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Hi All,
I'm curious if any of you have tales - humorous or otherwise - of
trying to recruit band members that haven't played surf music before.
I'm sure I'll be trying out my share before I finally get a band
together. Any advice along these lines would be most appreciated as
well.
Danny
Well, based on our experiences in putting Longboard Ranch together, I'd say,
wait until you find guitarists who know how to play this style of music. We
musta auditioned at least 7 or 8 guitarists who claimed they knew The Ventures,
Dick Dale, and Lively Ones music. Yet at the audition, they'd be playing
endless blues riffs on their puky Les Pauls and Teles, with Marshall and Carvin
amps.
We were patient and waited until a guitarist showed up with a Mosrite Celebrity
and a Fender tube amp. We were teetering on the edge of calling him back, when
the very next day, we auditioned a guitarist who came equipped with a Jazzmaster
and a R/I Super Amp and a separate outboard Fender Reverb Unit. When we heard
him play songs like Penetration, Out Of Limits, and Yellow Jacket, we knew we'd
found our man. We called the Mosrite playing guitarist later, to come in as our
3rd guitarist, and he helped tremendously in building the classic "Astronauts"
sound we've become known for.
Our bass player had very little direct exposure to Surf and Instro music, he'd
been more into Punk Metal, but he wanted to learn, and dug the music we were
playing, so within a couple of months, he was playing a strong supporting role
in the rhythm section. His wife gave him no end of grief over coming to band
rehearsals, so ultimately we had to replace him, but when we did, we were
already an established band, with a major gig under our belts, so finding
another more qualified bassist was relatively easy.
I guess my advice, based on our experience would be, expect a lot more knowledge
of this kind of music from the guitarist(s) than from the bass player. That is,
don't necessarily blow off a bass player who's not already real familiar with
Surf and Instro music. However, without lead and rhythm guitarists who know how
the music is supposed to sound, it'll be a much more uphill battle to make a
credible, authentic sounding surf band happen.
Best Regards, and luck in your endeavor!
Bruce D
Danny Snyder <> wrote:
Hi All,
I'm curious if any of you have tales - humorous or otherwise - of
trying to recruit band members that haven't played surf music before.
I'm sure I'll be trying out my share before I finally get a band
together. Any advice along these lines would be most appreciated as
well.
Danny
.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Ain't it the truth, Bruce.
I had that same experience of getting too many "blooze" guitarists at auditions
trying to find a replacement guitarist for a trad oriented surf band a couple of
years ago. I learned to do a better job of screening. Once a guitarist would
call and mention that they knew surf tunes, I'd ask 'em which ones and what gear
they had. Most could only name Pipeline and Wipe Out and talked of their nice
Marshall. I had to give 'em the air. I had one guy who had a Fender Twin but
then went on about how it was hot-rodded and had wonderful overdrive. I told him
we weren't an overdrive kinda band and he snapped back, "well it sounds like you
have an attitude about it" and quickly hung up. But of course I had an
anti-distortion attitude about the direction of a trad surf band, that's the
whole idea.
Anyways, it's really tough to find surf players who really know surf through ads
in the paper.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: bruce duncan
To:
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 7:07 PM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] recruiting non-surf musicians
Well, based on our experiences in putting Longboard Ranch together, I'd say,
wait until you find guitarists who know how to play this style of music. We
musta auditioned at least 7 or 8 guitarists who claimed they knew The Ventures,
Dick Dale, and Lively Ones music. Yet at the audition, they'd be playing
endless blues riffs on their puky Les Pauls and Teles, with Marshall and Carvin
amps.
We were patient and waited until a guitarist showed up with a Mosrite
Celebrity and a Fender tube amp. We were teetering on the edge of calling him
back, when the very next day, we auditioned a guitarist who came equipped with a
Jazzmaster and a R/I Super Amp and a separate outboard Fender Reverb Unit. When
we heard him play songs like Penetration, Out Of Limits, and Yellow Jacket, we
knew we'd found our man. We called the Mosrite playing guitarist later, to come
in as our 3rd guitarist, and he helped tremendously in building the classic
"Astronauts" sound we've become known for.
Our bass player had very little direct exposure to Surf and Instro music, he'd
been more into Punk Metal, but he wanted to learn, and dug the music we were
playing, so within a couple of months, he was playing a strong supporting role
in the rhythm section. His wife gave him no end of grief over coming to band
rehearsals, so ultimately we had to replace him, but when we did, we were
already an established band, with a major gig under our belts, so finding
another more qualified bassist was relatively easy.
I guess my advice, based on our experience would be, expect a lot more
knowledge of this kind of music from the guitarist(s) than from the bass player.
That is, don't necessarily blow off a bass player who's not already real
familiar with Surf and Instro music. However, without lead and rhythm
guitarists who know how the music is supposed to sound, it'll be a much more
uphill battle to make a credible, authentic sounding surf band happen.
Best Regards, and luck in your endeavor!
Bruce D
Danny Snyder <> wrote:
Hi All,
I'm curious if any of you have tales - humorous or otherwise - of
trying to recruit band members that haven't played surf music before.
I'm sure I'll be trying out my share before I finally get a band
together. Any advice along these lines would be most appreciated as
well.
Danny
.
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You're right Marty, and finally, (it may have been just before David Kauffman
and Rob Woolsey called), finally it dawned on me to ask them to name specific
songs and describe their gear in detail. Even then, they (I just don't get why
so many of these guitarists, who have NO interest in playing surf music) would
try to lie and mislead me into calling them in for an audition - seems such a
tremendous waste of time and energy - c'est la vie, I guess.
Bruce D
Marty Tippens <> wrote:
Ain't it the truth, Bruce.
I had that same experience of getting too many "blooze" guitarists at auditions
trying to find a replacement guitarist for a trad oriented surf band a couple of
years ago. I learned to do a better job of screening. Once a guitarist would
call and mention that they knew surf tunes, I'd ask 'em which ones and what gear
they had. Most could only name Pipeline and Wipe Out and talked of their nice
Marshall. I had to give 'em the air. I had one guy who had a Fender Twin but
then went on about how it was hot-rodded and had wonderful overdrive. I told him
we weren't an overdrive kinda band and he snapped back, "well it sounds like you
have an attitude about it" and quickly hung up. But of course I had an
anti-distortion attitude about the direction of a trad surf band, that's the
whole idea.
Anyways, it's really tough to find surf players who really know surf through ads
in the paper.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: bruce duncan
To:
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 7:07 PM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] recruiting non-surf musicians
Well, based on our experiences in putting Longboard Ranch together, I'd say,
wait until you find guitarists who know how to play this style of music. We
musta auditioned at least 7 or 8 guitarists who claimed they knew The Ventures,
Dick Dale, and Lively Ones music. Yet at the audition, they'd be playing
endless blues riffs on their puky Les Pauls and Teles, with Marshall and Carvin
amps.
We were patient and waited until a guitarist showed up with a Mosrite
Celebrity and a Fender tube amp. We were teetering on the edge of calling him
back, when the very next day, we auditioned a guitarist who came equipped with a
Jazzmaster and a R/I Super Amp and a separate outboard Fender Reverb Unit. When
we heard him play songs like Penetration, Out Of Limits, and Yellow Jacket, we
knew we'd found our man. We called the Mosrite playing guitarist later, to come
in as our 3rd guitarist, and he helped tremendously in building the classic
"Astronauts" sound we've become known for.
Our bass player had very little direct exposure to Surf and Instro music, he'd
been more into Punk Metal, but he wanted to learn, and dug the music we were
playing, so within a couple of months, he was playing a strong supporting role
in the rhythm section. His wife gave him no end of grief over coming to band
rehearsals, so ultimately we had to replace him, but when we did, we were
already an established band, with a major gig under our belts, so finding
another more qualified bassist was relatively easy.
I guess my advice, based on our experience would be, expect a lot more
knowledge of this kind of music from the guitarist(s) than from the bass player.
