No. That was 14 years ago.

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quite the contrary... I think it helped spawn a solid and interesting new wave of surf music.

• Jamie
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I am not sure how you would blame the movie Pulp Fiction. If anything I would think that it may have drawn more people to surf music. I know that is the case for me. When Pulp Fiction came out I really did not know that anyone besides my self liked surf music, well possible some people my parents age who where into surf music pre British invasion.

A few months after seeing pulp fiction i started hearing a lot of the tracks like Misirlou in bars on the radio etc. Prior to that it was the rare wipe out on the radio or really poor cover in a bar.

As far as weakened state if you are pointing out that the Surf Music scene does not get as much coverage any hype as America Idol or Britney Spears thats apples and oranges. Mass marketed trash vs niche music scene.

uhhhhhh ummmmmm I dunnooooooo
seems to me that Klas's post was to just raise discussion.
everybody always talks about the great surd crash of 97.
well thats when I got into it. and its been steady or more and more every year since then.
sure not al bands are as great as some of the great 90's bands that have stopped playing.
but not everybody can be a Mozart.

of course I am at ground zero for surf shows.
so my perspective may be skewed.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

I don't think there's anything weak about the over-all state surf music right now.
Even if there was, it certainly wouldn't be because of a 14-year old movie.

Hell, we just had 4 surf bands play the other night and not one of them played Miserlou, Surf Rider or any of the other non-Pulp standards for that matter.

Paul
Atomic Mosquitos
Bug music for bug people is here!
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Pulp Fiction was useful in the sense that it gave a frame of reference to millions who did not know that 'surf guitar' ever existed. Lets face it, hundreds and hundreds of surf cd's have been issued over the years, most of them hard to get and out of print, hundreds more bands never even release any material, and yet the marketing mavens continue to sell anything on TV with surf music largely produced by studio musicians. Friends of Dean Martinez are smart cause there agent represents them with Indy film producers. That is a market that should be HUGE for surf composers. But it isn't. Hmmm...

I suspect that most fans are themselves musicians. I suspect that most fans are male. I suspect that most fans are either middle aged or pushing middle age and wear a lot of Hawaiian shirts. Of course, this is just an observation from live performances I have attended.

I think the worst thing for the micro sub culture, the most pernicious, harmful thing, is the 'classic' cover band doing early 60's material, that also either releases a cd with a lot of cover material that's been done 1000 times already, or else they don't release at all. If that's your bag, cool, just don't kid yourself that you are evolving the surf music culture. I applaud the guys writing their own tunes and getting out their music. They are the ones who are keeping the form and the flame alive and breathing new life into it and they are creating some strange hybrids. I notice a trend over time with a lot of bands where the compositions inch ever closer towards 'lounge', or even gasp, jazz. Case in point, 3 Balls or Fire. I welcome the experimentation, mixing exotica, spy, spaghetti, space, surf, with rock and country and jazz and world music and I loathe the me too copycat bands who want to look like sound like play like the Challengers, the Astronauts, The Lively Ones etc. To me there is nothing lamer than a bunch of guys wearing bowling shirts playing Pipeline. Well, maybe a few things...

The thing about Japanese culture is that they were relatively isolated on their island for hundreds and hundreds of years. They acquired a lot of culture from their early sea-trading partners, and learned to embrace and copy exactly the forms of other cultures. It became a defining cultural characteristic. And to an extent, you can grow your culture by copying other cultures. You're expanding it, but you aren't evolving it. You can go into Tokyo and hear jazz music in different clubs from every decade of the 20th century, or each French food as if it was Paris. Likewise, look at the Eleki bands that copied the Ventures to the extent that they dressed like them on the covers of their LP's, right down to the shoe laces, belt buckles, and postures? That's is pure Japanese. But Americans are inventors and innovators. Everything goes into the melting pot. So get out there and invent. Don't imitate. Define yourself in your own terms, not in Nokies, not in Dick's. That will keep it interesting. Dick Dale was no copycat. That's were I'm coming from.

Seamoor Glas
The Iterators

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 17:23:59

I suspect that most fans are themselves musicians. I suspect that most fans are male. I suspect that most fans are either middle aged or pushing middle age and wear a lot of Hawaiian shirts. Wink Of course, this is just an observation from live performances I have attended.

My God, I've been reduced to a type! I only wore a Hawaiian shirt to one show, and that was Luau Night at the Lava Lounge. Still, that describes most shows I've attended. The Baja Cantina was an exception. Too bad they are no longer an option.

Spud
Funny you should bring this up Klas, I was thinking just the other day how strong the 'Surf music' scene is at the moment, have a go at how many bands are in the States, then your area of the world, Spain, England, they're everywhere.

Yes, there are a lot more bands today but the number of fans seems to be less than the people playing in the bands. Classic example that something isn't well.

Nebula3
I would lay the blame on unstructured, meaningless noodle-factory bands leaving a horrible first impression.

Yeah, most of those wouldn't be around if it wasn't for Pulp Fiction.

verbaddict
I am not sure how you would blame the movie Pulp Fiction. If anything I would think that it may have drawn more people to surf music.

Yes, it definitely did initially but the aftermaths of the movie also made earlier fans lose interest in the then current scene. And then when the average Joe had jumped on to the next thing, there weren't many left.

verbaddict
As far as weakened state if you are pointing out that the Surf Music scene does not get as much coverage any hype as America Idol or Britney Spears thats apples and oranges. Mass marketed trash vs niche music scene.

I would only like to see more coverage and hype for surf music within the right contexts which of course doesn't include anything mainstream.

IvanP
I think '08 will be the best year for surf music in ten years.

Very possible but I would still call the current state weak.

RickshawRecords
At first, it was cool... Lots of gigs for surf bands and lots of original music

I agree, our band back then got a lot of exposure due to the popularity of the movie and its soundtrack. We were on national TV and played big rock festivals but after a couple of years it all started to feel like the scene had become totally watered down because of all the mainstream attention.

Steve-O-San
'Ever seen Pulp Fiction?' is the only way I know how to describe the surf genre to the uninitiated.

I wouldn't bother. Either you know about surf music or you don't.

T H E ✠ S U R F I T E S

Yeah, I definitely don't see the current state of surf in a weakened state based upon the quality of the bands. I mean we are losing Laika, but we've got The Madeira, The Surfites, The Barbwires, Los Twang! Marvels, PDM, The Nebulas, The Ghastly Ones, The Fathoms, The Thunderchiefs, and many many more (sorry for those that I ddin't mention, this is just a representative list). These and many other current bands are simply stunning in quality.

Now strong audience attendance, merchandise sales, media coverage, etc is another issue IMHO. I don't expect too much in this area though, as I've been playing in surf bands for the past 15 years and it is what it is: Cyclical to a certain extent. As long as the current crop of bands is strong, I'm good.

I think Pulp Fiction did more good than harm though. The opening scene ending with Miserlou is pretty killer. The heroined out car ride along side Bullwinkle Part II is equally cool.

Ryan
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