There is a brand new article on the current surf music scene written by Steven Jurgensmeyer: https://medium.com/@AllMusicBooks/surfs-up-8733c3a81127
It features extensive quotes by Ferenc, Lorenzo , Frankie of the Volcanics, James Bacchi AKA Jim Tikiyaki of Tikiyaki 5-0 and the Tikiyaki Orchestra, Nicole Damoff of the Surfrajettes, and me. And it's REALLY good. Steve clearly put in a lot of effort to understand this music and our scene. I am truly impressed.

Ivan
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Wow that was a really good article. Good job everyone involved.

Danny Snyder

Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
_
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Good read! I'm sure a LOT more great stuff was said than was included.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

I.think it's pretty great that an outsider to our scene took this much time and put in this much effort to understand this music. He really did a fantastic job, I think, captured it extremely well! More evidence that surf music is once again on the way up, up, up...and awaaaayyy!

bigtikidude wrote:

Very good and compelling read.
Hate to be a wet blanket but A mention of SG101 Forum and the Convention would have been nice.

First of all, happy birthday, Jeff! Second, as Noel said, there was a lot I wrote that wasn't included, and I'm sure that was the case for the others, too. I can tell you, though, that I DID talk about the convention and Reverb Nation a fair amount last week on the Surfabilly Freakout radio show, where Jet Sterling had me as a guest for the full hour. I just uploaded the full show to SoundCloud, so check it out and share it, if you think it's worth it!
https://soundcloud.com/ivan-pongracic-1/surfabilly-freakout-ivan-pongracic-interview-10-4-18

Ivan
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Last edited: Oct 10, 2018 11:38:38

I got a good understanding of lead guitar basics from surf music. The "Play Guitar with the Ventures" instructional albums were a good start since the web, instructional books, DVDs, Youtube, etc. were not yet in existence.
I'm glad I took this route. Music teachers back in the day usually just gave lip service to guitar, if that - they mostly only knew horn and accordion.
In comparison to surf, the music of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and other 60's pop was easy to learn. You can flub a chord; you really can't flub a lead guitar line in surf music. So a discipline is learned.

And the major draw for me -
Plucking the top strings of an electric guitar with heavy reverb and some serious sound waves from a good amp is just a TOUGH sound - still is.

J Mo'

Not every article about surf music needs to mention every event and website. Of course SG101 and the Con are major parts of our culture, but this article isn't an overview, just one person's take on a scene new to him. Seems to me the article is more focused on our culture and style rather than the daily nuts and bolts.
As DeathTide said, "It makes it seem like surf is on the rise" - I agree with this in many ways, but most importantly that outsiders are getting interested enough to write articles. So let's all keep putting out the high quality product, and the rest of the world will start to notice.

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Last edited: Mar 10, 2020 15:01:22

That's a great article, wonderful exposure for the genre.
I thought the choice of interviewees was excellent.
Thanks for sharing this.

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I apologize, I didn’t mean to cause any strife. I loved the article, and I think it’s pretty wild that it was written here in 2018! I mean, how many other articles are there about surf music?

I took pause at the article’s claim that The Beatles killed surf. Really? That claim assumes surf was destined for near-eternal “mainstreaminess” which I disagree with. I was not alive in the 60s, but surf kind of follows all that music in the sense that it endures. Surf is especially cool to me because it once was very mainstream, but for five decades it’s been almost exclusively underground.

ElMonstroPorFavor wrote:

I'm kinda glad they omitted this website. The article makes it sound like surf music is a cool thing people do to have fun. Show up to a show, enjoy. Mention a central website and it sounds like a weird internet subculture that you have to get involved in to enjoy.

That’s an interesting thought! I can see how it might seem that way, but for me it’s exactly the opposite. I think mentioning this place would give “newbies” an online place to start (and end!).

It took me 12 years to find this place, so that’s where I’m coming from. I am not one who delights in hours of Internetting, so it’s nice to just be told where to start.

surferjoemusic wrote:

Guys I am sorry to say it’s just an article. Stop arguing about that because it’s getting ridiculous. I have seen tons of articles good and badly done, this is well done and surely omits something, like every article ever been written. I find it’s good that someone even “remembers” about surf music nowadays so I am grateful for anything coming out.

Me too! But c’mon man, no one is arguing. It’s an online discussion, and I am grateful to be able to read everyone’s thoughts. Including yours!

surferjoemusic wrote:

If every article would mention the same things and talk about the same things all the time there would be no need of new articles. No?!

Right, kinda like how reading ten posts stating “great article!” is hysterically exciting.

Also - point me to two articles that mention this site, please.

I’m just so god damn happy I found this place, I want to share it with the world!

Daniel Deathtide

Last edited: Oct 11, 2018 17:00:01

Saying that The Beatles killed surf music overdramatizes what actually happened. I started playing guitar buying Ventures' records in 1963 and listened keenly to pop music. Surf music became merely overlooked, not killed, in favor of The British Invasion with its long hair, suits, and screaming girls. We were blitzed by The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, Jerry and the Pacemakers, Herman's Hermits, Freddy and The Dreamers, Chad and Jeremy, The Yardbirds, and other British bands as well as the Beatles.

They literally changed how American men wore their hair. Before: hair greased with Wildroot, Brylcreem or similar. After: long clean hair. Boys weren't called "greasers" for nothing. You the reader have probably never heard of Brylcreem. The Brit bands changed the social acceptability of marijuana and premarital sex. When the Rolling Stones introduced the fuzz tone with "Satisfaction", pop music changed forever and clean reverby twangy guitar faded from popularity. Surf music is now for guitar connoisseurs.

By the way...the Showtime Cable TV documentary special about Eric Clapton shows him referring to the Shadows' guitar playing as simple in comparison to his. That had me rolling on the floor laughing at Clapton's illusions.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Last edited: Oct 12, 2018 22:13:59