That is, don't necessarily blow off a bass player who's not already real
familiar with Surf and Instro music. However, without lead and rhythm
guitarists who know how the music is supposed to sound, it'll be a much more
uphill battle to make a credible, authentic sounding surf band happen.
Best Regards, and luck in your endeavor!
Bruce D
Danny Snyder <> wrote:
Hi All,
I'm curious if any of you have tales - humorous or otherwise - of
trying to recruit band members that haven't played surf music before.
I'm sure I'll be trying out my share before I finally get a band
together. Any advice along these lines would be most appreciated as
well.
Danny
.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I agree with what Bruce said about bass players being easier to get on
board (pun intended) to surf music. As for guitarists, being one
myself, I hope I'll know when I hear one that has the potential. I'm
more concerned with drummers. A lot of drummers come from metal bands
and have too much of a heavy handed approach. Surf drums requires an
almost jazz like finesse with the sticks and your run of the mill rock
and roll drummer doesn't seem to have that. I wonder if I'd be wiser
tracking down jazz people who want to rock out a little, rather than
rock people? Or just keep looking for that needle in the haystack.
Stretch, yes it's too bad you're a little too far away. You'd be ideal
and I'd love to try playing with you. But you know Bay Area traffic and
I have a big truck and it just doesn't seem possible. I have the same
problem on the opposite side of the bay with Joe - the NorCalHodad - a
great guitarist and song writer but also just a tad too far.
BTW I hooked with Joe at the Pyronauts/Dick Dale show tonight. The
Pyronauts kicked a-- , they're all awesome musicians and they make a
mighty sound and are hell of fun to watch on stage. How did they find 4
people to play surf in Auburn??? Dick's another story, I think it's the
last time I'll bother to see him. He had his son with him, and he's
quite good for a lad of 13. But the show seemed to revolve around the
chemistry between Dick and his son, not the music, which was quite
lackluster. Also he's continuing to play the same songs I've seen him
play for the 15 odd years I've been going to see him.
Thanks to everyone who responded,
Danny
On Aug 25, 2005, at 7:07 PM, bruce duncan wrote:
> Well, based on our experiences in putting Longboard Ranch together,
> I'd say, wait until you find guitarists who know how to play this
> style of music. We musta auditioned at least 7 or 8 guitarists who
> claimed they knew The Ventures, Dick Dale, and Lively Ones music. Yet
> at the audition, they'd be playing endless blues riffs on their puky
> Les Pauls and Teles, with Marshall and Carvin amps.
>
> We were patient and waited until a guitarist showed up with a Mosrite
> Celebrity and a Fender tube amp. We were teetering on the edge of
> calling him back, when the very next day, we auditioned a guitarist
> who came equipped with a Jazzmaster and a R/I Super Amp and a separate
> outboard Fender Reverb Unit. When we heard him play songs like
> Penetration, Out Of Limits, and Yellow Jacket, we knew we'd found our
> man. We called the Mosrite playing guitarist later, to come in as our
> 3rd guitarist, and he helped tremendously in building the classic
> "Astronauts" sound we've become known for.
>
> Our bass player had very little direct exposure to Surf and Instro
> music, he'd been more into Punk Metal, but he wanted to learn, and dug
> the music we were playing, so within a couple of months, he was
> playing a strong supporting role in the rhythm section. His wife gave
> him no end of grief over coming to band rehearsals, so ultimately we
> had to replace him, but when we did, we were already an established
> band, with a major gig under our belts, so finding another more
> qualified bassist was relatively easy.
>
> I guess my advice, based on our experience would be, expect a lot
> more knowledge of this kind of music from the guitarist(s) than from
> the bass player. That is, don't necessarily blow off a bass player
> who's not already real familiar with Surf and Instro music. However,
> without lead and rhythm guitarists who know how the music is supposed
> to sound, it'll be a much more uphill battle to make a credible,
> authentic sounding surf band happen.
>
> Best Regards, and luck in your endeavor!
