shivers13
Joined: Jul 29, 2009
Posts: 2605
Boss Angeles, CA
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 11:51 AM
Surf music was created by, and for, teenagers in the early 60's. It began as instrumental Rock & Roll played at Teen Dances or "Stomps". It died in '64/'65 with the onslaught of The British Invasion and later developed a small yet loyal group of revivalists beginning in the 80's, continuing on to the present day. This is not another "what is surf, or not surf" thread or "why I like surf" thread.
Surf Music (The music of Dick Dale, Bel-Airs, etc.) has little or nothing to do with surf culture nowadays, so I'm interested in getting opinions why people call their music surf music and why they feel it needs to be updated or changed. In my opinion Jazz is Jazz and Surf is Surf. I'm not hard-line about this, but when Surf Music goes too far out of the box I tend to not like it.
I'm looking for honest opinions and debate and hopefully no bickering and putting down of others opinions.
— BOSS FINK "R.P.M." available now from DOUBLE CROWN RECORDS!
www.facebook.com/BossFink
www.doublecrownrecords.com
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bodysnatcher1
Joined: Mar 16, 2010
Posts: 215
Norwalk Ca
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 12:28 PM
I call my music Surf because thats what I shape it after. There is a distinct style of drums, a certain guitar tone, overall feel. Its because of all those surf bands that I fell inlove with these things, these are what shape and inspire my playing. I dont take inspiration from catching a wave so much, but the music still goes hand in hand with a day at the beach, to me anyway.
Another reason I would label my music surf is because of the community. Even though im fairly new, coming to this site and reading pages upon pages of information, bands, gear, stories and going to shows and having such a good time, thats why I want to be a part of it.
I personally dont think the sound of my band strays too far from surf, if it did i'd call it something else, but every time I sit down to write or practice, and I click on that reverb I feel like I open up a direct mental connection with Dick Dale, Lehos, Dave Wronski, PJ, and every surf shredder, and I better do my best to make honor those cats that inspired me.
The beautiful thing about music is that there is something for everyone, and even those bands that think outside the box, they will do a surf standard every now and again to keep it real.
— http://reverbnation.com/Bodysnatchers
http://facebook.com/TheBodysnatchers
http://myspace.com/TheBodysnatchers1
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 12:42 PM
Norm, how do you identify the Ghastly Ones? Personally, with the 'Verb, we use to identify ourselves as a surf band for the first two years or so. Then something changed and we stopped identifying ourselves as that. I think we got bored trying to write to a specific style, not that we were horribly surfy at first, but that just isn't what we were listening to or really the aesthetic we were into at the time. Everyone was listening to different types of music, and while we never spoke about it we all started moving away from loads of reverb and other surf music styles. One of the members still wrote surfy stuff and wanted to be more surfy, and that is why we are no longer a band. But I know we all still really enjoy instrumental music. I'm still making instrumental music, but it is definitely not surf music.
In the end trying to play "Surf Music" just wasn't honest to ourselves, and as much as I love some of the early surf bands and some of the modern bands, that just isn't the music I am passionate about making. I don't mind playing it, but that just isn't what I'd prefer to present myself playing to the public.
One thing I don't like about a number of surf bands is that they try really hard to copy that specific sound from the 60s. This is something I really dislike about music in general, band who try really hard to copy, exactly, specific sounds. I like to be able to hear personality and any sort of emotion in the music I listen to. This isn't all surf bands of course, but there is a good number of them. As you wrote about "Surf music was created by, and for, teenagers in the early 60s". That isn't who is creating the music anymore and it sure isn't the 60s. There are many people on this board with quite the gamut of music influences, but you don't hear it when you listen to their music.
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Icetech
Joined: Dec 16, 2006
Posts: 892
Macomb Mich
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 01:30 PM
I agree that some things get too far out.. like alot of mermen stuff it tends to swing more into a Phishy/jammy sorta thing and nowhere near surf.. but i think some leeway has to be given in the genre or you will end up with bands doing the same 10 songs over and over (Which happens alot, and almost never for the better)
— I wanna play just like him when i grow up...
