Thanks for the writeup Mr. Deadman!

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

Brian wrote:

Thanks for the writeup Mr. Deadman!

It was a pleasure Mr Site Dude!

Los Fantasticos

Thanks for the write up sir.
I've been waiting for that from someone.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Thanks for your review Jon, it was nice to see you as usual!!!
Tonight I will give you all my review and point of view. I will try to review each part of the event and each band with my eye.

You already saw the beautiful photos done. You can check the on our Flickr account and I am setting up a new slideshow on the www.surferjoemusic.com web site that will be available in the next days.

Continue contributing with the videos you have done. Anne has already arranged a general playlist and she is checking what's new to add it to the list.

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

SURFER JOE SUMMER FESTIVAL 2014
Livorno, June 20-22

The Summer Festival has just finished and also this year it ended up with a great success. The deepest satisfaction for the organization comes from the feedback received, comments of appreciation from everywhere by everyday surf music fans and occasional surf listeners who have all enjoyed these intense 3-days of music and activities.

We are proud to have worked well as organizers and that everything went smooth within logistics, artist relationship and technical issues. All the artists have been respectful to us and have provided amazing performances in every way. Great energy on stage and great interaction with the audience.

So first of all thanks to YOU all, who have come to Livorno and have contributed to make another superlative surf music event. We are working already for the 2015 edition and we have already confirmed some of the bands. We will do our best to share this information in the shortest time possible.

Now, let's see the event that just finished in details (from my personal point of view of course).

Friday 20th

We confirm the Friday to be a successful day and like in 2013 we had a great opening of the event. The music started with Monokini who impressed lots of people. They were not well known as a band although they have been existing for many years. Their set has been quite clean and traditional, I liked the interaction between the guitars. Surely a fun band to watch and to listen to, proposing mostly original material. I think it has been a great showcase for them and they surely gained some fans with this performance. Following Monokini and moving to the first concert on the Tiki Stage we had El Ray. As usual and expected the band put up a superb show with El Firetone talking for the group, shouting, screaming and making great fun for the audience. The sound is powerful and precise, this band is really one of the biggest surf names on the planet. Finally here come the Phantom Four back on the Main Stage and I think it is clear the reason why I put this band as the night headliner. The sound is driven by the guitar of Phantom Frank, very melodic, on top of a heavy sounding rhythm section, sometimes producing the same effect of disco music with repetitive patterns, but showcasing the fantastic melodies, full of middle eastern influences, that only Frank can create.

