yeah... one of the band that i remember was "the trashmen"... they were the forerunner of so much music ... they were definitely the first "surf punks"
Daikaiju man, I thought I liked surf then I saw them when a friend of mine opened for them, not knowing who they were in a small little bar in my town roughly ten years ago. Literally top 3 shows I've ever seen, they pushed me into diving deep into surf and inspired me to do my own surf projects. Just amazing.
Early B52's drew heavily on surf music in the late 70s and early 80s. . Space Cossacks and the Mermen in the 90s took surf music in intetesting directions as well
Oh my goodness! I recorded Daikaiju's first demo in Huntsville in 2000! They were so good - they came in, set up and unleashed a blistering fury in the studio. It's probably the best recording I ever participated in. Truly an awesome band. It's so neat to see them mentioned in your video about surf music.
what about the Dead Kennedys, and the Pixies.... both bands used Surf sounds and were clearly into it or directly covered surf numbers fromm the early 60s
Exactly, SURFER ROSA, The Pixies had a Surf Sound going on in a number of their songs. I have been following Pixies since their first album Come on Pilgrim. Black Francis is very talented lyricist.
Thanks for putting that together. I've been a surf music fan for a long time. I love Daikaiju. Great loved band too. The Mermen, Bambi Molesters, and Slacktone are personal favorites.
Ditto, plus there quite a bit of crossover between all those four particularly Russell Quan. My friend's Tiki trio open for Deke (with los Straightjackets) once.
Used to be a band out of Chicago called Spies Who Surf back around 2000. Had a bit of a James Bond theme. They dressed in black suits white shirt, narrow black tie and Wayfarer sunglasses.
How do you think "Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet" fit in to this discussion? For example, "Having an Average Weekend" became the theme song for the Canadian comedy troupe "Kids in the Hall". To my ear, there is a lot of "The Ventures" in their sound.
I totally high jacked Daikaiju's rehearsal space once and they not only gave up the space to me, they gave me tickets to their show and a free vinyl single. These guys are awesome dudes full of so much positivity and seemingly effortless talent. I can't say enough good things about them.
Daikaiju was one of the best bands I’ve ever seen. I was told to go and didn’t even google them, I was blown away, I bought every disc they had and was bummed that their studio recordings were not as nitro charged as the shows, they should do some live albums for sure
@@HomebrewMusic he was a great teacher. I also had his class for 6th grade History. I believe we knew he was a cool guy, but we really didn’t get how cool he really was until later. Go Islanders!
My Dad is a big Surf fan, from the guitar school. He had a couple of albums by The Ventures, and liked Dick Dale a lot. His true love was Motown though. However, his Mom listened to The Grand Ole Opry every Sunday, so he liked Roy Clark a lot too. I dutifully discovered surf punk and skate punk because the guitars sounded familiar
Bands that should have been mentioned in this video would be The Cramps, B-52s, Ramones ,The Go-go's , and the Dead Kennedys. Although these bands weren't surf rock rock bands ,they were definitely influenced by surf rock and they influenced your modern surf rock bands ,of course everyone knows becoming a surf rocker is one of the few punk rock retirement plans out there. 😁 In any case the surf rock influence is clearly heard in the music of the bands that I mentioned. Oh, the Trash Women, and Hillbilly Frankenstein weren't mentioned, so I will 😁
Yeah, no shit about Daikaiju... their live show is something else. It's a LOT harder than the records, generally a circle pit, drummer gets crowdsurfed, passing instruments off to the audience, lighting cymbals, guitars, and the tour van on fire. If they're in town, you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't go.
Exactly. Seen them every year here in Columbia SC except 2020. So good, it's an experience, and you got to love the communal vibe. What other band tells you to get on stage and even force you to play their instrument? Ha ha
I’m looking for more of a modern surfy Nirvana sound. I absolutely love the surf rock sound in a lot of Nirvana songs, and even the Nirvana unplugged album, it’s like a strange mix of surf/rock/folky combo… anyone know of modern bands with that kinda of sound??? PLEASE let me know of ANY suggestions!! Thanks!!
Dissapointed that there's no mention of the fact that early instrumental surf was an FU to the music industry that only cared about singers, and saw bands as disposable.
East Bay Ray from the Dead Kennedys was heavily influenced by surf, in fact if you listen to “Police Truck,” you can hear the similarities to the Ventures “Pipeline.”
That was played by the inimitable Tommy Tedesco. He also recoded the themes for Batman, Bonanza, Green Acres, and M*A*S*H*. and was featured on many of the biggest popular music hits of the 60s and 70s as the go-to session guitarist for “The Wrecking Crew”. The Byrds, The Association, The Monkees, Sonny and Cher, The Beach Boys (he’s all over “Pet Sounds”).
