JoshHeartless
Joined: Jun 17, 2006
Posts: 1010
Bay City, Michigan
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Posted on Nov 11 2007 07:12 PM
Let's just have this thread about the discussion of a totally awesome sub-genre of surf!!
Personally, I've been loving this stuff more and more, especially after I got Checkered Flag. Personally I love cars, and I always have the urge to speed when i listen to songs about racing.
shall we start off with discussing what your fave 'Hot Rod' album is?
Like mentioned, I love Checkered Flag a lot, in fact it's probably my new favorite album, but I also think the Beach Boys do good Hot Rod stuff, even though it's not instro, so I definetely love Greatest Car Songs as well.
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MattCrunk
Joined: Apr 19, 2007
Posts: 92
Town Creek, Alabama
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Posted on Nov 11 2007 11:56 PM
Being a huge fan of both Surf and Rockabilly, as well as the hot rod/custom scene, I naturally LOVE Hot Rod Surf.
One album that comes to mind is Buddy Dughi's, well, "Hot Rod Surf." Buddy's stuff is pretty good unless he opens his mouth to try and sing.
(Sorry, Buddy, if you happen to be a member of this forum and read this, but your pipes just don't cut it. Stick to the intros.)
-MC
— Matt Crunk
Decatur, Alabama
Founder: North Alabama Surf Alliance (NASA)
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Surfabilly
Joined: Apr 21, 2006
Posts: 852
Connersville, Indiana, USA
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 06:22 PM
I too love surf and rockabilly, and hot rods. It's been discussed here before, that the three tend to go together, and if you go to enough car shows and music events/festivals, it's really hard to miss. The Hot Rod Hula Hop festival, in Columbus, Ohio would be a good example, with lounge, surf and rockabilly bands, and hot rods. I missed the first year, and wasn't able to attend this year, but I was pretty much in heaven, at Hot Rod Hula Hop II (August 2006)...Fast Cars (in the parking lot) & Loud Guitars (inside the tavern).
It may be sacreligious for surf, but I have a hot rod guitar, being my Fender So Cal Speed Shop Strat. One pickup (bridge humbucker), one volume control, but a hulluva lottta attitude...especially tuned C - C. This one is going to be used quite a bit, when I start recording my original tunes, and hopefully I might be somewhat forgiven by surf purists, since I call my instrumental style "surfabilly." The way I like to describe surfabilly is, "instrumental rockabilly with reverb attached."
My favorite hot rod album is 'Mustang' by The Zip Codes, and is one that my dad gave me when I was in junior high school. It's still at my dad's house, right now, so I can't tell offhand what the names of the songs are. Somewhere along the line, I'll buy a USB turntable, so I can record it to my computer and load it to my iPod. Somewhere along the line, I'll buy a copy of 'Finish Line Fever', by The Volcanos, which is another perfect example of the correlation between surf and hot rod instrumentals, and hot rods.
Matt
— Fast Cars & Loud Guitars!
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 06:30 PM
I really don't think there's such a thing as instrumental hot-rod music as distinct from instrumental surf music. On Checkered Flag you have The Wedge and Night Rider as the best-known instrumentals. They're both surf songs, plain and simple. Jim Messina & the Jesters' classic Dragsters album had nothing to do with cars or racing until the record company put car noises on the finished product, without the band's permission.
So, what do all of you think are the distinguishing characteristics of hot-rod instros?
Ivan
— Ivan
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MattCrunk
Joined: Apr 19, 2007
Posts: 92
Town Creek, Alabama
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 07:19 PM
Surfabilly
It may be sacreligious for surf, but I have a hot rod guitar, being my Fender So Cal Speed Shop Strat. . . . This one is going to be used quite a bit, when I start recording my original tunes, and hopefully I might be somewhat forgiven by surf purists . . .
Matt
Hey, I sometimes love to play surf on my Gretsch 6120 (Bigsby's are great for surf tremolo), and have even thought of trying an upright bass within a surf framework. Might be cool.
And , No, I don't see hot rod as being different from surf. Just a frequent recurring theme within surf.
— Matt Crunk
Decatur, Alabama
Founder: North Alabama Surf Alliance (NASA)
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25597
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 07:28 PM
I think of Hot Rod surf as being more R & B and Garagy styled.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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websurfer
Joined: May 14, 2007
Posts: 1753
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 08:12 PM
I instantly think Beach Boys--The Shutdown, 409, Little Deuce Coup etc. for hot rod. It does seem a little too squeaky clean for some of the grittier aspects of Hot Rod culture.
Born To Be Wild would be closer in spirit to it maybe, but the association with bikers is there.
Maybe some of the Davie Allen stuff that has been talked about/posted here.
Straight instro surf does fit Hot Rod like a glove, though. Look at the Surfites video. The MUSIC is still surf though, but the music has come to embody everything 60s Southern California Youth Culture, of which hotrods were a big part.
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CaptainSpringfield
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 4387
Under the Sun
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 08:14 PM
IvanP
I really don't think there's such a thing as instrumental hot-rod music as distinct from instrumental surf music.
