Is there a comprhensive book that covers the roots, history, equipment and development of the scene?

I'm not looking for a guitar book but something along the lines of "please kill me" and it's fantastic aproach to punk rock.

Thanks for helping out

I read Surf Beat a while back. It's not perfect but it was ok. I have yet to read Jon Blair's book though it's definitely focused on first wave: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1467133205/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Jonpaul Balak is working on a book. Maybe the Corona Virus is giving him some extra time to make it happen!

Storm Surge of Reverb: Surf & Instro Radio

I read both "Surf Beat" books: Martin Schmidt's is more of a reference guide and has well researched chapters on bands from various eras, the overlap with other genres and cultural phenomena, labels and magazines, as well as some basics on gear.

The book by Kent Crowley is a attempt to write a history of surf music in the 60s and in my opinion tried a little to hard to portrait surf music as thee essential forerunner of later developments in rock music, especially the work of Frank Zappa (who worked as an engineer at PAL studio, where the Tornadoes and other surf bands recorded). And often these connections seem a little overemphasized to me... (even more because there are a fair share of factual errors and misattributions in the book).

The best book on 60s surf music in my opinion is Bob Dalley's "Surfing Guitars", which also is the closest to an oral history as Dalley conducted a lot of interviews with the musicians as the main source for his book. (I read the second edition.)

Another book, which I very much enjoyed was John Blair's "Southern California Surf Music, 1960-1966", which mostly consists of photographies from the 60s and really gives a good impression, of the overall optical aesthetic of surf music during its first years.

Furthermore, the articles, which appeared in Bomp! magazine, are a good read:
https://surfguitar101.com/forums/topic/32005/

Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!

I love s John Blair's "Southern California Surf Music, 1960-1966
But there more photos than text, and I’d love to read something else on surf history

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

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

I did read Surf Pop Culture and really enjoyed it, but it's not quite as focused on the music. Great artwork in it though, and that's a big part of what it's about. I'd recommend it.

Storm Surge of Reverb: Surf & Instro Radio

Thanks for the heads up, John! Indeed almost all of McParland's books are available as PDFs:
https://payhip.com/CMusicBooks

He even published a new book comparing American and Australian surf music last November, which he summarizes on his blog:
https://cmusicbooks.wordpress.com/

Maybe it's time to get that ebook reader after all...

Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!

Last edited: Apr 14, 2020 12:13:49

simoncoil wrote:

Thanks for the heads up, John! Indeed almost all of McParland's books are available as PDFs:
https://payhip.com/CMusicBooks

He even published a new book comparing American and Australian surf music last November, which he summarizes on his blog:
https://cmusicbooks.wordpress.com/

Maybe it's time to get that ebook reader after all...

OMG! It’s a treasury!!!

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

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

John wrote:

If you're looking for genre books w/o lots of photos and tons more text, you simply cannot go wrong with either "Surf Music U.S.A." or his wonderfully detailed bio of Dick Dale, "Surf Beat," both by Stephen McParland.

Yes, he's in Australia and, yes, postage is horrible to ship a book from there to here. BUT, if you want to read histories of this music and era, how much are you willing to spend for a detailed, quality read?

And, yes, his books are very hard to find here. You have to search and be patient. It's possible that both of the above books are available in downloadable, unlocked PDF format. If there's any serious interest in getting either of those two books, or any of the myriad of books McParland has written on this subject (including his incredibly huge and detailed biography of Gary Usher), I can ask if PDFs are available or even if copies of those two books are still available and report back. If not, eBay...and an endless search for other books that don't yet exist.

Thank you so much John! This looks like the book I've been looking for. While give the search a go before going the PDF route. Have always prefered reading a real book.

Thanks again to everyone who helped out!

A hilarious read - very enjoyable. Kudos to Mel and the rest.

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I am now playing trumpet with Prince Buster tribute band 'Balzac'

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF