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A Visit to "Garageland"
Getting past the really cool and title-appropriate cover photo, this EP is a great one to snag for those who've been living in a cave & are not yet familiar with these Nashville "cats" where instro is alive & thriving. For the gear heads, I'm told the guitars were all through a Quilter 101 Micro - that should settle that. Jeff Senn can (hopefully) speak in the forum to any particular cabinets & effects used used.
Scorpions - This track is by (normally) rhythm player Kiwamu Stewart. You know, the guy that helps keep that groove going as well as filling out an unreal number of parts that make their live performance so full and "record-like." So this is Kiwamu's composition, rhythm & lead played, and it's got a VERY definite Crazy Ace familiarity to it. Somewhat reminds me of an anti-hero who gets in his very fast car in the dead of night & is blowing town, but has heartstrings being tugged as well as some some payback remaining to be dealt out. Nice to have Kiwamu expand his role in this way.
Rudy's Revenge - I'm told the basic groove comes from Alex McCollough ably holding down the bass duties, with the rest fleshed out by the band. Throw the parasol out of your cutesy drink and get moving on the floor. As often with Crazy Aces there is a brief foreboding bridge but one that maintains the groove. (The beat on this one is grand-daughter-approved.)
Trail of the Mystery Men? - I had to listen to this one several times over several days. It begins with a familiar Crazy Ace like western vibe that recurs - and a sound I would've sworn was the setup for Eastwood Outlaw on their first album, Greatest Hits Vol. 2. (But, as mentioned, this is Quilter 101.) The composition is something a bit different and it seems the cinematic good-idea-faerie struck Jeff Senn, as it segues to sequences that could be a summary of several themes that would be evident throughout an old-west tale, but used for different scenes. I came to visualize two antagonists, neither good or bad, but rivals who may or may not do each other in. The story can weave as the imagination takes it, as they dance through the plot. There are brief stops to more orchestral movements that are somewhat whimsical when juxtaposed against the obvious Crazy Aces nod to the genre. The acoustic guitar work from Jeff is stellar; almost thought I was listening to a Tommy Tedesco lesson from the back of a GP mag.
Modelo Uno - A clearly Latin-flavored tune (to my ear) that really showcases the Model One guitar. Those who've seen the demo of the Eastwood-produced/Jeff Senn-designed Model One will be familiar with this tune. Lovely tremelo at no extra charge. (Can't wait for my own Modelo Uno.) For me, it's a happy tune and hearkens to heading down a cul-de-sac & finding that someone's garage door IS open and, "hey!, there's a band!" (But then I'm in my sixties goin' on 15, so...)
Chop and Channel - This final track said hot rod to me immediately. Probably a dated analogy but, for me, it's headed out of town for the proverbial chicken run as depicted in many films from James Dean to American Graffiti. There is a building climax that still comes back to the groove, which is like an anchor allowing some melodic departures that are cool when executed this well.
This is one of those bands whose members clearly play for the good of the song, with their egos resolutely checked before walking through the door. Plenty of sonic room allowed in the mix for everything that matters. (I can often recognize Jeff by his humorous quirk of sometimes just taking the finishing note of a V-chord and hitting something a 1/2 step higher or lower, bending optional, and it says "I'm havin' fun.")
Pre- and post- Surf Guitar 101 Convention Crazy Aces will be:
at Don the Beachcomber's, Friday, August 12th at, 9:00 PM, along with Outerwave, as well as
Huntington Beach Pier Plaza: Huntington Beach, CA, Sunday, August 14th, with a full lineup starting at 11:00 AM.
I hope lots of SG101 Convention goers will hit the early slot in the day and catch Crazy Aces - they will not regret it. You can sleep when you get old; suck it up buttercup.
Crazy Aces are: Jeff Senn, Kiwamu Stewart, Alex McCollough with Justin Amaral joining on very solid drums for this release. Hope we hear more from Justin with them.
The latest CD by the group is the fourteenth in my collection recorded in a period of 20 years. 10 tracks, playing time 28 minutes and 16 seconds.
From the first hearing I thought "Welcome to England", as the first two cuts sound very British like Shadows material.
Track 3 (Sand Dust) reminds me of the Atlantics (Australia), track 4 Tabitito Yo is a slow tune with a hit potential like "The Endless Summer" by The Sandals from 1964.
My favorite tune is Nr. 6 "Por Que" with some guitar licks imitating Dick Dale style from the sixties! Track 8 "Tug Of Wolves" is another fine example of the Surf Coasters fine playing of all instruments in an uptempo tune.
The other songs are very well played as well but i.m.o. nothing special.
When I was in Hollywood at the YMCA in March 1978 I watched on tv an interview with rock and roll hero Fats Domino. He was asked why he plays always his old hits. He replied "I am happy when I can make the audience happy and they do like the old tunes so I do play them for my audience to make them happy!"
The Surf Coasters have so much material done and so they can choose easily to make the audience happy (like I understand from the reviews about their gig at the SJSF 2016 in Livorno)!
Well done folks. Hope more to come!
