Menu
POP MUSIC
Upon this rock, a scene was built
O.C. was the birthplace of surf music and the fabled, amped-up Fender guitar. So
take
that, L.A.
By Marc Weingarten
Special to The Times
February 17, 2005
Orange County is the Orange Curtain, the wags say, a gulag of strip malls far
from the
vibrant cultural currents of Los Angeles. Fox's sexy soap "The O.C." hasn't
burnished the
rep either, what with all of those sexed-up young things and a middle-aged
patriarch who
likes to surf in his spare time.
Which is why the Fullerton Museum Center's exhibition "The Orange Groove: Orange
County's Rock 'n' Roll History," is a necessary corrective to the cultural
misperceptions
about this maligned region. The display, a sweeping survey of the county's
musical
heritage that features rare memorabilia, handbills, musical gear and other
ephemera,
places Orange Country in its proper historical context as the home of some
important rock
musicians and a breeding ground for surf music, a genre that's synonymous with
Southern
California but, alas, not necessarily Orange County.
Perhaps it's because Orange County is regarded by many as the state's capital of
conservatism, a place where the apotheosis of artistic expression is Disneyland.
But
according to the show's curator, Jim Washburn, Orange County's conservative
philosophy
actually gave a leg up to the nascent music scene.
"For a while, the conservative mind-set worked to the scene's advantage," says
Washburn,
a veteran music journalist and a contributing editor for the OC Weekly. "There
was this
whole notion of letting the market determine everything, of eliminating Big
Brother. If
someone wanted to rent a hall for a concert, so be it."
As the exhibition makes clear, the region's most important musical figure was a
free-
market entrepreneur: Leo Fender, who invented the solid-body electric guitar out
of his
Fullerton shop. In the 1950s Fender began shilling his Stratocaster guitar to
local
musicians to advertise his product, and one of them, Dick Dale, became O.C.'s
first local
rock hero. The Balboa resident, who bashed out his jittery surf guitar hits
"Let's Go Trippin'
" and "Miserlou" on a custom-made, left-handed Fender Strat, launched an O.C.
surf
movement.
Suddenly, everyone was saving up to buy a Fender guitar so they could start a
band.
Fifteen-minute O.C. surf groups such as the Blazers, the Rhythm Rockers and
Santa Ana's
the Chantays played key venues such as the Rendezvous Ballroom on the Balboa
peninsula
and the Pavalon in Huntington Beach. The Chantays' "Pipeline" became the first
O.C.-bred
national hit, selling more than a million copies in 1963. "We had a big fan base
in Orange
County," says the Chantays' Bob Spikard, a Santa Ana native. "We played the
Rendezvous
Ballroom for two years straight."
Meanwhile, Spikard's high school classmates Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield were
emulating the gritty vocals of L.A. R&B act Don and Dewey and performing locally
as the
Righteous Brothers. The duo became the most successful musical duo to emerge
from
Orange Country, with Top 10 hits "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "Unchained
Melody"
and "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration." "The Orange Groove" has two of Medley
and
Hatfield's stage suits on display, as well as rare album covers, some canceled
checks for
local gigs and a video loop of TV performances.But it's the obscurantist strain
in "The
Orange Groove" that makes it such a revelation. There is significant display
space devoted
to Kathy Marshall, for example. Virtually unknown today, she was a crackerjack
in her
early-'60s heyday, the "Queen of the Surf Guitar" who matched licks onstage with
Dale and
other guitarists.
"Kathy was an amazing player, but terribly shy," Washburn says. "She used to
throw up
before going on stage."
Tracking down Marshall was one of Washburn's most challenging quests: "I
couldn't find
her anywhere," he says. "Finally, on a tip, I looked in the phone book for
Marshall
Advertising, and she answered the phone. It was a half-mile from my house in
Costa
Mesa."
When the Beatles relegated surf music to obscure status in 1964, Orange County
moved
through all of the requisite developments in rock the psychedelic movement,
the
singer-songwriter coffeehouses (where Fullerton natives Jackson Browne and Tim
Buckley
first performed) and the Marshall stack-heavy riffage of local acts like the
Stack and Birtha.
