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So, how many surf guitar enthusiasts are there in the east coast, let
alone NJ?. It seem like a actively gigging surf rock musicians
(guitar, bass, drums, keys) are a vast minority. If you surf, your
music is probably ska/reggae or some thrash/punk. You don't have to
surf to be into surf rock, but with a whole surfing scene in Monmouth
and Ocean counties in NJ, I don't think there is one active surf rock
band. Is surf rock seen as Cali-centric? If you say "awesome dude, go
for it" over in Seaside Heights, you will be called a kook and you
will get your windows waxed. Maybe I am a contrarian, but I see
opportunity here. Now If I could come up with Golf Rock, hundreds of
McMansionites would be looking to sling $3000 antiqued Les Pauls,
celebrating the praises of a hole-in-one. So is there a place for
surf rock in the East Coast Experience?
- Bill Moffat
P.S. People do actually surf in NJ.
One word: NESMA (North East Surf Music Alliance) Or is that 5 words?
Anyway, check it out:
www.geocities.com/nesmasurf/
or the Yahoo group page:
--- In , "Bill Moffat" <scrufbal@a...> wrote:
> So, how many surf guitar enthusiasts are there in the east coast, let
> alone NJ?. It seem like a actively gigging surf rock musicians
> (guitar, bass, drums, keys) are a vast minority. If you surf, your
> music is probably ska/reggae or some thrash/punk. You don't have to
> surf to be into surf rock, but with a whole surfing scene in Monmouth
> and Ocean counties in NJ, I don't think there is one active surf rock
> band. Is surf rock seen as Cali-centric? If you say "awesome dude, go
> for it" over in Seaside Heights, you will be called a kook and you
> will get your windows waxed. Maybe I am a contrarian, but I see
> opportunity here. Now If I could come up with Golf Rock, hundreds of
> McMansionites would be looking to sling $3000 antiqued Les Pauls,
> celebrating the praises of a hole-in-one. So is there a place for
> surf rock in the East Coast Experience?
> - Bill Moffat
> P.S. People do actually surf in NJ.
--- In , "obmosquito" <obmosquito@c...>
wrote:
Thanks, I just joined that group. In fact I've spoken to Retrowelch
before.
- Bill
> One word: NESMA (North East Surf Music Alliance) Or is that 5 words?
>
> Anyway, check it out:
> www.geocities.com/nesmasurf/
> or the Yahoo group page:
>
>
>
> --- In , "Bill Moffat" <scrufbal@a...>
wrote:
> > So, how many surf guitar enthusiasts are there in the east coast,
let
> > alone NJ?. It seem like a actively gigging surf rock musicians
> > (guitar, bass, drums, keys) are a vast minority. If you surf,
your
> > music is probably ska/reggae or some thrash/punk. You don't have
to
> > surf to be into surf rock, but with a whole surfing scene in
Monmouth
> > and Ocean counties in NJ, I don't think there is one active surf
rock
> > band. Is surf rock seen as Cali-centric? If you say "awesome
dude, go
> > for it" over in Seaside Heights, you will be called a kook and
you
> > will get your windows waxed. Maybe I am a contrarian, but I see
> > opportunity here. Now If I could come up with Golf Rock, hundreds
of
> > McMansionites would be looking to sling $3000 antiqued Les Pauls,
> > celebrating the praises of a hole-in-one. So is there a place for
> > surf rock in the East Coast Experience?
> > - Bill Moffat
> > P.S. People do actually surf in NJ.
Hi Bill,
If you check out the polls for this group, we had one recently (that's still
open BTW), where we asked where everyone is from. Suprisingly (to me), the
East Coasters outnumbered all other groups with a grand total of 7 people.
Keep in mind only 38 people responded though. There were respectable
showings by midwesterners and West coasters.
If you haven't voted yet, go do it!
BN
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Moffat
>
> So, how many surf guitar enthusiasts are there in the east coast, let
> alone NJ?.
