Sweet! Great videos, you look like you were having a great time.

IMO.

Ah yes, big congrats to you, Ivan. Well deserved, although why no one ever gives me guitars...

Kidding of course. Your work is appreciated, keep it up.

IMO.

well said ^

www.surfintheeye.com

Any pics of the guitar raffle winners.... grinning ear to ear?

The Mystery Men? playing "Dark Eyes"
3 Balls of Fire with Davie Allen playing "Blues Theme"

My SG101 convention report, part 1 (Los Alamitos, CA):

Wow, it has been a week already. Ok, here is my report on the convention. Keep in mind it has been a week so I'm just going to go stream of consciousness and write down the memories I have. I'll probably miss lots of things and people, so forgive me in advance.

Before I get started, I really have to hand it to Jeff and his crew. There was a lot of people at this thing, probably the most out of the 5 conventions I have been to. Jeff had everything under control and he seemed relaxed and enjoying himself. The first few years he seemed stressed, now he's got it under control. It was a great idea to have Insect Dave help with the raffles and Carol to run the jam so Jeff can concentrate more on the details. Special thanks also to Marie and Kristena's daughters for helping out with the raffle tickets and admissions.

I arrived with Ivan a little bit after the jam started. We were surprised at how full the place was that early in the morning. The waitresses were working overtime all day, my hat is off to them. We got some breakfast and got to eat / chat with Mad Maxx, Danny Snyder, Lorenzo, and Jeremy from the Aqualads. The jam is always a highlight and it was fun to see all these fine people having so much fun on stage. Kristena was up there this year playing her organ, that was cool! Max tore it up on The Wedge! Baja for Baja Marty! Great fun.

The Astro-nots started as we were eating. They played a great set of rare and not-so-rare Astronaut hits. Very enjoyable. I think they played even better the next day at the pier. It was really cool seeing an actual 3-guitar attack (something that would be repeated later in the day).

The Penetrators tribute was a highlight for me. I never saw the Penetrators live. I had seen Sticks play with the Surge, but I never saw Trace play at all nor did I think I would ever. So this was a real treat. Lots of emotional speeches on stage and you could really feel the love for Spanky & Rip. They were definitely present in spirit. Eddie K really poured out the emotions for his friends and I am not ashamed to say my eyes watered up a few times. They sounded amazing and thanks to Jeff for suggesting they bring this out to the convention. It was a real reminder how special the Penetrators were and how "Locked & Loaded" is a real masterpiece of the 90's surf revival era. Get this CD if you don't have it! It is a must!

Okay at this point we sprung our surprise on Ivan. Let me back up and give some background on this. A few days before I left Jeff asked me to call him. It seems that once again Paul Wayne (ColtsSurf) had offered to donate a guitar to raffle off (!!!). But Jeff already had the Fender Jazzmaster (was there an Eastwood too?) so he thought maybe he should hold it until next year. Paul suggested that Jeff give the guitar to Ivan as a token of appreciation from the community, as he had been briefly corresponding with Ivan about the guitar, amongst other things. Jeff asked me what I thought about giving Ivan an award for being such a pillar and supporter of the community ever since the beginning and then giving him the guitar. I was blown away by this. Sure I said, of course. Okay, Jeff said, but you have to get up there and give a speech and help present it to Ivan. Shit!!! Somehow while I was frantically packing for the trip I was able to jot some stuff down and I was as prepared as I was going to be.

So anyway, at the event, Ivan thought he was on stage to help present an award to Paul Johnson. Jeff and I stood next to him, and Jeff said some very nice things about me being able to be there this year, and how much he missed Baja Marty (we all do, so much). I was about to start bawling but somehow held it together after giving Jeff a big pat on the back. What a guy. So I stepped up to the mic and riffed from my speech from memory. I have it written down and I can post it if anyone is interested or no video turns up. I thought it went over pretty well and I could hear Ivan behind me asking what was happening. Ha! Everything I said was from the heart even if it was a bit corny. I can't imagine SG101 in its current form without Ivan. Ivan was pretty dumbstruck and Jeff and I presented him with a certificate. Ivan gave a very nice impromptu speech, but then Jeff tapped Ivan on the shoulder and said "wait, there is more".

