The Endless Drummer story, Part 5
Track 3- “Seki Go Eleki”
Naotaka Seki has been a friend since I first met him when I went to Japan in 2003, and first saw the Surf Coasters. In 2004, the Surf Coasters came to America for their first tour and I got to spend a lot of time in a van with the band. Naotaka is very friendly and despite the huge language barrier, very funny and easy to get along with. He's always up for any gag and generally seems to enjoy his life. Naotaka was the first live drummer for Frankie and the Pool Boys, and came over from Japan in 2010 to play an eight show mini tour that took us through Las Vegas and finally to the Surf Guitar 101 Convention.
In 2022, Naotaka wrote and said he would like to come and stay for a week in the summer, and if possible play some shows but mostly just to hang out in California. Sure! We arranged an action packed week with lots of food, hikes, a few gigs and hanging out with friends. I can't remember if we had a recording session in the plans, but I definitely didn't have a song ready. So, I went into my room and came up with "Seki Go Eleki" in less than an hour, with Naotaka listening in and encouraging me. We went downstairs to work it out and Nao realized the main riff of the song was in 7/4 (I didn't notice!). Oh well. He was fine with it, but I remember what he said about doing an accented surf style drum roll over the riff: "It is difficult."
The next day, July 19,2022, I set up the mics and we recorded Seki Go Eleki. Danny Snyder came over later and we recorded two more songs, a cover of the Surf Coasters' swinger "Code Name SG7" and an original song of Danny's, "This Is All I Can Do" which you can hear on the 2023 Surf Guitar 101 compilation. After Nao went back to Japan, I recorded all my parts using a POD, and I put the song on the 2022 SG101 compilation, and then forgot about it until the Endless Drummer concept emerged. In early 2024, I re-recorded all my parts using Fender amps, a Surfy Bear. The two guitars are, on rhythm, a '62 Jazzmaster and for the lead a '00 Yamaha SGB 800. I played the keyboards on the Yamaha Reface and the bass is a '66 Fender Mustang. Nao played my Rogers kit with a Ludwig snare, and it looks like we borrowed Jonathan Rodriguez's nice cymbals. The overhead mics are the amazing Neumann KM56.

Danny Snyder, Jeff turner, Jonathan Rodriguez, Miss amber Waves, Frankie and Naotaka

Endless Drummers... Pieter Dedoncker, Dusty Watson, Naotaka Seki

Pool Boys by the pool inLas Vegas, 2010

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Last edited: May 10, 2025 11:47:28

The Endless Drummer story, Part 6
Track 4, Swamp Thing
Almost every instrumental song gets a working title, something generic like "Demo Swing" or "Skanky Groove," that gets changed later when a truly descriptive phrase pops up. Danny Snyder once presented a song to The TomorrowMen called "New Demo" which cleverly morphed into "New Democracy".
But "Swamp Thing" was always destined to be Swamp Thing, due to it's slow, tom heavy groove, and bluesy guitar. The title was solidified once the rhythm section was chosen.
The Greasy Gills made a huge impression from their very first gig at the Knockout in San Francisco, which I was lucky to attend. Jordan Steer is an amazing guitarist in the flatpicking style, and the bass and drum combo of Sam Benedetti and Gracie Malley swing like crazy for throughout the uptempo song list. It's challenging music that they give personality to, to keep it fun and accessible. Their mascot happens to be, dun dun dun, the swamp thing aka the creature from the black lagoon!

Sam has been the Pool Boys sub bass player for the last few years, and we love the energy she brings when she plays with us!

Swamp Thing took a while to write; I kept coming back to it, but the first recording of the riff dates to August 2020 while the wildfires were raging and the sky in Northern California was smoky orange. The first full demo was recorded in July 2021. As Jeff Turner will tell you, it's in the phrygian mode, which feels woeful and ominous.
I asked Gracie to play on the song, and sent her the Credence Clearwater Revival song "Run Through The Jungle" as a reference. Sam and Gracie are such a tight unit, so I asked Sam to play bass, and on July 6, 2024. Swamp Thing was recorded with Gracie, Sam, myself and Jono Jones in the room. They were well rehearsed and we got the song after a few takes, and the one with the slowest tempo was used. Gracie used the Rogers kit with her own snare and cymbals.
For the final touch, I asked Bryan Manzo from The Boss Martians, and his own dark-wave band Jupe Jupe, to play sax. Man, he has a fat tone and moves some air. He recorded his part in his home studio in Seattle, and it really gives the track a big flavor.

At our record release party last week, Gracie and sam sat in for "Swamp thing," and for the first time, there were more pool girls than pool boys!

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Frankie and the Pool Boys website
Buy Speed of Dark @ Bandcamp
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My Blog- Euro Tour Blog
Pool Boys on Spotify
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DJ Frankie Pool Boy on North Sea Surf Radio

Last edited: May 11, 2025 14:34:18

Oh boy, I love those stories. Keep them coming!

Cheers,
Wellens

https://m.facebook.com/TheArousals
For the daring... and lusty!

The Endless Drummer Story, Part 7
Track 6 – Moorea Mon Amour
(Listen on You Tube)
Moorea Mon Amour was written in August of 2019 while I was visiting the French Polynesian Island of… Mo’orea. It makes use of the melodic minor scale, like “Bali Hai.” I think if it was slowed down and featured vibes and bird calls, it could be an all out exotica song. The major key bridge is straight up power pop, so it packs a lot into its 2 minutes and 16 seconds of life. Jono Jones played that snappy rhythm guitar and Jeff Turner pops on bass, and Karen’s disco synthesizers with some crunchy leads on top makes for a real mashup. Ah, but the drums… with all that stuff going on, Jonathan Rodriguez chose to play it straight, 4 on the floor, commanding that everyone follow him.
Jonathan Rodriguez joined the Pool Boys around 2014. His Deadbeats battery mate Abraham Aguilar had already been in the band for a few years, and together, they form an airtight rhythm section. Together we recorded the Spin the Bottle album and had a great tour of Germany and Italy in 2018. In 2019, Jonathan joined a cumbia vocal group, and he and Abraham formed the Combo Tezeta, which turned into a really big deal. So, Abraham left the Pool Boys, but Jonathan stuck around until 2023. After the Spin the Bottle album, Jonathan played on eight or so more recordings including the Stargazers single and Beat It for the Michael Jackson tribute we did with Surfer Joe. Two other favorites of mine he played on were the Game of Thrones theme and Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight.) Jonathan never officially left the Pool Boys, so the door is always open, and we love playing with him!
Moorea Mon Amour was recorded sometime during the pandemic, along with a few other songs for our compilation The Wet Season. It’s not a new release, but deserves to be showcased in the context of brilliant drum performances.
Don't mess with Jonathan

Pandemic recording, 2021

Recording at Evan Foster's No Count Studio in Seattle, December 2022

On tour in Mexico, 2019

Buy Endless Drummer @ Bandcamp
Frankie and the Pool Boys website
Buy Speed of Dark @ Bandcamp
Pollo Del Mar website
My Blog- Euro Tour Blog
Pool Boys on Spotify
INSTAGRAM
Frankie & The Pool Boys on Facebook
Pollo Del Mar on Facebook
DJ Frankie Pool Boy on North Sea Surf Radio

Last edited: May 14, 2025 23:52:31