January Birthdays 
here's my review of this weekend -
SATURDAY, April 28th
first thing saturday morning, after days of making sure I didn't crush any fingers at work, I smashed my right thumb in my suitcase tow-handle. Luckily, just a small blister formed.
We (Maui, Mad Dog and I) arrived in California on Saturday Afternoon, and Tim (HBKahuna) and John Benton of the Lively Ones (and Bob Berryhills Surfaris) picked us up. We had lunch, and hung out for a while at Tim's while I re-grouped after the flight - I have a small motion sickness problem, and don't exactly love to fly.
later, Sniper Matt (our Bass player) and Hootie Mcfly ( his squeeze) and all of us went to BTD's house for a BBQ - Good stuff! I got to meet several people and met Dusty Watson who was there. Turns out that Dusty has bad elbows, and when he was in Denver a few weeks ago, he met with Hot Chick Drummer Rikki Styxx (from 'Get 3 coffins Ready') who is also a physical therapist when she's not banging things with a stick. Dusty says she did wonders for his elbows. Tim almost got me to Heimlich him during a run-in with a piece of steak.
then it was off to the world Famous Doll Hut - a total rock-a-billy club. Small, but cosy.
The Glasgow Tiki Shakers went first - Wow, they were good. I've met Bill, and Joyce once before, and they are very quite, nice people. they really shocked everyone with their set - it was tight, and powerful. their drummer Bruce is a lefty, and was excellent. first left handed drummer I've ever seen.
next, The Aquasonics - I got to play out of the fabled brownface Showman owned by outerwaves' J.R. We were short a Reverb tank, and Tom of the Neptunes lent me his Holy Grail. The amp is incredible sounding - far more powerful than my Showman at home. BTD asked me to turn up a little, and I guess i got carried away - I swear, i only turned it up a click. We Were stupid loud - far too loud, really. John Benton got up and played "Surf rider", "Mr. Moto", and "Mexico" with us. That was cool for me - it was a pretty good set I think. I got to meet Doug, who came in from Reno just for the shows over the weekend - he's a true surf fan for sure!
Then, Outerwave - GREAT GREAT GREAT! I loved these guys. when I think Traditional Surf Band, this is the band I will think of in the future. Perfect sound, perfect set list -
After our set, we were pretty much shot from the long day of travel and such, and decided to pack it in, so we only heard two Neptunes songs. We knew they were playing again the next day, so see the section about Sunday below.
SUNDAY April 29th
The Huntington Beach International Surf Museum Pier Plaza show started at 11. We got there at 11:01, and were greeted with the Plank Shakers playing. They were cool - Marty Tippins told some horribly bad jokes in between a bunch of great surf songs - their version of "Sleepwalk" really stuck out as really great.
Glasgow Tiki Shakers were next, and played another great set -
the Neptunes were next, with a mostly new lineup i hear. They were great - everyone said they may have been the highlight of the day. I know they were the highlight for me on Sunday. Lots of complex melodies, and cool sounds. they are a 5 piece now, and the sax really added a ton to the songs. I could hear each instrument play it's own distinct part. i could tell that Tom was having a great time playing. He was bouncing around and digging the crowd response. His new amp sounds great - and i was a little miffed when i found out that the Holy Grail pedal i used the night before was the only reverb he used on Sunday. i couldn't tell he didn't have a tank. it sounded really full and big and wet. They were truly excellent.
The Flowmasters were next - I liked them a lot. Gerry used the Gomez Surfer Amp, and it sounded great. I also liked the keyboard sounds that Doug Forbes added. I liked how Gerry and Doug's guitar matched. The Flowmasters get the award for best dressed and matching band of the day. Their version of "Guns don't argue" was cool -
The Surfaris - It was cool seeing Jim Fuller take a little bigger part of the show - he played, and sang too. Paul Johnson played well as usual.
the Aquasonics - I got to play through yet another great amp - this time it was one of John Bentons Brownface Dual Showmans. I used HBKahuna's '64 vintage tank too. it sounded great to me! the crowd was great, and I know we all had a great time.
Afterwards, I got the opportunity to go to dinner with Linda from the HBISM ( and the lady responsible for giving us the chance to play this gig) her husband John, John Benton, Frank from the Eliminators, and Paul Johnson and his girlfriend, Sheri?(sorry I forgot her name) THAT was cool. Linda is about the nicest person you could ever hope to meet. She told me about her work for the museum, and the concert series she's put on for the last 3 years. I pretty much made an ass of myself with Paul Johnson by not asking any good questions, but we talked about the Duo-Tones for quite a while, and he talked about a few projects he has on the horizon. Paul enjoyed his meal, I made sure to ask him that.
Monday, after breakfast with BTD, Tim took us on a little sightseeing trip to famous surf and surf music spots. we saw where the Rendezvous Ballroom was, where DD lived near the Wedge, and we saw the world famous "Wedge" - it was flat..... we also went by the HBISM and saw the new exhibit on the Beach Boys and talked to Linda some more - she sure is nice. Then it was off to Chronic Taco and the airport.
So - there you go - a great weekend! We had a great time - a dream come true for me! i got to see 6 great bands, and I met a ton of great people. I also got to meet Joelman, talked (briefly) to TikiTena, and saw JeffLeites from a distance. I met the famous Baja Marty, and Dario Gomez of Gomez amps.
Thanks to Tim and his family, BTD, Outerwave, Neptunes, GTS, Linda, the HBISM, John Benton, and everyone that helped us to make this happen!
Chris and the Aquasonics
—"You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
)
(OK, mostly in very weird venues, where everybody gets that reaction.)