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shivers13
Joined: Jul 29, 2009
Posts: 2605
Boss Angeles, CA
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 02:50 PM
JakeDobner
Norm, how do you identify the Ghastly Ones?
I tend to refer to The Ghastly Ones as Surf Music or "Spooky Surf" for lack of a better description. I'm very impressed if someone can get the exact 60's sound but personally I'm not into replicating anything 100%. The GO's are surf but we have a strong garage rock influence. For me it's important to be original but I don't think we're too outside the box. I can elaborate more but I want to get some other thoughts on this topic.
— BOSS FINK "R.P.M." available now from DOUBLE CROWN RECORDS!
www.facebook.com/BossFink
www.doublecrownrecords.com
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ColtsSurf
Joined: Apr 03, 2008
Posts: 477
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 04:39 PM
There is an old saying in the investment management business that "I would rather be kinda right than precisely wrong."
— Paul
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surferjoemusic
Joined: Jan 01, 2008
Posts: 2105
Livorno
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 04:59 PM
Norm,
I think you open a thread that would take me another entire web site in order to express all I have in mind... 
Shortly, and it is not news, I am generally very traditional for taste. I like surf, very little "contaminations" and I do NOT identify surf with reverb. It is a mix of things that make a surf song very hard to describe, of course in my opinion, and I consider a surf song both Misirlou and Don't Stop Now sang by Annette Funicello that has no reverb, vocals but has THE "spirit", but I hardly like mix of garage and surf, probably because I consider surf closer to punk and metal than garage. But, again, it is my opinion. I consider punk and metal a sort of evolution of surf, and definitely surf has had a great influence to those genres.
Why people, surfers call their music surf? Someone come to our show and say "oh I see on your poster you play surf music, so I can listen so some Jack Johnson?" someone else identifies surf music with the Pearl Jam, so stuff that in that period is "close" to the sport. I don't know.
I think as you mean, "surf music" is a name for a kind of music. it is called surf music and THAT music IS surf music. that's it to me. it's hard to see an evolution and I also see surf music as a very close genre...
Yesterday I went on Apple forum regarding Logic Pro and a guy asks that he would like to have the sound of Apache of the Shadows. A lot of people replied giving technical reasons and explanations, saying that to do that music you need a delay, this amp, that effect and you get the... dick dale & surf music sound...
This tells me that obviously ignorance is a very funny thing! But also, this is how people see the music we love. Shadows = Dick Dale = surf music = in general instrumental music = "oh the music of Tarantino movies"... and so on.
Coming to your point, and to Jake's point: I do not think many bands "copy" the sound of the 60s. The fact that you like that sound and you want to have it for you doesn't mean you "copy" necessarily. It is the difference between cover bands and tribute bands. Cover bands give their own interpretation to the music, tribute bands want to emulate, come with the same cloths, same instruments, they want to give a cheaper version of the band they are covering...
We all have our Jag guitars, Fender showman's, reverb tanks... we like it, I like it, I like the way it sound... am I copying someone, trying to replicate some 60s band??? honestly... I don't care. Whoever creates original music, does it in his own way in any case... there is no other way... you have influences, you have inspiration but very few people "copy" or "imitate". What should you have to say about Ivan's guitar sound, for example? everybody like the Space Cossacks and the Madeira. Do you say that Ivan is copying Dick Dale because he has Dick's same equipment and same sound and idea of sound? I don't think so...
You say why calling it surf music if THAT was the spirit of the 60s teenagers and it is not applicable anymore today? not true, if you share that spirit. I do. And that is why I call this music, surf music. And I don't feel it needs to be updated. I like it as it is and as it was. I'm not missing anything. You update and change if you "miss" something, that why bands start from surf music and end up playing something else. But when I listen to the Astronauts and I'm thinking about those songs in different ways.
