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Since February 26, 2006, SurfGuitar101.com has been the premier home on the web for friends and fans of the world-wide phenomenon known as surf music! Created in Southern California in the early 1960's, surf music is very much alive today and has spread around the globe. Join us in our forums to discuss surf music, past and present. Meet new friends and discover new bands. Want to play surf music? We have lots of forums devoted to playing, performing, and writing surf music. We have lots of discussions on gear: guitars, amps, and drums. Check out our podcasts and hear some really great tunes! Finally, we feature news and articles on the surf scene, and you'll always know where you can catch some live surf music!
R.I.P. Dick Dale, the King of the Surf Guitar. We wouldn't be here without him. Thank you for all the incredible music.
Join us in our forums for some lively discussions. Here are the forum topics with new posts.
From Grammy dot com:
Take off on a surf odyssey with this collection of 12 bands and 27 [songs] from the Surf [Guitar] 101 Convention with all proceeds benefitting MusiCares.
A new benefit album, Waves Of Care, celebrates surf music for a great cause. Conceived by three-time GRAMMY-winning producer and engineer Mark Linett and acclaimed surf music historian and performer John Blair, the album is out now online and on physical CD, with 100 percent of proceeds from its sale going to benefit MusiCares.
Recorded live by Linett, the album features all 12 bands that performed at the 2018 Surf Guitar 101 Convention as well as three bonus tracks from the 2017 convention. In all, its 27 tracks explore the glorious, reverb-soaked sounds of surf music by bands from the United States, France, Denmark, Canada, and Italy.
Bands featured on Waves Of Care include Fascinating Creatures of The Deep, Black Flamingos, Kaisers of Kalifornia, Tremolo Beer Gut, Sentinals Tribute Band, Frankie & the Pool Boys, Urban Surf Kings, PJ & the Galaxies Tribute Band, Surfer Joe, King Pelican, Les Agamemnonz, Par Avion, Surf Rockers and Blue Hawaiians, who have contributed to the soundtrack of the TV series "Friends" and "SpongeBob SquarePants."
The project celebrates the rich history of instrumental surf music, from its emergence in the early '60s to its resurgence since the late '70s, its heavy use in the 1994 blockbuster film Pulp Fiction and its continued rise in popularity in the era of social media.
"Today, there are hundreds of bands performing and recording surf instrumentals with a growing, global fan base," a statement about the project says. "Some bands maintain a traditional approach to the sound and style, while others take it into slightly progressive territory."
The Surf Guitar 101 Convention, where the album was recorded, is an all-day event that hosts a dozen bands from all over the world and has been held annually since 2008 in Southern California. Additionally, Surf Guitar 101's website serves as the premier social networking hub for surf music.
The proceeds from the digital and physical sales of "Waves of Care" will benefit MusiCares and their continued efforts to help music people in need. Waves Of Care on CD will be available via eBay and www.johnblair.us, while digital downloads will be available on Bandcamp.
BIL BIL is out!
It's the 5th EP by MOUSSAKA, folksurf attraction form Serbia. There are four new tracks, powered by folk melodies from Balkan and reverb tanks.
Enjoy!
https://moussaka.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/moussakasurf
https://www.kasurl.com/moussaka-bill-bill
We are "THE BELHARRAS" surf band from Bonn Germany and we are soon releasing our 2nd album PELEE as 3 colored swirl vinyl. Feel free to have a look at our current campaign here
Our new album will take you through a journey of a wild mix of reverb surf music, a few homages to well respected other genres that influence us for years such as Gypsy music, Flamenco and some Punkrock.
Feel free to check our music and activities on any channel:
Our first album on Spotify
Facebook
Instagram
Since we are quite new to this community it would be great to connect, so feel free to reach out!
THE M-SQUAD Hollywood Soundtrack Quintet
"Live On the Sunset Strip! "
Celebrating 60 Years (1959—2019) of the Greatest Jazz TV and Film soundtracks!
This came out last November, but deserves some ink, here. I am not affiliated with the band, in any way. I recently got this CD, and was totally blown away. If you like spy, crime jazz, soundtrack music, this is as good as it gets. Every performance is a gem. It's a phenomenal selection of songs, played with absolute conviction and authenticity. Mike Vernon's stellar band is top-notch, in every way.
You can purchase the CD from band member Nelson Bragg at: steelderrickmusic.com.
Here's a couple of quotes:
Jonny Whiteside (writer for the L.A. Weekly)
"THE M SQUAD! It's a very special album release set from these 'crime jazz' specialists, a most formidable mob of deep skill and smoldering capabilities whose marvelously atmospheric song selection, exquisite execution and all around hardboiled mysterioso noir appeal is unrivalled. Led by the ferociously gifted Texas guitar slinger Burnin’ Mike Vernon, these malefactors churn out a gloriously rendered combination of technical perfection, soulful involvement and well chilled, reliably lethal grooves as featured on their brand new "Live from the Sunset Strip" disk."
"A venerable crime wave of Hollywood Noir crime jazz, spy themes and sounds of the Space-Age!"
