Photo of the Day

You can now listen to Los Straitjackets on National Public Radio's World Cafe. Follow this link and click on the red Listen button to hear a very interesting interview and some great music!

Hey folks, you've heard the talk, you've read the rumors, you've probably yawned my antics, but here is the word:  The Lava Rats new CD is finally ready!  The album, "Don't Drink the Water" will be arriving at the Rat Cave tomorrow, and we will be sending out the first batch of discs to those who have already pre-ordered. 

If you want to pre-order your very own copy, send me a PM.  We are running an "SG101" special: from now until July 14th, if you order a disc from us, we will waive shipping costs, and you will have a brand new LR CD (and the accompanying pin) in your sweaty little hands for a mere $10. 

The next bit of news that accompanies the release of this disc is as follows:  we will be playing a CD Release Party here in SF some time in late July.  Details on that to follow.  There are confirmed dates for another exciting bit of news:  The Lava Rats Pac NW Invasion!!!!   We will be playing August 10-12 in the Pacific Northwest - Friday the 10th at Rogue Hero in Bellingham, WA with The 'Verb and The All-Nighters (I think I heard something about The 'Verb releasing a new disc somewhere...), and Saturday the 11th at The Green Room in Portland with The 'Verb and The Verbtones. 

We can't wait for you folks to hear (and see) this new disc -- more info and some helpful reviews to come....

When I decided to move to Mexico, to a place you can only get to by boat, I knew I would have to foresake my huge Fender Twin. But I didn't have much hope of finding a decent small amp that would make me happy. Most small amps sound like crap, the attitude being that you don't need decent tone for practice. But, I wanted a small amp that didn't make me cringe when I played it - and of course, I wanted clean Fender tone.

Fortunately, Fender just released the Champ 600, a 5-watt tube amp that is a tribute to the 50s-era Champ.

Did they get it right? Let's put it this way: when I put it next to my big blackface Twin, it actually added a sonic element to my sound that the big blackface beast was lacking. Of course, that was largely because the Champ 600 has a 6" speaker, meaning that its treble response is very good. But, surprisingly, it still gets a full, round sound that really works well for surf. The amp's power section comes through a single 6V6 tube, while a single 12AX7 completes the pre-amp section.

Controls include a single chicken-head style volume knob, which was the setup for the original Champ. You pretty much have to crank it all the way up to get decent volume, and even then, it is a little paltry. Still, plenty good for practice. There are two guitar cord inputs, one a clean channel and the other a mildly-distorted channel. Really, the distortion is almost non-existent, so I just plug into that channel and use the volume knob on my guitar to vary the drive. Naturally, there is no reverb, so you'll need either a pedal or a Fender reverb unit to get a decent surf sound. The amp also responds well to a drive pedals, but don't expect to get Marshall tone through your ProcoRat or other heavy-distortion pedal. A nice TS-9 tube screamer with mild overdrive is about all this amp can handle.

The two-tone cosmetics are a nice touch - very retro in appearance, with a nice Fender '50s vintage red-on-chrome badge that complements the overall look of the amp. A brown leather handle complements the vintage look.

For $200 bucks, this is a pricey addition to your collection, especially for a practice amp. But if good, clean Fender tone is important to you, this little amp does a good job for the money. I highly recommend this amp for newbies looking for a good surf practice amp and veterans looking for a nice apartment practice amp or even a recording amp.

Reno's own Mighty Surf Lords are back, with Billy Woods on guitar, Mike Warner on bass, and Jeff Campaigne on drums.

Check out our webpages and links  www.angelfire.com/ms3/themightysurflords

Will get more pictures up this week. We will be available for shows in August 2007.

"Praise The Lords"

The Continental Magazine - Issue #14  w/24 song CD - #CT014 - $5.95 (OUT NOW!!!)

The latest issue of The Continental Magazine, featuring interviews with The Ghastly Ones and Wormtone Records, along with a 24 track CD, is now available for only $5.95. Also included in this issue are Satan's Pilgrims, a look at the Scandinavian surf/instro scene, the Double Crown On The Rocks 10th Anniversary Fest and much, much more. 36 pages in all, with a 2 color glossy cover. To order send $5.95 US + shipping ($1.05 to any US/Canadian address, or just $2.05 to any other address) to Double Crown Mail Order. You can also send a Paypal payment to records@dblcrown.com or cash/check/money order or order through the Double Crown website.

Reverberated For Your Pleasure is officially available to buy. We are selling them for $15 which includes the shipping and handling. All you have to do is paypal the money to ptdobner@verizon.net and I will ship one out your way.

Check out some previews at http://www.myspace.com/theverb
The actual recordings are of a much higher quality.