RuediGer
I'm not sure if I'm behind on this revelation or not, but if you haven't heard The Amphibians new CD, "Enigma of the Deep", you really should check it out. I saw them the other night in Atlanta (in full regalia), where I picked up the CD. Great show, and the CD was in constant repeat all the way home. I listened to it more than 7 times on my 420 mile trip, and more since then. These 7 songs are well crafted gems that bear more dissimilarities than similarities to their inspirations. Very much original sounding, with solid playing and exquisite tone and arrangement, and excellently produced and recorded (an understatement). These songs deserve to see the light of day.
Bravo Lads!
You guys Rawk,
Mako
Hello everyone! We have just released our latest EP, Learning to Ride. Here is a quick little write up from Storm Surge of Reverb.
The Me Gustas have shrunk from 3 to 2 members between their last LP and this EP, but it doesn't show. They've doubled down on the spaghetti westerns, and that solitary feel fits a guitar-and-drums combo pretty well. Though short, it's got a fun spirit to it and 50% of your purchase of the EP goes to the organization Guitars Not Guns.
Please visit us on:
Bandcamp: http://themegustas.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themegustas/
Thank you!
The Me Gustas
Expressway Sketches is a German quartet of jazz musicians who don't play surf music. As the title indicates, they love surf music but this cd doesn't prove that they can play it.
In the liner notes you read: "Among the most successful groups were The Ventures, Duane Eddy, Dick Dale, The Shadows and The Marketts".
Playing time is 44 minutes and 38 seconds for 14 songs.
You´ll hear free jazz improvisations in Acetone, Hype Out, Flambres (Abre La Puerta, Dreiteiler.)
One Eyed Jack could have been a good tune if there wasn't the keyboard destroying the tune. Schlurf is a jazzy instrumental, all the other tracks are "normal" instrumentals.
In the liner notes they put the question "Does it really make a difference whether you're improvising on a jazz standard or a Surf song?" I do think so.
IMHO a cd for crazy nuts like me who buy everything with a label "surf" on it or people who enjoy new sounds.
There are some tracks visible on YouTube. Please check it out. I recommend however to buy The Insect Surfers or The Mermen cds when you want to hear good sophisticated sounds of the future.
Ruediger
There is more to this story, continue reading ...
The Cruncher's new CD “Schlicktown Surf” was released on January 11th and since then Herbert has mailed copies to friends and distributors.
In America it will be availabe from DWM Music (http://www.dwmmusic.com/), in England from BIM BAM Records (http://www.bim-bam.com/), in Germany from CD-Import + Versand International, Walter Bubenzer (e-mail: WBubenzer@t-online.de) and Kamikaze Records (http://www.kamikaze-records.de/shop/home.cfm), or write directly to info@thecruncher-reverb.de.
You will get 20 instrumentals between 1.46 and 5.46 minutes long. The total playing time is 60.21 minutes.
There are happy go lucky tunes like Pow Wow, El Azul, Going Back to Memphis,Flash Flood, High Octane or Jezebel.
Squad Car is not the Eddie Bertrand´s tune but one of Don Cole - the original I have never heard I have to confess! The same is to Surfer´s Blues written by Les Green.
Some tunes are played in a Duane Eddy twangy guitar sound with additional saxophone, piano. organ or even strings.
There are tunes where you sit and say – “wow, I have to listen carefully what the Cruncher did here”. Tracks like the spacy sounding “Skyrider”, Jefferson Airplane's “White Rabbit” or the classic “Don't Be Cruel”. Forget about the lyrics in your ear and just listen to these great instrumental versions!!
As Herbert is not only a guitarist but also a producer and arranger in some cases (“Genesis” or ”My Hometown” – his own composition) he tried to find out how many instruments and sounds he could add to the tune and how it sounds afterwards. I am waiting for the public reactions to these efforts.
IMHO this is the Crunchers most sophisticated music output so far. My favorites are Taboo, White Rabbit, Skyrider.
Ruediger
There is more to this story, continue reading ...
The second CD bears subsequently the Title "Moment of Truth Pt.2".
The cover is the same like on their first cd, but the colours of it and the cd were changed to the first release from 2013. Again the youngsters have chosen 2 covers (Stampede by The Scarlets) and Tiki Torcher by The Tiki Men.
The remaining 4 tracks are originals by the band The West Samoa Surfer League:
My favorites are Stampde and Welcome To Malibu.
For order information please contact their drummer Falko Tomaszek at:
STERNDYNAMIK@T-ONLINE.DE
In Germany the price is 6.50 € incling postage, to countries outside of the EU it will be a little higher I guess. Please support these youngsters by buying their beautiful cd and we will hopefully get more output by these guys.
If you don´t know how they sound please check it on Youtube, search for Surfer Joe Summer Festival 2015.
Greetings from Germany
Ruediger
The June 2015 award for "Best Instrumental Rock Song" was given to the Insanitizers by The Akademia (www.TheAkademia.com) for the original song "Shootout." They wrote, “”Clever instrumental renditions of gunfire decorate this Western-themed creation by the Insanitizers, and it's good enough to be a Sergio Leone soundtrack.” This award spans rock instrumentals of all kinds.
The award certificate page is at:
http://www.theakademia.com/june2015_bestsong_instrumentalrock.html
You can stream the entire thrilling song from the front page of Insanitizers.com
A link to a review of The 427's debut EP, "Surf Noir"!
Here is a fun review on our (The Volcanics) new album "The Lonely One" by SurfRockMusic.com!
