This, for me, is not about competing with other genres of music and false expectations of attaining commercial success although, the Kahuna Kings have been on the playlist every week on our local adult contemporary station since May 2018. How many mainstream radio stations are playing symphonic music? How many people attend symphony orchestras? How many commercial blues/jazz stations are there? How many people attend blues/jazz festivals? How many commercial Bluegrass stations are there? How many people attend Bluegrass festivals?

Music is about one thing for me, connection. The most powerful live performances I have ever witnessed connected with me deeply on a very subconscious level. As a performer, that is what I am trying to tap into within the audience. This is the power that connects mankind of all languages and cultures. It's universal. Surf music plays a role in this powerful subconscious connection of the human spirit. The broader the scope, the more it can play a role in performance art.

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

Last edited: Feb 01, 2019 08:18:34

Sam, you can be anything you want to be. If you would like to create popular music then do hip hop, country, metal or blues. My goal is to get invited to large music festivals, walk out on stage in front of several thousand people that have no clue what surf music is and leave them emotionally spent but exhilarated. That's what great music does and I think surf music qualifies. You do need the invite though.

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

stratdancer wrote:

There are many great surf bands that could play general music festivals IMHO.

I definitely agree with this. Festival crowds seem to really love surf music. We have been fortunate enough to play Multi Cultural Fests, Jazz Fests, Rockabilly Weekenders, Indie Fests, and a couple of Punk/Metal shows. It is just a matter of convincing the promoters that you are a good fit. That can be a tough one sometimes.

Rev

Canadian Surf

http://www.urbansurfkings.com/

Some thing like this than. Usually country cats use them. I've seen electric ones before with even effects pedals in the loop.

Last edited: Feb 01, 2019 11:30:25

You may like this from a 1970's band curved air. This is from their very cool record
air conditioning where the record was the record jacket as well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA1bp-1650o&list=PLs_ChbEGJ3kjZUmphU7zSmIYy2ITRPg0L&index=5

Last edited: Feb 01, 2019 20:58:22

Surfing_Sam_61 wrote:

Some thing like this than. Usually country cats use them. I've seen electric ones before with even effects pedals in the loop.

Violins have been shredding for 4 century's.

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

stratdancer wrote:

Surfing_Sam_61 wrote:

Some thing like this than. Usually country cats use them. I've seen electric ones before with even effects pedals in the loop.

Violins have been shredding for 4 century's.

Yeah there is a electric Violin's out there, with wah pedals in the chain and other effects - I think that would be cool and a big change up. Depends on the sound your looking for or fits your band. A lot of ideas like that are the ones that usually are break through territory - much like Hendrix effects had in the late 60's. Or just pump it through a spring reverb or Surfie Bear being reverb is so important to the genre. try different stuff - that's the hard part (finding the sound.) I'm always tweaking sounds and sometimes end up back where I started. But that;s just the nature of the beast.

Surfing_Sam_61 wrote:

stratdancer wrote:

Surfing_Sam_61 wrote:

Some thing like this than. Usually country cats use them. I've seen electric ones before with even effects pedals in the loop.

Violins have been shredding for 4 century's.

Yeah there is a electric Violin's out there, with wah pedals in the chain and other effects - I think that would be cool and a big change up. Depends on the sound your looking for or fits your band. A lot of ideas like that are the ones that usually are break through territory - much like Hendrix effects had in the late 60's. Or just pump it through a spring reverb or Surfie Bear being reverb is so important to the genre. try different stuff - that's the hard part (finding the sound.) I'm always tweaking sounds and sometimes end up back where I started. But that;s just the nature of the beast.

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll make a forth surfy bear.

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

Surfing_Sam_61 wrote:

Some thing like this than. Usually country cats use them. I've seen electric ones before with even effects pedals in the loop.

I really liked that. The feel,was just to my tastes.

One thing I love about Surf music are the songs where the mood is set with the introduction, the rhythm section keeps it flowing and there’s a moment where the listener is waiting for the lead guitar to come forth like a solo warrior, David meeting Goliath, and then letting fly.

Penetration is the perfect example and, in some ways, it’s probably my favorite Surf tune because it is so evocative. Even though the Pacific beaches are 500 miles away, I have a mental image of the beach when I hear that song. The surfer is a solo warrior, because every surfer battles the wave for themselves. That moment, just before the lead melody line starts, is one of anticipation and an awareness that any outcome is possible. It’s all the skill of the surfer, or the skill of the lead player, which matters. After such a build up, the lead line might seem a bit understated, but it still wields tremendous emotional power. The melody makes its point definitively and irrefutably, but it never raises its voice or loses its cool.