>
> Bruce D
>
> Danny Snyder <> wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I'm curious if any of you have tales - humorous or otherwise - of
> trying to recruit band members that haven't played surf music before.
> I'm sure I'll be trying out my share before I finally get a band
> together. Any advice along these lines would be most appreciated as
> well.
>
> Danny
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
> messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
> SPONSORED LINKS
> Guitar music Guitar sheet music Guitar tablature Stringed instruments
>
> ---------------------------------
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>
>
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> Â
> Â Â Â To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>
> Â
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> Service.
>
>
> ---------------------------------
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
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> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
>
>
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>
>
>
> .
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> messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
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>
>
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>
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>
--- In , bruce duncan <wetreverb@y...>
wrote:
His wife gave him no end of grief over coming to band rehearsals, so
ultimately we had to replace him,
bruce, didn't you mean "so ultimately we had to replace her" ?
sorry couldn't resist ;-)
WR
WR,
When it comes to domestic relationships, if the female part is obsessed with
controlling the male part, to the point of becoming a "dream killer", I've
always held that it is the male part's job to rectify the situation, and that
Outside Interference would be unwelcome at best, and at worst, could precipitate
real psycho behavior. If a man puts up with, excuses and accomodates "bad
behavior" from a woman, he is ultimately going to end up with ZERO interests
outside the relationship, and with ZERO friends with whom he could share such
interests. It sucks, but it's HIS decision, NOT the band's.
This particular bass player was married to an older, very dominant, "high
maintenance" woman, and he seemed to be perfectly happy being completely
submissive and subservient to her. We could have tried to "educate" him to the
fatal mistake he was making, but we deemed it not worth the effort, as our words
would have fallen on completely deaf ears.
So, we took the low-conflict route, and after he'd stood us up the third time on
a scheduled rehearsal, we recruited and found a better, more reliable bass
player. Just look at all the Surf Bands that have lost personnel due to the
demands of their marriages. One would think that involvement in a part-time
band project could happily coexist with marital commitments, but unfortunately,
many times, the women turn it into a "band vs. marriage" kind of equation. My
wife also tried to "pussy-whip" me early in the days of our band.
My response?
"Honey, I haven't changed one iota since we got together. I told you numerous
times how important music is in my life. When we moved in together, I took you
on a tour of the house, and showed you where all the exit doors are. They're
still in the same places they were then. I repeat what I told you at that time:
"If you ever feel that you are not in the right place, being with me, I want you
to use one of those doors to leave. I'm not your jail warden, and I have no
wish for you to be here against your wishes. If my pursuit of playing music in
a band is so unpleasant to you, I don't want you to be unhappy - Please do us
both a kindness and leave, if you must. But, if you choose to stay, then
understand, I AM NOT GIVING UP THIS ACTIVITY, not today, not next week, not next
year."
In the nearly 7 years the band has existed, I've only had to deliver this spiel
twice, and she's still here, and still tells me she loves me several times a
day! I just wish other guys had the guts to stand up for what's important to
them, rather than becoming whores for you-know-what!
Bruce D
mono_tones_1 <> wrote:
--- In , bruce duncan <wetreverb@y...>
wrote:
His wife gave him no end of grief over coming to band rehearsals, so
ultimately we had to replace him,
bruce, didn't you mean "so ultimately we had to replace her" ?
sorry couldn't resist ;-)
WR
.
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--- In , "Danny Snyder" <snydr@s...>
wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I'm curious if any of you have tales - humorous or otherwise - of
> trying to recruit band members that haven't played surf music
before.
> I'm sure I'll be trying out my share before I finally get a band
> together. Any advice along these lines would be most appreciated
as
> well.
>
> Danny
Hey I just recorded my fist surf album, it's been a long time in the
making. Both the drummer and the bass player are rock and roll
guys, they don't even listen to surf music. I wrote the bass lines
and the bass player pesonalized them. I'd played in a band with the
drummer and know him well enough to just let him do his thing. I
think playing with them was a good choice for me and the music.
