Flowmaster_G
Joined: Nov 09, 2006
Posts: 140
Los Angeles, California
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Posted on Dec 24 2006 10:26 PM
Well, being that this music has it's most substantial origins in California's surf scene, one would assume that this environmnent would have something to do with it's "vibe".
I feel privileged to live in So. cal and play So.Cal music, which is what surf really is. That said, I have seen some of the best rockabilly and surf music come from Europe and elsewhere. So I don't think that you "have " to live by the sea or our West Coast. That said, there's something special about living in a place where a certain genre originated and/or saw its hey-day.
Think about blues comming from the Delta and Chicago; L.A. will never match their aura for that music even though we have some fantastic local blues performers. Same with Punk re. London and NYC ; Then there is Orange County which then had a post-punk revival of its own, unmatched ANYWHERE else. To have lived in OC in the mid 80's to mid 90's meant to have seen TSOL, TRex , Sublime, Offspring, etc in small clubs defining that cultural space/time.
I live in LA, and playing surf ehre is as natural as it would be to play country music in Nashville. It has nothing to do with being by the sea; it has more to do with having endless summers, wide open spaces and cars to span them. It's what So. Cal is famous for, and with good reason.
g
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wooza
Joined: Apr 24, 2006
Posts: 1618
Ithaca, NY
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Posted on Dec 24 2006 11:10 PM
Just out of curiosity, how did the SF bay area become such a surf hot spot?
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25630
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Dec 25 2006 03:43 PM
wooza
Just out of curiosity, how did the SF bay area become such a surf hot spot?
I could be wrong But I think there is a big Ocean right to the West of the SF bay area, and I believe lots of people surf there. 
Yes that was a smart ass answer, but I think there may be a shred of truth to it.
My Dad used to live in San Jose, in the 60's and would drive over to
Santa Cruz, to go surfing st Steamers Lane.
Also the City of Santa Cruz, just had a long heated battle with the City of Huntington Beach over the title of "Surf City"
as they said that the First Hawiians to come to California surfef in Santa Cruz, way before anyone in HB or So Cal was surfing.
Unfortunetly they lost to HB.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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outsides
Joined: Jul 08, 2006
Posts: 460
NorCal
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Posted on Dec 26 2006 05:16 PM
I could be wrong But I think there is a big Ocean right to the West of the SF bay area, and I believe lots of people surf there.
Yes that was a smart ass answer, but I think there may be a shred of truth to it.
Ha Ha, not smart-ass enough! Wooza, you need to get off the computer and get out across one of the bridges or down 880 and out to the coast. It's really beautiful and lots of great surfin' spots. All up and down the coast. Really! 
But, yeah as mentioned before, actual surfing and surf instrumental music really don't have much to do with each other. It's a feeling and a state of mind.
-outsides-
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MikeG
Joined: Mar 29, 2006
Posts: 309
Springfield, Oregon
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Posted on Dec 26 2006 05:32 PM
I think there is a real advantage to being able to draw on one's wave-riding experiences for inspiration. That being said, most of my own "surf" influences are actually non-surf bands/artists. I almost wish I hadn't incorporated the word "surf" into my band name back in '93 when I first started the Surfonics.
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wooza
Joined: Apr 24, 2006
Posts: 1618
Ithaca, NY
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Posted on Dec 27 2006 05:19 PM
outsides
I could be wrong But I think there is a big Ocean right to the West of the SF bay area, and I believe lots of people surf there.
Yes that was a smart ass answer, but I think there may be a shred of truth to it.
Ha Ha, not smart-ass enough! Wooza, you need to get off the computer and get out across one of the bridges or down 880 and out to the coast. It's really beautiful and lots of great surfin' spots. All up and down the coast. Really!
By gum you guys are right! You know, I thought I remembered seeing lots of water nearby. What was it called again? Puhsific Lake? 
Yeah, I'm well aware and well acquainted with the coastline here. But we've all been mentioning how your locale usually has little to do with your predilection for surf music, and as I understand, the vast majority of surf musicians, including those from the bay, don't surf (and most surfers don't listen to surf music). So it's not as if the surfing community here decided to start playing a musical style in tribute to their pastime.