Jeff had the guitar case and opened it. I held it up in triumph, lol, and handed it to Ivan. Wow that was pretty amazing. Thank you so much Paul for being so incredibly generous with the guitar. I'm so glad we could surprise Ivan like that.

Okay this is getting way long so I will continue it in another post (or two).

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

My SG101 convention report, part 2 (Los Alamitos, CA):

Up next was Paul Johnson and Friends. Luckily for us, his friends consisted of the great Lorenzo V on drums, Matt Quilter on 2nd guitar, and, if I heard correctly, the bass player from PJ and the Galaxies. I'm sorry but i missed his name! I love listening to Paul play and I sat spell bound the entire set. He plays so smoothly and you can really hear the origins of surf music in every note. As mentioned earlier, the other great thing about Paul at these conventions is that he walks around with a huge infectious smile on his face, taking all the love in. He's so supportive of other bands and he really is a national treasure. You should see the bands on stage when Paul stands in front of them, grinning ear to ear, offering a thumbs-up. I love that guy!

After PJ's set, then we got the award for PJ. Ivan gave a very nice speech for Paul and Jeff and Ivan presented him with a lifetime achievement award. Pat Quilter very generously presented Paul with one of his Quilter amps. It was a very special moment. I'm so glad I was there to see it. I think the mood moved Unsteady Freddie so much that he leaped up and also said a few improvised words. Ha!

The next band to perform was Outerwave. I love, love, love these guys. They have the trad 60's sound absolutely dialed in. One of the highlights of the convention for me was sitting next to Kristena listening to Outerwave. They play a lot of the fairly obscure 60's classics (so incredibly well), but also throw in a few modern covers (Nebulas, and yes, even a Mermen tune!). Each member is a great player, and the drummer really gets surf music. Mac is a monster on the lead guitar.

The Mystery Men? were up next. This was the 2nd 3-guitar attack that I mentioned earlier. These guys really came out of nowhere to melt some faces off! I really loved their EP they release a while ago, but their new album, which they brought with them (Sonos Delirium) is a complete order of magnitude even greater. A real home run effort. These guys have the 3-guitar thing down pat. Sometimes interlocking, sometimes playing complimentary parts, all weaving in and out of each other. Amazing! The bass player is quite the monster as well, and drummer kills it! The Mystery Men? definitely get the award for the most original and awe inspiring set. They have a creepy stage presence with the transparent masks and speak to the audience through triggered samples.

(BTW this is where I again thank Jeff for picking bands that fall all over the surf music spectrum, from trad to progressive. I know it probably sounds the same to an outsider, but having this much variety in the music, and each one played so well, makes the convention so awesome. I ate it all up.)

The Pyronauts were up next, and they delivered a very loud (!), raucous, highly polished set filled with showmanship and surprises. I was really surprised to hear a Moby Dick drum solo! They even brought up members of Nor Cal's youngsters, the Sniki Tikis for a very inspired version of Wipe-Out. They really banged a high energy set out of the park. I had to rest outside after their set!

Luckily the next band, The Glasgow Tiki Shakers, dialed it back a bit to let us catch our breath. I have seen this band once or twice before. I think they performed at the pier show in 2008 or 2009? And I saw them play at Don the Beachcombers at another convention after party. This band is incredibly tasteful and melodic. Always a treat to hear this band. I love watching the left handed drummer as well, he's great. Bill plays the guitar so masterfully and Joyce is so solid on the bass. Big thumbs up from me.

Okay, I got to take another break. Stay tuned for more parts.

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

Brian, you rock all of our worlds! Keep it coming. I look forward to seeing you and the whole dang community of surf again next year.

Rick

Rick

AMAZING report, Brian! Very impressive! That must have taken a LONG time! I appreciate you taking the time to do that, though, a great read.

