essential tunes every surf guitarist should know how to play

Photo of the Day

Meshuggas Unmasked

Shoutbox

midwestsurfguy: Merry Christmas!
333 days ago

sysmalakian: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
326 days ago

SabedLeepski: Surfin‘ Europe, for surf (related) gigs and events in Europe https://sunb...
287 days ago

SHADOWNIGHT5150: I like big reverb and i cannot lie
220 days ago

SHADOWNIGHT5150: Bank accounts are a scam created by a shadow government
220 days ago

sysmalakian: TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!
207 days ago

dp: dude
188 days ago

Bango_Rilla: Shout Bananas!!
143 days ago

BillyBlastOff: See you kiddies at the Convention!
127 days ago

GDW: showman
78 days ago

Shout History

Please login or register to shout.

IRC Status

#ShallowEnd is empty.

Need help getting started?

Current Polls

No polls at this time. Check out our past polls.

Current Contests

No contests at this time. Check out our past contests.

Donations

Help us meet our monthly goal:

48%

48%

Donate Now

November Birthdays Cake

1st – DesignSpy, tbcblues, tubeswell
2nd – Demina, EagleEye45, johnnyslam, Tonymoonster
3rd – Robotron, Surfysonic
4th – BC4DdrummerAK, Hexabuzz, WaveSauce
5th – DBurch, Geefive, josheboy, rattlesnakeralph, twangineer
6th – ConanTheLibrarian, surfingrudolf, The_Sea_Gees, zyglack
7th – GangsterNo1, whistledixie
8th – birdistheword, BogusBill, brad219, bradleyny, EdinItaly, franneto57, ktipple, Matti_Medici, robertmaxwellcase, Surf_fan63
9th – BamaSurf, Shut_Down_Eddie, surfgremmie
10th – artsnyder, Coreywebster, UCLASNY
11th – Joelman, maroonstrat
12th – gremmy20, MantaMike
13th – Bensen_Honeydew, Ghostsoldier
14th – dcraven, Kev_McD, RoyWaves
15th – dh4, TikiJohn
16th – LonesomeChris, StarhopperBass, WIZARD1325
17th – Frelonvert, The_Dodge_City_Social_Club, WoodyJ
18th – stutz57, Surfnkell1318
19th – owlman, surfinjohnnyq, Thrashgnarly
20th – bluesky, Kian, MuZZyGoesSurfing, Supercompdad
21st – Craig, Duceditor, Mattbass1121, Ratfink
22nd – AHAB75, atomicmilk, cirecc, LomaKing
23rd – Jacksmith2326, jam007, Surfzombie, young_surf_guitarist
24th – cband, Malborohoho
26th – AnnGroves, Charlie_Ramone, GlennMaltman, KDawg, Los_Taironas, robbwoo, shudog, Tjthedj26
27th – DoNtFearTheReverbBass, reverbmike, Ron-Rhoades
28th – ChuckShort, elling, fredzefrench, MikeAtascado, ReddTyde, Workweak
29th – Miata_roadster, Mordoboy, Tgb
30th – Annika, cij, flash0green, jrmonoc, LavaPup, surfmann

SG101 MP3 Comps

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

SurfGuitar101 Forums » Surf Musician »

