ColtsSurf wrote:

One of the (many) things that I was amazed at during the Convention was the beautiful tone that Ferenc was getting out of his Strat and Vibroverb during the Frankie & The Pool Boys set. Ivan also commented on it.

What's your secret Ferenc? Special size/type strings? The Xotic EP Booster? Cap'n Coconuts cereal?

I'm also quite curious about this. I understand that most of the tone has to do with the player and their style, but some technical insights would be interesting here.

• Jamie
  SSS Agent #181
  Cartoons drenched in reverb!
  The Mystery Men?
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Frankie & The Pool Boys sounded amazing this year Ferenc! So glad I got to see you play 3 times.

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

Frankie & the (many, many) Pool Boys' "Surf Party" finale at the Huntington Beach Pier. Photo by Darren Kruger.
L to R: Amber Waves, Ferenc Dobronyi, Shigeo Naka, Ralf Kilauea , Jaque Kilauea, Jonpaul Balak, John Blair, Ivan Pongracic, Morley Kojima, Nobuhiro Kurita, Danny Snyder, Kozui, Eddie Ugata , Tom Kilauea and Uroš Milkić. Hidden: Dusty Watson,

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Last edited: Aug 15, 2014 16:37:34

Awesome Jamie!

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

MadScientist wrote:

Got my pics all sorted!

http://s419.photobucket.com/user/MysteryManJG/library/Live%20Stuff/2014%20SG101%20Weekend

Fantastic photos! Thanks very much, Jamie! (Any videos?) So good to see you again last weekend, too!

Ivan
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IvanP wrote:

...and had to leave midway through the set for the lengthy drive from Pasadena to Los Alamitos – the next day was going to be BIG!

"Oh, Flash! Whatever will happen next???"

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

PolloGuitar wrote:

Great write up, Ivan, keep them coming!

Thanks! Here you go!

I have to give major kudos to Ran for stage managing, everything worked, sounded great, and moved along quickly between acts!

Indeed! Ran was absolutely on TOP of everything, working with bands to make sure they could all hear each other and really being SUPER-COOL about it all! Thank you, Ran!

OK, here goes part 2 of 3 (damn, I didn't intend to write nearly this much!)

It’s almost impossible to review the convention itself – there is just so much going on for ten hours straight that it becomes completely overwhelming – both to remember and to write about – it would take a short novel to do it full justice! But I’ll give a few of my personal highlights.

I didn’t sleep very well the night before, kinda like a kid being excited before going to summer camp! So I skipped breakfast for a bit of extra sleep and guitar warm-up. Dane finally picked me up and we showed up at the Starting Gate around 10:15 am, just missing Maxx’s performance at the jam – bummer! Were greeted by him, Bruce from the Bay Area and Dave Becker shooting photos with Maxx's sweet vintage Corvair and Eddie Bertrand’s Jag (now owned by Bruce – who BTW is featured in the current Forbes magazine!). Walking in I immediately ran into Ran and his supercute daughter Ofel, who proceeded to tell me her favorite Madeira songs (whoa, mind blown!). It was great catching up with Ran, and going to get ready for our performance which was at 11 am. I must admit that my nerves were a bit tight beforehand, but what a blast we had! The other guys did an AMAZING job, I was so proud of them! We had a bit of confusion with Ralf playing the bell in the middle of Shark Attack, but all just part of the live experience - as was me tripping on my cord in the middle of SOS as I was walking over to the other side of the stage - a very narrow passageway in front of the drums. I pulled the cord out, something that I haven't had happen in MANY years, and I didn't notice that I was unplugged right away, so there I was flailing away, with no sound coming out! How embarrassing! So I missed almost the whole middle noise section! But I can't even think about the whole thing without laughing out loud, so maybe it was worth it. I especially remember Danny’s face as he reached out to catch me as I almost fell right into his arms! Oh yeah, and then there was the last 15 seconds of War of the Worlds, as we were going into the climax of the song – and my power adapter cord cuts out for absolutely no reason and completely kills my sound! Arrggghh!! Well, even despite these few mishaps, I simply had a blast and it was a huge high getting to play all these songs, which were extremely influential, defining even, for me as a surf musician. So, thank you very much, Jeff, for inviting us to do this – and huge thanks again to my bandmates who really did an outstanding job. (Also special thanks to Matt Quilter for lending me his ’62 Showman with a 12” tone-ring cab, both for the band practices and the Saturday performance, very similar to the Atlantics’ own set-up of a ’62 Bandmaster with a 12” tone-ring cab. It sounded pretty much perfect!)