One of "The Orange Groove's" most impressive items is a large mural of a scene
including
the Acropolis from the Balboa coffeehouse the Prisoner of Socrates, where local
folkies
Steve Gillette and Tim Nelson performed. "It was being used as an oil-drip pan
when I
found it," says Washburn. "Fortunately, the owner had a nice car."
Punk music is arguably Orange County's most culturally significant export, but
it began
modestly. "There were no places to play," says Jim Guerinot. The manager of O.C.
bands
No Doubt, the Offspring and Social Distortion, Guerinot began his career
promoting shows
in Fullerton in the early 1980s. "It was a very small scene. Bands would play in
roller rinks,
but most of those closed." Guerinot remembers mounting shows by Social D and
TSOL at
Fullerton Junior College, both of which were shut down by the police.
That history of opposition runs through "The Orange Groove"; it is the subtext
of a scene
that thrived on the push and pull of propriety and rebellion. But like all
insurgencies, the
fires cooled down to embers by the '90s, and now O.C.'s music scene is much like
the rest
of the country's, a combination of under-the-radar clubs and mainstream venues
such as
the House of Blues.
"Liability became a problem, and the scene got lawyer-ed up," Washburn said.
"But there's
still plenty of good music here. You just have to know where to look."
Marc Weingarten can be reached at .
The Orange Groove: Orange County's Rock 'n' Roll History
What: Exhibition featuring pop music ephemera
Where: Fullerton Museum Center, 301 N. Pomona Ave., Fullerton
When: Noon-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; noon-8 p.m. Thursday
Price: $4; $3 for students and seniors; $1 for children
Info: (714) 738-6545
great article. I may just go check out that exhibit this weekend.
-K
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 23:52:05 -0000 "San Barry" <>
writes:
>
>
>
>
> POP MUSIC
>
> Upon this rock, a scene was built
>
> O.C. was the birthplace of surf music and the fabled, amped-up
> Fender guitar. So take
> that, L.A.
>
> By Marc Weingarten
> Special to The Times
>
> February 17, 2005
>
> Orange County is the Orange Curtain, the wags say, a gulag of strip
> malls far from the
> vibrant cultural currents of Los Angeles. Fox's sexy soap "The O.C."
> hasn't burnished the
> rep either, what with all of those sexed-up young things and a
> middle-aged patriarch who
> likes to surf in his spare time.
>
> Which is why the Fullerton Museum Center's exhibition "The Orange
> Groove: Orange
> County's Rock 'n' Roll History," is a necessary corrective to the
> cultural misperceptions
> about this maligned region. The display, a sweeping survey of the
> county's musical
> heritage that features rare memorabilia, handbills, musical gear and
> other ephemera,
> places Orange Country in its proper historical context as the home
> of some important rock
> musicians and a breeding ground for surf music, a genre that's
> synonymous with Southern
> California but, alas, not necessarily Orange County.
>
> Perhaps it's because Orange County is regarded by many as the
> state's capital of
> conservatism, a place where the apotheosis of artistic expression is
> Disneyland. But
> according to the show's curator, Jim Washburn, Orange County's
> conservative philosophy
> actually gave a leg up to the nascent music scene.
>
> "For a while, the conservative mind-set worked to the scene's
> advantage," says Washburn,
> a veteran music journalist and a contributing editor for the OC
> Weekly. "There was this
> whole notion of letting the market determine everything, of
> eliminating Big Brother. If
> someone wanted to rent a hall for a concert, so be it."
>
> As the exhibition makes clear, the region's most important musical
> figure was a free-
> market entrepreneur: Leo Fender, who invented the solid-body
> electric guitar out of his
> Fullerton shop. In the 1950s Fender began shilling his Stratocaster
> guitar to local
> musicians to advertise his product, and one of them, Dick Dale,
> became O.C.'s first local
> rock hero. The Balboa resident, who bashed out his jittery surf
> guitar hits "Let's Go Trippin'
> " and "Miserlou" on a custom-made, left-handed Fender Strat,
> launched an O.C. surf
> movement.