Songs on the album:
Guitar - Mike Vernon (3 Balls of Fire, Fireballs, Jerry Cole, Link Wray, Nokie Edwards, Davie Allan & The Arrows)
Percussion - Nelson Bragg (Brian Wilson Band, Nelson Bragg Band)
Drums - Chris Roberts (Insect Surfers, 3 Balls of Fire, Davey Allan & the Arrows, and more)
Piano - Ted Hamer (Ted Hamer Quartet)
Bass - Doug Snyder (3 Balls of Fire)
You can purchase the CD at steelderrickmusic.com
More info at: https://msquadhollywood.com
The Hollow Grinders are beyond sad to share that our drummer, Dr Dirk Thrust, has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
We're fundraising by releasing an album "IN THRUST WE TRUST" with 47 songs from NZ based artists.
It includes surf tunes from THE HOLLOW GRINDERS, THE CTHULUS, KING KAIJU and THE BIFF BANGLE EXPERIENCE, plus a cool Morricone-inspirted piece from EMPASSE with the Hollow Grinders' Otis Uh guesting on twangy guitar.
There's also a ton of other punk garage and weirdness that some of you will love and others will skip!
The album is at Link
I'll now try to embed direct links to the surf tunes:
French musician Jay Poisön, usually known for gritty metalpunk in Poisöncharge and buzzing goregrind in Pulsating Cerebral Slime, is trading blast beat and distortion for reverb and surf !
Jay's first surf album Terror Of The Bat People ! has been released on Halloween and is available on bandcamp and all streaming platforms.
Twenty years ago we couldn’t imagine that our little excuse to meet with our surf music friends from around the country would still be happening. We also couldn’t imagine how crazy 2020 would be. Nothing could stop us from celebrating though, so we are doing the festival anyway, but in an online format. Here is the final line-up of the 20th anniversary of Primeiro Campeonato Mineiro de Surfe, the oldest running surf music festival in the world and the most important one in South America.
There will be 60 bands from 10 different countries and 12 Brazilian states, with exclusive performances ranging from newly recorded material, video clips, quarantine-style videos, historic festival performances and much more.
Reverb Brasil Records also released an online compilation with 59 tracks from bands participating in the festival and a couple of bands important to this history.
Grab your favorite drink, get comfy on your favorite chair in the company of your favorite people and join us this November 7th, 14th and 21st on Youtube. Check our Facebook Event to figure the local times.
About the festival
Primeiro Campeonato Mineiro de Surfe is the main meeting point of the Brazilian Surf Music Scene, happening annually in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, at A Obra, one of the most important underground venues in Brazil. Throughout its 20 year history, the festival has welcomed over 120 bands and thousands of people.
The festival’s name is a joke about a surf championship in Minas Gerais, a state with no coastline. Belo Horizonte is about 500 km from the nearest beach and every year the festival is called Primeiro Campeonato (First Championship), preceded by the number of the edition. Last year’s edition was the 18th Primeiro Campeonato Mineiro de Surfe.
The festival was first organized through Reverb Brasil, which back then was an association of Brazilian Surf Bands. A Obra kept it alive over the years, with the help of Reverb Brasil, which later became a radio show, a label, a blog... Always spreading the (lack of) words of Brazilian Surf Music.
We would like to introduce Two Guns Gonzo!
A Lockdown Laptop Surf Rock by two Expat Kiwi's! One based in Helsinki and the other based in Nashville.
I'm not much of a birdwatcher, but I can say that I was quite fortunate to have seen King Pelican in its natural habitat. It was in their hometown of San Antonio, Texas at Hot Joy, a hip little joint serving pan-Asian food, tiki drinks and Lone Star beer, all surrounded by amazing artwork by Jamie Stolarski (who created the art for this release) - the perfect setting for King Pelican's own special brand of instrumental surf guitar music. Lucky for me (and you!) the heady concoction of all of those elements has been captured by and expanded upon with EAST MEETS WEST.
The first two songs (east side) see King Pelican presenting the specifically Japanese musical style of Eleki, which was created in 1960s Japan by mixing the aggressive guitar style of The Ventures with Japanese modes, melodies and style, creating a new and unique form.
The following selections (west side) take the listener closer to King Pelican's home turf of the American Southwest, but through the lens of the Italian-made Spaghetti Western soundtrack, complete with lonesome whistling, 12 string, acoustic guitars and the bass VI adding to the Morricone influenced atmosphere.
But this is not another surf band pulling a few stylistic gimmicks on top of a basic surf song just to call it something else. King Pelican has obviously taken these specific musical sub-genres and have studied and devoured them before embarking on their own original Eleki and Spaghetti Western compositions. In other words, these are great songs and performances that pack a fun trip around the world into one EP.
~Ted Pilgrim
The new EP from King Pelican - EAST MEETS WEST is now available on Bandcamp! We'd like to thank our good friend, Ted Pilgrim from Satan's Pilgrims for writing the liner notes! Stay tuned for new on the 7" orange vinyl release!
I am pleased to announce the SurfGuitar101 2020 MP3 Compilation! Our 16th one! Just like before, this is a way for members to share music, recording tips, and to just have fun. The main emphasis is fun, so please send in an entry no matter what your skill level is. Here are the rules:
Please use the comment thread for this news story to discuss the compilation and to get information on how to submit an mp3. Please also use that thread if you'd like to find a fellow member to work with on the project. With the magic of digital recording and the Internet, remote collaborations are possible. Make your own virtual surf band!
Please check out our prior compilations by using the links in the bottom left sidebar of the desktop version of our site.
Let the comp begin!
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