What can I add to all the comments made thus far.. just that I too loved Marty, and will deeply miss him. I cannot say we were long-time close "buddys," but I have always regarded him as a true friend, and perhaps the best friend that surf music ever had. I was encouraged, just a couple of months ago when I visited him in his hospital room, to see that he was smiling and in good spirits, despite his obvious state of physical decline; for this he credited the Lord; seems that amid all the trials of his condition, he had renewed his relationship with God, and the resulting joy he felt over this more than compensated, so he said, for the difficulties he was going through. Upon his sharing this with me, we then had a wonderful time of prayer there together, and God's love for Marty was palpable in the room. So in closing, i will add that I do look forward to seeing our friend Marty again on "the other side."

PJ -

Paul Johnson
Belairs / Galaxies / Packards / Surfaris / Duo-tones / etc.
www.pjmoto.com

In '09 he made me feel like The Surge! was the only band there. Unmatched enthusiasm...I know what one of the previous posters meant when they said they thought he might be a little "off" (sorry I haven't read the whole thread). I thought he was nuts at first (but in a good kinda way). Turned out he just really loved it all that much.

The Mystery Men?
El Capitan and The Reluctant Sadists
SSS Agent #31

Oh Marty was Nuts alright, Nuts for surf,
and everything in Life that made him Happy.

and I am glad for that, I wouldn't want a friend to be a cookie cutter
version of the Mr. Perfect (Joe American).

But that being said, he was very much a traditionalist in Many ways.
A. Very Religious, we had disagreements about this a lot, but tried not to talk about it often, and focus on the things we were into.
B. a Huge Family guy, he was the one that urged me to lighten up on razzing people about not going to shows, and that Family always comes first, and that sometimes he couldn't go, because of Family issues.
C. a 100% Patriot, he loved the USA, and the Military.
when 9-11 happened it hit him really hard, and whenever he would see pics
of the twin towers, pre- or post attack, he would get all choked up.
and he would always thank military people for their service.
D. Very Conservative politically, another thing we disagreed about.
Not that I am 100% liberal, I'm a fence rider on many different issues.
But he said it would be stupid for us to not be friends of something so petty as Politics.
I was happy the Day I got him to admit that
George Bush Jr. was a complete nit-wit.
E. Marty was a really funny Potty mouth sometimes,
(he was an ex-sailor after all)
but he was always very polite when women were around.
F. a firm believer in coming home and putting yer feet up, and having
a few drinks or beers, and relaxing from the work-day.

**Not really in the same vein, but made a big impression on me.

1. He always wanted a real CD/or LP from a band. If they were outta print
   or really hard to find he would have me make him a CD-R.
   and I am the same way. Buy from the bands, and support them.

2. Marty would go with me to Go-boy or other record shops that had surf when I was first getting into surf, and was my mentor in what to buy and what to pass on, from his experience. He leaned more towards the Trad side at the beginning, and I liked some of the out there stuff.
   But he got me to be a Huge fan of old and new Trad.
   and I got him turned onto the really good out there bands.
   He ended up buying all of the Insect Surfers, Pollo Del Mar, Mermen,
   and couple other bands. a few MoAM cds. But I could never get him into
   Daikaiju. He said they were good, but (not surf related)
   traditionalist to the end.

That is just some of the things I remember off the top of my head.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Last edited: Jun 26, 2012 23:01:57

Bernard wrote:

Over the past few years I have attended very few surf events but Marty, if present, would always offer a warm hello and reminded me of what a cool community this is. Even us cats on the periphery will miss him.
B.

Good to see you here Bernard! Congrats on takin' the helm with the Chum Boys Let's book some gigs!
Cheers!

Be careful following the masses. Sometimes the "M" is silent...........................

Last edited: Jun 26, 2012 23:31:45

Just finished reading all the posts on this thread... with joy and sadness at the same time. I'm convinced that losing a true loved one is one of the toughest things we have to deal with in life.

I have wonderful memories of Marty: the man-hugs - he was not afraid to let you know that he was really happy to see you. The reverb injections - he would walk up to the stage, fist pumped, arm out stretched, begging for the guitarist to drop the headstock onto his bulging veins, and his unapologetic display of love for the music.

Marty was a one-of-a-kind and will truly be missed.

Not really much to add, but it's been great to read everyone's stories and encounters.

One thing I always loved was it didn't matter if Marty was meeting someone for the first time or seeing an old friend for the third day in a row, there was always the same warmth. Within minutes of meeting him you felt like you'd known him for years. He was a legitimately great guy, something which seems to be rarer and rarer these days.

R.I.P.

That was excessively violent and completely unnecessary. I loved it.

indeed

Jeff(bigtikidude)

I think the Paypal account is closed.
But we will be taking donations for Marty's wife Letty at the
SG101 convention.

and
The 2012 5th Annual Surf Guitar 101 Convention will be dedicated to the Memory of Baja Marty.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Sean said he'd look into re-opening the paypal account.

If a memorial is held soon for the "surf family," then we should probably take donations at that time too.

"Turn the knob to 10 and break it off!" -Baja Marty

Last edited: Jun 27, 2012 21:17:43

We're working on it.

"Turn the knob to 10 and break it off!" -Baja Marty