frankly, this is really depressive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKr-WKT4aiA

El Papu & los Fantasticos Reverberantes

Dude,
That was shocking! Really, our music is NOTHING like that! But man, those cats have their own scene.

Art

Surfcat

MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS! (2024) - Agent Octopus
Wake up Jimmy! It's Christmastime! (2024) - Agent Octopus (Single)

YOUTUBE - Agent Octopus Surf

big_papu
frankly, this is really depressive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKr-WKT4aiA

oh-kay.........i lasted 17 seconds.

www.surfintheeye.com

ReverbGalaxy
Man,
I just watched it again, what the ????

Just to get back "on topic", did anyone listen to our cd "Angle of Attack"? Any further comments?

I listen to your songs at myspace..............to be short and concise, the songs got great melody and are good writed, and I really agree with you in try to scape of the " I IV V" thing..........I really don´t like the sound...........I´m a vintage sound lover and if it´s a bit LO-FI, better............sounds to "plastic" to me

in my experience the best it´s to record "live" all the band together with a classic vintage sound rig, not reverb plug-ins, speaker emulators and that kind of shit

nobody borns knowing everything, take it as experience, and be cool because the most important thing is there: good songwriting

El Papu & los Fantasticos Reverberantes

Thanks Big Papu,
appreciate the listen/comments!
Art

Surfcat

MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS! (2024) - Agent Octopus
Wake up Jimmy! It's Christmastime! (2024) - Agent Octopus (Single)

YOUTUBE - Agent Octopus Surf

WR,
Great comments just like Zak's. Although I'd have to hear Ivan's dog's version of red sunrise, which might be a quick seller on top 40 radio.

In my travels with various cover bands I found it was very easy to entertain a crowd with performance (even Reverb Galaxy wears white spacesuits ) and dynamics at the expense of composition. I find this is unfortunate, but people go out to be entertained, not to listen. Do those same people buy cds at those performances? Probably not. They just want to hear the familiar, then go home.

It's not that I am not a fan of I-IV-V; it's the foundation of rock n roll! I just think that too many bands out there use it as a crutch instead of spending time and good effort to write refreshing melodies with interesting arrangements. For me, a good melody will stay with me all my life. It can be reinvented into various styles/genres of music and still sound new, yet familiar.

With all that said, and I think like everyone else on this post, I have digressed, you and Zak are absolutely right. Any good song is killed with a lackluster production. Although, I still find our cd a collection of good songs, played with enthusiasm, and am very proud of what me and the boys have put together.

Surfcat

MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS! (2024) - Agent Octopus
Wake up Jimmy! It's Christmastime! (2024) - Agent Octopus (Single)

YOUTUBE - Agent Octopus Surf

Hogfysshe
I'm really enjoying "Blue Sunset." Very nice song.

also in current rotation: "Medieval Cowboy" & "Two Heavies And a Cruncher" (Greaseballs), "Nose Walkin" & "Tunisian Moon" (LTM), "Castle Island Dream" (Fathoms), "No Surf Today" (F&TPB).

Haven't heard "Castle Island Dreams", which cd is that on?

Surfcat

MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS! (2024) - Agent Octopus
Wake up Jimmy! It's Christmastime! (2024) - Agent Octopus (Single)

YOUTUBE - Agent Octopus Surf

Rio
I agree that many surf recordings have overly clean guitars that don't translate well to recordings, but I think the way they're recorded also contributes to that "generic" sound others have mentioned.

I think surf music, more than most modern "rock", benefits from capturing a bit more of the room sound when recording, particularly drums and guitar, and maybe in a livelier room than usual. That can help give a more "live" sound, and a more natural and "vintage" sound.

I close mic the drums to get some flexibiltiy on eq & compression of the kick, snare & toms, but I rely a lot on my overheads and room mics for the overall tone or "sound", and I don't apply any effects to those.

Similarly, I use a close mic and a room mic on guitar as well, and blend in more or less of the room mic as needed to get the right bite & liveliness out of the guitar. Compression is good, but you don't want to totally kill the dynamics of the guitar either.

I think the key for us, is that we didn't want to sound "lo fi" and we didn't want to record in the traditional sense of surf records. We were kind of trying to mesh the surf genre with a little bit more of a layered sound similar to 70's and 80's recordings of our favorite artists. The songs are arranged in a different fashion than a lot of the more mainstream or popular surf bands of yesteryear and today.

I like Rio's take on the mixture of close and room sound. Sounds like you can still capture the bite with the air.

Art

Surfcat

MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS! (2024) - Agent Octopus
Wake up Jimmy! It's Christmastime! (2024) - Agent Octopus (Single)

YOUTUBE - Agent Octopus Surf

Art-
I have had a chance to give the CD a more comprehensive listen and here are some thoughts.
1.) I think the band is on the right track in terms of composition and arrangement.
2.) You nail the genre pieces pretty accurately which seems to create a little confusion in the overall direction of the CD.
3.) It has a forced analog feel. Was it recorded 100% digitally?
3.) Overall the CD is paced well, not falling on cliche. As long as you don't do the acoustic MTV inspired unplugged versions I'll be fine.
4.) When working late into the night and my energy is flagging, your CD is as good at getting me pumped as any can of Red Bull I've had!!

one way I come to find songs I like is that they will turn up playing in my head a day or two after I've listened to them. This is some dreaming-while-awake type thing. There's no other explanation for how something can just be there all of a sudden, for no good reason. Anyway, "Balkan Stomp" just did this. The fourth "shift" in the song and the cool transition after that (all of which reappears later) was there, playing. Sometimes when this happens, I won't know the exact song. It's often a riff or a section that sneaks up. So I'll set to figuring it out. Good way to be (re)introduced to a song.