Brilliant analysis, I learned A LOT. Good job. One tip to offer, when this gets reposted on Facebook, the preview frame is Joker with a microphone, from one of the Batman clips. This totally looks like it's a Batman video in a Facebook timeline.
Walk Don't Run was one of the first songs I learned on guitar. I'd like to add Link Wray to the list even though he played other genres than surf music as well.
I don’t understand who you skip from Dick Dale to Agent Orange without mentioning the B52s or The Cramps who were both arguably some kind of surf punk. And just in general I think there’s something kind of funny about the idea of punk being distinct enough from surf to have a fusion genre. Surf is just part of punk genetics. Early punk bands like the Ramones we clearly inspired by surf and often covered surf songs. Musicians like Dick Dale and Link Wray also undoubtedly had a big influence on what the sound of punk guitar would be. You can really hear how surf lended itself to the punk sound in songs like Bird is The Word and Demolicion. I also think it’s just worth mentioning that surf is one of the component elements in psychedelic music. Surf was also influential to the beginnings of psychedelic Cumbia. Idk I just think that surf did like a lot before agent orange. Okay okay I’ll be done after this but I also after to say that those bands like the cramps and the b-52s did that monster association and so I think it was kind of precedented. Rock Lobster seems especially adjacent to Kaiju imagery. Space themes in surf definitely go way back not just with bands like the B-52s but with first generation surf acts like The Tornados who wrote a few songs inspired by space travel and discovery. The Spotnicks another instrumental group were also very space inspired and notably have an album entitled The Spotnicks in Tokyo. They also had get ups to rival Devo. In my opinion surf has always had a strain of camp and sort of playing a character. Most surf bands, even bands like The Beach Boys, weren’t surfers.
You're not wrong, but consider that the Milkmen loved to ridicule/parody everything, a song like "Surfing Cow" is as much mocking surf rock as being actual surf rock
I don’t fully understand how to explain it, but when I listen to Man or Astroman and other bands the music grabs me. I must have heard surf music sometime in the early 80s. The Eliminators song “One gun is all you need” is almost like a religious experience. In my mind this music is connected to old hot rods, drive in movies, b-movie flying saucers, monsters and luchadors.
One when you forgot to mention that I’m a huge fan of myself is Jon and the night riders They were one of the biggest groups that brought surf back in the 80s
When you Talk bout Europe Surf, dont forget the spotniks from sweden. Like the Ventures, they drifted away in a country and contempory Pop direction. Nice vid, thank you!!
Daikaiju has been one of my biggest inspirations and one of the keys for me to get into writing surf rock stuff and mixing things up with middle-eastern music and blues... I hope one day my efforts are heard..
I trace the birth of Surf Music to the day, in the late 40's, inventor Les Paul visited the guitar amplifier shop of Leo Fender and told him about how to make a solid body guitar to go with his bigger amps. I suppose the day it died was this BATMAN episode, hah ha.
Daikaiju puts on one of the best live shows you can go to. If yo go, you will leave with a huge smile on your face. They make it feel like a huge shared experience with the crowd every time.
I'm a huge metalhead, but to this day, Daikaiju is still by far the best act I've ever seen live. Never seen anyone else who seemed to be breathed into life by the music itself like them. They just play as if they're magic
The Mermen continue to roll the tide back and forth and stay true to surf rock. Very listenable and interesting. Both fun and complex. No costumes or married to any lockdown. Purely free to explore the shore.
Vocal Surf music got a big boost in 77 with the TV Movie Dead Man's Curve. Which was responsible for bring Jan & Dean back out performing after being absent since Jan's accident in 66. Born in 63 it got me into the Ca sound. And when I went to their concerts the places would be packed.
Oh WOW . . . that anyone remembers JFA‼I loved them & played the crap out of em'. I STILL have my Sony Walkman, which has a JFA sticker on it‼I wish I could post a picture of it on here
The instrumental/heavier style of surf guitar playing was made popular by acts like Dale, The Surfaris, The Ventures. As for who was the first to tremolo pick their guitar with a maxed out reverb tank we'll probably never know
@@Alianger Dick Dale (born Richard Monsour) was half Lebanese, and is considered the first to popularize tremolo picking, something that he credited to being taught to play the tarabaki (a Middle Eastern hand drum also known as a goblet drum) by his uncle. And of course, Dale's style of play, and how he was able to advance the art and science of guitar amps by demanding bigger and more powerful amps, would have a profound influence on future generations of guitarists, especially as heavy metal began to mutate in the 80's. Give a listen to Anthrax's cover of "Pipeline", and realize that thrash metal was basically surf rock with distortion pedals. They even mentioned in the liner notes on "Attack of the B-Sides" that surf rock guitar was a major influence on the development of metal guitar playing. Oh, and Daikaiju f***ing rules.