Immediately following our set, Jeff sprung the surprise on Danny, getting Brian up to give some really nice comments about Danny and his huge contributions to our little community, and then presenting him with that gorgeous ’65 AVRI Jazzmaster, specially picked out for Danny by Paul Wayne AKA ColtsSurf! Bound neck, matching headstock, an amazing instrument! Remarkable that as Danny was plotting all the gifts and surprises for Jeff, Jeff was himself plotting this very nice surprise for Danny – and I know he did not see it coming at all! It was truly a special moment, and I made sure I was right in front as it was happening! Seeing Danny’s face was priceless! Congratulations, Danny, you truly deserve it!!

The adrenaline was kicking in for quite a while after that, so it took some time to calm down. I really don’t remember a whole lot after that for a while. Oh yeah, except for a lot of sweating! There were so many friends and familiar faces around that it was a struggle all day long to both talk to everybody while also checking out the music. We had to go back to our hotel to change and drop off my guitar, and by the time we came back, Threesome were kicking some serious a$$! I settled into the front row to watch the rest of their set, which I loved! Uros is a wildman, flailing himself all over the stage and even jumping off it while still playing dead-on! Jonpaul was playing like he’d been with the band for years, and Jovana was triggering a lot of mouths hanging open in shock and disbelief! They ended with Lull, a very Mermen-ish extended track in a dropped-D tuning, which was just fantastic! After that I really needed to get some food, so I ended up chatting with Corrie from Wisconsin/Nebraska and Ralf Kilauea while eating my breakfast - at 1:30 pm! - at the bar in the back of the club, with the Surf Kings shredding Hendrix/Mermen-style in the background, with a huge sound. Frankie & the Pool Boys were next, so as I was walking up front I ran into Paul Wayne, and we both sat centerstage, second row, for their set. If possible, they were even better than the night before in Pasadena, with Ferenc’s Vibroverb pointed right at our heads (a BEAUTIFUL thing – his tone was even better that day!) I really couldn’t get enough of their set – and Ferenc seemed to be having a REALLY good time, exhibiting a kind of manic energy which was very entertaining! Following the Frankie set, Tiki Tena came up with Jeff, and the whole slew of surprises started coming for Jeff, presented by Danny, Brian, Lorenzo and Ferenc – certificate, mug, super-duper Mac Airbook Pro, and then the giant airplane ticket! The big guy seemed just blown away, and I think I may have gotten more emotional than even Jeff, who held it together surprisingly well! But you could tell that he really was taken aback and deeply appreciative – that was one of the most special moments at any of the conventions yet! Huge credit must go to Danny for getting the whole thing started and organized, contacting most of the people, and enlisting many accomplices along the way. The outpouring of love for Jeff really was something to see! The Supertones followed this great occasion with their own distinctive mix of trad surf with some additional percussion and unusual touches, though unfortunately my attention was pulled in other directions, talking to friends I hadn’t seen in quite a while. (It really is impossible to see all of every band at the convention!)

The Kilaueas came on after the Supertones, and I was determined to see their entire set after missing them the night before. Man, were they great! I’ve been a big fan of those guys since about ’02, when I first heard their album Mundaka Calls, and was thrilled to see them play live at Surfer Joe in ’09 – so it was a real pleasure to see Ralf and Tom again, and to meet the new bass player Kristof (AKA Jacques Kilauea). Lorenzo is of course the PERFECT drummer for them, and the guys have known each other for so long by now that he may as well be Lorenzo Kilauea! Unfortunately, their merchandise which was shipped from Germany failed to arrive on time, but I was lucky enough to grab one of the very few LPs they had of their new album Wiki Waki Woooo. Hearing them play live confirmed I made the right decision, as the new songs were every bit the equal of all those great classics from Mundaka and their masterpiece Profesor Volcanova! Tom is now playing lead rather than bass, and he proved to be a highly capable guitarist with a trad style of his own; and Ralf is, well, Ralf is freakin’ CRAZY, that’s what Ralf is! I’ve never seen a surf musician so in love with the stage floor – he spends as much time rolling on it as he does standing on it! Truly, Ralf is a GREAT showman, seemingly fearless (he went off the stage and was walking on the chairs while playing – a highly hazardous move - reminding me of Daikiaju!) and in complete disregard of the safety of his guitar while playing! (And in fact, they did damage two guitars the night before, necessitating borrowing Josh’s Jazzmaster – if I were Josh, I’d been SERIOUSLY worried!) But it was an amazing set, and the crowd ate it up!

