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SurfGuitar101 News & Articles

Stories with tag: "john-blair"

John Blair & Mark Linett Team Up On 'Waves Of Care' Surf Music Project To Benefit MusiCares

From Grammy dot com:

Take off on a surf odyssey with this collection of 12 bands and 27 [songs] from the Surf [Guitar] 101 Convention with all proceeds benefitting MusiCares.

A new benefit album, Waves Of Care, celebrates surf music for a great cause. Conceived by three-time GRAMMY-winning producer and engineer Mark Linett and acclaimed surf music historian and performer John Blair, the album is out now online and on physical CD, with 100 percent of proceeds from its sale going to benefit MusiCares.

Recorded live by Linett, the album features all 12 bands that performed at the 2018 Surf Guitar 101 Convention as well as three bonus tracks from the 2017 convention. In all, its 27 tracks explore the glorious, reverb-soaked sounds of surf music by bands from the United States, France, Denmark, Canada, and Italy.

Bands featured on Waves Of Care include Fascinating Creatures of The Deep, Black Flamingos, Kaisers of Kalifornia, Tremolo Beer Gut, Sentinals Tribute Band, Frankie & the Pool Boys, Urban Surf Kings, PJ & the Galaxies Tribute Band, Surfer Joe, King Pelican, Les Agamemnonz, Par Avion, Surf Rockers and Blue Hawaiians, who have contributed to the soundtrack of the TV series "Friends" and "SpongeBob SquarePants."

The project celebrates the rich history of instrumental surf music, from its emergence in the early '60s to its resurgence since the late '70s, its heavy use in the 1994 blockbuster film Pulp Fiction and its continued rise in popularity in the era of social media.

"Today, there are hundreds of bands performing and recording surf instrumentals with a growing, global fan base," a statement about the project says. "Some bands maintain a traditional approach to the sound and style, while others take it into slightly progressive territory."

The Surf Guitar 101 Convention, where the album was recorded, is an all-day event that hosts a dozen bands from all over the world and has been held annually since 2008 in Southern California. Additionally, Surf Guitar 101's website serves as the premier social networking hub for surf music.

The proceeds from the digital and physical sales of "Waves of Care" will benefit MusiCares and their continued efforts to help music people in need. Waves Of Care on CD will be available via eBay and www.johnblair.us, while digital downloads will be available on Bandcamp.

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John Blair to present the Classic Surf Top 101 on North Sea Surf Radio

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This Sunday North Sea Surf Radio will broadcast the 4th edition of the oldest and most popular countdown lists on the station; the Classic Surf Top 101 and the Surf Revival Top 101. North Sea Surf Radio is very proud to welcome John Blair as honorary guest DJ who for this special occasion will present the Classic Surf Top 101. John Blair is widely known in the surf music scene as instigator of the first surf revival with his band Jon & The Nightriders and author of the Illustrated Discography of Surf Music. The Surf Revival Top 101 will for the first time be presented by DJ Jonpaul, who successfully hosted the first three editions of the Classic Surf Top 101, now handing over these duties to John Blair.

"When Niels asked me to present the 2016 edition of the Classic Surf Top 101, I was immediately enthusiastic. North Sea Surf Radio is an unprecedented radio station and a very valuable resource for the surf music scene. I am honored to make a small contribution for this end-of-the-year celebration of the best surf instrumentals of the 1960s. Having collected surf music since the early 60's and writing my Discography of Surf Music, there are a lot of facts and insights that can be shared with the listeners of the station. I look forward to presenting the best 101 surf instrumentals of the First Wave to NSSR listeners."
- - - John Blair, founder Jon & The Nightriders - - -

"John is one of the most knowledgeable persons when it comes to classic surf music and I am absolutely thrilled that he said yes when I asked him to present this list. Having actually grown up during the early 60's and owning one of the most extensive collections of classic surf music I am certain he will be able to make this 4th edition of our list an absolute joy to listen to. His six hour show will contain some highly interesting first hand anecdotes that our listeners are craving for.
After personally having presented the first three editions of the Surf Revival Top 101 I am happy to hand over this responsibility for the fourth edition to DJ Jonpaul, who did an amazing job on the Classic Surf Top 101 in previous years. I am off this year and will be nailed to the radio."
- - - Niels Jansen, founder North Sea Surf Radio - - -