I don't this the showman needs to be updated to the cyber twin... if the showman was already perfect. Carol Kaye said in his bio/stories that she now play Ibanez because it's better, better built than Fender pieces of wood with strings, it sound better, and the Ibanez bass sounds so good that it seems a Precision, but it's better than a Precision!!!! WHY WHY WHY??? You like the Precision, buy a Precision. You like surf music, play surf music, no need to update or change anything. This is not an imitation, it is a continuation. And I'm glad there are 20 times more surf bands now than 10 years ago.
Sorry if I was long... like I said I'd have much to say. Without considering the differences between US and Europe...
— Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)
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bamboozer
Joined: Jan 18, 2010
Posts: 672
Delaware
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 06:43 PM
Music that does not progress dies, look at Jazz and Classical, both incredible music but both dying. Long before encountering the famed "thats not surf!" thread I heard "Thats not Jazz!" used on music it was felt by some that had gone too far astray. Theres room for Trad Surf but also room for the newer bands that are trying to push the music forward. I like both. I'm in my first surf band at age 54, to my delight two of the band members are in thier late twenties. Cool! I showed up suspecting I would be the young guy. What matters is that we're out there doing it, performing, writing new tunes and being creative. And hopefully winning over the next generfation of surf fans.
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 07:10 PM
"Classical" music has evolved immensely, however... The point to where it has evolved is beyond enjoyable for casual music fans. I think it is brilliant, but it is something I would never put on if other people were in the room. Surf music is in no danger of evolving to that point anytime soon though.
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zzero
Joined: Jul 09, 2010
Posts: 1153
Lillian Alabama
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 10:04 PM
 baron, this is most interesting. i'm one of those early 60's teenagers that went ape for surf music. i learned to play it 'cuz it was my inspiration to learn how to play guitar. when surf faded away so to speak, i continued to use alot of the techniques in my playing. alvin lee and jimmy page were no challenge for me. i still play like the oid surf music guys.
the 80's revival went right by me;, i knew nothing of it. i didn't see pulp fiction until several years after it came out. one night i heard a local blues dj talking about the new DD album that was out and he played 'scalped" that was when my personal revival began. i started by finding all the DD, ventures, surfaris, astronauts, etc. that i could get my hands on. i changed all my equipment out. the blues band i was in started playing some surf numbers in the local clubs. over the next few years computers showed up in our lives and limewire so i got my hands on even more surf music. mostly 1st wave. then i got a desktop of my own and soon found sg101. i have learned ALOT since my involvement with sg101. computer ettiquette most of all.
danny snyder turned me onto the mermen years back. i love 'em but they aren't exactly true surf--whatever that may mean. discovered the 3rd wave bands and while they are very good, i think i'm too old to challenge what they do but i sure enjoy it!
so, i play the trad stuff and try to learn some of the new material and just marvel at what is transpiring in front of me! enjoy it and try not to overanlyze it--when you go looking for zen, you'll never find it--you have to live it!!!
PLAY THOSE GUITARS FELLOW PICKERS!!!!!
hope some of that made sense. too much thinking for me.
— Enjoying the surf,sun and sand!!
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Ron-Rhoades
Joined: Aug 19, 2006
Posts: 958
Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 10:19 PM
This is a very interesting thread...i grew up in California during the 60's, mostly Northern and Central Coast...like a lot of beach towns we had a "ballroom" where most, if not all, traveling bands from back then performed and of course that would include all the "surf" bands...to us kids surf music went with riding waves...that's what we did and that's what we listened to as much as we could...it was "our" music before the beach movies made it popular to the masses which was ok too and i'm glad the guys that wrote the hits got paid for their endeavors.
