I just found out about this website. Way cool!

I grew up in the Bay Area near San Francisco. I've lived in Southern Californa and been surfing for the past 15 years. Though I listened to the Beach Boys in high school, I never got into surf music. Sufers here never really listen to surf music but more on that later.

I've played guitar for about 7 years. Started on a Les Paul played through a Line6 Guitarport. I've always liked U2's music, so I eventually picked up a Strat, a VOX Valvetronix and a few pedals. Now I've got good tone.

So, now I have a Strat with a tremolo and an amp that does a pretty good Blakface model and drips with verb. Ive got the musical tools to surf. I asked Google how, and it landed here!

Now about surfers and the music. Most surfers in SoCal listen to their own thing but it tends toward indie/alternative rock. I never really paid attention much. Nor have I attended contests much, but I was at the ASP Pro tour at Trestles last week watching Kelly Slater pull off his amazing moves.

It really was the whole show; the sun, the sand, the surf and girls in bikinis. One problem though, the music was horrible. It was like 1984 all over and not in a good way. The music was this: Van Halen (with DLR), Bob Dylan, a be bop lady who sounded like Ella Fitzgerald (huh?), Jobim (another huh?) and I kid you not, Michael Jackson's Thriller. Nobody really cared though. Everyone was focused on the scene.

For an industry that prides itself on The Lifestyle, why was this horror of a soundtrack playing? Where is today's surf music? One working theory is that the park rangers were afraid of a riot like at Huntington years ago. But I don't know. I can understand not allowing a punk band and not serving beer, but does the music have to be bad? I'm writing Rabbit Bartholomew at ASP just to put a bug in his ear.

As I was lamenting the situation I happened to be browsing the Surfline website and found something to give me hope. Timmy Curran has just released an album. "Word of Mouth" ... http://www.surfline.com/surfnews/article_bamp.cfm?id=10943

Its free. If you have not heard it you may be interested. Just consider it a gift from the latest noob.

So thats my motivation. I really enjoy the old surf music, but I want to see where it is going. I'd like to see it become re-aquainted with the sport that gave it life in the first place.

And I look forward to hearing all of you guys play.

Thanks for reading,

Mahalo

Welcome man to SG101

About surf music Vs mainstream with surfers, I think it's like this back in the 1960s the birth of surf music, surfers we're listenin' to surf & the top 100 of the day and since then the 1970s to present same kind of deal minus the surf music, mainstream top 100, I know there is a few surfers out there that still listen to the genre of surf music and mainstream but if you think about it it's sort off a clee-shay for land dwellers to think just because a surfer surfs it don't mean they are hard core surf music fans or think that's all they listen too 24/7 and that's ok, it's all just a big fat myth and thinks to the movies that's what land dwellers think or wish it was like
only in the 60s baby is when it happened, surf music was on the radio so the teens and surfers got hooked, could you imagine if surf music was on the radio in the mainstream every single day in todays time everyone one would be hooked with a steady diet of surf music, dang us musicians would be signed to major labels making bank and being on MTV cribs showing off our houses, rides and showing the bedroom where the magic happens don't listent to me I'm just ramblin' man to many thoughts to many ideas oh well again welcome to SG101!!!
Hope you dig it here.

Cheers mate I need a beer now!!

-Kyle

Beyond The Surf YouTube channel
Beyond The Surf Instagram
The Verbtones @ Instagram
The Verbtones @ Facebook
The Verbtones @ bandcamp

WELCOME!!!

We're doing our part on the East Coast to reunite the sport with the music.

CUTBACK

Welcome Trestles......aloha from Kauai, and yeah, we're trying our best too.... to link the music back up with "the sport of kings" why just take a look at our myspace!! We should all write to the ASP and tell 'em to play something good at contests. I'd also like to rule the world.....AND WHEN I DO.....we'll have more instrumentals in our daily lives.

http://www.myspace.com/thetakeoffs

In a couple hours i'll be playing surf music, old and new, including some of the greatest instrumentals of all time about 20 feet from the beach where there will be about a dozen people still out surfing while the sun sets and the MaiTai's kick in and someone will come up to us and say how perfect it is to have a surf band playing in this setting and of course we say Mahalo....and YES, we know how lucky we are. THANK YOU to all the people that wrote all the songs we GET to play!! Pray For Surf...Music.
RR

The TakeOffs
"Kauai's Only All-Instrumental Surf Band"
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-TakeOffs/312866840587