And of course the Tremolo Beer Gut!

With Copenhagen, ehm zo BIZZARRE... mates from El Ray!

www.alohasluts.com
Aloha Sluts on BandCamp
www.arnyzona.com (my photography)
Aloha Fest on facebook

Last edited: Mar 02, 2018 17:13:56

Razorblades....

www.alohasluts.com
Aloha Sluts on BandCamp
www.arnyzona.com (my photography)
Aloha Fest on facebook

Last edited: Mar 02, 2018 18:10:01

Phantom Four!

www.alohasluts.com
Aloha Sluts on BandCamp
www.arnyzona.com (my photography)
Aloha Fest on facebook

OK I think these ones sums it all up... My wife getting a hug by a Belgium friend in a Luchadore mask (Hell-O-Tiki) during the last song of the Phantom Four set...

And some Danish, Germans, Dutch dudes getting drunk in my favorite bar in Venlo, Take Five at about four in the morning (the place to be on may 11th when Surfer Joe and my other band Vettig Vel Surf Rock Karaoke gonna have a little party)... oh and Jacque Brel wasn't hurt, he joined us for a last Jacque Daniels!

www.alohasluts.com
Aloha Sluts on BandCamp
www.arnyzona.com (my photography)
Aloha Fest on facebook

Last edited: Mar 04, 2018 09:01:16

Some bands prove that gravity is a lie! Phantom Four is one of them, Newton was wrong!

www.alohasluts.com
Aloha Sluts on BandCamp
www.arnyzona.com (my photography)
Aloha Fest on facebook

Tremolo Beer Gut.... my wet dreams came thru this night!

www.alohasluts.com
Aloha Sluts on BandCamp
www.arnyzona.com (my photography)
Aloha Fest on facebook

Last edited: Mar 04, 2018 10:27:31

Wow, I can't believe it has already been a week since the Aloha Fest! We had a really good time and this mostly because of the friendliness of everybody involved! I didn't really have time till now to write something, but I think the occasion calls for a longer show report.

When Arny confirmed us for the festival, he was so kind to put me in touch with Merijn from the Biarritz Boys to organize a concert for the evening before to make the trip a little more worthwhile. In the end he put up a show for us in Arnhem with the Twang Inspectors from Utrecht, who were kind enough to let us use their amps, so we could travel light. I had not heard of the Twang Inspectors before, but they have been around for about five years now and play a mix of classics, songs from trad bands and own tunes, which feature some nice interplay between the two guitars. I had already seen the Biarritz Boys three years ago at the Surfer Joe Summer Fest, and they again proved to be a very entertainig band with a lot of energy and presence on stage.

So after a rather short night, we drove to Venlo the next day, just in time to see the pre-show at Sounds, where the Aloha Sluts started things of with a Link Wray tribute (during which I saw a tiny mouse trying to escape the noise in the shop) and the Biarritz Boys took things up just where they had left them the previous night. I think it's cool that the store hosts a concert like this, which BTW was just as loud as you would have it in some clubs. The store also had a decent selection of surf music (even in its own section), but nothing that I really wanted, so funny enough I ended up buying a Santana / Grateful Dead / Jefferson Airplane DVD; maybe as a musical antidote for a possible surf music overdose.

We were scheduled as the soundcheck band for the small stage, so we made sure to be there on time (or maybe only a little late). The onstage amp provided by the venue was a beat up 4x10 solid state Kustom Hustler (as I later found out on the internet). I was a little unsure at first, whether this would work, since I am not a big fan of 10s had never played a Kustom before, but actually I got along with it easier than with the Twin Reverb the night before, which had volume drops on the Vibrato channel and was way too bright even with the treble set just at 2! So we did a quick soundcheck including the first time I have been asked to turn it down a little in about four years... And then it was off to dinner and meeting with the other bands, who were dropping in now one after another.

A little word about the organization: The Grenswerk is a big concert hall with very professional people taking care of everything! There was good food, the fridge was always filled and everybody was super nice.

Then, with our set we went into five hours of non stop surf music, because since there were to stages, there was basically no time necessary between the bands. I needed a little time off after our set, so I saw only very little of the Aloha Sluts (who I had luckily seen earlier in the day) and the Razorblades (who I had seen last in November) as I was bringing gear backstage and grabbed a few drinks and some snacks.

But I was back to see El Ray, who were perhaps the band I enjoyed the most during the evening: the songs were catchy and diverse, you could dance to them and they were all connected into a story through the announcements between them. Just as they were finishing their set with "Spacecar", we heard the sound of a Theremin from the side stage, from where the Tremolo Beer Gut provided a seamless transition to their own set of obscure, moody and strange tunes, which were probably just what was needed after four band with more or less straight songs. (Both bands playing together spontaneously was probably my favourite moment of the evening.)

The energy went up two or three, well maybe five notches, when the Phantom Four took the main stage. People were jumping around with joy, including myself, so that afterwards I was more or less finished for the night. I heard a little of Hell-O-Tiki during my obligatory visit to the merch tables, but at this point it was more or less about getting the gear back in the car and heading to bed, especially since we had to start our drive home around 10AM the next day.

Thanks again Arny for having us, and thanks to all the nice people helping us out and spending some time with us! I only wished we could have stayed a little longer (a week maybe...), and could have talked with everybody on the bill.

One strange thing that only occurred to me afterwards: The most played song of the evening was "Casbah" (played by Los Apollos, El Ray and the Phantom Four), but the second most played song, performed by Tremolo Beer Gut as well as the Phantom Four, actually was "Das Model" by Kraftwerk!

Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!

Last edited: Mar 05, 2018 03:50:56

I had to dig through some old files on the weekend, because we recently had to start a new FB page for the band and needed pictures and videos for it. While doing this I also found some videos from Aloha Fest 2018. Unfortunately only one had acceptable sound, everything else was plagued by distortion from the phone mic. Three different mobile phones, and none of them capable of properly recording a band playing at moderate volume...

Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!