The packaging is in really great digipacks and let's face it those are much cooler to have than a jewel case. Click read more for the album art.

So again, $15 to ptdobner@verizon.net via paypal. Vintage payment options such as through the mail will also work. Contact me about that.

Any questions e-mail me at jacobdobner "at" gmail.com or you can pm me.

Read More...for cover art!

The Pyronauts “Surf and Destroy” California Tour:

The Pyronauts are hitting the road and coming to a town near you in California this summer! Along the way they will be performing with many of their friends in the surf community like Pollo Del Mar, The Detonators, The Longboards, The Sand Devils, and Slacktone!  Will will be within a couple hours of virtually everywhere in CA!  We will also be releasing a new CD entitled: The Pyronauts Live at the Mystic Theatre featuring Dusty Watson.  More info on that soon.  Here is the schedule:

I have created and published the first in what will hopefully be a series of SurfGuitar101 podcasts! The feed has been submitted to iTunes, but as I type this it is not currently available yet. In the meantime, you can download and listen to episode #1 by visiting surfguitar101.podcastspot.com. Remember kids, you don't need an iPod or portable MP3 player to listen, just download or stream on your computer. This link provides an easy way to listen from your computer.

This episode features music by Satan's Pilgrims, The Halibuts, Pollo del Mar, The Madeira, The Volcanos, Jon & The Nightriders, The Wet Tones, and many more! Plus we have an exclusive interview with Danny Snyder from Meshugga Beach Party and The TomorrowMen!

I've created a SG101 Podcast sub-forum, so please direct all your comments, criticisms, ideas, suggestions, and requests there. Thanks everyone!

P.S. I asked a lot of bands if I could play them, but due to space and time constraints I could only play a subset. You will definitely hear from them on future episodes!

Hey guys,
ADVENTURES IN THE LAND OF TWANG, the new CD of The Incredible Mr. Smith is out now!
If you wonder, who this guy is, check out www.the-incredible-Mr-Smith.com
For those, who are too lazy to click on the link:
It's Rob Razorblade of THE RAZORBLADES and this is his twangy solo project...
On the drums we have Mr. Dusty Watson (you might know him from Dick Dale, Slacktone, Agent Orange or one of the million other bands he played in...
21 songs, between surf, rockabilly, blues and Lounge exotica...
Order right now rom my website or guitar9, Double Crown, CD Baby or DWM...in a few days....

AFTER COMING OFF A STELLAR SPRING SEASON WHICH INCLUDED PLAYING WITH DEADBOLT, HANGING WITH DUSTY WATSON, AND AN AWESOME CD RELEASE PARTY FOR THEIR SELF TITLED RELEASE, GET THREE COFFINS READY IS  ALL BOOKED UP FOR THE SUMMER! HERE IS A LIST OF SHOWS YOU CAN CATCH IF YOU LIVE IN COLORADO:

JUNE 9TH: FLYING DOG BREWERY. "THE ART OF DRINKING ART SHOW: FEATURING OVER 40 ARTISTS NATIONAL AND LOCAL! MOST NOTEABLY MARK MOTHERSBAUGH OF DEVO FAME. THIS SHOW WILL BE THE FIRST TIME BANDS AHVE PLAYED AT THE FLYING DOG IF IT GOES WELL AMYBE WE WILL HAVE A NEW VENUE HERE IN DENVER THAT IS SURF FRIENDLY!

JUNE 23RD: THE ROCKET ROOM IN COLORADO SPRINGS W/ THE MANSFIELDS.

JULY 14TH: 15TH ST. TAVERN, DENVER CO. I FORGOT WHO ELSE IS PLAYING BUT IT SURE WILL BE ROCKIN

JULY 15TH: THE LARIMER LOUNGE. PLAYING THE FRONTSIDE FIVE / FIVECORE RECORDS BBQ W/ FRONTSIDE FIVE, LBRO, THE CHEAP SKATES, VALIOMIERDA, TARD, AND MANY OTHERS! BUT GET THREE COFFINS PLAYS THE 8:30 SLOT WHICH IS (STRANGELY)  HEADLINING..

JULY 28: (TENTATIVE) THE CRICKET ON THE HILL, DENVER CO. W/?????

AUGUST 11TH: ??? IN GRAND JUNCTION, CO. W/ RENO DIVORCE.

AUGUST 25TH: RETURN TO THE 3 KINGS TAVERN END OF SUMMER SHOW!

ALSO THE COFFINS HAVE PLANS FOR AN E.P. SLATED FOR A 4TH QUARTER RELEASE! AS WELL AS THE VENTURE BOTHERS FULL LENGTH FEATURING MEMBERS OF GET THREE COFFINS READY, THE ROYAL ACES, DENVER CITY SALTLICKS, AND OTHERS.