You overlooked Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet, who performed the music for Kids In The Hall. I think they were low key responsible for making surf music cool again before Pulp Fiction.
Thank you for including Daikaiju! They are an awesome band, and they are great guys! Im from Alabama, and I was playing lead guitar and backing vocals in a band called Martha that played shows with Daikaiju back in the day. We said they sounded like "Satanic Surf Punk". They pretty much demanded that we, as a supporting act, start a riot, so we set stuff on fire and basically destroyed the place while they played... which was awesome! The underground punk scene in Alabama (and the south) around the turn of the 21st century was intense, to say the least. Note: These underground punk/eclectic music and art shows were held in basements, parks, backyards, and on some rare occasions early on, actual music venues. They were like "pop up" shows for built in crowds at various locations. These were "all weather events" so I got to witness drunken fist fights, people wrestling in the rain and mud, and lots of stuff on fire. I'm lucky to have been part of that time in the underground scene, and the lessons I learned stuck with me throughout life. What a time to be alive!
My band played with them a couple times down here in Florida. Great group of musicians. Very nice folks. Intense ass live show, so much fun and crowd participation. They nail it. Good to hear them mentioned on UA-cam.
You're kind of circling a point you only just touch when talking about godzilla - 60s nostalgia. The things that get attached to surf are the genre associations that were around when surf went dormant: hokey sci fi films, the space race, el santo and his luchador movies, and japanese kaiju flicks. The same effect can be seen in bands inspired by 80s thrash metal - they add nostalgic elements of sword and sorcery, mad max, and cold war nuclear warnings.
Thanks for the video. I’ve always thought that Holiday in Cambodia is pretty much a surf tune. I’ve also heard a VERY similar Middle Eastern tune which gives it a link to MiserLou
That was a really informative video about this unique music genre. I grew up with the Beach Boys and they basically popularized it during the 60's. It's still awesome that it didn't die out and is still practiced today. I would love to add The 5678's are a Japanese All-girl surf rock band that were featured in Taratino's Kill Bill Vol. 1. They're excellent!
Before the Beatles, the big band in the UK was the Shadows. It wasn't known at the time as surf music never reached the UK but totally independently, they were playing surf music. Listen to hits like "Man of Mystery" "The Frightened City" "Kon Tiki" "The Stranger" "Dance On" "Foot Tapper" "The Savage" and the original version of "Apache". From the Early 80's to the present day, there has been the Surfin Lungs. They have produced countless albums which feature both vocal and instrumental tracks. I recommend the compilation album "Splashback" which features a collection of beach and car themed tracks from the 80's and 90's like "Pray for Sun" "Surf Jet Girl" "Quarter Mile Machine" "The Beach will never die" "Quasimodo a Go Go" and "Let em Eat Surf" but there are classics on all their albums so give them a listen.
I've loved surf music as my most reliable favorite since the early '80s. So many genres and subgenres of it - hot rod surf, monster/horror surf, sci-fi/space surf, etc. My wife took me to see Dick Dale on my birthday, one of his last shows. We also saw Los Straitjackets, too, and many others. But the time we saw Daikaiju was the absolute wildest concert I'd ever seen. Small venue, where their bonfire was actually on the floor. Frontman fell off his amp and got bloodied, drummer had himself and his kit raised up by the crowd, where he shattered the chandelier. Afterwards, we got to talk with them and they were nice and sedate. Out of the latest wave of surf, I can't rate anyone higher than Daikaiju for pure, energetic talent.
Thanks for the documentary, though. I’ll have to check out those bands! BTW, were The Butthole Surfers a surf band or “spiced” with it. I remember “Who Was in my Room Last Night?” sounding like the fast, hard rock kind, if I remember right.
Surf Punks were just a party band for Malibu, Topanga beach parties, no one at the time took them seriously. But everyone was there and it was fun. That was it
"Farewell To Monster Island" is one of my favorite instrumental tracks of all time, right up there with BAND-MAID's latest "Get to the Top" and another Daikaiju favorite of mine, "The Trouble with Those Mothra Girls". Great Music all around!
I was born near Detroit & raised there, and surf music was just another genre that I heard playing around me, along with Motown, Canadian pop/rock, C&W, jazz, classical, et al. I've always loved it because it's great dance music - one of my idols is Candy Johnson!
The offspring, reel big fish, goldfinger, ballyhoo!, homegrown, gym class heroes, swayze, all musicians who owe musical dna to surf rock in my estimation
In the 70's there were FAR more obvious examples. Suburban Lawns, Devo and of course, the B52's. In the late 60's Tommy James' Crimson and Clover. These bands were far from obscure and put their surf influence right up front.
