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Surf Music appreciation


danelectro

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Any surf fans here? I love it, in many ways surf was a predecessor to hard rock, the fast single note guitar playing, busy bass lines, drum solos, extended soloing etc.

Some of my fave bands.

The Astronauts

Los Straightjackets

Eddie & The Showmen

and not pure surf but surfy and very cool Deadbolt

Not sure if this will work or not but here's a link to a surf cover I recorded a few years ago.

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?acti...hZy9YSHcwTVE9PQ

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I have a buddy that loves surf rock. He loves the Los Straightjackets. He has a few other new favorites as well.

I agree about the surf rock being a predecessor of harder rock. I think it's influence on rock music in general is constantly overlooked.

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Any surf fans here? I love it, in many ways surf was a predecessor to hard rock, the fast single note guitar playing, busy bass lines, drum solos, extended soloing etc.

Some of my fave bands.

The Astronauts

Los Straightjackets

Eddie & The Showmen

and not pure surf but surfy and very cool Deadbolt

Not sure if this will work or not but here's a link to a surf cover I recorded a few years ago.

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?acti...hZy9YSHcwTVE9PQ

How's it going "danelectro" as well as our fellow die hard hard core ZEPPELIN fanatics? This week just flew by quick for me, thank God tomorrow is Friday. I must confess, I do love surf music. All of the bands that you mentioned are great surf bands. My favorite surf bands are THE VENTURES and THE BEACH BOYS. I especially love THE BEACH BOYS since I knew all three Wilson Brothers personally. I knew and partied with Dennis the most out of the three till the day he died in December 1983. I still keep in touch and hang out with Brian when I go back and visit my former state which is California. I didn't really get close to Carl or get to know him till I saw him on his death bed in 1998. I feel blessed that we finally bonded and became friends towards the end of his life. Better late than never. ROCK ON!

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I don't really consider Surf and Beach music to be the same thing. And although the Beach Boys had some "surf" songs I would never confuse those with the "Surf" guitar style of someone like Dick Dale. To answer the question, although it can get a bit repetitive, I do love me some Surf music. Some favorites:

Dick Dale

Southern Culture on the Skids (they cover a variety of styles but Surf is one of them)

Shadowy Men On a Shadowy Planet

The Aqua Velvets

I had my hands on the Cowbunga Surf box on Rhino many times over the years but for whatever reason I never picked it up. Oh, how I wish I had, especially after I learned it went out of print. It's still obtainable through eBay and Amazon but it's rather pricey. Thanks to some friends I've been able to get most of the songs from a couple of other now out of print single disc compilations that were also available on Rhino.

comp%20-%20Cowabunga%20box%20F.jpg

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I don't really consider Surf and Beach music to be the same thing. And although the Beach Boys had some "surf" songs I would never confuse those with the "Surf" guitar style of someone like Dick Dale. To answer the question, although it can get a bit repetitive, I do love me some Surf music. Some favorites:

Dick Dale

Southern Culture on the Skids (they cover a variety of styles but Surf is one of them)

Shadowy Men On a Shadowy Planet

The Aqua Velvets

I had my hands on the Cowbunga Surf box on Rhino many times over the years but for whatever reason I never picked it up. Oh, how I wish I had, especially after I learned it went out of print. It's still obtainable through eBay and Amazon but it's rather pricey. Thanks to some friends I've been able to get most of the songs from a couple of other now out of print single disc compilations that were also available on Rhino.

comp%20-%20Cowabunga%20box%20F.jpg

That Cowbunga box set was great! I remember seeing the songs included but I too never picked it up. I wonder if they'll ever re-release it?

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That Cowbunga box set was great! I remember seeing the songs included but I too never picked it up. I wonder if they'll ever re-release it?

I'm not sure. I never knew it was a limited edition or I would have purchased it all those years ago. I've written to Rhino but I'm not sure what good that did. I guess if there's enough demand they would re-release it but since Surf is such a niche style I'm afraid there's probably just not enough interest. I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for a reasonably priced used copy.

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Man Or Astro-Man. I saw them open for The Cramps a little over 10 years ago & the were awesome (both bands actually). They have quite a few CD's & worth checking out.

Always been a fan of the Surf songs that the Pixies did - "Wave Of Mutilation", "Ana", & "Cecilia".

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A band that's probably not regarded as Surf Music but I think they are in a way.

The B52's.

Their first and second album when guitarist Ricky Wilson was still alive especially. Rock Lobster, Planet Claire, Lava, Party out of Bounds, 53 miles west of Venus. All great surfy type songs.

Ricky had the guitar chinky surf rock sound.

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Man Or Astro-Man. I saw them open for The Cramps a little over 10 years ago & the were awesome (both bands actually). They have quite a few CD's & worth checking out.

Yes.

Man or Astro-Man? have been my favorite band ever since I checked them out proper. (That's Star Crunch in my avatar). I'm still missing a few key singles and their tour only CD A Spectrum of Finite Scale. Their vinyl only singles/EPs are incredibly rare. One thing that bugs me though is how they're pigeon-holed into the surf genre, even though they got steadily more experimental and spacey and beginning with 1000x they have more in common with Chrome, Sonic Youth, and Syd Barret than Dick Dale.

I've found most surf bands to be quite bland and samey, but the ones that I like are:

The Mermen

Huevos Rancheros

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet

and Dick Dale of course.

Edited by Muse
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Yes.

Man or Astro-Man? have been my favorite band ever since I checked them out proper. (That's Star Crunch in my avatar). I'm still missing a few key singles and their tour only CD A Spectrum of Finite Scale. Their vinyl only singles/EPs are incredibly rare. One thing that bugs me though is how they're pigeon-holed into the surf genre, even though they got steadily more experimental and spacey and beginning with 1000x they have more in common with Chrome, Sonic Youth, and Syd Barret than Dick Dale.

I've found most surf bands to be quite bland and samey, but the ones that I like are:

The Mermen

Huevos Rancheros

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet

and Dick Dale of course.

You're correct, they're not just a surf band, they encompass a lot of styles with they're own insane twist. Describing them can't really do them justice but I think you kind of nailed it somewhat with Syd Barret. If Syd or Roky Erikson wrote surf-ish style songs, they would sound like Man Or Astro-Man. They have to be seen to be believed & appreciated. Still one of the top 3 shows I've ever seen.

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I saw Dick Dale in concert I believe summer of 07? He played The Surf Shack up north of Ortley Beach and was fucking incredible. He can still rip and played the guitar with anything he picked up.

As for that, there's only one surf band that I can gracefully rank as No. 1 and that's "The Sandals." B)

Edited by bigstickbonzo
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I saw Dick Dale in concert I believe summer of 07? He played The Surf Shack up north of Ortley Beach and was fucking incredible. He can still rip and played the guitar with anything he picked up.

As for that, there's only one surf band that I can gracefully rank as No. 1 and that's "The Sandals." B)

Among the first riff's I ever learned on guitar was the Endless Summer theme. Mellow and beautiful, not raucous like alot of the surfrockus.

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  • 2 years later...

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