I've lived on a very small Island for the past 20 years and had a great career playing reggae music...i then became a "utility" musician playing mostly what people wanted to hear i.e. rock, blues, R&B, soul, oldies etc. and when a band i was in got fired at the resort we were working in i went to the Hotel manager and pleaded my case to keep my "job" as an entertainer...when i asked what kind of music he wanted he replied "if i had my way, i would have a surf band in our Lounge"...i said "do you mean Jan and Dean and The Beach Boys and all that stuff?" he said "no, Los Straightjackets"...i said "who the heck is that??" he said "come back tomorrow and i'll give you some of their music." The next day he hands me two CD's of their music and basically says "if you like this and can play music like this then you can keep your job....let me know" So i'm listening to this stuff on my way home and i'm like YESSSS!!! I can do this! The first thing that occured to me was "this is NOT surf music" the guy doesn't know what he's talking about but it was instrumental music that had a surf vibe on some of the tracks much like The Ventures music only modern sounding. I called him back the next day and said i could put a band together to play surf music if that's what he wanted...he said "you've got two weeks before you start...can you do it?" I lied and said "yes, of course i can do it"...i needed that, and ALL my gigs to pay my rent and put food on the table so i set out to find the guys that have become The TakeOffs and got together as much "surf" instrumental music as we could. We learned maybe 40 songs in that two weeks...that's when it came up for us...what IS surf music? Well, "Pipeline" and "Miserlou" and...and...oh yeah, "Baja" and "Penetration" and we spent a lot of time trying to define what was surf music and what wasn't...our bottom line was making the Hotel guy happy which would get us the job which would make US happy!! We didn't have, nor could find enough "surf" music to pull it off so we had to get creative which meant finding and doing some instrumental classics like Duane Eddy and some of those guys' music too, which we did...we got it together and learned all these 2 minute songs and had enough to fill 3 hours...it was a lot of work!! I almost gave up at one point...15/20 songs a set!! We'll never get enough, but we eventually did. The music was all over the place...ha ha!!...we had a bunch of surf music "hits" and classics and we had instrumental "oldies" and we had The Ventures and Los Straightjackets which made the Hotel guy very happy...he was really excited on our first night...we were terrified trying to remember all that stuff!! ha! A lot of the time we knew the song but forgot who the fricken original artist was!! ha ha! or, we knew the melody but forgot what the song was called!! So we stumbled around for a while but i got us the gig!! Next, we all went on a mission to get as much traditional and contemporary "surf" music as we could find...funny how much of that stuff our friends had burried in a closet!! We started learning all kinds of stuff from a huge variety of instrumental bands...we had and still have heated discussions about what is "surf" music and what aint!! The interesting thing about us is we haven't been influenced by going to see other surf bands...there aren't any!!...I recall one night not that long after we had become a "surf band", a big tourist guy aproached me and asked if we had ever heard of a website called "surf guitar 101"...the other guys pointed him out to me cause i'm the only one that had a computer...i said "no" and he wrote the URL down on a napkin i think it was...ha!! I remember this so clearly now all these years later...the guy turned out to be Jeff Hansons father!! Sitting with his wife and digging the tunes!! When i got home that night i looked up the website and it opened a huge door for me/us to get to surf music...what it was, what it is, and all the rest...i'd never been part of a forum before so it was an exciting new thing...after a while i realized that we weren't what the surf community would call a surf band...we didn't have outboard reverb tanks or Fender Showmans or any vintage equipment to "recreate" that sound that surf purists would call "surf"...heck we were doing Los Straitjackets and Duane Eddy and Bill Justice and The Ventures!! Hardly surf music...but to me, and i think the other guys too, if it feels like surf music then maybe it is...if it fits in with the handfull of surf music that was popular in the early 60's then maybe it is...there's been recent discussion here about Peter Green's "Albatross" which isn't a "surf" tune but if we did it standing out there next to the beach with the waves breaking, the tanks blazing and the sun setting behind us then i believe that version of it could be considered a "surf" tune...who's to say it's not? I think surf music is a tone, a vibe and a certain finesse as a guitar player to make it so...i'm very proud of myself and the other guys for pulling it off every week for over five years now and i would consider The TakeOffs surf musicians that play surf music.