I actually live in both northern and southern virginia concurrently,
moving back and forth on a weekly basis--and even though Virginia
Beach has had a surf scene there since the late 50's, and, you
occasionally see a bumper sticker with the name of some well known
surf band on an suv with a board on top--the people I have run into,
including those that work at the local music store, Alpha Music, are
totally unaware that there was ever a 2nd or 3rd wave and think you
are a total freak for expressing any interest in what seems to them to
be an "antique" form of music. Its sad. Of course no radio stations in
Hampton Roads play surf music. On the other hand, although both the
Insect Surfers and the Space Cossacks, not to mention Link Wray,
originally hailed from the D.C. area, and currently supports, at
least, the Atomic Mosquitos--surf music is so subterranean as to be
virtually non-existant, IMHO. I've never understood why some locales
sport healthy music scenes and others do not. If I had to hazard a
guess, it would be that local radio play, local bands that play out
regularly, and touring bands that frequently stop by are essential for
the meme to take hold of the local populace and grow. In D.C--we
occasionally get Big Lazy, Los Straitjackets, and Dick Dale come by,
but the Mermen passed us by on their last visit to the East Coast.
Again, the Atomic Mosquitos are the only local D.C. surf band I am
aware of, although, I believe there may be a couple of bands in
Baltimore, and one in Richmond. My only point is that although I
occasionally run across a fan or two, they are few and far between,
and generally got that way because of my constant promotion of the
music, to them.
Every time I go the West Coast, its a totally different scene, but not
by much. I have had many conversations with native San Franciscans who
had never heard of the Mermen until I told them about the band and
encouraged them to seek them out. Same for Pollo del Mar. The biggest
difference that I sense is that there are more local bands playing out
on the West Coast, and there is more radio play, although not THAT
much, and a larger fan base. But it still strikes me as a subterranean
sub-culture--at least in terms of the general populace, and relative
to other forms of popular music.
--- In , "Bill Moffat" <scrufbal@a...> wrote:
> So, how many surf guitar enthusiasts are there in the east coast, let
> alone NJ?. It seem like a actively gigging surf rock musicians
> (guitar, bass, drums, keys) are a vast minority. If you surf, your
> music is probably ska/reggae or some thrash/punk. You don't have to
> surf to be into surf rock, but with a whole surfing scene in Monmouth
> and Ocean counties in NJ, I don't think there is one active surf rock
> band. Is surf rock seen as Cali-centric? If you say "awesome dude, go
> for it" over in Seaside Heights, you will be called a kook and you
> will get your windows waxed. Maybe I am a contrarian, but I see
> opportunity here. Now If I could come up with Golf Rock, hundreds of
> McMansionites would be looking to sling $3000 antiqued Les Pauls,
> celebrating the praises of a hole-in-one. So is there a place for
> surf rock in the East Coast Experience?
> - Bill Moffat
> P.S. People do actually surf in NJ.
I live in denver, so i dont know much about the local happenings on the east
coast, but i do understand your insight on surf being an anitique music. I
think the reason people dont know about surf rock is because in the late
60's it got overshadowed by the lsd soaked phsycadalia that stormed the
country. People will always remember the greatfull dead, the beatles, and
jimmie hendrix, but (among younger people anyway) you will be hard pressed
to find any one who could tell you about the ventures, dick dale, or our own
local boulder band, the astronauts. So i agree, we are a very specialized
and subbteranean scene.
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I think the key is to get out there and play shows with other types
of band. In my experience they end up having a great time, and do
buy CDs. College radio, at least here in Canada, is very supportive
too.
Mike
Another observation I am sure we all have made is the rather
mysterious, and somewhat ubitquitous use of surf music--or "surfy
sounding" music, in commercial TV ads. This never ceases to astonish
me, because, in almost every instance, the advertizer is attempting to
evoke excitement, enthusiasm, passion, or engagement in the
fabulousness of the moment with verve and elan, extreme style, and
associate all of these intense emotional connotations to their
typically banal product. You might say that advertizing agencies have
glommed onto surf music in order to "sex up" their products. I
frequently find that if I play some example of modern surf music for
someone unacquainted with the sub-culture--they commonly make the
connection with music they have heard in tv commercials--which always
becomes a point of conversation. Thereafter, whenever a new commercial
sporting surfy sounding music comes out, they invariably mention it to
me and ask if I have heard it. The fact that we see this so often
means that it is a bona fide meme, and the lesson that can be drawn
from the interpretation of advertizers in terms of the usual surf
music use case is that surf music is used to make boring stuff seem
stylish and fascinating. Or languid and cool. This fact always makes
me shake my head in wonderment and also slight disgust, as I have a
deeper sense of reverence for the music--and think it deserves more
attention and respect than a mere launching pad for pizza, cars, or
soap detergent.
