At this time, my camera started to get low on battery, plus my ears were actually starting to hurt, so I spent most of the last 2 sets behind the glass so I could hear the sets without hurting. So I only got a couple photos, but holy crap what incredible music! Madeira was off the chart, and Jon & The Nightriders blew me away. What incredible energy and enthusiasm, and holy cow they can still rock like their half my age (let alone half THEIR age)!

Madeira!!!

Jon & The Nightriders

Jon & Dusty in the zone!

As you can see, it was harder to get in front because the crowd got super into it!

Enjoy!

mom_surfing wrote:

el ray, uber alles!

Yeah: what she said!

Bob

Firetone wrote:

Hi Everyone.
I think I kinda landet again after the US tour.. right now I´m at my job as a Hospice nurse, I got a nightshift, witch is really really perfect, since I just got over the jetlag:-)
I feel just lige El Fuerte put it after the Convention gig, "I like this playing even more than my real job". He was right, what a lifelong experience it was being with you all, in a pool of the worls best surf!
Thank you so much for having us, and beeing so great hosts!
I want to thank you all and if I somehow forget you in my little story here, I didn´t mean to!
Like Ivan and Brian/Fez has, I will also try to go through the days from start to a end.

Aug.2. Arriving in SF was great! We all left the families and for the guys, the kids, at home. Allready missing them and exited over the whole thing, I was super "overgeared" and couldent wait. But yet, we had no idea what was going to happen.
In the airport we picked up our borrowed guitars, send from Reber Stein in Alaska. We could not believe it when we saw them! Twang´s guitar was a exact copy of the one he playes in Denmark, a "sister model" of the only two ever built. So now he been with them both.. Mine was a Jazzmaster and looked like my own, 66 model - only older and more pretty - and time would show us they sounded just GREEEATTTT!!
The first night we had a excellent "3-types cheese bacon burger" and a beer, and just felt good and tired.
Aug.3. We did some sightseeing, "the rock" from a distance, guitarcenter(!) and such things.
Before we left DK, Ference had been so kind and let us mail some things to his place, so we could pick them up in US. (And what a cool guy you are!) Thanks alot for the help, we meet Ference by Golden Gate bridge, had a coffie and said "hello".
Later we went to a Tiki-bar, Smugglers cove, where we for the first time met Bill, JonPaul, Jeff BTD and Josh. Here were these super nice guys, buying us coctails and beeing all cool and looking like the real deal americans to us:-). "Wow - what a great welcome" I thought!
Aug 4. Another day filled with sightseeing and "de climating" and in the afternoon, off to KFJC where we played the 45 min concert live. I was all nervous, and did not know what to expect, but everyone was relaxed (Cousin Mary was super chilled), and covered in a "down to earth - we have all time in the world" atmosphere. We had some sodas and pizza, met Los Venturas for the first time. We also met Phil Dirt, met out newest best friends JP, Josh, BTD, Bill, Bruce, and many more. Everything went great, I was relived and happy and thought "this might work after all"
Aug 5. Up and got to Mel Waldorf´s home in Alameda before hitting the Forbidden Island. How nice can one man be?!! We had lunch and jamed in his basement, playing our first ever cover "Poseidon" with him. A tune Mel wrote, and we covered om our first album. At Forbidden Island I was hit by the geniute atmosphere in the place, the people and the drinks.. the Poolboys and Venturas played excellent, and we enjoyed them very much. Danny S and Ference played with pure skill and excellence and the inspiration hit me like a hammer. All Smiles and great tunes.
After the concert some of us went to a Mexican rest. where JohPaul was dared into drinking a bowl of the hottest hotsauce EVER made, and I knew I finally met the real deal! The real crazy deal:-)
Aug 6. Tourists
Aug 7. Tourists
Aug 8. Played at the Pike in LB, with Venturas. First real time to meet the guys, and figure out who was who. A fun night that involved our great new friends, a guy named "Remo" who had birthday and had a song named after him "Remo über alles". And much more
Aug 9. Hang loose all day, again, sightseeing, getting more stuff for the loved ones at home...and to The Redwood at night. It was my first live enconter with Insect Surfers. I have a couple of their CD´s but was happy to hear them live. GREAT GREAT set! Like rock ´n roll in surfin´style -throwing guitars around. We also met Jeremy and Fady for the first time that night.
Aug 10. To the Fender factory tour (woo hoo) and to Jeffs house. The prime of hosting and leadership there Jeff! No time wasted, a pool, family, tikimugs, beers... We wanted to stay but still drove to San Diego there we saw the beach and had excllent thai food. I haven´t been talking much about food - but believe me when I tell I could write all day about the food we had, I´m lovin´it!
Getting into the "Tin Can Alehouse" was great! Secret Samurai was allready there. Ryan was a excellent host for us. Their show was one long lesson in excellence... Aggresive - but not mean, superfast - but not showing off, if you know what I mean. And then the Madeira.. Seeing the drummer in "El Ray" t-shirt (and Ryan as well) made my day! I had heard alot about this band, and it was true. They totally blew me away! Once again, these normal great sweet guys that just enjoy playing and does it really well. Nice one! Fady, and Jeremy and Ran showed up and we had a great time. Ran was a great inspiration for me when he played in the Astroglides. I remember listening to the band on the internet many many years ago and I was honored to meet the man himselves.
Aug 11. The big SG101 day! First there was the jam. I was lucky to play with members from Exotics, Insect surfers and Joshboy - and had fun doing so. My whole day was just perfect, the bands was amazing, and the mixture of styles was nice to my ears. All the bands was new to me, Live playing, and I loved it. The Exotics, Intoxicators and Dynotones I really digged bit time! And all og Lorenzos druming. Its like he knows every surftune in the whole wide world!
I especally felt the connection between the bands. It´s not like in Danish Rockbands, there everything is a battle. At the convention everyone enjoyed and told each other if they thought a band "was the greatest on earth". Really nice and positive! GREAT!
After the convention we drove with Fady and Jeremy to the afterparty, and saw more crazy cool bands! Worms and Apes... What´s up with them Slacktone..? How good can one band play?! I´m just asking.
Aug 12. Off to the beach! I think I mentioned on stage "a wet dream come through".. But it really was, again amazing! The bands I started to know, and enjoyed more and more day for day, and the swimming and the Mr. Johnson and all! I felt super lucky and blessed by the people we met on the tour, and this sunday was the top for me. Almost had a little tear in my eye looking at you all!
Aug 13. On the "Surf-history-tour" Jeff set up. It was fun to see the places (I bet no other Danish surfband ever been there...) and hanging around our new friends from Carolina. The weather was beautyful and the vibe was the best.
We drove to yet another mall, had sushi and left for the last show on "The El Ray does California tour"...
Playing the last shot at Spikes was a bitter sweet feeling. We had fun playing, and finally I was able to listen to Los venturas set, relaxed and happy. Great band! So cool to come from the same continent as them!
We said our "farewells" and I was stoked when JonPaul gave me his Tiki Hana figure, he had been carrying around his neck all week.
I´ll take good care of it!