For the record...the "guy" that hired me to do this left about three years ago!! I'm what's considered a "vendor"...i supply them with a certain product...yes, like the seafood guy and the flower girl and the napkins and on and on...We're still friends...he calls that first meeting an "argument" but he's proud of us too for pulling it off...i do believe that he thought we would fail.
Aloha,
R-R
 
— The TakeOffs
"Kauai's Only All-Instrumental Surf Band"
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-TakeOffs/312866840587
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surferjoemusic
Joined: Jan 01, 2008
Posts: 2105
Livorno
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Posted on Oct 16 2010 10:39 PM
Ron-Rhoades
This is a very interesting thread...i grew up in California during the 60's, mostly Northern and Central Coast...like a lot of beach towns we had a "ballroom" where most, if not all, traveling bands from back then performed and of course that would include all the "surf" bands...to us kids surf music went with riding waves...that's what we did and that's what we listened to as much as we could...it was "our" music before the beach movies made it popular to the masses which was ok too and i'm glad the guys that wrote the hits got paid for their endeavors.
I've lived on a very small Island for the past 20 years and had a great career playing reggae music...i then became a "utility" musician playing mostly what people wanted to hear i.e. rock, blues, R&B, soul, oldies etc. and when a band i was in got fired at the resort we were working in i went to the Hotel manager and pleaded my case to keep my "job" as an entertainer...when i asked what kind of music he wanted he replied "if i had my way, i would have a surf band in our Lounge"...i said "do you mean Jan and Dean and The Beach Boys and all that stuff?" he said "no, Los Straightjackets"...i said "who the heck is that??" he said "come back tomorrow and i'll give you some of their music." The next day he hands me two CD's of their music and basically says "if you like this and can play music like this then you can keep your job....let me know" So i'm listening to this stuff on my way home and i'm like YESSSS!!! I can do this! The first thing that occured to me was "this is NOT surf music" the guy doesn't know what he's talking about but it was instrumental music that had a surf vibe on some of the tracks much like The Ventures music only modern sounding. I called him back the next day and said i could put a band together to play surf music if that's what he wanted...he said "you've got two weeks before you start...can you do it?" I lied and said "yes, of course i can do it"...i needed that, and ALL my gigs to pay my rent and put food on the table so i set out to find the guys that have become The TakeOffs and got together as much "surf" instrumental music as we could. We learned maybe 40 songs in that two weeks...that's when it came up for us...what IS surf music? Well, "Pipeline" and "Miserlou" and...and...oh yeah, "Baja" and "Penetration" and we spent a lot of time trying to define what was surf music and what wasn't...our bottom line was making the Hotel guy happy which would get us the job which would make US happy!! We didn't have, nor could find enough "surf" music to pull it off so we had to get creative which meant finding and doing some instrumental classics like Duane Eddy and some of those guys' music too, which we did...we got it together and learned all these 2 minute songs and had enough to fill 3 hours...it was a lot of work!! I almost gave up at one point...15/20 songs a set!! We'll never get enough, but we eventually did. The music was all over the place...ha ha!!...we had a bunch of surf music "hits" and classics and we had instrumental "oldies" and we had The Ventures and Los Straightjackets which made the Hotel guy very happy...he was really excited on our first night...we were terrified trying to remember all that stuff!! ha! A lot of the time we knew the song but forgot who the fricken original artist was!! ha ha! or, we knew the melody but forgot what the song was called!! So we stumbled around for a while but i got us the gig!! Next, we all went on a mission to get as much traditional and contemporary "surf" music as we could find...funny how much