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Probably like a lot of people, I've been listening to all my Penetrators
stuff after lead guitarist Rip Thrillby passed on. I just want to encourage
everyone who isn't aware of them to go check them out. "Locked & Loaded" is
easily one of the best releases from the 3rd Wave. Rip and the band spent
many, many hours building up a detailed mythology for The Penetrators,
including a very cool web site, comic strips, stories, the whole S3 thing,
etc, etc, perhaps on an even bigger scale than even Man or Astro-Man? did.
So check out the entire package, especially the music, you won't be
disappointed. Rip (and the band) was very creative and very talented.
I got into the surf thing in the late 90's. I remember there was a buzz on
Cowabunga that the Penetrators CD was finally going to come out. It had been
a long time coming. Rip made the song "Checkpoint Echo" available on their
site before the CD came out. Curious, I downloaded it and that was it. From
that single song I knew I had to get that CD. Its that good. And then there
is Redlined, and on and on...
You don't know how good you got it until something gets taken away from you.
BN
It's a shame that someone would have to pass away before people gain a full
appreciation for their music (although I'm sure there are sales spikes in Elvis
records around the anniversaries of his birth and death, not to mention
increases in the sale of Beatles records and ex-Beatle solo records surrounding
the deaths or anniversaries of their deaths, too). Any true fan of 3rd Wave
surf should have owned at least one, if not both Penetrators CDs long before May
11, but unlike the man himself, Rip's music will live forever, so buy it now if
you don't already own some. And as good as "Locked and Loaded" is, "Kings of
the High Speed Weekend" isn't exactly a musical turd, either. Hell, part of
the reason I bought a turntable recently, was so I could finally listen to "Hit
the Jet Stream with..." (the other reasons being the desire to hear the first
two Phantom Surfers albums, as well as the vinyl-only cuts by The Space
Cossacks, The Fathoms & Satan's Pilgrims)
-tfj-
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Neal
To:
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 7:14 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] The Penetrators
I just want to encourage everyone who isn't aware of them to go check them
out. "Locked & Loaded" is easily one of the best releases from the 3rd Wave. Rip
and the band spent many, many hours building up a detailed mythology for The
Penetrators,
including a very cool web site, comic strips, stories, the whole S3 thing,
etc, etc, perhaps on an even bigger scale than even Man or Astro-Man? did.
So check out the entire package, especially the music, you won't be
disappointed. Rip (and the band) was very creative and very talented.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
--- In , henry corrado <gejettest@y...>
wrote:
>
> Thanks for the warm welcome, I just got 'The Penetrators, Locked
and Loaded' cd, I believe thats the sound I reeeaaaallllly dig. Is
it spy/surf? 'Checkpoint Echo' (first track) really drives hard.
Did some research, Ivan, it looks like you played with these guys
before, true? Any input/discussion on that style and what does it
take to get that sound, would be appreciated.
Hello Henry;
Yes, the Space Cossacks and the Penetrators were and are great
compadres. We played many shows together, and drove each other to
greater heights of accomplishment. Though Rip tragically passed away
in May, the rest of the guys are continuing the Penetrators, and we
will definitely hear from them again!
As far as their style, I don't really know what to say. it's totally
personal, not classifiable and the result of their many varied
influences: a big dose of trad surf, love of fifties/sixties spy
movie music, background in eighties southern alternative music, a
touch of lounge/exotica, and most importantly, the hearts and brains
of the four individuals that created all that wonderful music. I
don't think you can just classify it as spy/surf, cause they have
many songs that would not fall under that heading. They were
beautifully diverse, but it was always about having a great SONG!
I can tell you their gear quickly: Rip (lead) - early on a Mexican
Strat, later on mostly a Japanese Jaguar, into a vintage Fender
reverb unit, and then either a vintage Fender Showman or different
vintage Ampeg amps, including a Gemini V combo (I think) with a 15"
speaker. He also used a Danecho pedal on Checkpoint Echo and a
couple of other songs. Spanky (rhythm) almost always used a
Rickenbacker 360 (I think?) 6-string through a Fender amp of some
sort. Don't know the gear of the rest of them.
Hope that helps. Enjoy Locked and Loaded - one of the most brilliant
surf CDs ever! Their first one is pretty good, too, try to get it if
you like L&L.
Ivan
