I know guys who never got a decent day job their entire lives because they sacrificed everything to the 'rock band' dream--and it simply did not happen for them. Not the way they hoped for. And many of them had the right stuff. They were just--unlucky. Just because you may never sell a painting for what a Jackson Pollock goes for is no reason to put away your paints and your canvas.

Well in a lot of ways I'm one of those guys, but I have no complaints about it. I never have and probaby never will be able to afford to buy a new car for example. I make a hand-to-mouth living from playing live, teaching and recording sessions.

In the early '80s the band I was with got a deal with, at first Decca, then a second single on MCA, but we didn't get a hit and MCA dropped the contract.

There's no point in being bitter - the week our second single was released it was one of 640 released in the UK that week. Only a few of those hit the charts and it wasn't very good anyway! (although I still like the Decca one and I see it's now worth about 12-15$ on record collecting sites ... I have a few I could sell ... signed ...lol). I got to do a lot of fun stuff like sessions on national radio, a little television and a bit of touring other countries etc. ....... and I had a terrific time.

Anyhow - I'm 51 now and I can't say I regret spending my life doing what I love even if I never 'made it'. I have no problem with it,

http://www.myspace.com/thepashuns

Youth and enthusiasm are no match for age and treachery.

From my point of view guys I do NOT care much if a band is playing covers or not in a live show.
Ok I can agree with Rickshaw for what concerns the recordings, we need new original stuff and an evolution of the genre. But I have to say that surf music is a musical genre, yes, but, more than everything, it is a style of life, it is a concept, it is a way to understand certain rhythms of rock 'n' roll. That is why to me there is not a precise definition for it. You feel it. It doesn't matter if the reverb is present or not. It doesn't matter the amount of "dwell" you put on.

Playing live always means to show to the public what you have, your ability and your "feeling" about surf music, in this case. How you see it.
That doesn't mean to give people ONLY what they want, just the famous Pulp Fiction covers, you propose YOUR music, your originals, BUT you have to let them enter your brain and your style while you are playing. So you need to stay in contact with them with some familiar tunes... too.

Remember most of the people EVERYWHERE do not know what the hell surf music mean. Remember also old bands never did completely instrumentals shows (Astronauts, Dick Dale), even if with more or less success. Sometimes vocals are much appreciated (in a live show) because that all help to keep the spirit high during the performance and continue keeping the public involved in what you are doing. To drive the show the way you want it. It is a mix of ingredients that makes the show fun, and not boring.

So to me there are different points of view, and they are all good.
And I am a purist of this music, I love the old stuff. I listen to the old sound. That is why I like the Eliminators or the Bradipos IV. That is the surf music sound... to me. But again, it's me, not you. But if I'm at a show and the surf band plays Surfin' or Swingin' & Surfin' or a Jan & Dean song I'm not getting bored at all. I love it, it's groovy.

I don't think in the past nobody took care of all these datails. They just got on stage, plug their guitars and play. No sound checks, no perfection. That's rock 'n' roll. That's the Chuck Berry way.

So, going back to the point, Pulp Fiction helped this all a lot.
Fortunately Tarantino put the songs in the right "wild" contest, but it's true that not only The Eliminators got benefits from the movie, but Dick Dale first and the ENTIRE surf music community got benefits from it.
If there was not Pulp Fiction I would not had been able to book Dick in Italy, or the Surfaris, of the Trashmen, or the Beach Boys, or the Slacktone, or any other band we booked there in the past 10 years.

Eliminators --> Comanche: I didn't know about the "love song" definition. To me personally Comanche is one of the most aggressive songs ever. Like all the Centurians stuff. It's wild, it's dirty, it's sexy... but it's elegant. Again, it is not the cover or the original, is the way you feel it.

If a band hasn't produced anything for 20 years that doesn't mean at all they haven't pumped the genre. They have helped keeping the attention on surf music in general, contributing in the promotion of who produces new material.
I can tell you if the Pipelines (my old band) would not have been playing Beach Boys music for over 10 years, it would not have been possible to book the BB in Italy at all. I used the local popularity of the Pipelines as an "excuse" with some sponsors... and NOT only for the Beach Boys and not only for vocal groups...
From a booking point of view, being known for a "commercial" aspect of beach music (the Beach Boys music) have been very useful to support surf music and rock 'n' roll. But the Pipelines have never produced any albums. Strange, eh?

Records are good, but live shows are better to keep this forgotten surf music alive...

Lorenzo

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

Seamoor

I gave it up for 20 years, and did other things with other instruments, other styles of music. It took me a while to reconnect with my early childhood instincts, and rediscover simply the pure joy of playing for it's own sake.

