar out front" model of Dick Dale.
Even though some would say you were putting yourself in more of the Dick Dale role with Eddie and the Showmen, I would argue that you continued with more guitar interplay with the Showmen-"Scratch" and "Mr. Rebel" come to mind.
During the Pulp Fiction years, writers and reviewers would fall back on the "Dick Dale invented Surf" line and we would always chime in (when we were able) that we felt that no single person invented it, but that it simply emerged and that the Bel-Airs were the original SURF BAND.
Thanks for adding that dimension to the music we all love and showing us how to do it.
Ted Pilgrim

Oh yeah, best thread ever.

http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com

Wow, is this exciting or what? Having Eddie from Eddie and the Showmen in here is one of the coolest things I've seen in a while.

I read somewhere that a member of Eddie and the Showmen was disappointed with the recording of Squad Car cause you played it faster there than you ever played it live.
It's obvious that your version is faster and somewhat rougher than the Bel-Airs version, but was there actually a significant difference between how you played it live and how you recorded it?

guitarist, The Mobsmen

Hey Ivan,

Some things Leo gave me, but mostly I just paid for parts, if that. Leo’s cost. I will say this....Mr. Fender was very generous to me.

I had 4 or 5 Showman Amps, but I played out of the same one all the time. It had the best wood.

I did some test driving you might say. As you already know, the first thing I did with Leo was test drive the Bandmaster. I can’t tell you how good it felt and feels to have had the very first piggy back Bandmaster with two spkrs.

I would say our relationship was close. Sort of treated me like a son. Like I said, Leo was very generous to me, not just with equipment but with his precious time.

As far as Dale goes........I was more interested in every word Leo spoke, so I tried to stay focused on what he was teaching me. I never mentioned Dale nor did Leo. Why do you ask Ivan? Just curious.

I heard Mexico somewhere. ASCAP has a lot on the original song (ascap.com) .... It stayed in my subconscious, I am sure. I thought I had something. But as it turned out I didn’t. I should not really claim authorship. BorderTown is way too close to Mexico! If I made a mistake as a kid I am sorry. Going public with this is a load off, because when I realized what I had done, and how very close Border Town is to Mexico I was very embarrassed, and I still am.
(Laughing) It happened a second time but much different......... I used to love to listen to the 1812 Overture. I wrote a song.....I thought. The 1812 is a long piece of music and 7 seconds of it stayed in my subconscious. Guess where my melody came from...... That 7 seconds.
I can legally claim it...but not morally.

Also to set the record straight, I never claimed that I wrote Dark Eyes (an old Russian folk song) or any other standard that was released by The Bel Airs or Eddie and the Showmen. Not going to point fingers at how some of that came about, but record companies and publishers should be more on top of that kind stuff.

I did concerts with some of the surf bands like The Lively Ones. There was really no reason to sweat, they had there sound, I had mine. I basically just did my thing. I surfed every day and played music everyday and or night. That was my life at the time.

The guy that impressed me the most was Jim Masoner from The Lively Ones. We have stayed pretty close friends all this time. Still love playing together. Keep in mind DUANE EDDY was the man. He was everything to me. I would say he is why I play rock instrumental music.

Last edited: Oct 23, 2007 14:42:06

Hi Ivan,

I spoke to Kathy a few times over the years. She seemed to be fine. I agree she should have recorded and gotten a record deal as well.

The band broke up because I got drafted. And that sucked. I wish surf music had stayed and gotten more popular.

Take care lvan,

Eddie

Hi Ted,

Thank you so very much for your very kind words. I agree totally with everything you said as well. It was pretty much exactly like you see it, I should know....I was there. (laughing)

Really Ted, thanks a lot.
Eddie

Hey Eddie, I can sure relate to that......My draft number was 52. It wasn't long before I was chucking out a buck for a GI "issue" hair cut. I had an interesting basic combat training....I was in the same company that Elvis had been in at Ft Knox years before. They still had this real early color TV that Elvis had presented to the company while he was there.....of course it no longer worked, but they still kept it.

It is really neat to hear about your association with Fender. In late 1964 my dad bought me a new Super Reverb amp and I blew the crap out of the speakers in that thing. I kept sending them back to Fender Sales for replacement and I always got my OK to return them from Don Randall himself. It's still amazing to me that a kid from Atlanta could call Fender Sales, and talk to THE MAN himself. Apparently the guys at the factory gave up on the 10's with paper voice coil formers and beef 'em up with aluminum and after that, we had no more blown speakers. However, when I caught the Astronauts here in Atlanta, Rich was playing a Fender Mustang out of a Super Reverb with at least one of the speakers blown and disconnected......Ha! It wasn't just me.........eddie k

Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?

Hey Wavy,

Yes, there was a difference in the tempo live verses the studio cut. I am the member that was (is) not happy with the speed of Squad Car as it was recorded. It was so fast I feel the integrity of the melody was compromised. I don't think it should exceed an approximate 175 BPMs. But what I do like is the power of the record. It is still one of my favs to play in concert. It is very loud and full. Just a tad slower. No one seems to be complaining that I know of, at the current tempo.

