Surf Rock

Surf rock, as a genre, has always been very influential on my Spotify playlists, of course, because you can't live by the beach and not be in-tune to musicians like The Ventures or Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. It's like a rite-of-summer-passage the starts around mid-April when we start driving with the windows down and blaring that wet guitar while the sun sinks low. That music makes any gal daydream of palm trees and ocean breezes, yet in it's truest design, it was meant for a more masculine audience- one of adrenaline junkies, whether water-oriented athletes or spy-movie enthusiasts. And yeah, I can appreciate all that history, but it's more recent revival has me all sorts of inspired over here.

 Around the middle of summer I was at my usual hang-out spot downtown on a Saturday night. Everyone was telling me all week long I had to be there because this so-and-so band was on tour and they were worth checking out. I had heard rumors of their masked faces and performance of setting drums on fire...you know just the typical thing you get excited for in your hometown's alternative music scene.

An American surf-rock band that tours for a living, Daikaiju

 The place was packed and everyone was staying for the show. Only a select few really knew what to expect. The first band plays, a surf-rock revival group from Shanghai that was all sorts of fun, and as their set ends, I go to talk merch-buying with the drummer. He and I are making conversation when I hear the reverb of an electric guitar and the main guitarist of DaiKaiJu practicing a few licks. I forget everything and hold my breath for a solid minute. This was the most amazing show I had ever been to and I didn't even pay a dime for it. If they are ever in a town near you, you will just have to see to understand.

Me, in the pink, with the masked monsters of surf rock, DaikaiJu

 But that began the re-inspiration for this fall's show. Taking elements of the things I love and appreciate the most, music, surf-culture, coastal motifs, and the almost cartoonish and unique way a band conducts a live performance. It can make anyone dream in high-saturated colors. This was a show to remember. I hope to have the same enthusiasm about my art the way a band like this one cares about their art. With out that sort of motivation, an artist just can't get out of the box. I have a ridiculous amount of respect for bands like DaiKaiJu!

So if you, my reader, are interested in past and current surf-rock bands, here are a few for you to try out:

1. Dick Dale and the Del-Tones- Lebanese surf-style, taking elements from Middle East
2. The Ventures- American surf-rock, elements of Hawaii and California
3. Takeshi Terauchi- greatest Japanese guitarist of all time, very Japanese sounding with that high-pitched wet guitar that sounds citar-esque
4. Round-Eye- surf-metal out of Shanghai China
5. Daikaiju- Monsters of Surf Rock, taking elements from Middle East and Japanese pre-revival
6. La Luz- all-girl surf rock band, elements of Southern California (Burger Records)
7. Real Estate- calm, West Coast surf-rock, airy vocals

Stay tuned for some sneak-peeks to this fall's show and visit me on Instagram for up-to-date information on what I'm doing!