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Ivan,
Yeah, tell me about the leads! When we played at our drummer's wedding a
year or two ago, we did "Man of Mystery". I let the other guitarist try to
figure out what Hank was doing there. He managed to do something close when
we rehearsed, but come the show...yikes, wasn't as good. Didn't help that we
were playing it probably at twice the speed, either.
When I get my shipment here I'll defintely take a pic for you. It's gonna
take a little time, but I'm sure you don't need it <right now>.
The So-Cal life style..let's see:
I was able to buy an AV Jazzmaster, I work on Hot rods part time, I meet a
lot of Surf fans and Tiki people, and spend a lot of weekends going to Surf
shows or Tiki events, or Car shows. I started playing with a new friend I
met through Reverborama, we just got a drummer and a bass player. We wrote
4-5 originals, and working on some more plus some covers. It'll take a few
months until the drummer and the bass player get a feel for Surf music, but
it's not like something I never had to deal with before (I had to give
pointers to almost every past member of The Astroglides, as no one really
knew anything about playing surf)
Well, I guess it's a "little" better than Israel (for me that is). Doesn't
hurt that the buses here don't explode (knock on wood).
Looking forward to hearing more about The Madeira,
Ran
----- Original Message -----
From: "ipongrac" <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2004 8:17 AM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Introducing: The Madeira!
> Hi Ran!
>
> Thanks for the compliments. I love the Shadows, but even I was
> getting a bit antsy just playing that stuff. It was time to get the
> creative juices flowing again, though I love the Troubadours and hope
> we can keep going for a long time. Having to play those songs has
> been wonderful for my chops. Most people don't realize how difficult
> it is to play Hank's lead parts precisely and properly. Well, I
> often don't play them precisely or properly! But I try, and it's
> been very beneficial.
>
> Anyway, I'm familar with Madeira guitars - cheapo seventies and early
> eighties knock-offs but of decent quality for the price range. I've
> seen the logo, and I actually think it looks really nice! I've
> defintely thought about ripping it off! If you would like to
> facilitate that, that would be awesome! :) So, yes, please send a
> copy of the logo, and thanks in advance.
>
> Are you playing with anyone in SoCal yet? How are you enjoying the
> Cali lifestyle? BTw, I'm insanely jealous. :)
>
> Ivan
>
>
> --- In , Ran Mosessco <burnman@n...>
> wrote:
> > 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" <ipongrac@g...>
> > 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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> > >
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> > >
> > >
> > >
>
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