synchro
Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4463
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
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Posted on Nov 16 2008 02:57 PM
I don't think we'll ever see any style of music take on the dimensions that it did in the days of Top 40 AM radio when every teen in town was listening to the same one or two stations and being exposed to the same playlists. Actually, I see this as a good thing because we are not forced into the flavor of the month. There is new Surf Music being produced today as well as new Rockabilly, new Swing, new what-have-you and this was not happening to any extent in the old days. With the Internet we have a distribution and an advertising channel that allows us to pursue our musical interests and commune with others that share our interests.
Back in the '70s if you liked Surf you probably didn't have much, if any, outlet for it. You might have been able to sneak "Walk, Don't Run" into a set between a Doobie Brothers cover and an Eagles cover but a Surf-only act would have been pretty novel and probably considered strictly nostalgia if not completely out of touch. I'm just thankful that we live in a world wherein we don't have to use a fuzz box for every song. In the '70s that a clean guitar with a noticeable level of reverb was unheard of.
I don't think that anyone in any genre of music had better count on quitting their day job. In the '70s I spent several years making my living by playing and teaching and it was not as much fun as I thought it would be. There are elements of it that I miss but for the most part I'm glad that it's behind me. To me, musical paradise would be to have a band together that can do a decent job of playing a wide variety of musical styles including Surf, Blues, Pop/Rock (in a number of its permutations) and even a few Jazz tunes. Frankly, I don't want to get paid for it because it just makes life a bigger hassle each winter when I prep my taxes.
Back when I first started playing for a living I was on my way to a casual gig riding in a passenger van full of musicians and instruments with m Union card in my wallet and feeling very good about myself. The other guys in the band were all older than I, probably by 2 - 3 decades. They told me that music was the best part-time job in the world but the worst full-time job. 30+ years later I see their point. Full-time music is a tough life and certainly not for me.
— The artist formerly known as: Synchro
When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.
Last edited: Nov 16, 2008 15:36:03
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spskins
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3782
tn
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Posted on Nov 16 2008 03:19 PM
DannySnyder
Brian-C
I would love to see surf music become a full-blown phenomenon again. But I think it would take a band of the calibre of the White Stripes or the Strokes to do it. And, no, I'm not saying it should BE the White Stripes.
But something where the influences are obvious enough, but not too obvious either. Something that is not too retro, nor too contemporary. A moody affair. Something that has equal club appeal as it could stadium appeal. I don't know if we'll ever see it again, but certainly the raw sound of Link Wray or Davie Allen could translate to something that sort of speaks to our present age, if in the hands of the right person. But it would likely have the spirit of reinvention, even if the basic structure remained its same rockin' self.
To me you're describing the Bambi Molesters. Imagine if they were an American band instead of Croatian? If they had the good fortune of being helped by REM domestically it may have really catapulted them. I also think they may have really appealed to the same hipster set as White Stripes and made instro cool again.
I don't think REM would have ever known about them if they had been a US band. Don't get me wrong, the BMs are like no other US band and are a great band-I'm not trying to detract at all...But I doubt REM would have ever have been put on the same bill here in the US.
— http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Nov 16 2008 04:39 PM
Ted, I agree.
And to reply to the comment Ted was responding to. Opening bands get so little notice that I don't think it would have been much help for a surf band to open for them. Radio/video play and press are still the main ways for a band to get popular. Of course, anything is possible...
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ArtS
Joined: May 09, 2008
Posts: 1368
Isle of Kent, MD
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Posted on Nov 21 2008 11:35 PM
I'm not sure that surf music is really that far off from where it was in the 60's. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it had a short lived, limited appeal. Today, I type in "surf music" on the Internet and I get tons of hits and bands all over the world playing a variety of styles and interpretations of surf. I wish I had time to listen to all the stuff out there! So maybe it's more alive than ever. Also, in today's music scene there is so much exposure to so many types of music, I think people listen to a lot of everything. Long live surf, no niche-ing (for me)
Art Svrjcek
— Surfcat
MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS! (2024) - Agent Octopus
Wake up Jimmy! It's Christmastime! (2024) - Agent Octopus (Single)
YOUTUBE - Agent Octopus Surf
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bIG_wAvE_Dave
Joined: Mar 19, 2006
Posts: 365
Reno, NV
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Posted on Nov 22 2008 04:08 AM
ReverbGalaxy
I wish I had time to listen to all the stuff out there! So maybe it's more alive than ever.