Bloodstains. Haven't heard that since 8th grade. I love that song and had forgotten about. It still just as badass now as it was then. Thank for your litte retrospective.
Modern Surf is like a black hole. If you get close to it and have the least bit of interest, you'll get sucked in and never return. If you keep your distance, you may know it exists, but you'll be too far away from it to realize why it is so cool and remains a progressive sub-genre of Rock to this day. Alas, Daikaiju is a great example! ❤🏄♂🎸🎶
It might have been helpful to point out that Darryl Dragon was "The Captain" of The Captain & Tennille. One of the Beach Boys dubbed him The Captain for his keyboard skills. (I believe he was a session player.)
Can't believe you didn't include The Amino Acids out of Detroit! Probably one of the most true to the Surf genre bands since the 1960's. It's not just a bunch of guys playing music, they have a phenomenal stage show to go along with it. When Dick Dale saw them he said "They're the best band I've seen in the last 10 years"
This is a non exhaustive list leading up to daikaiju btw. Your mileage will vary. Check the comments for a seemingly exhaustive list ;)
Part 2?
Yeh this is def a plug for daikaiju not a history lesson in surf music
yeah... one of the band that i remember was "the trashmen"... they were the forerunner of so much music ... they were definitely the first "surf punks"
Daikaiju man, I thought I liked surf then I saw them when a friend of mine opened for them, not knowing who they were in a small little bar in my town roughly ten years ago. Literally top 3 shows I've ever seen, they pushed me into diving deep into surf and inspired me to do my own surf projects. Just amazing.
Early B52's drew heavily on surf music in the late 70s and early 80s. . Space Cossacks and the Mermen in the 90s took surf music in intetesting directions as well
The Aquabats (Yo Gabba Gabba).
That's what I was going to say.
Rock Lobster
@@citizencain01Cock lobster.
Were the B's the first to marry the surf sound with space age themes?
Oh my goodness! I recorded Daikaiju's first demo in Huntsville in 2000! They were so good - they came in, set up and unleashed a blistering fury in the studio. It's probably the best recording I ever participated in. Truly an awesome band. It's so neat to see them mentioned in your video about surf music.
Hell ya 🤙
what about the Dead Kennedys, and the Pixies.... both bands used Surf sounds and were clearly into it or directly covered surf numbers fromm the early 60s
Also The Shins sorta have a surf/spaghetti western vibe
I said that exact same thing✌️💓
Exactly, SURFER ROSA, The Pixies had a Surf Sound going on in a number of their songs. I have been following Pixies since their first album Come on Pilgrim. Black Francis is very talented lyricist.
DKs definitely. East Bay Ray's guitar sound was California all the way!
DK is the new Serf music. Ask Jello he'll tell ya.
I just saw The Surfragettes play live. Excellent show. Love the surf sound.
Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet
The Mermen!! Took surf rock all the way into dark, profound, epic territory, while staying true to surf themes.
My band opened for Daikaiju in Philly years ago and they put on the most amazing performance I have ever seen before or since.
I saw Daikaiju just this weekend. Thank-you so much for making this video!!
Thanks for watching!
Man or Astroman is still great music to ride
One of the best to ever do it!
Opened for them with my band in Baltimore many years ago.
Funny that they turned into the navel gaze, drone psychedelia of Spiritualized. 300 Bars, Sway, The Slide Song.
The Dr Seuss Experience, in Wisconsin, combined hard core with surf. In the early 80s.
MOAM and Daikaiju are two of my favorite bands. Hell yes. Cool video.
Thanks for putting that together. I've been a surf music fan for a long time. I love Daikaiju. Great loved band too. The Mermen, Bambi Molesters, and Slacktone are personal
favorites.
Daryl Dragon DID play keys for The Beach Boys. However you would better know him as "Captain" from "Captain and Tennille"
How do you not mention The Cramps?
Dick Dale rules. Also Link Wray.
Phantom Surfers, Trashwomen, Mummies, Untamed Youth
I was going to comment these exact bands (except UT, they're sick though), but you beat me to it!
Ditto, plus there quite a bit of crossover between all those four particularly Russell Quan. My friend's Tiki trio open for Deke (with los Straightjackets) once.
@@shepherdmyers awesome
Jackie and the Cedric’s are coming to the Bay Area soon, love em
Used to be a band out of Chicago called Spies Who Surf back around 2000. Had a bit of a James Bond theme. They dressed in black suits white shirt, narrow black tie and Wayfarer sunglasses.
Let’s not forget “The Surfrajettes” from Toronto, ON!
The Surfrajettes rock hard!