Saturday 21st

The day opens with some people getting together for lunch at the Ungawa Tiki Bar while me and Niels were starting the NSSR marathon. Such an amazing idea of Niels to stream the whole event and such a great feeling to see that it actually worked! Checking the stats of the first hour we saw people from all over the world really connecting, listening to us and commenting on the sg101 thread. This has been one of the strongest demonstration of love for what we are doing and for what Niels carries on with lots of daily work and dedication. The festival this year has reflected the same spirit of NSSR: giving out a "screenshot" of what surf music is today, in all its forms, traditional and progressive, making in the end everybody happy. Alternating old style surf music and modern approaches really is the key to let everybody enjoy this music. Each listener can enjoy all the aspects without getting bored, but actually feeling himself involved into the evolution of the genre. I like to say this and, judging from the results of what we have done, this really works!
So we get to the first symposium with Mr. Camorani explaining the "how and when" of the Fender Stratocaster. Helping Flavio with the English translation and with the precious support of Dave Wronski, it came out an interesting meeting. Whoever commented saying that the details were too much specific is wrong. The purpose of a symposium is to explain things from a "nerd" to other "nerds", in facts after the symposium the following questions reflected this interest as people put specific questions and talked about minor technical details of the instruments. To me the symposiums have both been much fun. Not much to say about the Guitar Rumble itself, I mean the guitar exhibition: I think it was pretty clear for everybody that this is a unique collection, absolutely impressive. I thank Flavio Camorani for this and for working together again.
Surf seminar: honestly, better than expected. Each one did his job: Paul Beatie with an introduction to the surf guitar, Martin Schmidt (who also prepared printed music of his song and explained his guitar tricks), Paul Johnson and the history of the surf sound, closing with Dave Wronski who also explained not only his technique but also important notes about how to relate with bandmembers and how to make a surf band work. PJ has really been the attraction: of course he started from his main influences in the early 60s, told the Mr. Moto story and basically grabbed the attention of everyone on the roots of the genre.
7.30pm, Threesome on stage. Fantastic. Another band that people from Europe and US are not used to, one of their first real public performances in the surf scene, and they just placed an incredible show. A progressive, aggressive surf sound, made of many influences, although the greatest attraction on stage, unexpected for many, was Jovana on drums. Bradipos IV on Main Stage: incredible of course. We are talking about masters of trad surf. I heard some new stuff in the set list, I know they are working hard for a new album. Usual configuration: Max on a drippy rhythm guitar and lots of reverb everywhere. That's how it has to be! Back to the Tiki Stage for the set of Paul Johnson. Although our practice has been quite short... except for a few mistakes in the first couple of tunes, Paul really got in the mood and did a great job. Again, the audience got from Paul what they were expecting: Paul's typical bluesy surf sound, going back in time and showing how this all started. From comments I have received the highlights have been Mr. Moto, Squad Car, Tally Ho and Kamikaze. I am so glad that Paul was able to come: we all have a huge respect for this man, he is such a nice guy and a good musician to work with. Pyronauts, here they come! What a cool set with lots of movement on stage and energy. Double drum solo by Tim and a set full of originals and covers. When I was told Pyronauts are one of the top surf bands, they were surely right. I am absolutely happy they could join the festival this year! Back to the Garden with the Razorblades, a band that demonstrated again their high level of professionalism and musical capacity. An intense show, strong, fast like crazy with Martin going up and down the stage followed by a very cool rhythm section. The concert has really been appreciated by all the many people standing in front of the stage. Some of them never attented their show before and surely remained impressed. So following the Razorblades we arrive to the first main headliner of the festival, Fifty Foot Combo, a band that put on fire many stages in the late 90s with an amazing mix of instrumental surf, rock, garage and beat. And so they did again! Apart from the obvious skills on drums and guitars, the action on stage, the coolness of the tunes played, I think that Sandra at the organ really catched the attention of everyone, including the non-festival-visitors that just had a walk in the evening with their dog on the Terrazza Mascagni. Her way of playing is unique, crazy: jumping on this organ and dancing at the same time, making the people dance, pushing the tempo and the energy. Lots of fun, it was a great choice to have the combo as the Saturday headliner... I think everybody agrees on this.
A long day... it is time to move indoor for the first concert at Ungawa, the rendition of the Surfites. You know I am a trad lover, but this has been incredible! Not many people upstairs, probably tired from the long day, but still a good crowd. It was me, Ralf Kilauea and Jonpaul listening to a "perfect" surf show. Perfect sound balance, perfectly executed tunes, fantastic energy, great skills on the instruments, excellent dynamic. Sorry if I seem excited about this, but I really got impressed. The Surfites tunes that we all appreciate pushed at maximum, sounding finally so live and energetic. Thanks guys! And following the Surfites another surprise: the set of the Bradipos IV featuring Annette. Basically a surf band backing up a great singer with an incredible dynamic voice bouncing between a tune and another, from the 50s on. This means seeing the Bradipos under a different light, in a fantastic, remarkable show.
The night continued with a jam that saw the participation of a lot of musicians playing the classics and their own tunes. One of the fun things of the festival, no volume control, no "mess control", a real wild afterparty!