Yes. The fact is, although its hard to keep a true tally, the estimates are good. There are more active Surf bands worldwide today than were in existence in the heyday of the early 60s when it was more regionally confined, with an order of magnitude more recorded material over the past 20years. However, to the point of this thread, the relative obscurity of the genre remains as so much choice vies for fans attention. Although, as mentioned, it is easily discovered when one scratches the surface-- just like MANY other retro genres that are not mainstream.
I think the notoriety of the new documentaries out and coming soon will do ALOT to reinfuse the imagination of the mainstream around Surf music again...even to the chagrin of TJ Lubinsky of PBS. In 2 years you could actually have a Grammy category...its still possible!
bIGwAvE Dave
http://www.myspace.com/theebigwavedave
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synchro
Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4463
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
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Posted on Nov 22 2008 07:45 AM
ReverbGalaxy
I'm not sure that surf music is really that far off from where it was in the 60's. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it had a short lived, limited appeal. Today, I type in "surf music" on the Internet and I get tons of hits and bands all over the world playing a variety of styles and interpretations of surf. I wish I had time to listen to all the stuff out there! So maybe it's more alive than ever. Also, in today's music scene there is so much exposure to so many types of music, I think people listen to a lot of everything. Long live surf, no niche-ing (for me)
Art Svrjcek
I would tend to agree. During the first wave there was still plenty of other kinds of music getting airplay on the top 40 stations. Sappy teen-angst ballads, extended '50s Rock 'n' Roll, you name it. If you listen to the soundtrack of American Graffitti you get some examples of other types of music that were popular at the time. Surf was important, but it was not ubiquitous.
I think that it's also important to remember Surf in it's context in musical development. Duane Eddy and Link Wray were doing instrumental Rock that, IMO, was seminal to Surf. The Twist craze provided a good starting point for the beat which was used for a lot of Surf. IMO, music evolved to give us the Surf sound at the same time that Pop culture focused on surfers and beach culture. At the same time there was Spcae music (almost certainly inspired by Telstar), Hot Rod music, Spy music (the first 007 film came out in '62) and Spaghetti Western soundtracks. All of these types of music had some common ground with Surf music.
To my way of thinking the important thing isn't how big Surf music is but the fact that at least there is new Surf music being created and bands are able to find outlets for their Surf music. I don't think we'll ever see another band dominating the charts like the Beatles did in the mid '60s because there are far too many channels for consumers to listen to music. AM radio is all but dead except for talk shows so the shared experience of driving around listening to one or two top 40 stations is pretty much a thing of the past. If American Graffitti were set in 2008 we'd have some people listening to FM radio, some lisening to their MP3 players, some listening to Sat radio and quite possibly someone listening to Internet radio by means of a laptop and an air card. We have far more choices these days and no style of music will be able to dominate the way that it could in the past. I see this as a good thing.
— The artist formerly known as: Synchro
When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.
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bIG_wAvE_Dave
Joined: Mar 19, 2006
Posts: 365
Reno, NV
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Posted on Dec 05 2008 05:30 PM
UnsteadyFreddie
Zak, very true...like I have said on the radio and elsewhere, if you are playing strictly surf music for a living (outside of Los StJax, and Dick Dale), then odds are you are homeless!!
it ain't easy, obviously
but what's so cool is how much people in the surf genre give of themselves, strictly for the love of the music and interacting with others that have the same passion
priceless
UNSTEADY FREDDIE
This comment by Unsteady Freddie really sums it up for me. And he has also described what people commonly refer to as "The Spirit of Surf" - a passion and commaraderie among the fans, bands, bedroom players, clubs, record companies, promoters and extended community. There are many wonderful stories of assistance, collaboration, community and more behind this and it deserves its own thread. This site is one of the biggest tributes to that spirit that there is.
Mainstream or not, those passionate about the genre will keep it alive in all of what they do in support of it. And the reality is that we are ALL only one, two at most, degrees of separation away from each other. That's pretty damn cool, I'd say!
bIGwAvE Dave
http://www.myspace.com/theebigwavedave
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