Broadcast schedule Sunday December 18th

Surf Revival Top 101: 03AM PST / 05AM CST / 06AM EST / 12:00 CET
Classic Surf Top 101: 09AM PST / 11AM CST / noon EST / 18:00 CET
Followed by an immediate rerun of both lists:
Surf Revival Top 101 (rerun): 03PM PST / 05PM CST / 06PM EST / 12:00 CET
Classic Surf Top 101 (rerun): 09PM PST / 11PM CST / midnight EST (19th) / 06:00 CET (19th)

Tune in at www.northseasurfradio.com/listen


New Book: "Southern California Surf Music, 1960-1966"

Discover the History of Southern California Surf Music in New Book

Telling a story in pictures is Southern California Surf Music, 1960-1966, the newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series. The book by local author John Blair is set to release on April 6th, 2015. The book boasts vintage images, many of which have never been published, and showcases memories of days gone by.

Dick Dale & the Del-Tones began holding weekend dances at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California, in the summer of 1960. Over the next year and a half, Dale developed the sound and style that came to be known as “surf music.” The result was the development of more powerful guitar amplifiers, a dramatic increase in the sales of Fender guitars and amplifiers, and a shift from New York to West Coast recording studios.

More and more people were drawn to the sport of surfing, which became an important part of teen beach culture at the time. Even landlocked teenagers were captured by the moment, carrying surfboards atop their woodies in Phoenix or bleaching their hair blonde in St. Paul. For hundreds of thousands of kids, though, the attraction was not the connection to surfing; it was the connection to the music pioneered by Dick Dale.

Southern California Surf Music, 1960–1966 features seldom seen archival photographs that illustrate the early history of this unique musical style.

About the Author of Southern California Surf Music, 1960-1966

John Blair has been collecting surf music recordings since 1961, beginning with Dick Dale’s Surfer’s Choice album. His first published writing was an interview with Dale in 1975. Over the years he has contributed articles to various record collector fanzines and mass market periodicals such as Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar magazines. In 1978, he wrote and self-published the first edition of The Illustrated Discography of Surf Music. A fourth edition of the book was published in 2008. In 1990, he co-authored The Illustrated Discography of Hot-Rod Music with Stephen McParland, a noted surf music historian and discographer from Australia.

Blair has also contributed liner notes, archival material, and discographical information to many retrospective surf music compact disks, beginning with a compilation of Dick Dale recordings in 1989. In 1996, he co-produced the best-selling, Cowabunga: The Surf Box, for Rhino Records. Not content with just writing about surf music, he formed the surf instrumental band Jon & The Nightriders in 1979. The band has been credited with sparking a resurgence of popular interest in this type of music after several recordings and multiple tours of Europe during the 80s and 90s.

ARCADIA PUBLISHING ∙ PUBLISHERS OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL HISTORY BOOKS
420 Wando Park Blvd., Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 ∙ Telephone: 843-853-2070 ∙ Facsimile: 843-853-0044 ∙ www.arcadiapublishing.com

Book cover


Jon & The Nightriders' Surf Beat '80 released on CD

Good news!!!

The seminal surf instro album from 1980, Jon & The Nightriders' "Surf Beat '80" was released on CD for the first time on 7 June!! All of the tracks have been digitally remixed and remastered. There are SIX bonus tracks included, several appearing for the first time. I expect the CD will be available on Amazon and CDBaby, as well as the following websites:

http://www.crossfirepublications.com
http://www.johnblair.us

I'll also have copies available at the Surfer Joe Festival and all of the upcoming John Blair Band tour dates in Italy later in June (http://www.surferjoemusic.com/johnblair/).

John


Surfer Joe Summer Festival 2011 Line Up

So my friends, we are finally out with the info about the SJSF2011!

As you see the location has changed but in the end we are still in Livorno. This time at the port, a beautiful fortress right downtown. It is absolutely beautiful!

The place will hold a bit less people than last year, no more than 1100 people at the same time. But we will make it right. So if you are planning to come I highly recommend to PRE-BUY the tickets form the web site. The cost of the ticket is ridiculous.

On the web site you can find the line up. We have as usual great bands and many friends coming to play. It will be fun!

The festival will have an opening party the day before (Thursday 16th June) and an after party on Monday the 20th in Pisa with John Blair introducing his book and work to the bloody Italians!!!

WWW.SURFERJOEMUSIC.COM/FESTIVAL

What else? Merchandise will be available soon including the Bear Surfboards t-shirts especially customized for Surfer Joe. You remember the shirts you have seen in Big Wednesday; some of these will be for sale at the SG101 convention too in August.

I will post news and updates on the forum within the festival's thread.

-Lorenzo