Next up: the mighty Boss Martians! In the ‘90s, they were one of my very favorites, and in fact, I had HUGE respect for Evan Foster’s guitar playing, which as far as I was concerned was really state-of-art trad surf guitar – he was one of my top three favorites of that era, along with Frankie Blandino of the Fathoms and Phantom Frank of the Treble Spankers. The Space Cossacks were lucky enough to play with the Boss Martians in Seattle at the beginning of our West Coast tour in the summer of ’98, and we even crashed at Evan and organist Nick’s house. They were transitioning out of surf music by that point into modern garage rock, and you could tell their hearts weren’t really into the surf stuff. So, I was really anticipating their set this time, their return to surf music after 16 years of playing all sorts of other stuff and with considerable success. I also hadn’t seen or talked to Evan since ’98, so I was very much looking forward to seeing him again. I was right in the front row when they started, opening with a new track I didn’t recognize (I found out later it’s actually a song Evan’s playing with his NEW surf band, the name of which is escaping me at the moment). The boys had Evan’s younger brother on bass, and a new drummer, but Nick Contento was still on organ – and they were all wearing SWEATERS!! Wow, now that’s true dedication to the ‘frat-rock’ image! They were sweating profusely a few songs in, but the sweaters stayed on! Damn. OK, here’s the thing: the Boss Martians were AMAZING!! I was completely blown away! For me, they were THEE highlight of the convention! They weren’t going to have people sitting down while they played so they demanded that people stand and dance, the area in front of the stage filling up very quickly. I ended up standing right behind Domenic Priore and Norm, who was almost as entertaining as the band itself! You could tell this was RIGHT up his alley, he was bopping like a crazed teenager the entire set! And rightly so – where we were standing, right in front of Evan’s amp (Ran’s Gomez Surfer) the sound was HUGE, and you could hear every little twist of Evan’s playing, which believe me, is a true masterclass in surf guitar! Not a single mistake the entire night – holy crap! And after a solid block of classic Martians instros, they – GASP! – sang! I think that’s a first for the convention! They gave everybody a fair warning, in case anybody needed to vacate the premises pronto , and then proceeded to tear it up with Ricky Nelson’s “Hello Mary Lou” and Buddy Holly’s “Rave On!”, just so great! They sang one or two other songs that I must say I didn’t recognize (though I think they were garage classics), but no originals of theirs, which was surprising. They brought things to a close with the epic Surfer’s Anthem off Evan’s solo album, but Jeff asked them to do one more, and they obliged even though it seems they had run through their entire repertoire! Special kudos to Evan’s brother for his harmony vocals – they were dead on! It must be a brother thing. But it really was Evan’s show, and he was as good, if not better, than ever! I cannot fully express how much I loved that whole set, it was just pure surf music perfection – the SURF VALHALLA! Welcome back, Evan! I ended up talking to him, catching up with everything, for pretty much the next 45 minutes, missing the great majority of the Surf Coasters set, which was a huge bummer – but it was worth it to reconnect with him. I deeply hope this signals a more regular return to surf music for him and the Boss Martians – I also really look forward to hearing his new band (which is indeed a surf band)!

After the Surf Coasters set (I think I missed Ferenc sitting in with them! Doh!), I spent some time catching up with Lorenzo, scheming a bit for the future, and then went inside to catch Slacktone. The entire area in the front was packed, so I wasn’t able to be in the eye of the hurricane, instead watching from a bit further back, but they brought it 120% as always – the intensity was palpable! More amazing songs and amazing playing, but I must admit that my lack of sleep was catching up to me by this point, and I started getting worn down. The club let Slacktone go full five minutes late (another first!) before cranking Tone Loc’s Wild Thing – a sure fire way to clear out the surf nerds! Though many people headed to the afterparty show, Dane’s mom and stepdad invited the four of us to visit them on their sailing boat in the Long Beach harbor, which we decided to do. It was incredibly calm and beautiful, a perfect night, and just what we needed after ten hours of heavy reverb and Gomez Surfers blaring away! We got to bed by 12:30, not too bad. And boy, I was so ready for sleep! It had been a great day, but time to replenish, another huge day ahead…

Ivan
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Last edited: Aug 17, 2014 11:22:46

Thanks so much for the great videos, Dave!! I really appreciate it - now I can send them to the Atlantics (and they - and everybody else - can see me trip! )

OK, the final installment! After a much better night’s sleep, we took off for Huntington Beach on Sunday morning, where Jeff secured reserved parking on the beach for the people playing (sweet!). We ran into the Atlanta contingent and decided to join them for breakfast, but unfortunately the place they were going to was extremely busy and we needed to be setting up our gear in half an hour, so the four of us just went to a nearby coffee shop and grabbed a few smaller items. By the time we got to the stage around 10:45 am, all the amps and drums were already there and set up – Jeff must have been there by 9 am already, after a very late night! What a guy! (I’m not sure Ran was there to set everything up?)