How do you think "Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet" fit in to this discussion? For example, "Having an Average Weekend" became the theme song for the Canadian comedy troupe "Kids in the Hall". To my ear, there is a lot of "The Ventures" in their sound.
I totally high jacked Daikaiju's rehearsal space once and they not only gave up the space to me, they gave me tickets to their show and a free vinyl single. These guys are awesome dudes full of so much positivity and seemingly effortless talent. I can't say enough good things about them.
Surf and Exotica are probably my 2 favorite underrated genres.
Let's not forget the Dead Kennedys, the Cramps, and the Ramones...
Daikaiju was one of the best bands I’ve ever seen. I was told to go and didn’t even google them, I was blown away, I bought every disc they had and was bummed that their studio recordings were not as nitro charged as the shows, they should do some live albums for sure
Definitely needed to include B52's Rock Lobster
"Surfers listened to Jazz, not The Beach Boys." - Greg Noell.
My band teacher, in the 80’s, Bob Demon was the bassist for the Astronauts, who played Pipeline and Baja. Killer surf tunes.
My band teacher also (class of '78.) He inspired many Coronado, CA musicians.
The Astronauts had a great sound, their live recordings are great
@@HomebrewMusic he was a great teacher. I also had his class for 6th grade History. I believe we knew he was a cool guy, but we really didn’t get how cool he really was until later.
Go Islanders!
My Dad is a big Surf fan, from the guitar school. He had a couple of albums by The Ventures, and liked Dick Dale a lot. His true love was Motown though. However, his Mom listened to The Grand Ole Opry every Sunday, so he liked Roy Clark a lot too. I dutifully discovered surf punk and skate punk because the guitars sounded familiar
You missed a few. The Bomboras who nailed the sound, Satan's Pilgrims, Blue Hawaiians and even Southern Culture on the Skids!
THANK YOU..ESPECIALLY FOR MENTIONING THE BOMBORAS!!!! Xoxoxo thank you!
Agree! - my adds: Surf Coasters, Aqua Velvets, Barbwires, Bambi Molesters, Pollo Del Mar
SCOTS was a big deal on the East Coast.
Bands that should have been mentioned in this video would be The Cramps, B-52s, Ramones ,The Go-go's , and the Dead Kennedys. Although these bands weren't surf rock rock bands ,they were definitely influenced by surf rock and they influenced your modern surf rock bands ,of course everyone knows becoming a surf rocker is one of the few punk rock retirement plans out there. 😁 In any case the surf rock influence is clearly heard in the music of the bands that I mentioned. Oh, the Trash Women, and Hillbilly Frankenstein weren't mentioned, so I will 😁
Yeah, no shit about Daikaiju... their live show is something else. It's a LOT harder than the records, generally a circle pit, drummer gets crowdsurfed, passing instruments off to the audience, lighting cymbals, guitars, and the tour van on fire. If they're in town, you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't go.
Exactly. Seen them every year here in Columbia SC except 2020. So good, it's an experience, and you got to love the communal vibe. What other band tells you to get on stage and even force you to play their instrument? Ha ha
I’m looking for more of a modern surfy Nirvana sound. I absolutely love the surf rock sound in a lot of Nirvana songs, and even the Nirvana unplugged album, it’s like a strange mix of surf/rock/folky combo… anyone know of modern bands with that kinda of sound??? PLEASE let me know of ANY suggestions!! Thanks!!
Dissapointed that there's no mention of the fact that early instrumental surf was an FU to the music industry that only cared about singers, and saw bands as disposable.
This is super interesting! Any suggestions on sources (books, YT vids, etc) on where I can learn more about this?
East Bay Ray from the Dead Kennedys was heavily influenced by surf, in fact if you listen to “Police Truck,” you can hear the similarities to the Ventures “Pipeline.”
That’s funny, the Beatles just got together to get revenge for an historical event that they probably never heard of
The Beatles were rivals and admirers of the Beach Boys. Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson particularly had a mutual competitive respect.
No mention of Surf Music is complete without the theme song for Hawaii 5-0!
That wave sold more airline tickets than any add campaign.
That was played by the inimitable Tommy Tedesco. He also recoded the themes for Batman, Bonanza, Green Acres, and M*A*S*H*. and was featured on many of the biggest popular music hits of the 60s and 70s as the go-to session guitarist for “The Wrecking Crew”. The Byrds, The Association, The Monkees, Sonny and Cher, The Beach Boys (he’s all over “Pet Sounds”).
I’ve probably watched every docu on surf rock that exists 5 times or more… nice work. This one is well done.
Brilliant analysis, I learned A LOT. Good job. One tip to offer, when this gets reposted on Facebook, the preview frame is Joker with a microphone, from one of the Batman clips. This totally looks like it's a Batman video in a Facebook timeline.