This is an excellent point - I think in a lot of cases, hot-rod albums were recorded by session musicians and not real bands in an attempt to cash in on the Beach Boys' success. (Hondells, Jerry Cole's projects, etc.)
IvanP
So, what do all of you think are the distinguishing characteristics of hot-rod instros?
Loud samples of engine revs and the occasional tire screech. Oh, and awesome cover art, too:
If I had to pick a favorite, it'd be The Jesters' LP in a heartbeat, but for something that was actually intended to be a hot-rod album, I'd go with the Deuce Coupes' "Hotrodders' Choice." I think it's head and shoulders above the other two Del-Fi hot rod albums (the Darts and De-Fenders). The first Hondells album is really good, too. For something more recent, the "Hot Rods to Hell" comp on Blood Red has some really cool stuff, like Satan's Pilgrims' cover of "My Woodie."
-Warren
— That was excessively violent and completely unnecessary. I loved it.
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Chopper
Joined: Jul 13, 2006
Posts: 271
Pennsylvania
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 08:51 PM
I can't explain the difference in Hot Rod Instro music, but I know its there. Engine sounds and burnouts at the beginning, middle and end help lol. Like right before an awesome lead...a big burnout always helps  I think the beat may be a little more 'kick ass' too. You can hear my limited drum knowledge I'm sure. But the beat seems different most times, imo. Speed picking and 'spanish sound' (for lack of a better explanation at the moment) usually don't enter the equation. Very Americana (again, in my opinion). The title helps too ie. Wild Willys, Super Charged and Little Rail Job to name a few. Dynotones to Tormentos to Surfites to you about name it...had a car/song/title Hot Rod tune. With motor sounds. Its cool music, and is a close friend to surf I suppose because they were both born pretty closely together?
Its music that takes you to the drag strips of old, instead of the beach. Though for me a lotta surf takes me to the strip and vice versa.
My favorite are The Volcanos!
Next to them I'd go back to my childhood and say an album called Big Hot Rod by The Hot Rodders. Jerry Cole was/is The King of the Hot Rod Guitar. He was involved in a bunch of that type of music when it peaked in the 60s. He was also, from what his myspace page says (http://www.myspace.com/thejerrycole), involved in a bunch of other one off Hot Rod records, and having most of them in my collection I can assure you he has his own sound. Big Hot Rod by The Hot Rodders hardly left my turntable once I 'found' that sound (I was about eight). Its what makes me dig surf music to this day. That crazy beat man. Jerry Cole was behind that record, as well as management I suppose, since kids were eating that music up.
Deuce Coupes / Hot Rodders Choice comes to mind too. Jerry Cole.
Another group, for me, would have to be Ronny and the Daytonas. Vocals yea, but theres that sound, surf and rod. It rocks. The whole album. A favorite of mine that goes back to its release.
Sorry I'm sorta on the run here (kids to bed, homeworks finished, wife heading for work etc) but lets mention Gary Usher and drummer Hal Blaine too. Not a 'big' fan of either myself but big influences in the genere. Rat Fink too! lol. Oh yea, Green Onions was a great Hot Rod song. etc etc etc.
Heres Super Charged by The Hot Rodders. Dig 
*play loudly>
http://home.comcast.net/~afx11/SuperCharged.mp3
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WoodyJ
Joined: Apr 05, 2006
Posts: 1544
Bethlehem, GA
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 09:19 PM
My all-time favorite hot rod albums are these two, which I bought with lawn mowing money in the Summer of 1963. Still have them, too!
imageimage
I also like The Astronauts instro version of "Devil Driver's Theme" from Competition Coupe and of course, The Hearse is just plain brilliant! but IMO, most of their car songs with vocals are pretty awful. Sorry, Eddie K.
My vote for the all-time best hot rod instrumental song is The Volcanos "Deora".
— Jack Booth
(aka WoodyJ)
The Mariners (1964-68, 1996-2005)
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The Surge! (2004, 2011-2012)
Various non-surf bands that actually made money (1978-1990)
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goober
Joined: Jan 12, 2007
Posts: 317
California
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 09:28 PM
Vocals come to mind first for Hot Rod music: "Hey Little Cobra," "409," "Boss Baracuda," "GTO." Unlike surf guitar instrumentals, I don't think too many "hot rod" instrumentals made the charts. Here is a pic of my first album--still have it hanging on the wall.
image
Goober
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diceophonic
Joined: May 20, 2006
Posts: 2174
PacNW (Vancouver, Wa U.S.A.)
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 10:04 PM
WoodyJ
My all-time favorite hot rod albums are these two, which I bought with lawn mowing money in the Summer of 1963. Still have them, too!
imageimage
I also like The Astronauts instro version of "Devil Driver's Theme" from Competition Coupe and of course, The Hearse is just plain brilliant! but IMO, most of their car songs with vocals are pretty awful. Sorry, Eddie K.
My vote for the all-time best hot rod instrumental song is The Volcanos "Deora".
Woody The Astronauts vocal number "55 bird" is a cool vocal number from the "Competition Coupe" LP, I really dig that cut!