Here's one more Penetrators tribute video from the convention - Southern Surf Syndicate Theme (including a small botch by me!), shot by young Maxx - thanks, Maxx! (How about Davie Allan checking us out from behind the glass in the back of the stage?? Wild!)

Ivan
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Things have just been crazy busy for the past week, but here are finally some of my impressions of the Convention - not comprehensive (that would take a book!), just some of the special things that stood out:

• Arrived at 9 am, sleep-deprived but very excited; chatted with Sean Berry and some other people by the Double Crown table, only to hear the jam session start and somebody really ripping up The Wedge - stepped into the main room from the back room to see who it was, pleasantly surprised to see young Maxx shredding on his new gorgeous Beast 2, with Danny on rhythm and Lorenzo on drums! That really got the day going in the right way! The next generation playing a DD classic with great gusto! Yes! It was going to be a GOOD day!
• Saw Jeff and chatted with him a bit, and he seemed far more relaxed and rested than I expected! Jeff really cannot get enough credit for the AMAZING job he did that whole weekend! He's really a natural by now, and has got it figured OUT! I know how much work he puts into all this, and he does it all just because of the love of the music and the bands playing this music. We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to him - Jeff, thank you, THANK YOU, you're the best! And thanks to all those that helped him out, in particular Kristena AKA Tiki Tena - so great to see you again!
• Sat with Brian at one of the tables in the back to get some breakfast, greeting Martin Cilia and Mandy, Tim Ferrill and Chris Aquasonic, and being joined by Jeremy Aqualad, Danny Snyder and Maxx as we were eating. SUCH A GREAT TIME hanging out with these great people, while enjoying the jam session!
• Danny got back up there with Ran, and KILLED on Ritchie Podolar's Voodoo Juice - I seriously got goosebumps! Incredible! (later, being ever so self-deprecating, he was telling us that the song is really not that hard to play, showing us a series of pull-offs and arpeggios that seemed hard even at half speed! Danny is a monster guitarist, a fact not commonly enough recognized! What a talent.
• Had to rush off to change and get ready for the Penetrators set while the Astronauts tribute was sounding big and fat and super-authentic!
• the Penetrators set was a BLAST! I love every one of those guys, and it was an immense pleasure and honor to be able to do this. I also love all those songs, and it was so much fun playing them, even if it was definitely a challenge to get them right (especially at 10:30 am, after a very short night!)
• Things turned very surreal right after the Penetrators set with the whole presentation of the Award of Merit and the Strat to me by Brian and Jeff, but that's all been covered above so no need to get into it again - but once again, my deep, deep thanks to Paul AKA ColtsSurf, Jeff and Brian. I am still truly touched and amazed.
• I think I was in a shock for a while after that, and people kept coming up and talking to me and looking at the guitar while my head was spinning, cause I really don't remember much of Paul Johnson's set (damn), but at the end of the set it was my turn to honor the man that TRULY DESERVED that honor - Jeff asked me a few days before to say a few words about Paul and present him with the first ever SG101 Lifetime Achievement Award (the text on the certificate written by John Blair, the certificate designed and printed by Linda Miller - nice to keep it all in the family, and they both did a GREAT job!). I spent about two hours on the plane to LA on Friday writing my speech, since I wanted to get it just right, and actually read out the speech (losing my place only once ). Paul seemed very surprised and touched, and was only able to say a few words with his voice breaking up a bit. When in my speech I talked about the joy that you can see in Paul's face as he watched a younger band tearing through Mr. Moto or Squad Car, Paul, who was standing next to me, just said, 'that's true' - yep, we know! But I thought that really said it all. And that's why we love you, Paul! Thank you, Jeff, for asking me to do this, I am very grateful, since I think the world of Paul! He was then presented with a Quilter amp (with a commemorative plaque on it) by Pat Quilter himself, and Paul was clearly VERY appreciative of that. He also seemed a bit stunned. It's hard not to be.
• This all happened before it was even Noon. Crazy. Things get a bit foggy at this point. One of the truly wonderful things about the convention is that it lets us see each other in person and talk and connect and socialize and bond, but since the music is going pretty much the ENTIRE time, it comes at the cost of missing some great music. I'm definitely a talker, and love catching up with people, so my attention was unfortunately divided much of the afternoon. I don't think I caught anybody's set in full, but I did get to see the majority of most sets, so here are a few impressions of the main music portion of the convention:
• Outerwave have got this trad surf thing DOWN! They've refined it to a science! The most authentic sounding trad surf you'll ever hear, with a cornucopia of amazing first-wave (and occasional third wave) covers, songs you'd be hard pressed to hear anywhere else. Impressive!
• I think it's safe to say that the Mystery Men were the breakout act of the day. I don't think very many people there knew anything about them or what to expect, and they BLEW EVERYBODY AWAY! That was probably the most powerful set of the day. Wow, they were on FIRE! They are friends of mine, we've played together a few times, including the Instro Summit in May, and they sent me their INCREDIBLE new album a week before, so I knew what everybody was in for - but still, the boys delivered above and beyond even my expectations, and made believers out of that whole crowd! Just stunning! (Jamie told me at the end of the next day that they sold nearly 300 CDs in their few days in California - HOLY COW!!! It actually shouldn't be surprising, given how good the band and the music is!)
• the Pyronauts had a tough act to follow, but they totally stepped up to the plate, and delivered by far the most fun and entertaining set of the day! Those guys are showmen through and through, while still being great musicians! I had never seen them before with their current drummer, but the guy is a monster, very impressive, and GETS surf music! The highlight was Wipe Out (I know!!!), where they gradually handed off the instruments to the Sneaky Tikis, while the Pyronauts danced and acted crazy in front of the band. Wow! What a great idea, what a creative band! Even Lorenzo was impressed, and I have a feeling that a European tour may be in the guys' future.
• The Glasgow Tiki Shakers calmed things down a bit with their EXPERTLY, melodic, jazzy and unique approach to surf music, but the crowd seemed ready for a break from the hard and heavy, and Bill and Joyce gave them exactly what they wanted. Bill is a really tasteful and skilled player and songwriter, and the audience ate it up!
• Aqualads from North Carolina were next - they're also good friends and one of my very favorite surf music bands in the world! There's rarely been a more accurately titled music album than Treasures! It's a true masterpiece of modern surf music. Again, I think they were a band not very well known to most west coast surf music fans, but after their beautiful and powerful set, I think they made believers out of everybody there! Such a phenomenal band! It was so great to see them and hang out with them, too. They sold out of Treasures before the end of the Convention, so I think they had a good day, too!
• At this point it was 5 pm, I really needed a break and to get some food, didn't eat since 9 am! The kitchen at the Starting Gate was just overrun with orders, and there was nowhere to sit, and I also needed to give my ears a break so a couple of us went over to the Mexican/Greek (!!) restaurant next door, unfortunately missing most of the Three Balls of Fire set, as well as Davie Allan's guest spot.
• We returned in time for the start of Lorenzo AKA Senor Surf AKA Surfer Joe set, joined by Jonpaul on bass and Marty Tippens on drums, who once again delivered a fun trad set that really hit the spot - Lorenzo just exudes JOY when playing surf music, whether playing guitar or drums! He's really one of the most generous and kind and talented people out there, and you can hear that in his music, which is never harsh or dark, but rather joyful and innocent! Jonpaul was telling me at one point how much he loves playing these songs with Lorenzo, and he said the songs remind him of lullabyes - simple and beautiful melodies that calm and reassure. I never thought of it that way before, but I think he's completely right. The songs are truly the reflection of Lorenzo's wonderful spirit!
