websurfer wrote:

Sonic_Blue wrote:

1. Surf Rider

Also, I don’t want to learn the Ventures.

ooops! Too late!

Lol! I didn’t know! I learned the Lively Ones version. Obviously I’m a big fan of the Pulp Fiction soundtrack!

It's good to know the classics so you can get in on a jam, but if you're in a band playing on a bill with other bands, you all don't want to be doing the same songs.

I've always tried to dig a little deeper when choosing covers. Some of mine...

The Venture: Driving Guitars, Yellow Jacket
Dick Dale: Taco Wagon, The Wedge
The Shadows: The Stranger, Dance On, Geronimo
The Lively Ones: Crazy Surf, Rik-a-Tik
The Astronauts: The Pier
PJ & The Galaxies: Big Shot, Vamanos, Lanky Bones
The Challengers: Hopscotch/ aka Channel Nine
The Readymen: Disintegration
The Breakers: Jetstream
This is one I discovered on YouTube recently, surprised to never have heard it on a compilation. On my permanent list now!
Conrad & The Hurricane Strings: Hurricane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyvg57pcDQs

Basically everything everyone already said above, all those known classics you'd expect.

BUT...

Chuckeds wrote:

It's good to know the classics so you can get in on a jam, but if you're in a band playing on a bill with other bands, you all don't want to be doing the same songs.

Exactly. Which is why I'll add the following, which I don't see overdone (or, in the case of several of them, done period). Some may not be technically blatant "surf", but they're from that era, they're instrumentals and sound great (and are fun to play).And none of them are hard or demanding (and the bass and rhythm parts are easy too, so the whole band can get their parts down without much trouble...in the case of "Scorpion", the rhythm guitar and bass literally play the same exact thing for 2:12; can't get much easier than that).

• "Harem Bells", by the Newport Nomads

• "Scorpion", by The Carnations

• "Custer's Stomp", by The Scouts

• "Retaliation" by The Chantays

• "Scatter Shield" by The Surfaris

• "Doheny Run" by The Velvetones

Last edited: Sep 19, 2020 21:18:37

This is all great. I especially like Chuckeds list.
I like to add some things to my set, not necessarily classic surf tunes but work well
Sleepwalk (I'm partial to Larry Carlton's version. Would love to get tab for Junior Brown's version used in Better Call Saul. I have a buddy who plays lap steel so maybe we can work on it together). It's slow tempo, some nice bends and harmonics.
Telstar (I like the Hank Marvin & the Shadows arrangement). Hey, it was #1 in 1962.
I found an arrangement of The Lonely Bull on Ultimate Guitar that sounds pretty nice. Change of pace and fantastic melody.

I'll put a setlist together with some slower tempo and some uptempo. (No longer play Misirlou in public... but) Mr Moto is always a hit.
I have a Boss RC300 looper and will put verse chords on track 1 and chorus chords on track 2, then play the melody, switching between as appropriate. Learning to use looper is really good for timing

I believe that the main thing is to find the tunes that will inspire you to write your own stuff. There are just no tunes a musician SHOULD know) I know great guitar players that play great surf music but cannot play Surf Rider or Walk Don’t Run even for the sake of their lives.

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

I’ve payed in bar bands, surf bands, rockabilly bands, and jazz combos for 35 years. I am currently playing in a tiki band, and we play a mix of vocal and instrumental exotica, surf, and island music. I have made this observation.

Based on audience tips, reaction, and comments, I find my average listener will only recognize about 6-7 instrumentals.
Wipe Out
Walk Don’t Run
Miserlou
Peter Gunn
Pipeline
Tequila
Sleep Walk

You might be able to add James Bond or another movie/tv theme, like Hawaii 5-0. Depends on the crowd for recognition.

Hey, I love playing others, don’t get me wrong. From the stage, I am always gauging audience reaction, and I find they just tune out on anything else. Telstar, Honky took, rumble, endless summer, Latin’a - all great tunes, but becoming lost on the collective consciousness. While we should keep doing them to keep them alive, there is an art to set list creation in order to hold audience attention.

just my $0.02. Ymmv

-

Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 02:24:52

Start simple:

Morpheus (Toads)
Heart Beat (Avenger VI)
Pipeline (Chantays)
Theme for young lovers (Shadows)
Rebel Rouser (Duane Eddy)

Then, if you want to get RSI real fast:

Margaya (Fender IV - have yet to hear the first cover of this one that comes actually close to the original feel of Randy Holden's playing - you prolly need to tune your strings into an open D, which NONE of the covers I heard so far actually do)
Misirlou (Richard A. Monsour)
Bombora (Original Surfaris)
Crash (Creations)

And finally, if you think you can actually play:

Everybody Up (Fender IV)
Ali Baba (Dave + Customs)
The Victor (Richard A. Monsour)
Cor Stein rides the wild (Apemen)
And basically anything Ivan Pongracic has had a hand in.

Albums:
_Introducing; Impala '59; An Evening with; Herr Magnatech Bittet Zum Tanz; Europa

Changing label.

https://magnatech.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/magnatechmusic
https://www.magnatech-music.com

Last edited: Dec 07, 2022 17:58:42