I first listened to The Ventures trying to fill out my instrumental tunes, which at the time consisted entirely of The Shadows…

I picked them up on a compilation cassette of the “Great Instrumental Hits of the 60s” variety which turn up everywhere; Walk Don’t Run and Perfidia being the included tracks. My first full-on Ventures purchase was a cassette bootleg cassette from a souk in Kuwait City. I was on school holiday in 1984 and visiting my Dad who was seconded to the air force out there.

It took me a while to get into them; there was a country feel to many of the tunes and there was an echo missing I associated with guitar instrumentals, but teenage perseverance soon had me enjoying them as much as The Shadows.
When I owned my first CD player, two of the first CDs bought were “The Ventures EP Collection” and “The Ventures meet Bobby Vee”. I was a not a very cool early 20-something in the 90s!! Only last year I had my VHS of the concerts The Ventures in LA 1980 (I think), The Ventures 30th Anniversary and Beloved Invaders all transferred to DVD…It’s packaged now in a really cheesy cover from the shop covered in photos of puppies, flowers and grinning families. I’ll have to do something about that.

RIP Mr Edwards and thanks for all the musical memories whatever era we were born in.

Tim O
oestmann guitar

tunes

clips

Man look at those Bell Bottoms! My Father met the Ventures in Holiday Inn where they were playing a show whilst being a traveling member of a band himself in the mid 60's. Said they were all very nice guys.

Jeremy

Last edited: Mar 13, 2018 09:32:26

I agree Chris. Something about his playing very much reminded me of Chet Atkins and the simplicity with which he would rip out those runs is still amazing by any standard. He had a very unique style that will most likely never be rivaled. He was able to make a very simple guitar part sound very musical, I think that was his essence. And I think he was very much one of the progenitors of surf.

Jeremy

Last edited: Mar 13, 2018 11:05:59

Nokie was a remarkable talent - a gentle giant and my (and I suspect most other Ventures' fans') favorite lead guitarist of the Ventures. I'm so glad I got to see him play with them back in the fall of '08 - he was still phenomenal! Such a humble, soft-spoken man that never fully got his due in terms of the recognition of his immense talent or his influence. Nokie's playing was obviously an inspiration for MANY, me among them. The Ventures In Space album in particular was a big influence on me when starting the Space Cossacks. Right from the beginning of the band we played "War of the Satellites" and "Journey to the Stars", as well as "Diamond Head", "Walk, Don't Run '64", and ""The Fugitive". I never tried to closely copy Nokie's style as he had an almost country-music technique, not really possible to emulate on a guitar with heavy strings. But I deeply loved - love - his playing, it's a thing of true beauty, even at its rawest.

Here is my humble little tribute to Nokie, playing three of the above-mentioned songs, and doing the best job I can in replicating them as closely as possible. I even wore my Ventures t-shirt, probably for the first time in 20 years! (Who knew shirts shrink just lying in a drawer. ) My apologies to the Mosrite loves for not using one, but I have a good excuse: I don't own one! A Strat will have to do. (It's probably what Nokie used to record a lot of these songs, anyway! )

R.I.P. Nokie, and thank you for all the music. You made this world a MUCH better place.

Ivan
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So true. Even those who don't play surf guitar owe him a debt of gratitude. Back in my day you got a guitar and tried to figure out Ventures tunes. I'm still figuring out Ventures tunes!

RIP Nokie

eddiekatcher wrote:

Nokie, Bob, Mel, and Don wrote the book on this.......

Their influence on my generation of guitarists, and many of those who followed is frankly, incalculable.

So much of his playing has been preserved for the ages.......

We are all so lucky.

God Speed, Nokie.

Eddie Katcher, forever grateful.

All opinions expressed by this poster are well thought out and based on actual experience and/or scientific experimentation, except for those which are knee-jerk reactions or good sounding fantasies.

Almost 6 years ago Nokie came to my area on the Oregon coast to play a small outdoor festival. I got there too late to hear him, but luckily he was also playing a benefit the next day to cover a young man's medical costs. That's when I got an idea of his heart and generosity. I understand he had roots around here at one time, and it's obvious his presence touched a lot of people. My only regret is that I passed up several opportunities to meet him.

Anyway, he was still an amazing player and covered a wide range of music, including lots of old Ventures classics. He seemed to truly enjoy playing for us. He was funny, and humble, yet confident in who he was.

Not long after that he had a serious heart ailment while in Japan and I realized that I may never have another chance to see him again. But what a legacy and musical treasure trove he left us.

IvanP wrote:

Nokie was a remarkable talent - a gentle giant and my (and I suspect most other Ventures' fans') favorite lead guitarist of the Ventures. I'm so glad I got to see him play with them back in the fall of '08 - he was still phenomenal! Such a humble, soft-spoken man that never fully got his due in terms of the recognition of his immense talent or his influence. Nokie's playing was obviously an inspiration for MANY, me among them. The Ventures In Space album in particular was a big influence on me when starting the Space Cossacks. Right from the beginning of the band we played "War of the Satellites" and "Journey to the Stars", as well as "Diamond Head", "Walk, Don't Run '64", and ""The Fugitive". I never tried to closely copy Nokie's style as he had an almost country-music technique, not really possible to emulate on a guitar with heavy strings. But I deeply loved - love - his playing, it's a thing of true beauty, even at its rawest.

Here is my humble little tribute to Nokie, playing three of the above-mentioned songs, and doing the best job I can in replicating them as closely as possible. I even wore my Ventures t-shirt, probably for the first time in 20 years! (Who knew shirts shrink just lying in a drawer. ) My apologies to the Mosrite loves for not using one, but I have a good excuse: I don't own one! A Strat will have to do. (It's probably what Nokie used to record a lot of these songs, anyway! )

R.I.P. Nokie, and thank you for all the music. You made this world a MUCH better place.

Great sounds in such a fitting tribute! -Marty

"Hello Girls!"

Noel wrote:

I think Nokie Edwards is the Johnny Appleseed of guitar. He planted guitarists all around the world.

This.

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.

Here's a cool clip from before he and Bob switched -

Bill S._______