Sunday 22nd

As planned Alex Thaly shows to a few "customers" how to carve a tiki. He actually produced in those two days 2 big tikis that will remain at the Surfer Joe Garden. Using his chainsaw Alex started from a piece of wood and gave life to it, like Geppetto did with Pinocchio, but hawaiian style
Right after this a few of us have been involved in an interesting conversation with the writer and professor Tim Cooley who introduced his book Surfing About Music. We have been talking about the origins, the history of music related to the act of surfing arriving to the 60s surf music movement. A really interesting meeting and a cool exchange of opinions with again the opportunity to share feelings about the American VS the European views on this genre.
We continued at the Ungawa Tiki Bar for a quick lunch and the second symposium about Fender Precision Bass. Another very specific meeting and detailed explanation by Flavio Camorani showcases some of the most amazing bass guitars and checking any piece of them. Then we got into the Surf Drumming seminar. I gave some basic info about the surf beat and a few technical ideas related to it, mixed with some historical facts about the jazz and rock 'n' roll influences of the genre. Then the masters came up on stage: Tim Pyronauts showcased his own style and his vision of this music, Dusty Watson analyzed his progressive style and the way surf music has evolved and finally Bart of 50 Foot Combo told us his idea of making the surf sound "dirty". Also this seminar had an unexpected attendance, so I would say that the cultural part of the festival, where we mix ideas and techniques, where we have the chance to express our feelings and propositions, has been the most interesting for everybody after the concerts. This is a major goal for us and the whole surf community, it means that people still has something to say about this genre, that the interest is alive. It does not matter how many people show up, it does not matter if this is not mainstream music, but it is surely a cultural phaenomenon.
Concerts: we start the day with Watang, a new band from northern Italy, which includes 2 musicians not new to surf at all. In general the band plays well, quite tight, much original material out of their new album. It is a pleasure again to see a girl on the organ! A very interesting band and I am sure you will hear more about them soon. On the Main Stage the action goes to Tony Dynamite & His Shooting Beavers presenting their show fresh of the new album just arrived in time for the Surfer Joe Festival. The sound of the band is unique and they feature the only trumpet of the festival. The bands goes from trad surf music to a mix of different genres, adding some vocals here and there to reinforce a very cool rhythm section. Again this year they did a good job! The fest proceeds with the only technical difficulty during the 3 days at the beginning of the set of Bang Mustang: one speaker cabinet went bad... but Sven Roll managed to get it going after 5 minutes presenting an amazing show. The Bang Mustang play almost traditional surf music, but I think that Sven found his own identity. With a certain influence of Alex Faide in his hands he has a fantastic songwriting on top of one of the best rhythm sections with Patrick and Boris. If I can say something (not only me saying this) the band sounds better as a trio than a quartet... in general a very much dynamic set. We arrive to the "gran finale" after a proper introduction on the Main Stage: Slacktone. Not much to say, whoever has never seen the band before just remained paralyzed the first 5 minutes, then slowly realizing to be in Livorno at the Terrazza Mascagni Well they have done a great set, my favorite Dusty Watson performance in all the times I booked them. I heard one or two new songs and rumors say about a new album, very much awaited.

That's about all I have to say.
Thanks to my entire staff and to Luca and Francesco for taking care of so many aspects of the organization. I do the bands, I am a surf fan, you all know me, but these guys really do the dirty job that unfortunately is necessary to keep this event going. Paperwork, accounting, logistics, restaurant and bar management.
Please send them a big thanks via email at info@surferjoe.it...

Thank you for coming this year, hope to see you all soon!

Lorenzo SJ

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

bigtikidude wrote:

Great review,
Thanks Lorenzo.

Now Jeff it is only you missing at the festival... so please do what you have to do to come in 2015!

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

A cool moment: Tim Cooley showcasing his book Surfing About Music. Not many people, Sunday morning. I really enjoyed this time together.

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

Grazie Lorenzo, It was really great and I am definitely coming next year.
I'll stop by before that to pick up that HH Combo Amp you're keeping upstairs

Not surf but you might like it:
http://donbale.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA0g6Sn3e9FULMN0owd9YGw
https://soundcloud.com/fatalamanga

DonBale wrote:

Grazie Lorenzo, It was really great and I am definitely coming next year.
I'll stop by before that to pick up that HH Combo Amp you're keeping upstairs

Bale plan it properly next year no job commitments!!!!!!!

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

A photo that you did not see before: my daughter Frida helping at the mixing consolle...

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)