• Martin Cilia ripped it up again, making his three piece sound HUGE! His new album Going to Kaleponi has been in near continuous rotation since returning from California, it's definitely one of my favorite surf CDs of the year, just a brilliant piece of work. Seeing him play those songs live, with such expertly and gorgeous touch, and that incredible Strat/echo/reverb/Vox AC-30 tone, was a real pleasure. And getting to join him for Bombora was a real highlight of the day for me that was already filled with too many highlights to count! It just kept getting better and better! I should say that getting to meet Martin in person was one of the best things that happened this past weekend! We have so many common interests (the Atlantics of course, but also Hank & the Shads, Ritchie Blackmore - he's also a HUGE fan, his jamming with pre-record-deal Iron Maiden at the legendary Ruskin Arms club (!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and so much more) that we both agreed that we could probably talk for days and still not run out of things to talk about! I sure hope our paths cross again in the future.
• Finally, the great El Caminos! I've loved their Reverb Explosion CD for many, many years, and never thought I'd get a chance to see them play. Their set showed a band in masterly control of trad surf, every band member having a thorough understanding of in particular the Del-Fi sound, and recreating it to perfection! As Brian mentioned, particularly impressive was the bass player, who was playing a Dano Longhorn bass and I think blew EVERYBODY away! I was standing next to Tiki Tena's daughter, and she just seemed elated watching the band, laughing out loud from pleasure! She's only 18, and had been listening to surf music for 10 HOURS by that point, and yet the El Caminos were still able to elicit that sort of a response! Incredible! (And BTW, they did an Insect Surfers cover, which really blew Dave Arnson away, and he of course had to dance to it!! They did a great job with it, too!)
• And in a blink of an eye, it was all over. As Brian mentioned, the club wastes not time pumping out '80s hits and dance music right at 8 pm, which is quite jarring after all this surf music. There was a quick tear-down of the stage, as we were all milling about, chatting, slightly catatonic and stunned and certainly more than a bit deaf, but very, VERY happy! It was great to see so many other people during the day, like Dave Wronski, Dusty Watson, Bob Walk, Steve AKA Chrome Oxide, the Ghastly Norm (who I finally was able to meet in person), Insect Dave, the Sneaky Tikis and a few of their dads, and so, so many more, and to chat with them. It really was all overwhelming, though it left me with an incredibly warn and satisfied feeling.
• Brian, Danny and I went back to Don's Turf Motel for a bit, and were joined by Danny's guitar student Robert as well as Sean Berry, passing around my new Strat (still in complete disbelief!). One of the highlights of the day for me was the five of us just chatting in that room, really enjoying each other's company. Unplanned moments like that are what make these trips truly special. Again, such nice people, that I usually only get to talk to over email. This was priceless.
• We eventually got off our butts and took one car to Anaheim to see the after-convention show, though I think we were all pretty worn down by tIhat point and not entirely enthusiastic about it. It took much longer to get there than we expected, and when we got there the Tequila Worms were firing on 12 cylinders! Even outside it was overwhelmingly loud! We weren't quite up to it at that point, so we got some Mexican food next door, and went back just in time for the main attraction, the surf supergroup of John Blair, Danny Amis, Lorenzo Valdambrini, and Carlos, the Tequila Worms' bass player. I was tired, and tired of music at that point, but as soon as they started, I knew this was going to be something pretty special. It was basically the best of John and Danny, with a few choice covers thrown in. I think the first time this band played together was a couple of hours before the show, but holy moly, they were unbelievably tight, a real testimony to the immense talent of all four players! And what great music! They'd play one or two songs by Jon & the Nightriders, followed by one or two Danny's songs from Los Straits, and back and forth like that for an hour. And how great to see Danny ripping it up again! i was amazed that he was able to play this entire energetic show, and that's a damn good sign that he's recovering and doing a lot better. For me, this really was the surprise of the day (well, after my award!), and i was so glad we went. I really really hope some videos surface from this show.
• by this point it was past 1 am, we were dead tired, with a long way to go back to Los Alamitos and an early morning the next day, so we got out of there, with the reverb ringing in our ears (no earplugs for me all day), and a deep exhaustion in our bones! Got to sleep by about 2-2:30 am, having to get up before 8 am. But what a day!!!! Unforgettable, and truly moving. Thank you once again for making it all possible, Jeff!
  [to be continued]

Ivan
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Last edited: Aug 18, 2013 12:29:33