East Bay Ray for the Dead Kennedys? His style has Dick Dale written all over it.
born in So Cal i grew up on surf music loving Jan and Dean , the Beach boys , Dick Dale , the Ventures and many more .
Walk Don't Run was one of the first songs I learned on guitar. I'd like to add Link Wray to the list even though he played other genres than surf music as well.
This was absolutely fascinating. 🎸🎶✨
Before Agent Orange the Australian band Radio Birdman were playing fast punk infused surf music
Sorry, how old are you? I remember The Beach Boys on the radio, all through the seventies. It never slowed down in California.
I do really love 'Man or Astro-Man?'
I don’t understand who you skip from Dick Dale to Agent Orange without mentioning the B52s or The Cramps who were both arguably some kind of surf punk.
And just in general I think there’s something kind of funny about the idea of punk being distinct enough from surf to have a fusion genre. Surf is just part of punk genetics.
Early punk bands like the Ramones we clearly inspired by surf and often covered surf songs.
Musicians like Dick Dale and Link Wray also undoubtedly had a big influence on what the sound of punk guitar would be.
You can really hear how surf lended itself to the punk sound in songs like Bird is The Word and Demolicion.
I also think it’s just worth mentioning that surf is one of the component elements in psychedelic music. Surf was also influential to the beginnings of psychedelic Cumbia.
Idk I just think that surf did like a lot before agent orange.
Okay okay I’ll be done after this but I also after to say that those bands like the cramps and the b-52s did that monster association and so I think it was kind of precedented. Rock Lobster seems especially adjacent to Kaiju imagery.
Space themes in surf definitely go way back not just with bands like the B-52s but with first generation surf acts like The Tornados who wrote a few songs inspired by space travel and discovery.
The Spotnicks another instrumental group were also very space inspired and notably have an album entitled The Spotnicks in Tokyo. They also had get ups to rival Devo. In my opinion surf has always had a strain of camp and sort of playing a character.
Most surf bands, even bands like The Beach Boys, weren’t surfers.
I think you need to add The Dead Milkmen to this list.
You're not wrong, but consider that the Milkmen loved to ridicule/parody everything, a song like "Surfing Cow" is as much mocking surf rock as being actual surf rock
I don’t fully understand how to explain it, but when I listen to Man or Astroman and other bands the music grabs me. I must have heard surf music sometime in the early 80s. The Eliminators song “One gun is all you need” is almost like a religious experience.
In my mind this music is connected to old hot rods, drive in movies, b-movie flying saucers, monsters and luchadors.
Daikaiju attacks Columbia SC tonight, my 3rd show, go!!
i love surf music hope it last for years to come surfs up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who knows what musicians will decide to do with it next!!
One when you forgot to mention that I’m a huge fan of myself is Jon and the night riders They were one of the biggest groups that brought surf back in the 80s
While there's waves there be surfers but I guess it's up to us to introduce them to the surf sounds . Rog . Pacific sunset records .
Radio Birdman, man.
When you Talk bout Europe Surf, dont forget the spotniks from sweden. Like the Ventures, they drifted away in a country and contempory Pop direction.
Nice vid, thank you!!
Born in 1960. Never stopped listening.
I need to mention Messer Chupps out of St. Petersburg. Solid band.
Daikaiju has been one of my biggest inspirations and one of the keys for me to get into writing surf rock stuff and mixing things up with middle-eastern music and blues... I hope one day my efforts are heard..
I trace the birth of Surf Music to the day, in the late 40's, inventor Les Paul visited the guitar amplifier shop of Leo Fender and told him about how to make a solid body guitar to go with his bigger amps.
I suppose the day it died was this BATMAN episode, hah ha.
Dude I never heard of man or astro-man! But they're my new favorite band this week!
Daikaiju puts on one of the best live shows you can go to. If yo go, you will leave with a huge smile on your face. They make it feel like a huge shared experience with the crowd every time.
I'm a huge metalhead, but to this day, Daikaiju is still by far the best act I've ever seen live. Never seen anyone else who seemed to be breathed into life by the music itself like them. They just play as if they're magic
I have been saying it since I was a little kid in the 60s.
Everybody loves surf music
The Mermen continue to roll the tide back and forth and stay true to surf rock. Very listenable and interesting. Both fun and complex. No costumes or married to any lockdown. Purely free to explore the shore.
Thanks for posting this, often overlooked genre.
Vocal Surf music got a big boost in 77 with the TV Movie Dead Man's Curve. Which was responsible for bring Jan & Dean back out performing after being absent since Jan's accident in 66. Born in 63 it got me into the Ca sound. And when I went to their concerts the places would be packed.