Thanks for asking that particular question Wavy,
Best Regards,

Eddie Bertrand

Cool story Eddie....

Thank you for sharing that with me. I had a Super Reverb too for a minute. Then two Quad Reverbs. Same as a Twin only with four speakers instead of two. I just can't deal with the open backs on any of those amps. I just love the sound of a Showman Amp with sealed backs on the cabinets.

I will always treasure my relationship with Leo Fender. When I stop and really think about it....I realize how very fortunate I was to know him.

I am happy you have (had) a good relationship with Fender as well.

Take care Eddie,

E

I have come to rely on that closed back "thunk" as well. After ten years of playing in surf bands the Super and Twin Reverbs have a rather anemic feel. I often use a '93 Super amp at practice to keep from mowing down our drummer but I don't think I could use it at a show.

I know exactly what you mean about the wood. Several years back at the Nashville guitar show, I came across a really old 2-15 Dual Showman cab that had been painted black. It had one blown and one good D-130 and boy did it sound great, even with one dead speaker, and it was hyper light as well. I passed on it knowing how difficult it would be to get a really good replacement JBL. If memory serves me right, the cab showed up the following year at the show and that stinker "toneboy" snarfed it. Classic example of "you snooze, you loose". ed

Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?

Hi All..................

We have 6 pages so far. I hope I answered every single question I was asked. But......If I missed any from page one to page six...Please let me know. I may have missed one or two. Just tell who you are and what page your question is on. Sorry, the last couple of weeks have been very busy for me.
I appreciate more than you know your questions, kind words and your interest.

Sincerely,
Eddie

I'm "stickying" this thread because of its sheer awesomeness.

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

I changed Eddie's username from MrRebel to Eddie at his request.

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

Oops, already was a user named Eddie. He is now known as EddieB.

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

Once again Brian my good man, you do an astounding job of all this..............thank you, eddiek

Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?

Hi Eddie,
I'm very happy you are here to reply to our questions!

In the booklet inside the AVI CD you told about guitar and amp modifications.

What could you tell us?

Thank you

Massimo Pafumi
Jaguar & The Savanas facebook
Jaguar & The Savanas web

One more change...Eddie's new site username is Eddie_Bertrand.

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

I am back....phew. You are right on eddiek....Brian takes great care of his people.

Ivan, have not heard a peep out of you for days. I kinda sorta asked you a question while answering your questions. Not that important, I was mostly just curious. Would you be good enough to read them again? It's on page 6. Thanks pal. E

I visited your site Ivan....It's very cool. Now I can put a face to the man writing to me.

Take Care my Friend,

Eddie

Hey Jaguar,

My guitars were all stock. The neck sizes and paint jobs were my only request to Leo.

Now my Showman Amps were a different story. I asked Leo if he would take the edge off the high notes so they were warm yet cut through without piercing your ears. But in doing so I did not want to lose the clear rich tone I got on the bottom strings. Of course he did it perfect.

Thanks Jaguar,

Eddie

Hello Eddie!

EddieBertrand_
Ivan, have not heard a peep out of you for days. I kinda sorta asked you a question while answering your questions. Not that important, I was mostly just curious. Would you be good enough to read them again? It's on page 6. Thanks pal.

My apologies, but I didn't see the question - did you add the question later? Cause I don't remember seeing it the first time I read through the post. I also have more questions, but it's been a very busy weekend. Nevertheless, here we go!

EddieBertrand_
I visited your site Ivan....It's very cool. Now I can put a face to the man writing to me.

Wow, thank you VERY much, Eddie. I'd be happy to send you my band's CDs, if you're at all interested, just say the word.

OK, now to answer your question:

EddieBertrand_
Some things Leo gave me, but mostly I just paid for parts, if that. Leo’s cost. I will say this....Mr. Fender was very generous to me.

Boy, it sounds like it! What a wonderful man.

I had 4 or 5 Showman Amps, but I played out of the same one all the time. It had the best wood.

Do you mean the speaker cab had the best wood? The wood wouldn't affect the head, right? Did you start playing Showman amps with E&TS or already with the Belairs?

As far as Dale goes........I was more interested in every word Leo spoke, so I tried to stay focused on what he was teaching me. I never mentioned Dale nor did Leo. Why do you ask Ivan? Just curious.

The main reason I asked is that of course DD also talks about working closely with Leo Fender in the early sixties, and talks about him in similar terms to you. So, given that here were two of the main guys from a new, emerging popular genre, both working with Leo, I just thought it might come up. The more general reason why I'm asking is because so much stuff I read puts a kind of a 'rivarly' spin on you and DD, so I'm curious how true it is. For example, besides that Dumb Angel Gazzette story on you and DD that I already asked you about, just reading through Paul Johnson's liner notes in the Belairs' CD "The Origins of Surf Music", he writes about E&tS starting to play at Retail Clerk's Hall: "After all, was challenging the supremacy of Dick Dale on his own turf; the Deltones still packed them in at Harmony Park Ballroom, very near to Retail Clerk's.... As it turned out, Eddie prevailed." So, even there Paul presents it as a rivarly between the two of you. And obviously, you both have blazing, reverb-heavy guitar styles. So this is the more general reason why I'm asking - just trying to figure out how real was this rivalry.