— -Kyle
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Last edited: Nov 12, 2007 23:55:22
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Nov 12 2007 10:52 PM
How is the Volcanos "Finish Line Fever" at all different from their "Surfquake" album? Musically, there's no difference - they just applied surf/volcano titles to one and hot-rod titles to the other. Exactly the same as what was done with instrumentals back in the sixties when the record execs thought that surf music was a dying fad and hot-rod music was the next big thing. The distinctive sound of hot-rod music that some people mentioned above has to do with the fact that most hot-rod albums were recorded by jazz studio cats that were just trying to emulate surf instrumentals - and fell short.
Ivan
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
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Klas
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 2294
Stockholm, Sweden
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Posted on Nov 13 2007 07:33 AM
CaptainSpringfield
A little bit of trivia: The white hot rod second from left is the same one as used on the Ventures in Space cover.
— T H E ✠ S U R F I T E S
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Klas
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 2294
Stockholm, Sweden
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Posted on Nov 13 2007 08:05 AM
Besides the budget label studio musician LPs of the mid 60's, I agree that most hot rod instros are basically just surf music with car related titles and added engine sounds. That said, I do think there's always tunes that will be better suited for car titles than others, just as some compositions will work better with surfing titles. So, when we came up with titles for our album tracks, we carefully tried to find the best fit.
http://wm03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:avfrxz85ldke
(Tracks 1, 7, 10 and 16 are all car related)
— T H E ✠ S U R F I T E S
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Rick_Volcano
Joined: Mar 05, 2006
Posts: 289
Detroit
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Posted on Nov 13 2007 09:09 AM
IvanP
How is the Volcanos "Finish Line Fever" at all different from their "Surfquake" album? Musically, there's no difference - they just applied surf/volcano titles to one and hot-rod titles to the other. Exactly the same as what was done with instrumentals back in the sixties when the record execs thought that surf music was a dying fad and hot-rod music was the next big thing.
That's exactly what we were going for. Kind of a tribute to the surf-to-hot-rod phenomena of the '60s. I'd agree that surf and hot rod are basically the same, ouside of the titles, car sounds and racing pics on the sleeves.
I think Chopper makes a good point about less "spanish" sounding stuff in the hot rod records.
Because it's a little later you might hear a fuzztone, which you wouldn't see on a '63 surf record.
But, yeah, I always thought they were the same music, packaged differently.
— The Volcanos
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JoshHeartless
Joined: Jun 17, 2006
Posts: 1010
Bay City, Michigan
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Posted on Nov 13 2007 10:15 AM
goober
Vocals come to mind first for Hot Rod music: "Hey Little Cobra," "409," "Boss Baracuda," "GTO." Unlike surf guitar instrumentals, I don't think too many "hot rod" instrumentals made the charts. Here is a pic of my first album--still have it hanging on the wall.
image
Goober
aahhh, goooood album. i think mostly everyone on this forum knows im a huge beach boys fan because i talk about 'em so damn much...
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JoshHeartless
Joined: Jun 17, 2006
Posts: 1010
Bay City, Michigan
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Posted on Nov 13 2007 10:23 AM
RickVolcano_
IvanP
How is the Volcanos "Finish Line Fever" at all different from their "Surfquake" album? Musically, there's no difference - they just applied surf/volcano titles to one and hot-rod titles to the other. Exactly the same as what was done with instrumentals back in the sixties when the record execs thought that surf music was a dying fad and hot-rod music was the next big thing.
That's exactly what we were going for. Kind of a tribute to the surf-to-hot-rod phenomena of the '60s. I'd agree that surf and hot rod are basically the same, ouside of the titles, car sounds and racing pics on the sleeves.
I think Chopper makes a good point about less "spanish" sounding stuff in the hot rod records.
Because it's a little later you might hear a fuzztone, which you wouldn't see on a '63 surf record.
But, yeah, I always thought they were the same music, packaged differently.
like also BTD mentioned in the last page, i would have to say that "hot Rod" seems to be more garagey. more downstrumming, less double picking and just more of a straighforward approach. i think there is only a suttle difference though, hence it only being a SUB-genre. i would honestly consider the volcanos more hot-rod sounding, even in the songs i've heard from surfquake, because of their garage influence.
totally off-subject, but ya feelin' better, Rick?
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25597
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Nov 13 2007 12:10 PM
Thanks for noticing my post Josh,
sometimes a paragraph or more isn't always needed to say what you want to contribute to a thread.
But I think that the one liners often get over looked.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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websurfer
Joined: May 14, 2007
Posts: 1753
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Posted on Nov 13 2007 01:12 PM
Chopper
I can't explain the difference in Hot Rod Instro music, heres Super Charged by The Hot Rodders. Dig
*play loudly>
http://home.comcast.net/~afx11/SuperCharged.mp3
That's a pretty wicked riff. If that's representative of hot-rod music it is definitely darker to my ears--more echo and fuzz/distortion--than surf.
But the biggest difference is the guitar break in the middle. STRING BENDS! To me this this kind of music owes more to Link Wray than Dick Dale.
Very very cool, too.
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