The Atlantics tribute was on first, and this time our (my?) nerves were much looser and the set went even better than the previous day, the only bummer being Danny breaking a string at the beginning of Giant, and us having to play most of the song without him. He picked up his new Jazzmaster, but unfortunately he had to retune it (we all tuned down half-step for the Atlantics tribute to make it authentic to how the Alantics used to do it). I have to say that I truly enjoyed playing our set that Sunday. That location is always inspiring, of course, but feeling much more relaxed and confident made the experience so much the better (and not tripping helped a lot, too! ). As the final notes of War of the Worlds were ringing out, I felt a bit of disappointment that it’s all over. But it was tempered by the feeling that we did a great job – and once again, I cannot shower my bandmates with enough praise, they really did an incredible job! These songs are second nature for me, but not for them, they were starting from scratch with some of them, and many of the songs are pretty physically demanding, but the boys totally stepped up and delivered 100%! I’m so proud of them! Thank you, guys! I sure hope we get to do it again one day!

Like the day before, it took a while for the adrenaline to subside, so I don’t remember much about the El Caminos set except that it was quite good, as were the Supertones and Threesome! Honestly, much of the day is a bit of a blur by now, just one great or even amazing band after another, and also having SO many conversations with so many wonderful people by the merch tables, it was truly a lovefest. Frankie & the Pool Boys delivered another fantastic set, and I wasn’t tired of them even after seeing them for the third time! I was already a huge fan before that weekend, and came home an even bigger fan! Frankie & the Pool Boys RULE!! And then their idea to bring ALL the guitarists and bassists on stage to do the ‘typewriter’ for the Surf Party finale is just short of sheer genius! What a sight that was! If you were just a passer-by on the beach and witnessed that, what must you have been thinking??? This time I also made sure I watched the entire Surf Coasters set from the beginning to the end, and they once again simply blew my mind! I’m so glad I had a chance to see them this one more time, I would have been really kicking myself for missing them the day before if not for this show. It was great to see Ferenc as well as Ruiko (of the Whys) get up there with them for Dreams and Black Sand Beach respectively. All the Surf Coasters seemed like they were having a wonderful time, too, maybe even in a bit of disbelief at how much love they were getting! Maxx was sitting next to me and he about lost it when they closed with Intruder, which he asked me to play with him that night at Don the Beachcomber’s. It was just a perfect set, once again full of sheer joy of playing great music! And then the Kilaueas drove it all home, finishing the shindig with another very strong set, with Ralf once again giving us quite a show! I decided to go for a walk along the beach and the pier while they were playing, go as far as I could while still hearing them, and I got pretty far, you could hear them for quite a ways! I stood on the pier where I could see and hear them very well, and watched the reactions of the passers-by to their music. Lots of people stopped and watched for a while, always with a big smile on their faces. It was really nice to see. And then… that was it. The end of the Pier shows is always very bittersweet, being such a wonderful day, full of great vibes and happiness, but knowing it’s coming to an end….. (This time the weather was particularly good, never getting too hot like a few times in the past.) We all hung around for a while longer while nearby the drumming circle started. At least there was still the jam session at Don’s to look forward to. Special thanks to Linda and John who have really been going out of their way for years to make sure this whole Pier show happens in coordination with the convention and give the visiting bands this truly amazing experience. They have had a lot of health problems, but they have persevered because of their love for the music and the people that make this music. Well, Linda and John, the love goes both ways! You’ve been absolutely incredible – THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOU’VE DONE! It was wonderful to see you again, get to chat a bit, and I look forward to seeing you again next year!

A bunch of us went to a pizza restaurant for some dinner first, having Jonpaul and Marie join us, which was really great. By that point Dane, Brian, Danny and I hadn’t eaten in more than seven hours, and we were completely famished. We ended up sitting with Ralf and Tom of the Kilaueas and much hilarity ensued – such funny and great guys! Some EXCELLENT pizza, too! Then off to Don’s. It seemed we had already missed some great jam sessions, with Ferenc playing as we walked in, and I think Paul Johnson sitting in, too. Maxx had asked me days before to play the Surf Coasters’ Intruder with him, with him on rhythm, and I was happy to oblige him – of course, I didn’t know that the Surf Coasters were going to BE THERE! But we needed a bass player, and though Danny was going to do it (without ever having played it before!), with Kuri there it made the most sense to simply have him play. Somehow in the chaos of it all, Cozi, not Dane, ended up on drums. Hmmm, so there Maxx and I were, about to play Intruder with the Surf Coasters’ rhythm section, and Shigeo standing right in front of us (and Paul Johnson standing immediately to my right!). OK, then - let’s go! Well, somehow all the notes came out more or less in the right order, and what a trip that was! I never, ever thought anything like that would happen! Shigeo actually recorded the whole thing and posted the video on Facebook – quite a thing to relive! I have to say this will be a cherished memory for a long time to come! While I was congratulating Maxx on his great playing, and taking some photos with him, Jeff asked us to play Bombora for some Aussie tourists who were there, which we were happy to do, with Dave Becker filling in for Jonpaul, and doing a great job, I must say! Then Lorenzo stepped in on drums, and Danny suggested we do Journey to the Stars – after quickly running through the song in my head to make sure I remember it all, we ripped it out, which was a blast! Lorenzo wanted Shigeo and me to have a surf battle on Miserlou, which I flat-out refused (there’s just no way!), but was happy to play rhythm with Shigeo on lead (with Simon of the Supertones on bass by now), and watching all the fireworks fly while he did all his fancy stuff – it really was something to observe close up – though I still have no idea how he does that hand flipping thing that he does at the end of Miserlou! It’s just astonishing! I shocked myself by starting DD’s Hava Nagila as soon as Miserlou was finished, and I guess demoted Shigeo to rhythm – that took some cheek! What the hell? Very bold of me, I still can’t believe I did that! But we played that out, and it was time to get out of the way and let some other people have fun! I will not soon forget playing these songs, that was truly special! The El Caminos got up shortly after for a mini-set and opened with the Sentinals’ Sunset Beach, a song I love, and one I thought was truly apropos given that Don The Beachcomber’s is IN Sunset Beach! They played a bunch of great classics and a few of their own songs, Ruiko and Kozi sitting in for a few songs, as well as the El Caminos guitarist’s girlfriend, who was a really great surf guitarist in her own right! At one point we had the all-girl Japanese surf band, with Kozi on drums, Ruiko and this other girl, the girlfriend, on guitars, and the El Caminos’ bass player. That was a lot of fun! Even Maxx sat in with the El Caminos as things were winding down, playing Eddie's Jag again and truly ripping it up (was it The Wedge? I'm not sure now). We had some drinks and relished the camaraderie of the evening, but the night was winding down and we needed to get back and pack for a fairly early departure in the morning (leaving the hotel at 7 am). It took a while to say goodbye to everybody, lots of great vibes – and a very nice and unexpected thing happened when Shigeo came up to me and said “The Madeira Intruder – very very good!” Whoa! So cool! (Very frustrating that we can’t have a real conversation – where’s that Babel fish already??)

We decided to pack that night, which took a while. Didn’t really sleep too well again, this time from all the overstimulation (happens every year), but we were off to LAX at 7, and made surprisingly good time getting there. All four of us were in different terminals, so we found a restaurant in that space-age building in the center of the airport where we could get some breakfast – I don’t think many people ever make it to that building, but it was quite cool! Had some food, laughed a lot again, and then it was time to say goodbye, with Danny’s plane leaving last and he keeping me company until I had to go past security. What a guy! Danny is truly one of the nicest people that I have ever known! I’m so glad he got that guitar as well as the recognition for all he’s done over the years! (Though we totally blew it by not remembering that it was Brian’s birthday that Monday. Happy belated birthday, Brian, and thank you once again for creating this community!)

All in all, an unforgettable weekend of great happiness and joy - and so much amazing music! Thank you all so much that were there and made it so special. I hope to see you all again next year! I have no idea how Jeff can possibly do better than this, but I'm sure he'll try! Good luck, my friend, and thank YOU in particular for all your hard work in making this happen! You're the best! Hope you're enjoying your new computer, and just maybe see you in Italy next summer!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
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The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Last edited: Aug 17, 2014 00:22:00

Brian and Ivan, great show reports! So thorough... I won't even need to go next year! (Just kidding, Jeff!!)

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Ivan, your writing is the next best thing to being there.