I heard Mexico somewhere. It stayed in my subconscious, I am sure. I thought I had something. But as it turned out I didn’t. I should not really claim authorship. BorderTown is way too close to Mexico! If I made a mistake as a kid I am sorry. Going public with this is a load off, because when I realized what I had done, and how very close Border Town is to Mexico I was very embarrassed, and I still am.

Oops, sorry, I certainly didn't intend to embarrass you! I kinda see what you mean, but Border Town ultimately sounds Mexican without being a rip-off of the song Mexico. What I was asking about was whether Dale ripped YOU off since his version of Mexico seemed to feature a very similar arrangement and playing style, and it came out after Border Town.

Anyway, I'm sure the above has happened to all songwriters. It's happened to me before. No way to avoid it, and no reason to feel embarrassed by it.

Also to set the record straight, I never claimed that I wrote Dark Eyes (an old Russian folk song) or any other standard that was released by The Bel Airs or Eddie and the Showmen. Not going to point fingers at how some of that came about, but record companies and publishers should be more on top of that kind stuff.

I don't think the E&tS CD provides any songwriting credits - could you give us those, Eddie? Here they are:

Toes on the Nose (Bertrand?)
Border Town (Bertrand?)
Squad Car (Johnson)
Scratch (Edwards)
Las Olas (?)
And the Angels Sing (trad?)
Showmen Stomp (Bertrand?)
Movin' (Hazlewood)
Mr. Rebel (Bertrand)
Lanky Bones (Johnson)
Far Away Places (?)
Dark Eyes (trad)
We Are the Young (?)
Young and Lonely (?)
Break Time (?)
The He Kissed Me (Spector?)
Wayward Wind (Lebowsky/Newman)

I did concerts with some of the surf bands like The Lively Ones. There was really no reason to sweat, they had there sound, I had mine.

That makes sense.

I basically just did my thing. I surfed every day and played music everyday and or night. That was my life at the time.

Sounds pretty damn good! You were a lucky young man.

The guy that impressed me the most was Jim Masoner from The Lively Ones.

I can see that. Your two bands would play shows together pretty often, right? Was their live show as active as some sources have said? Lots of jumping around, jumping on the amps, etc.?

Keep in mind DUANE EDDY was the man. He was everything to me. I would say he is why I play rock instrumental music.

Thanks for that. I do enjoy Duane Eddy a lot. In fact, the last couple of weeks I've been listening to him quite a bit. What a true pioneer and innovator. The guy was amazing. It's funny though, cause your playing really doesn't sound like him at all - I guess that's the way it should be.

Finally, I have a question about something you wrote in the Squad Car CD booklet: "I would like to thank Rob Edwards, the backbone of The Showmen, for being my pal then and now, "Mr. Rebel" Reb Foster, Kathy Marshall whom I wish I married and lived happily ever after with and a very special thanks to Leo Fender for everything."

First, did you really mean that about Kathy? Did the two of you ever date?

Second, I've been thinking after reading spskins (Ted's) post about the Belairs being a band first and foremost, in E&tS it seems to me the role of rhythm guitar is absolutely huge. E&tS tracks have some of the best rhythm guitar playing of the sixties surf. I guess that's all Rob Edwards? He did seem to be a very important part of your band, and I believe he was the only fully permanent member besides yourself (is that right?). Can you talk about your relationship in a bit more detail? Did he help you out creatively? What has he been doing since then?

Thanks, Eddie, you're the BEST!
Ivan

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Eddie_Bertrand
To Kyle ... diceophonic

And now Kyle, unknowingly you hit a sore spot. I do not have any of my original gear. It makes me sick inside to think I didn't see the future.
From the fact that the quality of workmanship, the great componets, the great everything put into that equipment has never been matched since. Oh well......Live and learn.

Thanks for the questions Kyle,

Eddie Bertrand

Eddie I'm sorry to hear about your gear from back then I apologize for hitting the topic but I had no idea, I've also kicked myself and wished I kept most of my old gear Crying your a 101% correct "Live & Learn" we are here today healthy and still surfin'

Sincerly
Kyle

P.S. Thanks to this thread I have learned that Eddie used a '61 Bandmaster in the early days, it has giving me the bug and inspiration to play a Bandmaster fulltime over a Showman and Eddie thank you for the music.
image
October 14, 2007 @ HBISM The Verbtones, Jason Lee and The R.I.P. Tides

-Kyle

Beyond The Surf YouTube channel
Beyond The Surf Instagram
The Verbtones @ Instagram
The Verbtones @ Facebook
The Verbtones @ bandcamp

Last edited: Nov 01, 2007 21:01:09

Goto Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 713 14 Next
Top