--- In , "urbansurfkings"
<surfkings@h...> wrote:
> I think the key is to get out there and play shows with other types
> of band. In my experience they end up having a great time, and do
> buy CDs. College radio, at least here in Canada, is very supportive
> too.
>
> Mike
> somewhat ubitquitous use of surf music--or "surfy
> sounding" music, in commercial TV ads.
I don't watch TV but I mostly encounter surf music while Little Steven is
doing voiceovers on the Underground Garage. I've wanted him to do a whole
show just on surf. One night he talked about the history of surfing, which
was really cool, but it wasn't a wall-to-wall surf show.
--
Malcolm <<-- not a signature
"They should know they're the Grateful Dead now." -- Phil
"It's never too late to be up-to-date" -- Dan Hicks
"My clock loses time like there's no tomorrow" -- Malcolm
ohsyrus,
Yes, my point exactly, most people are exposed to surf in TV commercials, TV
shows and stuff. It is a very evocative, and commercial sound which resides in
most peoples periferal consiousness if they partake in popular culture. If I
had a better band/recording situation, I could probably have a nice and
profitable hobby doing 60 second commercial beds for radio. Lately there is a
Shell
gasoline TV commercial which uses a bed that sounds amazingly like Pipeline.
How can surf be taken from the background and to the forefront? Promotion,
beer company sponsorship, multi-surf band events, high profile events, grom
training camps, hot chicks in bikinis?
- Bill Moffat
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
--- In , MalcolmO <MalcolmO@c...> wrote:
>
> I don't watch TV but I mostly encounter surf music while Little
Steven is
> doing voiceovers on the Underground Garage. I've wanted him to do a
whole
> show just on surf. One night he talked about the history of
surfing, which
> was really cool, but it wasn't a wall-to-wall surf show.
The first and only time I caught a part of the Underground Garage was
about a month and a half ago, as I was in a car. He started playing
Laika & the Cosomonauts, I think, and then started talking about surf
and instro music, and probably went on for about 10 minutes,
mentioning how he's a fan and how much he likes supporting this music
and then listed all the different acts he's played on his show
(including the Atlantics - which really blew my mind!). The last bit
of it he talked about Davie Allan's history, and then about his (at
the time) upcoming album (released on Sundazed?). He played a track
off it while he was talking, and i gotta say that it sounded really
great. It was quite a shock to hear a discussion of our favorite
genre on commercial radio, and to hear a few different songs played,
even if only as background. Kudos to Little Steven.
Ivan
> Kudos to Little Steven.
Indeed! Probably the coolest show that's ever been on radio. I love it. But
I want him to do a whole show of surf without talking over it. :)
--
Malcolm <<-- not a signature
"They should know they're the Grateful Dead now." -- Phil
"It's never too late to be up-to-date" -- Dan Hicks
"My clock loses time like there's no tomorrow" -- Malcolm
Yes. I have been meaning to mention this very thing.
It never ceases to amaze me just how often I hear surf
in commercials, and also a lot of kids TV shows. My
little brother (even though he's 19) still watches a
lot of kids shows, especially on the Disney Channel,
and there's surf all over them. I'm assuming that
most of it is studio musicians, which is a shame,
because a lot of it is really cool. I actually get
little riffs from commercials and shows stuck in my
head.
I think it was Tom Petty that said that blues was the
music that everybody professed to know and like but
nobody buys. I think that surf is probably the music
that everybody recognizes and likes (passively) but
doesn't really have any idea what it is. I've been
playing surf CD's in the car and people will get in
and ask me why the band is playing telvision themes.
Richard
--- ohsyrus <> wrote:
> Another observation I am sure we all have made is
> the rather
> mysterious, and somewhat ubitquitous use of surf
> music--or "surfy
> sounding" music, in commercial TV ads.
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> ask me why the band is playing telvision themes
FWIW, the theme song of Undercurrents on CBC used to be Nitro.
--
Malcolm <<-- not a signature
"They should know they're the Grateful Dead now." -- Phil
"It's never too late to be up-to-date" -- Dan Hicks
"My clock loses time like there's no tomorrow" -- Malcolm