You can count me in on that one as well seamoor, plumbing paid a hell of lot better than any of my takings from bands, plus I wasn't that good, at least not good enough to raise a family and pay off a mortgage on the money I made from music.

I figure there's quite a good mix of ages on this site, many older blokes who have been through the mill like us, guys in their late 20's early to mid 30's who are well into their straps, and young uns coming through with lots of enthusiasm which bodes well for the future of instrumental music.

I think this is why this site works so well, a good mix and balance of people and opinions, a good example is this thread, one little question from Klas, and away we go!

It's all good mate!

Cracks me up how some bands think that they are the greatest thing going,
while people talk crap about them behind their backs.

this is not intended for one band......

Jeff(bigtikidude)

DannySnyder
As alluded to earlier, figure out why you're playing music and then evaluate your expectations as to whether they're in line with those reasons.

Well said.

Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook

From my experience running a label, I'd say the scene is still pretty strong. I run Double Crown as a hobby and don't rely on it as a source of steady income (my goal today, as it was when I started 11 years ago, is to make enough money from each new release to pay for the next release). What I have noticed is a "maturing" if the surf audience - the average surf fan in the US is male, 30-60 years old and still buys CD's instead of MP3's. The European/Japanese scene is different - younger crowds, more of a mix of males and females, and on average they don't buy much music, but they are more apt to just come out for a surf show because it sounds like fun.

I'd like to see a little more attitude and showmanship in the scene. We don't have bands like the Phantom Surfers, Untamed Youth, Tiki Men, Galaxy Trio, (German) Astronauts and Trashwomen who played surf in a unique, entertaining way. It seems like a lot of band just stand on stage and play their songs - which is great if you have the tunes and sound to pull it off. It just seems like some bands aren't promoting themselves enough - they put a listing on mySpace and their own website and that's it, then act surprised when 10 people show up. You have to do fliers and post them all over town (it still works!). You have to get mentioned in the local entertainment rag (every city has one). You have to find people you know in the city you're playing that are willing to help out, or at least bring their friends. There's no reason that a band should be playing to less than 40-50 people - if you are playing to less than that then you haven't done enough to promote yourself.

Also, put out quality releases with good looking cover art - and make sure you have a good looking website and mySpace page that make it easy to order your CD. If the samples people hear sound good, and the cover art looks good - you want to make sure the ordering process is as easy to follow and smooth as possible.

Sean
Double Crown Records
www.doublecrownrecords.com

Surf CD's / Vinyl / Fanzines / DVD's
Frankie & The Pool Boys - Endless Drummer LP / CD
Aloha Screwdriver - Lunar Wobble CD
Continental Magazine - Issue #39 With Compilation CD

Lucy: Aren’t the clouds beautiful? They look like big balls of cotton. I could just lie here all day and watch them drift by. If you use your imagination, you can see lots of things in the cloud’s formations. What do you think you see, Linus?

Linus: Well, those clouds to me look like the map of the British Honduras on the Carribbean. That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor. And that group of clouds over there gives me the impression of the Stoning of Stephen. I can see the Apostle Paul standing there to one side.

Lucy: Uh huh. That’s very good. What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown:
Well... I was going to say I saw a duckie and a horsie but I changed my mind.

I understand that people who discovered surf music because of Pulp Fiction think the movie was a good thing but my point was whether it's to blame for the (relative) weak state of surf music today. I would say the scene was pretty strong prior to Pulp Fiction (more record labels, more profilic bands, higher fans to bands ratio etc.) compared to only a couple of years after the movie's theatrical release. It would have been really interesting to see what the scene looked like today without the movie. Maybe we would have been seeing a more constant level over the years and a genre that was well established by now.

T H E ✠ S U R F I T E S

Yeah, who knows? However, I don't think it's relevant to compare the tiny 2nd wave with the much stronger pre Pulp Fiction 3rd wave of the early 90's.

BTW, I like the movie and have even seen it twice!

T H E ✠ S U R F I T E S

Brian
Well, be careful. Not every band has the same goals.

I think this is an important point. I bought the Pulp Fiction sountrack back in 1993 and I loved it. But at the time I didn't go any further into Surf Rock.

Only recently have I discovered how great this music is. Pretty much anything I hear, whether it's 50 years old or 50 days old, is gonna be new to me. So in my mind the Surf Rock scene is in Killer shape!

Add to that the fact that I live in a place where there is almost no surf rock "scene." (Even though we've got some great beaches in South Florida.) I've been playing with my uncle and my sister, trying to learn pretty much all of the above listed classics. We're loving it, and I think that there could be an audience for it. Down here, you're not gonna find too many bands playing "Misirlou," "Pipeline" or "Mr. Moto."

Regardless of wether or not we ever take the stage, I'm just happy to be playing music. So much fun.