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Man, you hit it on the head, Jeff! Surf as a soundtrack for my
life? Absolutely - that statement is so right-on-target for me!
I think I picked the affliction up during my youth during the first
wave, absorbing some of those cool sounds on AM radio in the '60's,
but not really knowing what it was. I just knew that I liked it.
And I had to have more.
Growing up on the usual rock/hard rock then new wave/punk thing in
the late '70's, I eventually settled into a rockabilly groove - and
discovered Link Wray . . . that got me out of the remission period,
and into the full-blown disease of awesome instro stuff! Sure, I
listen to some other genres from time to time, but 90% of my
listening is surf/instro - old stuff, new stuff, whatever.
When I'm invalid, plop me in that wheelchair and spike me with a
Fender Reverb Tank set to 7-7-7 . . . I wanna hear that reverb crash!
Whew! That gave me goosebumps just thinking about it! When you find
that special thing that's just right, whether it's music, a guitar, a
car, or someone you love, you just know it . . .
-Dick
--- In SurfGuitar101@y..., "bigtikidude" <bigtikidude@y...> wrote:
> -Brian,
> That part where you said it made you collapse into the fetal
> position and twitch uncotrollablly is great. It reminded me of when
> Bevis and Butthead saw Dick Dale's Nitro on Mtv and Bevis went into
> an Epileptic fit,while Butthead just sat there and laughed at him.
> Uh huh huh huh.
> The first surf/instro band I saw was the Insect Surfers in Nov.
of
> 96. I remember watching them and getting goose bumps from the
sound.
> I also grew up on rock/metal, but something about this stuff just
> seemed to hit a nerve. They did a version of Jack the Ripper that
> was just out of this world. Dave and Dan-o were jumping around like
> fleas on a hot brick,and just tore down the joint.It changed my
life
> forever. Now 6 years latter,800 cds,100 45's,50 lp's into it. I
> think I obessed. I need to get a radio show,to play some of this
> stuff.
> I know I'll never stop listening to surf/instro. It has become
the
> soundtrack for my life.My friend Baja Marty says if it's an
addiction
> we aren't going in for treatment. Just plug the reverb tank
directly
> into a vien and turn the drip on to a heavy flow.
> Seriously addicted
> Jeff(bigtikidude)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -- In SurfGuitar101@y..., "Brian Neal" <bneal@z...> wrote:
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: windanseabeachboy [mailto:gavinehringer@m...]
> > >
> > [...]
> > >
> > > And by the way, does anyone remember the
> > > Raybeats, who I remember hearing in the mid-1980s, before Pulp
> Fiction
> > > renewed interest in surf guitar.
> >
> > Hi and welcome aboard!
> >
> > I just wanted to share my Raybeats story. They are kind of
> responsible for
> > me getting into the whole surf/instro genre. Probably around
1986/7
> or so, I
> > was a pizza delivery guy. I would listen to the radio a lot
> obviously. Every
> > week night at 10 pm, the local university had this radio show
called
> > "Progressions". They played "college radio" music (this was
before
> the term
> > "alternative music"). The host would always open the show with
this
> insane
> > killer song that made me snap out of whatever daze I was in. It
> made the
> > hairs on the back of my neck stand up. There was something about
> the ragged,
> > big hollow sounding guitar on the verge of feedback, the hypnotic
> throbbing
> > bass line, and this old fashioned sounding drum beat that totally
> freaked me
> > out. The music sounded so simple but taken together was very
> powerful. And
> > there were no words, how odd I thought. At this point in my life
I
> was
> > raised on classic rock/hard rock/metal type stuff. So hearing
this
> was a
> > revelation to me. And the damn DJ never mentioned what his
opening
> song was!
> > I volunteered to work every night until at least 10 so I could
hear
> the song
> > and perhaps catch the name. Sometimes he would only play 10
seconds
> of the
> > song, it was maddening!
> >
> > Finally I went to the record store up near the university and
asked
> the guy
> > behind the counter if he knew the song and the band. He told me
> they were
> > the "Raybeats" and that they were very good. He didn't know the
> song title
> > though. They didn't have any of their stuff in stock either.
> Hmmm....a short
> > time later I quit that job and this song was forgotten.
> >
> > So fast forward almost 10 years. By this point I was just
dabbling
> in Man or
> > Astro-Man? but still rooted in other styles of music. I was
> watching this
> > cool documentary on public television on the history of rock and
> roll. And
> > then all of a sudden they do about 30 seconds on this guy named
> Link Wray
> > that I had never heard of. And then they start playing this song,
> and you
> > guessed it, it stuns me once again. I start freaking out, pacing
> the room,
> > jumping up and down, trying desparately to remember where I heard
> that song
> > before! An hour later it comes back to me. That pizza delivery
> song! It
> > turns out it was the Raybeats covering Link Wray's "Jack The
> Ripper". The
> > next day I went out and bought a Rhino Records best of for the
> Linkster, and
> > have never been the same since. I took the plunge into the
> surf/instro world
> > and have been non-stop accelerating ever since then.
> >
> > To this day, Jack The Ripper gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Whenever
> I hear it
> > I collapse into the fetal position and twitch
uncontrollably... :-O
> >
> > A short time later I discovered Los Straitjackets, and was
knocked
> out to
> > learn that Danny Amis had played bass in the Raybeats!
> >
> > Well sorry for babbling like a lunatic, but I too am consumed by
> this music.
> > BN
