Besides Miserlou=Pump It there is now a new dance version of Apache out there...

Dang, that was the whole thing in a nutshell.

Sonichris
I also like to think that all early 60's fender equipment is happy to be playing surf music again. After all, its the music it was meant to play.

UnsteadyFreddie
ZAK yet again speaks the truth;

for many of us it is not our 'real jobs' but we put a lot of time, effort, money, into it, 'cause we dig it immensely

at least for those who cannot get enough of it....depending of course on where one lives, there certainly seems to be enuf live surf music to satiate one's needs

for me, it's a "hobby"-and-then-some....I believe there is something to be had for me, I am trying to make a difference, trying to keep the twang alive and available

I feel the genre is in a slow rise, I kind of feel 'something' is rumbling, though I cannot gauge its significance

UNSTEADY FREDDIE

Same here, it's not going to be my main career, but I will gig. However, most surf bands don't get much coverage. I have never watched a commercial for any surf bands on TV.

Sonichris
I also like to think that all early 60's fender equipment is happy to be playing surf music again. After all, its the music it was meant to play.

Here's my take as leader of an all instrumental band that plays surf and instrumental music using the 2 guitar/bass/drum format. I love surf and guitar based instrumentals (Ventures, Shadows. etc.). I also like to play music that people enjoy. Each of our band's members loves music and would (and do) often play free gigs, but we all appreciate getting paid too. In Richmond VA there are very few opportunities to play 3hr of pure surf music. It is possible to get paying jobs as an all instrumental band if you are willing to introduce some variety, take a look at all of the styles the Ventures covered. Yes, we cover the "classic" surf tunes: Mr. Moto, Walk Don't Run, Secret Agent Man, Pipeline. Why? Because people like them. We also do instrumental versions of everything from Broadway tunes ( Age of Aquarius), old country songs, Beach Boys, Beatles, and originals. We don't play as much as we'd like but we manage to land paying jobs fairly regularly.

http://www.myspace.com/3rdwav

Last edited: Nov 08, 2008 13:16:09

Hey Zak, is it bad for a band to do SOME covers as well as their own material?

Sonichris
I also like to think that all early 60's fender equipment is happy to be playing surf music again. After all, its the music it was meant to play.

Kman1
Hey Zak, is it bad for a band to do SOME covers as well as their own material?

There's no good or bad here Kman. You just have to decide for yourself what the objectives of your band is. If you want to be different than the other 1000 surf bands than find a way to do that, and if you play covers stay true to your own sound not the original version's.

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

while I think surf could stand more exposure, there's no revival in sight and I think we're benefitting. If surf became an in thing again so would traditional sounds. I know a lot of musicians hate the word surf and I only like to use it for convenience reasons, because the name is meaning less and less with time and as a result newer and fresher ideas are going around. Chicha Libre has members of Shadowy Men and they're doing some sort of surfy latin thing that's irresistible. If surf were a craze again do you think people would give a crap about the Middle Eastern flavorings of the Madeira? From a respected band to a fringe gimmick, that's where they'll go. That term does give us a community which makes for an easier way of discovering those bands, but even a community sort of drives it further into a niche with repeated stale ideas. Down with surf!

Storm Surge of Reverb: Surf & Instro Radio

another thing is we use covers as "bait", if there are females in the audience that look bored (it seems like the lack of lyrics really bums them out sometimes) I'll start up sleepwalk, and BAM they are dragging a dude onto the floor. Once we have them there, we just keep hitting them with tunes without any space between songs. They don't have to be covers at that point.

THe NEpTuNeS

We play our version of sleepwalk based on the ventures version I guess. It was originally done by Santo And Johnny. It's the ultimate romantico song!

THe NEpTuNeS

well played...

THe NEpTuNeS