>
> Suddenly, everyone was saving up to buy a Fender guitar so they
> could start a band.
> Fifteen-minute O.C. surf groups such as the Blazers, the Rhythm
> Rockers and Santa Ana's
> the Chantays played key venues such as the Rendezvous Ballroom on
> the Balboa peninsula
> and the Pavalon in Huntington Beach. The Chantays' "Pipeline" became
> the first O.C.-bred
> national hit, selling more than a million copies in 1963. "We had a
> big fan base in Orange
> County," says the Chantays' Bob Spikard, a Santa Ana native. "We
> played the Rendezvous
> Ballroom for two years straight."
>
> Meanwhile, Spikard's high school classmates Bill Medley and Bobby
> Hatfield were
> emulating the gritty vocals of L.A. R&B act Don and Dewey and
> performing locally as the
> Righteous Brothers. The duo became the most successful musical duo
> to emerge from
> Orange Country, with Top 10 hits "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling,"
> "Unchained Melody"
> and "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration." "The Orange Groove" has two
> of Medley and
> Hatfield's stage suits on display, as well as rare album covers,
> some canceled checks for
> local gigs and a video loop of TV performances.But it's the
> obscurantist strain in "The
> Orange Groove" that makes it such a revelation. There is significant
> display space devoted
> to Kathy Marshall, for example. Virtually unknown today, she was a
> crackerjack in her
> early-'60s heyday, the "Queen of the Surf Guitar" who matched licks
> onstage with Dale and
> other guitarists.
>
> "Kathy was an amazing player, but terribly shy," Washburn says. "She
> used to throw up
> before going on stage."
>
> Tracking down Marshall was one of Washburn's most challenging
> quests: "I couldn't find
> her anywhere," he says. "Finally, on a tip, I looked in the phone
> book for Marshall
> Advertising, and she answered the phone. It was a half-mile from my
> house in Costa
> Mesa."
>
> When the Beatles relegated surf music to obscure status in 1964,
> Orange County moved
> through all of the requisite developments in rock the psychedelic
> movement, the
> singer-songwriter coffeehouses (where Fullerton natives Jackson
> Browne and Tim Buckley
> first performed) and the Marshall stack-heavy riffage of local acts
> like the Stack and Birtha.
> One of "The Orange Groove's" most impressive items is a large mural
> of a scene including
> the Acropolis from the Balboa coffeehouse the Prisoner of Socrates,
> where local folkies
> Steve Gillette and Tim Nelson performed. "It was being used as an
> oil-drip pan when I
> found it," says Washburn. "Fortunately, the owner had a nice car."
>
> Punk music is arguably Orange County's most culturally significant
> export, but it began
> modestly. "There were no places to play," says Jim Guerinot. The
> manager of O.C. bands
> No Doubt, the Offspring and Social Distortion, Guerinot began his
> career promoting shows
> in Fullerton in the early 1980s. "It was a very small scene. Bands
> would play in roller rinks,
> but most of those closed." Guerinot remembers mounting shows by
> Social D and TSOL at
> Fullerton Junior College, both of which were shut down by the
> police.
>
> That history of opposition runs through "The Orange Groove"; it is
> the subtext of a scene
> that thrived on the push and pull of propriety and rebellion. But
> like all insurgencies, the
> fires cooled down to embers by the '90s, and now O.C.'s music scene
> is much like the rest
> of the country's, a combination of under-the-radar clubs and
> mainstream venues such as
> the House of Blues.
>
> "Liability became a problem, and the scene got lawyer-ed up,"
> Washburn said. "But there's
> still plenty of good music here. You just have to know where to
> look."
>
> Marc Weingarten can be reached at .
>
> The Orange Groove: Orange County's Rock 'n' Roll History
> What: Exhibition featuring pop music ephemera
> Where: Fullerton Museum Center, 301 N. Pomona Ave., Fullerton
> When: Noon-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; noon-8
> p.m. Thursday
> Price: $4; $3 for students and seniors; $1 for children
> Info: (714) 738-6545