of that stuff our friends had burried in a closet!! We started learning all kinds of stuff from a huge variety of instrumental bands...we had and still have heated discussions about what is "surf" music and what aint!! The interesting thing about us is we haven't been influenced by going to see other surf bands...there aren't any!!...I recall one night not that long after we had become a "surf band", a big tourist guy aproached me and asked if we had ever heard of a website called "surf guitar 101"...the other guys pointed him out to me cause i'm the only one that had a computer...i said "no" and he wrote the URL down on a napkin i think it was...ha!! I remember this so clearly now all these years later...the guy turned out to be Jeff Hansons father!! Sitting with his wife and digging the tunes!! When i got home that night i looked up the website and it opened a huge door for me/us to get to surf music...what it was, what it is, and all the rest...i'd never been part of a forum before so it was an exciting new thing...after a while i realized that we weren't what the surf community would call a surf band...we didn't have outboard reverb tanks or Fender Showmans or any vintage equipment to "recreate" that sound that surf purists would call "surf"...heck we were doing Los Straitjackets and Duane Eddy and Bill Justice and The Ventures!! Hardly surf music...but to me, and i think the other guys too, if it feels like surf music then maybe it is...if it fits in with the handfull of surf music that was popular in the early 60's then maybe it is...there's been recent discussion here about Peter Green's "Albatross" which isn't a "surf" tune but if we did it standing out there next to the beach with the waves breaking, the tanks blazing and the sun setting behind us then i believe that version of it could be considered a "surf" tune...who's to say it's not? I think surf music is a tone, a vibe and a certain finesse as a guitar player to make it so...i'm very proud of myself and the other guys for pulling it off every week for over five years now and i would consider The TakeOffs surf musicians that play surf music.
For the record...the "guy" that hired me to do this left about three years ago!! I'm what's considered a "vendor"...i supply them with a certain product...yes, like the seafood guy and the flower girl and the napkins and on and on...We're still friends...he calls that first meeting an "argument" but he's proud of us too for pulling it off...i do believe that he thought we would fail.
Aloha,
R-R
Ron, thanks. Resorts with steady gigs bands asking for Surf Music: this is why I have to leave Antigua asap and move to Hawaii !!!!!
— Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)
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spskins
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3731
tn
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Posted on Oct 17 2010 12:00 AM
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Oct 17 2010 12:09 AM
spskins
Can you repeat the question?
;)
If Train A leaves the station travelling at 9:30 travelling 80mph and Train B...
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Ron-Rhoades
Joined: Aug 19, 2006
Posts: 958
Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii
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Posted on Oct 17 2010 12:15 AM
Sorry...i rambled...i'm weak and haven't had dinner yet.
— The TakeOffs
"Kauai's Only All-Instrumental Surf Band"
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-TakeOffs/312866840587
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Icetech
Joined: Dec 16, 2006
Posts: 892
Macomb Mich
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Posted on Oct 17 2010 09:02 AM
Ron-Rhoades
This is a very interesting thread...i grew up in California during the 60's, mostly Northern and Central Coast...like a lot of beach towns we had a "ballroom" where most, if not all, traveling bands from back then performed and of course that would include all the "surf" bands...to us kids surf music went with riding waves...that's what we did and that's what we listened to as much as we could...it was "our" music before the beach movies made it popular to the masses which was ok too and i'm glad the guys that wrote the hits got paid for their endeavors.