The Surf Punks have the best cover of "Ballroom Blitz".
Also the Dead Kennedys were heavy on surf riffs.
No mention of Jodie Foster’s Army, As long as you’re mentioning surf punk
JFA are great, iconic logo among aging skaters.
Oh WOW . . . that anyone remembers JFA‼I loved them & played the crap out of em'. I STILL have my Sony Walkman, which has a JFA sticker on it‼I wish I could post a picture of it on here
JFA is skate punk, a chapter completely left out of this vid .
@@empiremanagement1015
Yeah, they were skate but with covers of Walk Don’t Run and Baja they easily fit surf
@@MrScotts321 I call Robin that era No we didn’t we considered. It skate punk were you there?
But where does the style of guitar playing come from?
The instrumental/heavier style of surf guitar playing was made popular by acts like Dale, The Surfaris, The Ventures. As for who was the first to tremolo pick their guitar with a maxed out reverb tank we'll probably never know
@@kinglobsterkrew Apparently one of those guys was influenced by his lebanese uncle (wikipedia)
@@Alianger Dick Dale (born Richard Monsour) was half Lebanese, and is considered the first to popularize tremolo picking, something that he credited to being taught to play the tarabaki (a Middle Eastern hand drum also known as a goblet drum) by his uncle. And of course, Dale's style of play, and how he was able to advance the art and science of guitar amps by demanding bigger and more powerful amps, would have a profound influence on future generations of guitarists, especially as heavy metal began to mutate in the 80's. Give a listen to Anthrax's cover of "Pipeline", and realize that thrash metal was basically surf rock with distortion pedals. They even mentioned in the liner notes on "Attack of the B-Sides" that surf rock guitar was a major influence on the development of metal guitar playing.
Oh, and Daikaiju f***ing rules.
You overlooked Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet, who performed the music for Kids In The Hall. I think they were low key responsible for making surf music cool again before Pulp Fiction.
Yeah I may whip something up to give them their flowers
Thank you for including Daikaiju! They are an awesome band, and they are great guys!
Im from Alabama, and I was playing lead guitar and backing vocals in a band called Martha that played shows with Daikaiju back in the day. We said they sounded like "Satanic Surf Punk".
They pretty much demanded that we, as a supporting act, start a riot, so we set stuff on fire and basically destroyed the place while they played... which was awesome!
The underground punk scene in Alabama (and the south) around the turn of the 21st century was intense, to say the least.
Note: These underground punk/eclectic music and art shows were held in basements, parks, backyards, and on some rare occasions early on, actual music venues. They were like "pop up" shows for built in crowds at various locations.
These were "all weather events" so I got to witness drunken fist fights, people wrestling in the rain and mud, and lots of stuff on fire.
I'm lucky to have been part of that time in the underground scene, and the lessons I learned stuck with me throughout life.
What a time to be alive!
no mention of the cramps?!?
My band played with them a couple times down here in Florida. Great group of musicians. Very nice folks. Intense ass live show, so much fun and crowd participation. They nail it. Good to hear them mentioned on UA-cam.
This makes me sad that we never got a Christian Bale / Heath Ledger surfing scene.
You're kind of circling a point you only just touch when talking about godzilla - 60s nostalgia. The things that get attached to surf are the genre associations that were around when surf went dormant: hokey sci fi films, the space race, el santo and his luchador movies, and japanese kaiju flicks. The same effect can be seen in bands inspired by 80s thrash metal - they add nostalgic elements of sword and sorcery, mad max, and cold war nuclear warnings.
You mentioned Agent Orange, 10/10 video.
These guys are from my hometown. Miss seeing them almost every weekend.. but so awesome to see them go big.
Hell ya 🤙
wow glad you did a tip of the hat to the Forgotten Rebels
I don't want to make a habit of it or they won't be forgotten anymore
❤Thanks for telling the information about the forgotten treasures of guitarplay. Surf is immortal❤
Thanks for the video. I’ve always thought that Holiday in Cambodia is pretty much a surf tune. I’ve also heard a VERY similar Middle Eastern tune which gives it a link to MiserLou
You're right. Dick Dale was Lebanese. A traditional tune there is the origin of his Miserlou.
Dead Kennedys definitely deserve a mention here... and yes, Misirlou IS an eastern tune, though very popular in Greece as well.
That was a really informative video about this unique music genre. I grew up with the Beach Boys and they basically popularized it during the 60's. It's still awesome that it didn't die out and is still practiced today. I would love to add The 5678's are a Japanese All-girl surf rock band that were featured in Taratino's Kill Bill Vol. 1. They're excellent!
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.. The intro song for the Kids in the Hall; Having an Average Day.
Echo and the Bunnymen's album Heaven up Here.
