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Ivan,
I downloaded Express to Bagdad, sounds great.
I'm glad you got this band going, as much as I love The Shadows (been
listening to them since I was a baby), I like surf even more, and with the
Spanish and North African influence it should be a real treat.
BTW - I got an old Les Paul knock-off that says Madeira on the headstock.
Maybe when I get it here I'll send you a pic of the headstock so you can do
something with the image, if you're interested.
Ran
----- Original Message -----
From: "ipongrac" <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2004 8:39 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Introducing: The Madeira!
> Hi, this is Ivan Pongracic, formerly of the Space Cossacks and
> currently of the Troubadours.
>
> I'm extremely happy to introduce my new surf band, the Madeira. The
> Madeira has Dane Carter on drums, Scott Waddell on bass, Patrick
> O'Connor on rhythm guitar, and myself on lead guitar (Scott and Dane
> have been known to show up on SG101). Dane and Scott are also in the
> Troubadours with me, and Patrick is also the lead guitar player in
> Destination: Earth! from Indianapolis (D:E! is still together and
> they'll continue to subjugate the Earthlings throughout the Midwest).
>
> We spent a weekend in mid-April practicing for the first time, and
> sparks were flying! I can honestly say that I have never played with
> a finer group of musicians than this, and I'm just giddy with
> excitement over the possibilities. I'm also really happy to be
> getting back to surf music proper after playing only Shadows covers
> for the last four years (the Troubadours, BTW, will also continue).
> We fully intend to make this an original band and we're already
> working on three new originals with more to come soon. But for now
> it's mostly covers, though not your usual covers. We'll be doing
> some Space Cossacks stuff, some New World Relampagos, some rarer
> first wave things and even some third wave songs by the Treble
> Spankers and the Surf Coasters. Oh, and then there's that Paco de
> Lucia cover! We're aiming to develop the whole North African
> (Morocco, etc.) and Southern Spain (Andalucia, flamenco stuff)
> connection to the surf sound - that's the MO. Still keeping the feet
> firmly planted in the trad sounds, but with the eyes aimed at the
> horizons, trying to peer a bit beyond. It promises to be
> interesting, if nothing else!
>
> Brian Neal has kindly put up a temporary website for us as part of
> the SG101 website (Thanks Brian - you RULE!!). Go here:
>
>
>
> It's very bare at this moment, but there are two mp3s available for
> download. Both songs are covers: "Express to Bagdad" originally by
> the Atlantics (from '64) and "Intruder" originally by the Surf
> Coasters. The first seemed quite topical as well as effectively
> showcasing the band chops, and the second is just a mind-blowing tune
> that seemed like a really nice challenge - hopefully we lived up to
> it! The recording is from our first practice session in a very hi-fi-
> hostile environment. It was recorded in Dane's basement with bare
> hard walls and the sound bouncing all over the place. In addition,
> we could only record on two tracks so we had two mics for four
> instruments. (Yes, that's what they call an ambient recording.) And
> to top it off, we didn't really have the time to ensure the best mic
> instrument balance, and as a result the rhythm guitar got buried
> (fortunately Patrick set up the recording so he can't claim a
> conspiracy to keep him quiet! :). But we're quite pleased by the
> results, and it'll give you some idea of what this band is all
> about. We hope to have a few more mp3s from the same practice
> session to put up in the next few days
>
> Finally, we would like to announce our first gig. It'll be on
> Saturday, June 5th, at Zanies Too in Indianapolis, with the Volcanos
> and the Troubadours (the same venue where the Troubadours played with
> Destination: Earth! and the Nebulas last year). So, you'll get the
> hard-driving exotic-tinged surf of the Madeira, groovy trad surf of
> the near-legendary Volcanos AND the finest (well, the only) American
> Shadows cover band! Consider this an invitation for people from all
> over the country - we'll try to make it a memorable show and worth
> your airfare or long hours on the road! I hope at least a few of you
> can make it.
>
> Thanks for reading and listening, and hope to see all of you over the
> next few years.
>
> Ivan
>
>
>
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