essential tunes every surf guitarist should know how to play

• New Topic

mom_surfing Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 5297 the outer banks of north carolina	Posted on Sep 22 2008 08:20 PM when the opportunity arises to 'jam' with someone you've never played with before, what songs do you recommend knowing beyond the usual first wave standards? (pipeline, walk don't run, penetration, etc) — www.surfintheeye.com Last edited: Sep 23, 2008 09:42:28 Top
surfaca Joined: Sep 01, 2008 Posts: 113 Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina	Posted on Sep 22 2008 11:27 PM Tempest, Fathomized, Ghastly Stomp, Kawanga... can't remember more now — Guitar Player in Nahuelaizers http://nahuelaizers.bandcamp.com Top
dp Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3546 mojave desert, california	Posted on Sep 24 2008 12:44 PM maybe learn a totally "non-surf" tune and bring that to the jam session: something like Madonna's "Like a Virgin" would be fun to play! Top
dp Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3546 mojave desert, california	Posted on Sep 24 2008 12:46 PM also the Booker T and MGs type of stuff: Green Onions, Hip Hug Her etc. Santo and Johnny. Maybe some Motown. Louie, Louie...Sloopy...Gloria... Top
dp Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3546 mojave desert, california	Posted on Sep 24 2008 12:47 PM Mancini? Top
Ben Joined: Feb 11, 2007 Posts: 591 Encinitas, Ca	Posted on Sep 24 2008 01:07 PM That's a tricky one Carol. Unless the other people are familiar with surf (or are really good listeners) it may be hard to just "jam" on surf tunes. Many of the tunes are not as predictable like a I IV V blues jam. It's like when you ask a guy "do you know 12 bar blues" and he says "Yeah, its in E right"? One thing that would help is if you have charts with the arrangements and chord changes. That way you don't end up with guys just playing blues or rock riffs all over the place. Good luck...I'm curious what the others recommend. Top
mom_surfing Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 5297 the outer banks of north carolina	Posted on Sep 24 2008 03:52 PM Ben That's a tricky one Carol. Unless the other people are familiar with surf (or are really good listeners) it may be hard to just "jam" on surf tunes. Many of the tunes are not as predictable like a I IV V blues jam. It's like when you ask a guy "do you know 12 bar blues" and he says "Yeah, its in E right"? One thing that would help is if you have charts with the arrangements and chord changes. That way you don't end up with guys just playing blues or rock riffs all over the place. Good luck...I'm curious what the others recommend. i shouldn't have used the word 'jam'. i've had the opportunity to play with other surf instro players and keep finding myself not knowing stuff they know, 'the hearse' and 'cruel sea' come to mind. i've since learned them. i try to keep a chord chart and arrangement of every tune i know. i guess i'm just looking for some new stuff to figure out. right now on my list is 'taco wagon' and 'surfbound'. — www.surfintheeye.com Top
Tuck Joined: Sep 02, 2006 Posts: 3166 Denver, CO	Posted on Sep 24 2008 04:28 PM I think you must mean, what kinds of things are other people likely to be able to play in a pick up situation. It's hard to know what your "first wave etc." covered. I think you probably meant to cover Church Key, Intoxica, Latinia, and so on right? In terms of sheer numbers of recordings those and some less- or non-surf things like certain Ventures or Shadows numbers come to mind, along with various numbers by less prominent bands, e.g., Sleep Walk, Bulldog, or Tequila. Link Wray, if he's to your taste. If you mean "post First Wave" only, then the Strait Jackets are fairly widely covered. I'm not sure what other post First Wave bands are most covered, but one distinct tendency of later bands is to play certain non-surf numbers a lot, e.g., the James Bond Theme, Heart Full of Soul, and so on. If you want frequency information, see if your audio organizer program will provide it. In a pinch, sort by title and scan the list visually. Of course, what you really need is a frequency count for a large collection of set lists. Band set lists, not DJ set lists. DJs are pretty eclectic, whereas the bands I've run into seem to concentrate on three veins: originals, classics, non-surf adaptations. Top
WR Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 3832 netherlands	Posted on Sep 24 2008 04:40 PM Id say go for the things that are on every second comp, like the ones tuck mentioned, surf rider, rising surf, surf party, margaya, are a few others that come to mind. If you load all your surfstuff on your ipod and let it organize by song title, you should get a good idea of what's covered a lot. or, depending on what bar mitzva your jam's at, you can learn the entire meshugga beach party catalog! — Rules to live by #314: "When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is." https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/ Top
mom_surfing Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 5297 the outer banks of north carolina	Posted on Sep 24 2008 06:08 PM Tuck I think you must mean, what kinds of things are other people likely to be able to play in a pick up situation. exactly. i wish i could better express myself in writing. there's a core group of songs that everyone seems to know.....pipeline, walk don't run, penetration, apache, baja, mr. moto and then everyone seems to wander off in their own direction, nothing wrong with that. we all have tunes we like, bands we like, etc. i guess i'm trying to find out what other people play in a pick up situation. thanks for all the imput. — www.surfintheeye.com Top
mom_surfing Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 5297 the outer banks of north carolina	Posted on Sep 24 2008 06:14 PM WR Id say go for the things that are on every second comp, like the ones tuck mentioned, surf rider, rising surf, surf party, margaya......................... you can learn the entire meshugga beach party catalog! surf rider is one everyone seems to know. surf party not so much..................(i'll have the entire MBP memorized by next week ) — www.surfintheeye.com Top
benhagerty Joined: Sep 12, 2008 Posts: 25 Boston MA.	Posted on Sep 24 2008 07:57 PM Smoke on the Water. Top
P2gee Joined: Jul 05, 2006 Posts: 264 Waco Texas	Posted on Sep 24 2008 08:14 PM Although I have never played in a perfoming club gig type band, a group of my friends did have a pretty much instrumental garage band that got together on week ends. We had a pretty nifty instro version of "Ticket to Ride" worked out. At least some of the neighbors would come over and request it sometimes. — 2012-2013: FILTHY POLAROIDS Top
bigtikidude Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 25532 Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.	Posted on Sep 24 2008 09:12 PM Look at the 4 or so sets of Music that Outterwave knows, lots of Standard 60's surf, some pre and durring 60s instros some really cool 90s surf. — Jeff(bigtikidude) Top
echobeach Joined: May 21, 2007 Posts: 220 Redland City, Australia	Posted on Sep 25 2008 01:25 AM For us Aussies it's Bombora Top
Tuck Joined: Sep 02, 2006 Posts: 3166 Denver, CO	Posted on Sep 25 2008 02:35 AM bigtikidude Look at the 4 or so sets of Music that Outterwave knows .. Actually, Jeff's list for the SG101 meeting, maybe? echobeach For us Aussies it's Bombora Top
DNAdude Joined: Aug 01, 2008 Posts: 404 North Carolina	Posted on Sep 25 2008 09:21 AM dp maybe learn a totally "non-surf" tune and bring that to the jam session: something like Madonna's "Like a Virgin" would be fun to play! Gee, I seem to remember a recent discussion along those lines... — Ralph The Storm Surfers Be at one with the universe. If you can't do that, at least be at one with your guitar. Top
DNAdude Joined: Aug 01, 2008 Posts: 404 North Carolina	Posted on Sep 25 2008 09:22 AM echobeach For us Aussies it's Bombora It ought to be Bombora for all of us. That's a great tune. — Ralph The Storm Surfers Be at one with the universe. If you can't do that, at least be at one with your guitar. Top
bigtikidude Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 25532 Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.	Posted on Sep 25 2008 09:40 AM also Bombora by the Original Surfaris is a great song. — Jeff(bigtikidude) Top

Top

Please visit our friends in the surf music community:

Thanks to all the surf bands, past and present. And thanks to all the fans who care about and keep surf music alive.