So much more to say and so many more to thank, but I´m having a hard time playing "spelling bee" here...

Tons of love to you Jeff BTD. You are the man!

I´ll just post this and send love you Y´all!
Jesper

Jesper,

thanks for the cool post,
Love back to you and the Rest of El Ray.
I have always liked the El Ray cds, but after seeing you guys(and gal)
so many times, I have a new top 5 band.
El Ray Uber alles

Hope you can come back some day.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Thanks for the cool write ups Ivan and Jesper and Brian. Really good reads! Hopefully more bands will post their "tour diaries" too.

As for my review of this years SG101 convention... well... what can I say that hasn't been said already?

Stellar line up. Every band kicked major arse. I won A TON of raffle items (I bought 12 tickets and I won 8 times!) so I ended up giving many things away. I got some good CDs and Vinyls from the shop, and some cool T Shirts to sport. There was so much going on that I cant really order it all in my head, and I'm afraid I didnt get to talk with or meet as many folks as I wanted to. But there's always next year!

Personal highlights of the day:

1 - Playing in the jam. As an amatuer musician, it really is an amazing experience to get on stage with all that great gear and to be able to play for so many folks that I admire and am actually at the event to see play. Its completely nerve wracking (i was shaking like a tooth ache for an hour after I got off stage), but overwhelmingly fun!

2 - Every band had a good set. EVERY ONE ROCKED!

3 - James Wilsey - HOLY CRAP I got to meet Jimmy Wilsey!!! The king of slow, and the absolute king of tone!! I listened to his album and early Chris Isaak for days after the event. If you haven't given him a listen, you NEED to. Such a nice guy, and he told me that he is working on new material. Can't wait!

4 - The "family" - Just getting to hang out with and meet so many of you guys & gals was great! Whether it was geeking out over gear, drooling over albums, reminiscing about previous shows, and just reaching out and making new friends. So excellent!

Thanks to all involved, especially Jeff. You rock!

Last edited: Aug 23, 2012 07:10:25

mom_surfing wrote:

josheboy.......another person who never quit smiling the entire long weekend

And STILL smiling!!!

More photo action: Click here for some photos of Los Venturas and El Ray playing THE PIT at KFJC August 4th, 2012

Still smiling as well...

cool posts everybody, thanks,
Rick, I really wanted to be at that Dons show,
and at the San Diego show too, on Fri. night,(thanks for review)
who's silly idea is it for there to be 3 Fri. night shows?

Guy, I only see one pic on that link,
is it a facebook issue that I can't see more?

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Last edited: Aug 24, 2012 23:44:02

More pics! The Fab-raffle Strat and a cool shot of a cool guy!

image

image

El Twitter
El Ray
El Ray on Bandcamp
El Twang on YouTube

Last edited: Aug 26, 2012 15:21:59

It's Lars, Danny. They look fine here...?

Edit: But not in all browsers, LOL. I'll change it.

El Twitter
El Ray
El Ray on Bandcamp
El Twang on YouTube

Last edited: Aug 26, 2012 15:17:18

I have a cinema size monitor and it can only show half the picture, anyone else having trouble?

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