Before the Beatles, the big band in the UK was the Shadows. It wasn't known at the time as surf music never reached the UK but totally independently, they were playing surf music. Listen to hits like "Man of Mystery" "The Frightened City" "Kon Tiki" "The Stranger" "Dance On" "Foot Tapper" "The Savage" and the original version of "Apache".
From the Early 80's to the present day, there has been the Surfin Lungs. They have produced countless albums which feature both vocal and instrumental tracks. I recommend the compilation album "Splashback" which features a collection of beach and car themed tracks from the 80's and 90's like "Pray for Sun" "Surf Jet Girl" "Quarter Mile Machine" "The Beach will never die" "Quasimodo a Go Go" and "Let em Eat Surf" but there are classics on all their albums so give them a listen.
- Do you have Surfin' Bird by the Trashmen?
- No, sorry. A baby and a dog came in here earlier today and bought all 38 copies.
5:27. Daryl Dragon is waaay more famous for being the hat-wearing keyboardist “The Captain” in Captain and Tennille, 70s pop superstar married couple.
I see them quite often, great guys, great fans.
Awesome‼ Ive seen Daikaiju about 15 times now ♥
@@sleeplessaquarius bout 10 for me. Man they are fun! Love their new stuff.
Love Daikaiju played gigs with them a number of times and they're just the nicest people you could ever imagine.
I've loved surf music as my most reliable favorite since the early '80s. So many genres and subgenres of it - hot rod surf, monster/horror surf, sci-fi/space surf, etc.
My wife took me to see Dick Dale on my birthday, one of his last shows. We also saw Los Straitjackets, too, and many others. But the time we saw Daikaiju was the absolute wildest concert I'd ever seen. Small venue, where their bonfire was actually on the floor. Frontman fell off his amp and got bloodied, drummer had himself and his kit raised up by the crowd, where he shattered the chandelier. Afterwards, we got to talk with them and they were nice and sedate. Out of the latest wave of surf, I can't rate anyone higher than Daikaiju for pure, energetic talent.
I bought my SURF PUNKS album in 1985! I love 'em!
Thanks for the documentary, though. I’ll have to check out those bands!
BTW, were The Butthole Surfers a surf band or “spiced” with it. I remember “Who Was in my Room Last Night?” sounding like the fast, hard rock kind, if I remember right.
When I was in Middle School in the mid-90 I was in a surf band, but I lived on the coast and I surfed so already knew about it
A lot of black metal riffs are heavily distorted surf rock riffs.
Surf Punks were just a party band for Malibu, Topanga beach parties, no one at the time took them seriously.
But everyone was there and it was fun. That was it
I love Surf Punks
Daikaiju is so fire appreciate the recommendation hugely!
"Farewell To Monster Island" is one of my favorite instrumental tracks of all time, right up there with BAND-MAID's latest "Get to the Top" and another Daikaiju favorite of mine, "The Trouble with Those Mothra Girls". Great Music all around!
I was born near Detroit & raised there, and surf music was just another genre that I heard playing around me, along with Motown, Canadian pop/rock, C&W, jazz, classical, et al. I've always loved it because it's great dance music - one of my idols is Candy Johnson!
The offspring, reel big fish, goldfinger, ballyhoo!, homegrown, gym class heroes, swayze, all musicians who owe musical dna to surf rock in my estimation
In the 70's there were FAR more obvious examples. Suburban Lawns, Devo and of course, the B52's. In the late 60's Tommy James' Crimson and Clover. These bands were far from obscure and put their surf influence right up front.
Would you stick Plastic Bertrand in the genre?
Bloodstains. Haven't heard that since 8th grade. I love that song and had forgotten about. It still just as badass now as it was then. Thank for your litte retrospective.
Modern Surf is like a black hole. If you get close to it and have the least bit of interest, you'll get sucked in and never return. If you keep your distance, you may know it exists, but you'll be too far away from it to realize why it is so cool and remains a progressive sub-genre of Rock to this day. Alas, Daikaiju is a great example! ❤🏄♂🎸🎶
That's wild both MOAM and Daikaiju are both from Alabama. Its groovy they make me Alabama proud.
It might have been helpful to point out that Darryl Dragon was "The Captain" of The Captain & Tennille. One of the Beach Boys dubbed him The Captain for his keyboard skills. (I believe he was a session player.)
oh shit i played with them several times from 08-2011ish. they're crazy nice fellas. one of my bassists got to play with them for a while, too.
Can't believe you didn't include The Amino Acids out of Detroit! Probably one of the most true to the Surf genre bands since the 1960's. It's not just a bunch of guys playing music, they have a phenomenal stage show to go along with it. When Dick Dale saw them he said "They're the best band I've seen in the last 10 years"