I've lived on a very small Island for the past 20 years and had a great career playing reggae music...i then became a "utility" musician playing mostly what people wanted to hear i.e. rock, blues, R&B, soul, oldies etc. and when a band i was in got fired at the resort we were working in i went to the Hotel manager and pleaded my case to keep my "job" as an entertainer...when i asked what kind of music he wanted he replied "if i had my way, i would have a surf band in our Lounge"...i said "do you mean Jan and Dean and The Beach Boys and all that stuff?" he said "no, Los Straightjackets"...i said "who the heck is that??" he said "come back tomorrow and i'll give you some of their music." The next day he hands me two CD's of their music and basically says "if you like this and can play music like this then you can keep your job....let me know" So i'm listening to this stuff on my way home and i'm like YESSSS!!! I can do this! The first thing that occured to me was "this is NOT surf music" the guy doesn't know what he's talking about but it was instrumental music that had a surf vibe on some of the tracks much like The Ventures music only modern sounding. I called him back the next day and said i could put a band together to play surf music if that's what he wanted...he said "you've got two weeks before you start...can you do it?" I lied and said "yes, of course i can do it"...i needed that, and ALL my gigs to pay my rent and put food on the table so i set out to find the guys that have become The TakeOffs and got together as much "surf" instrumental music as we could. We learned maybe 40 songs in that two weeks...that's when it came up for us...what IS surf music? Well, "Pipeline" and "Miserlou" and...and...oh yeah, "Baja" and "Penetration" and we spent a lot of time trying to define what was surf music and what wasn't...our bottom line was making the Hotel guy happy which would get us the job which would make US happy!! We didn't have, nor could find enough "surf" music to pull it off so we had to get creative which meant finding and doing some instrumental classics like Duane Eddy and some of those guys' music too, which we did...we got it together and learned all these 2 minute songs and had enough to fill 3 hours...it was a lot of work!! I almost gave up at one point...15/20 songs a set!! We'll never get enough, but we eventually did. The music was all over the place...ha ha!!...we had a bunch of surf music "hits" and classics and we had instrumental "oldies" and we had The Ventures and Los Straightjackets which made the Hotel guy very happy...he was really excited on our first night...we were terrified trying to remember all that stuff!! ha! A lot of the time we knew the song but forgot who the fricken original artist was!! ha ha! or, we knew the melody but forgot what the song was called!! So we stumbled around for a while but i got us the gig!! Next, we all went on a mission to get as much traditional and contemporary "surf" music as we could find...funny how much of that stuff our friends had burried in a closet!! We started learning all kinds of stuff from a huge variety of instrumental bands...we had and still have heated discussions about what is "surf" music and what aint!! The interesting thing about us is we haven't been influenced by going to see other surf bands...there aren't any!!...I recall one night not that long after we had become a "surf band", a big tourist guy aproached me and asked if we had ever heard of a website called "surf guitar 101"...the other guys pointed him out to me cause i'm the only one that had a computer...i said "no" and he wrote the URL down on a napkin i think it was...ha!! I remember this so clearly now all these years later...the guy turned out to be Jeff Hansons father!! Sitting with his wife and digging the tunes!! When i got home that night i looked up the website and it opened a huge door for me/us to get to surf music...what it was, what it is, and all the rest...i'd never been part of a forum before so it was an exciting new thing...after a while i realized that we weren't what the surf community would call a surf band...we didn't have outboard reverb tanks or Fender Showmans or any vintage equipment to "recreate" that sound that surf purists would call "surf"...heck we were doing Los Straitjackets and Duane Eddy and Bill Justice and The Ventures!! Hardly surf music...but to me, and i think the other guys too, if it feels like surf music then maybe it is...if it fits in with the handfull of surf music that was popular in the early 60's then maybe it is...there's been recent discussion here about Peter Green's "Albatross" which isn't a "surf" tune but if we did it standing out there next to the beach with the waves breaking, the tanks blazing and the sun setting behind us then i believe that version of it could be considered a "surf" tune...who's to say it's not? I think surf music is a tone, a vibe and a certain finesse as a guitar player to make it so...i'm very proud of myself and the other guys for pulling it off every week for over five years now and i would consider The TakeOffs surf musicians that play surf music.
For the record...the "guy" that hired me to do this left about three years ago!! I'm what's considered a "vendor"...i supply them with a certain product...yes, like the seafood guy and the flower girl and the napkins and on and on...We're still friends...he calls that first meeting an "argument" but he's proud of us too for pulling it off...i do believe that he thought we would fail.
Aloha,
R-R
AHHHHH we have been spammed from the inside!
— I wanna play just like him when i grow up...