In the clip above, when the violin took the lead line, I felt that same sense of anticipation, and I wasn’t disappointed with the outcome. In fact I was exceptionally pleased. The outcome was a pleasant surprise. The lead line wasn’t shouted out, it was simply stated with absolute conviction and confidence. Of course, the violin was the ultimate lead instrument for many years, before the electric guitar case along. The bow continually infuses energy and keeps the area beneath the amplitude curve at a high level. It’s an amazing instrument and as viable now as it has ever been.

I’m not proposing that all Surf bands fire their lead player and start recruiting violinists, but I appreciate that these folks took the time to capture the mood, the feel, the spirit of Surf in a different way. There’s nothing wrong with using different instrumentation. Brian Wilson used celli in Good Vibrations and used them as rhythm instruments. In Wouldn’t It Be Nice, he used an accordion, and this in a time period where most young people wouldn’t want to be seen in the same room with an accordion.

Maybe someone will try some new instrumentation ideas in Surf. I could see a lot of potential for the cello, including the electric cello. It could be used the way Brian Wilson used it, to generate rhythm figures, or to play melody lines. The range starts a Major 3rd below the guitar and it roughly covers the range of a baritone guitar, possibly a bit higher. It could be used powerfully in Surf.

A French Horn could do some interesting things as well, having a powerful low end and a strong presence in the range most melodies are played. A Flugelhorn would work be another great melodic instrument. One interesting thing about using horns is that there are a world full of frustrated horn players that haven’t had much opportunity to play in an ensemble since high school band. Find the right horn player and you’ll have a loyal band member, eager to work.

How about the bass end of the range? I’ve always wondered what a bass, or contra-bass trombone would add to any sort of a Rock band. The range is suitable and the voice of a bass trombone is quite different from the oom-pah sound of a Tuba (which has charms all its own).

As an ardent fan of Brian Wilson and a man in awe of his compositional and arranging skills, I believe that there are all sorts of possibilities to use instruments other than the normal bass, guitar, drums (and possibly piano) which are most common in Rock n’ Roll. Portable PA systems have made it possible for almost any instrument to be delivered audibly to a large audience, so we can use instruments as we see fit, and not just as the way we might traditionally think of them being used.

Another idea for taking Surf in a new direction was touched upon in the concurrent thread regarding rhythm guitar vs Surf played in a trio, and that was the notion of using a looper. The possibilities are endless and I could easily imagine loopers bringing some interesting things to Surf. Many Surf songs establish a pattern over which the lead guitar plays. I would think that loopers would be a perfect way to create a pattern which can be repeated throughout the song and played against.

Another beauty of loopers is, assuming they are placed at the end of the effects chain, they can be created with one group of effects in play, then the lead line can be played with different effects. Think of an ultra drippy rhythm figure, ala Astronauts version of Baja, with a much more focused lead line, perhaps played with Plate Reverb, for contrast.

While I’m not, generally speaking, a big fan of distortion, I find the way Paul Johnson used it in The Packards High Energy to be tasteful and effective. Maybe some experimentation with amps would be interesting. A Marshall 1974 (18 watt) makes some fantastic sounds in the realm between crystal clean and completely broken up. Crank up the ‘verb a bit and it might make a stellar Surf amp. I’ve used a Winfield Cyclone to great effect for Surf. It’s basically a variation on the AC-15 theme with an EF-86 based preamp. Likewise, a Tweed series can sound great for Surf if you keep it cleanish. Perhaps my favorite amp is based upon the Tweed Vibrolux/Brownface Princeton circuit, but adds an adjustable fixed bias. I recently installed a matched pair of Tung Sol 6V6s, a fresh JJ 5Y3 recto, and found sonic paradise. The only point here is that there are sounds beyond the traditional, glassy Fender sound which can be used effectively in Surf. (As I type, I’m enjoying a fresh listen to Paul’s High Energy. There’s something wonderful about using a sound I’d associate more with Country Rock or Southern Rock, in this setting.)

I’m just tossing out ideas, here, but the point is simply that there are all sorts of directions on the compass of Surf which are still mostly unexplored.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

stratdancer wrote:

More violins shredding

That was truly astounding and every bit as powerful as Dick Dale’s version. It makes me wish I’d stuck with the violin after 10th grade.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.