And as for the state of mind of surf music. I know that that state of mind hasn't resulted in an independent surf movement up here. It's all related to the original sixties, socal roots. I was just curious why it happened to gather such a following in and around the bay. Maybe it's not even out of the ordinary. Whatever. 
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DannySnyder
Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 11060
Berkeley, CA
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Posted on Dec 27 2006 05:27 PM
wooza
I was just curious why it happened to gather such a following in nd around the bay. Maybe it's not even out of the ordinary. Whatever.
HUH? uh, following? I wish. I think it's the only genre where the number of musicians is larger than the number of fans
But that's what makes it tres cool, oui? 
— 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
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outsides
Joined: Jul 08, 2006
Posts: 460
NorCal
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Posted on Dec 27 2006 09:45 PM
wooza
Just out of curiosity, how did the SF bay area become such a surf hot spot?
Sorry Wooza, when you said 'surf hot spot', I thought you meant the sport not surf MUSIC hot spot.
I wasn't being sarcastic, just couldn't believe the question as worded. Especially since you seem intelligent, if young. And congrats on the braces removal! 
-outsides-
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wooza
Joined: Apr 24, 2006
Posts: 1618
Ithaca, NY
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Posted on Dec 28 2006 04:18 AM
outsides
Sorry Wooza, when you said 'surf hot spot', I thought you meant the sport not surf MUSIC hot spot.
I wasn't being sarcastic, just couldn't believe the question as worded.
Haha. No hard feelings. I guess in retrospect it was a poorly worded question, in which case your answer makes perfect sense. Yeah, I can put two and two together about big waves and lots of surfers out here. I was just wondering how a relatively high number of bands started to pop up...and apparently outnumber fans. (Tres cool, indeed.)
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SurfBandBill
Joined: Mar 15, 2006
Posts: 1487
San Francisco
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Posted on Dec 28 2006 05:04 AM
As I am fairly new to the SF surf music scene (about 5 years now... geez I'm getting old), I'll wager a few guesses:
1) Phil Dirt - where else do you find an area that has a DJ on for 3 and 4 hours every Saturday night playing surf music. Phil did just that for oh about 20 years to my recollection. Not only did he spin surf, he also invited bands to play live in studio, which gave out of town acts a bit more exposure.
2) Pollo & The Mermen - both bands have years of experience and devout followings. Both bands do that crazy psychedelic surf soooo well that you don't find almost anywhere aside from the Insect Surfers. This gave local upstarts (i.e. me, Danny, etc) a benchmark for success and an example of how to make surf slightly viable in the city. It would have been much harder to get the Lava Rats off the ground if we didn't know about things like Surf Sundays at the Utah and other local events.
3) Proximity to the Ocean - downplay it as much as you like, surf music is just cooler when you can look out a window and SEE waves. I'm NOT knocking any landlocked surf bands, nor am I discrediting what they do as anything less than authentic. Hell, if anything, y'all should be commended; I'm just saying that where there is "surf culture" SOMEONE is bound to want to push surf music.
4) Legacy - Growing up and being in high school when the "Great Surf Crash of '97" hit, I think subliminally I was drawn to the sound. I remember dating a girl in '97 whose dad hadn't missed a Mermen show in almost two years. I saw listings in the paper for all sorts of surf bands playing at the local clubs which I was too young to get in to: Pollo, The Bomboras, The Phantom Surfers, Man or Astro Man?, The Torpedos, even bands like The Daytonas and The Penetrators came and played in the Bay Area in the late 90s. It has been a major part of the US surf scene for over ten years now.
5) Community - Much like point number two, the overall community really helps newbies figure out what is what. I remember seeing an EARLY incarnation of the Mach IV at The Beach Chalet back in '02 or so and spending literally an hour talking surf music and surf gear with Meshugga Mel. I've had nothing but support from all the people in this area associated with surf music, and I'm sure others will attest to the same thing. It happens in SoCal, it happens here, and it's happening on a broader scale with NESMA and the Unsteady one on the East coast - we HAVE to rely on each other for support because, as it's been stated, there are all-too-frequently as many musicians as fans at local surf shows.
Okay, I'm gonna go to bed now.
~B~
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25630
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Dec 28 2006 01:19 PM
Not that it really matters that much, but there were a very few surf bands in the Bay area in the 60's as I recall phil Dirt pointing out before. Names escape me, but there were a few.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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