IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Apr 26 2015 11:04 AM
Inspired by John's new book, I felt the urge to really dive into 1st wave stuff again, and loaded up a tracklist of 160+ songs on my iPod (in addition to what was already there, DD, Jim Messina, a few other things), which I hadn't had on there in a couple of years. Man, I've been SO DIGGIN' IT! As much as I love many modern surf bands, there truly was something special and non-replicable about the original stuff.
This morning I had that whole tracklist on shuffle, and I had the following three tracks come up in a row, one after another:
Eddie & the Showmen: Showmen Stomp
The Fender IV: Highway Surfer
The Avengers VI: The Avengers Stomp
What struck me is that all three of these tracks have some truly shredding guitar! (Weird they'd all line up in a row like that!) Fast, aggressive solos that are pretty damn close to what metal was doing in the '70s and '80s (and beyond). Maybe this is one aspect of 1st wave surf that is not appreciated very much, since many trad heads don't seem to much care for metal, and don't want to draw any analogies between the two, but the parallels I think are undeniable.
It also brings to mind DD's Nitro Fuel, which has him in full shredding mode. Check it out!
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
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stratdancer
Joined: Dec 11, 2013
Posts: 2537
Akron, Ohio
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Posted on Apr 26 2015 11:55 AM
Randy Holden was one sick puppy back in the day. Everybody Up is just plain balls to wall jugular vein slammage.
— The Kahuna Kings
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447
https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases
Last edited: Apr 26, 2015 11:56:36
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el_camello
Joined: Jul 04, 2010
Posts: 369
Ottawa
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Posted on Apr 26 2015 08:35 PM
Great shredding on those tracks and many other first wave songs. To think these solos were recorded in just a few takes and played by teenagers boggles my mind. Been playing 15 years and I find these solos pretty damn challenging!
Definitely agree on a first wave / metal connection. I find surf solos and thrash solos both have that super exciting "get in, play fast, get out" vibe. No surprise, thrash being metal inspired by punk energy and punk being very inspired by surf.
Although I think this kind of energy is missing in a lot of modern surf it's nice to hear modern surf's variety in progressions and songwriting, all these shred solos are over 12-bar progressions. Any examples of 60's surf shred over different progressions? High Voltage from Jim Messina? A few E-F Malaguena style songs I'm sure?
— -Pierre
The Obsidians! (Ottawa surf)
The Obsidians debut EP
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Syndicateofsurf
Joined: Oct 08, 2014
Posts: 1073
Northern Ohio
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Posted on Apr 27 2015 10:22 AM
This ranks as primo 1st wave shredding.
Ochi Chiornye
— Da Vinci Flinglestein,
The quest for the Tone, the tone of the Quest
The Syndicate of Surf on YouTube
http://www.syndicateofsurf.com/
http://sharawaji.com/
http://surfrockradio.com/
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Teiscofan
Joined: Feb 21, 2011
Posts: 513
Ontario
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Posted on Apr 27 2015 05:41 PM
Syndicate.... I must admit I checked out the video you posted and waited and waited for the shred goodness.....then with about 1.22 minutes left to go a whirlwind of shred caused my jaw to drop. well done, great choice!
The Randy Holden clip is also amazing IMHO. Thanks all for posting.
— I am not obsolete, I am RETRO.... 
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el_camello
Joined: Jul 04, 2010
Posts: 369
Ottawa
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Posted on Apr 27 2015 06:06 PM
Holy moly, that was a good one. Never heard that band before. Sounded like the Thielman brothers version at first but went into fast picking. Reminds me of eleki stuff.
— -Pierre
The Obsidians! (Ottawa surf)
The Obsidians debut EP
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CrazyAces
Joined: Jul 31, 2012
Posts: 4054
Buffalo, N.Y.
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Posted on Apr 27 2015 07:08 PM
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Nile_West
Joined: Jun 03, 2006
Posts: 32
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Posted on Apr 30 2015 08:52 AM
One of my favorite compliments we got after a gig was from two 20 years olds who came up to me and said they never heard this kind of music before and loved it because it reminded them of their favorite metal bands.
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websurfer
Joined: May 14, 2007
Posts: 1753
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Posted on May 01 2015 01:34 PM
Those are some great choices, Ivan. I'm not into metal like you are, so I wouldn't necessarily see the connection, other than the playing tends to the aggressive and fast. I agree that there is something special about the first wave bands. I think it can be described as a different energy, perhaps one that comes from youth and the excitement of the limitless possibilities of a new musical form before them.
It seems likely that had surf continued unabated, it might have evolved along technical lines. What is interesting to me, is that when surf was revived in the '80s by groups like J&TNR and The Surf Raiders (who I guess never really quit) began recording, they were more traditional and retrospective looking than forward looking to the the punk and burgeoning hair-metal scene which was going on right in front of them.
I also think of aggressive first wave as more "intense" than "shred" (which for me connotes flash and note-iness for its own sake). For me, things like The Victor, and Margaya are the spiritual predecessors of things like Beck's Bolero and Kashmir, sharing as they do the feeling of the intense inevitability of a rolling wave.
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on May 01 2015 01:38 PM
websurfer, the 'shred' component of the above songs was strictly in the guitar solos which are, as you said, aggressive and fast - the definition of shred. The songs themselves are not 'shred', just the solos. Lots of notes, scales, flashy guitar player, that sorta thing.
I would agree with almost everything you wrote above, though I do think that J&TN tried to incorporate punk energy at least into their live performances. I'm pretty sure I read John talking about that somewhere.
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
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websurfer
Joined: May 14, 2007
Posts: 1753
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Posted on May 01 2015 01:57 PM
The punk strain seems to be here to stay, as I observe that most of those who are playing today came of age at that time. It's more or less apparent among bands depending of course on how much they want to use it. I do think that most of the aggressiveness in the music today is due in most cases to the punk aesthetic than the metal (just my sense, no objective data there). Technical players like you, Shigeo, and Martin Celia are some obvious exceptions, but you need the chops to pull it off. It would be just about impossible to have a hermetically sealed sounding surf band, though some have come real close. Anyway, I don't necessarily think that should be the goal anyway.
If the music follows the sport in any way (a shaky proposition) it would follow that it would become increasingly technical, fast, bravado. I don't know that even the term "shred" was used first in the sport of surfing as boards got shorter, the action faster and the riders more accomplished.
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