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25309
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Oct 17 2010 04:05 PM
JakeDobner
"Classical" music has evolved immensely, however... The point to where it has evolved is beyond enjoyable for casual music fans. I think it is brilliant, but it is something I would never put on if other people were in the room.
Surf music is in no danger of evolving to that point anytime soon though.
Jake,
I know of some Progressive surf/instro bands that I like,
that other "surf fans" I know would not want to hear, and or go see.
So I may agree with you, but I think they would dis-agree.
I like that not all bands sound the same.
I love the Trad to a T bands.
the gargey surf, the prog surf. etc.
if everyone sounded the same,
I wouldn't be into the scene as much as I am.
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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surferjoemusic
Joined: Jan 01, 2008
Posts: 2105
Livorno
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Posted on Oct 17 2010 04:24 PM
bigtikidude
JakeDobner
"Classical" music has evolved immensely, however... The point to where it has evolved is beyond enjoyable for casual music fans. I think it is brilliant, but it is something I would never put on if other people were in the room.
Surf music is in no danger of evolving to that point anytime soon though.
Jake,
I know of some Progressive surf/instro bands that I like,
that other "surf fans" I know would not want to hear, and or go see.
So I may agree with you, but I think they would dis-agree.
I like that not all bands sound the same.
I love the Trad to a T bands.
the gargey surf, the prog surf. etc.
if everyone sounded the same,
I wouldn't be into the scene as much as I am.
Be careful though... what progresses too much might become something else... the gap between progress of a genre and the creation of something else is very little.
— Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25309
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Oct 17 2010 04:47 PM
shivers13
Surf music was created by, and for, teenagers in the early 60's. It began as instrumental Rock & Roll played at Teen Dances or "Stomps". It died in '64/'65 with the onslaught of The British Invasion and later developed a small yet loyal group of revivalists beginning in the 80's, continuing on to the present day. This is not another "what is surf, or not surf" thread or "why I like surf" thread.
Surf Music (The music of Dick Dale, Bel-Airs, etc.) has little or nothing to do with surf culture nowadays, so I'm interested in getting opinions why people call their music surf music and why they feel it needs to be updated or changed. In my opinion Jazz is Jazz and Surf is Surf. I'm not hard-line about this, but when Surf Music goes too far out of the box I tend to not like it.
I'm looking for honest opinions and debate and hopefully no bickering and putting down of others opinions.
Getting back to Norm's question.
I think that there is nothing wrong with "Surf Music".
But at the same time, I agree with the statement,
if it doesn't change it can get stale and die.
and at the same time, there would be people that would disagree with me.
as I know some older surf fans that do not appreciate the garagey side of the Ghastly Ones saying its too heavy and bugs them.
Saying that isn't surf to them, and they don't like it.
as much as they don't like Prog surf.
Ironic?
I find it very amusing.
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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shivers13
Joined: Jul 29, 2009
Posts: 2605
Boss Angeles, CA
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Posted on Oct 17 2010 09:31 PM
Jeff, it's true you can't please everyone. Some like trad and some like progressive. You tend to pretty much like it all, which we (bands that play surfy type stuff) are grateful for. I tend to agree with this...
surferjoemusic
Be careful though... what progresses too much might become something else... the gap between progress of a genre and the creation of something else is very little.
I'm not hardline about this, though. Look at Satan's Pilgrims. I refer to them as a Surf band (most do) but they really play Surf/Biker Fuzz/ Ventures instro/Garage/Go-Go/Psych Music if you want to really split hairs. Yet Surf band fits them perfectly. I guess they're just the right amount of progressive for me!
What's ironic is how strict some people are about the term Surf Music for some things, then not other things.
The thoughts expressed here so far have been very interesting. Would love to see what more people think.
— BOSS FINK "R.P.M." available now from DOUBLE CROWN RECORDS!
www.facebook.com/BossFink
www.doublecrownrecords.com
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