The 8th KFJC Battle of the Surf Bands

The 8th KFJC Battle of the Surf Bands

The Press Release:

History: During the golden age of surf music in Southern California, Los Angeles radio station KFWB held monthly dances for teens featuring local surf bands like The Chantays, The Surfaris, The Bel-Aires and hundreds more. These bands would become known as the fathers of the surf rock sound, recording hits like Wipe Out, Pipeline, Penetration, Mr. Moto and Miserlou. In 1963, Del-Fi Records releases an LP featuring the best bands from the KFWB Battle of the Surf Bands series.

Today: Bands continue to create and perform surf music and stations like Los Altos Hills' KFJC continue to play it. Though the station is known for it's eclectic playlist, KFJC has long been dedicated to instrumental surf music– many DJs regularly include surf cuts on their shows, and DJ Cousin Mary's show, "The Reverb Hour," runs weekly on Saturday nights at 8PM. 

On May 18, KFJC presents The Eighth KFJC Battle of the Surf Bands. In keeping with the tradition of the legendary Surf Battles of the early 60s, bands are given 10 minutes to present their best material and show, making for a fast paced and exciting 4 hour event.

The show went off without a hitch. The Art Boutiki in San Jose proved to be the perfect venue, and everything came together perfectly. Here's what I wrote after the show:

Some thoughts on the Surf Battle last night... 
First, the bands, who agreed to play for ten minutes in a stressful, no soundcheck situation. Who gave up a paying Saturday night gig to help support a radio station. Who waited in line to buy beer and food and didn't ask for backstage accoutrements. Who were eager and ready to get on stage as quickly as possible, and used the backline without swapping stuff, and then got offstage so the next band could get on. They showed each other respect in so many ways. Everyone stuck to the short set and they're the ones that made the show run on time.
Second, KFJC, who has supported eclectic music for 60 years, and surf music specifically in tangible ways- airplay, albums, show support, flying around the world to broadcast shows. Their crew set up the live video and audio feed. They, almost exclusively, promoted the show. Special thanks to Cousin Mary and GM Grawer for taking on these events (and they don't get paid either).
Art Boutiki was the best and most perfect venue for this event. The sound was fantastic, not to loud and well tuned due to Jason and Dominic behind the board. Thanks Dan Vado and your entire staff.
Thanks to Fred Lammers for the amazing poster!
My thanks to people who loaned equipment- Johnnie Hamilton for the bass amp, Mel Waldorf for the tanks and Showman head. Jeff Stretch Riedle for the cymbals and pedal. My right hand man for this event was Eric Ruel who showed up early and stayed late for the loading. And most of all, Karen Broder Dobronyi who ran the merch table, helped in countless ways, and keeps me honest.
And, most importantly, to all the fans, old and new, and especially all the kids (please form your own bands now!) You guys came and were so enthusiastic! You are keeping the music alive.

Singles Reviews May 2019

Singles Reviews 6/2019

El Zeb - Belgian guitarist Sebastian Fevry is backed by super-surf rhythm section of drummer Dusty Watson and bassist Sam Bolle. I guess I thought El Zeb would favor comparisons to Slacktone, but this is something entirely different. Kinda lo-fi and punkish, not the expansive pallette of chords and drama that Slacktone is.

"Lane Splitter" is psych-punk assault. The rising melody line reminds me of the Chocolate Watchband with a little bit of the Insect Surfers' tone. Sam’s bass is so thick he’s making up for the the lack of rhythm guitar. This is driving stuff, careening really, barely hugging the curves between berm and cliff on a treacherous stretch of coastal Route 1.

"Pounding Surf"- The real pounding here is by Dusty who’s beating the shit out of his drums. The chromatic melody isn’t that engaging, but it builds to a mystical conclusion that is most satisfying.

"Road to San Felipe"- tightly fingered Spanish melody with a Staccato rhythm guitar. I love when the two guitars come together at the end, one cascading, the other nudging counterpoint. Plenty of space to hear the reverb springs.

"Dad’s 65" is outright hot-rod, a constant snare tatoo and a simple chord structure. I love the dopplered sound effects.

I was surprised by the lo-fi nature of this album. It’s really direct and in your face.

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Soraia - “Still I Rise” 

I usually don’t listen to this kind of stuff, but this is a powerful pop single, with a great lead vocal, a positive message and a big, rock production. Plus, the band is great live.

“Still I Rise” -Live, the band has a garagey vibe, but producer Steven Van Zandt gave this recording an early 80s sound, and I have to admit to a weak spot for that. She has big pipes, and she really stretches them on the well written song.

The B-side is a cover of the New York Dolls “Trash.” Soraia did a good job with it, but you really shouldn’t touch songs like this, you’re never gonna beat the original.

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I’ll be honest, two years ago I didn’t know what Cumbia was, and then, everyones talking about it. I still don’t know if the word refers to the beat, or is a catch all phrase for a vibe. I’ve heard lots of different bands described as Cumbia, and they can sound really different- from pop vocal to instrumental psychedelic. My friend Jonathan joined this band Mariposas Del Alma just after they put out this single. I love it! "I Love You For All Seasons" was originally recorded by and a Top 10 hit for the R&B trio The Fuzz in 1970.This version retains the tight harmonies of the original but is set over a groovy Latin rhythm, with hints of a Sly Stone production. I love that they sing the first verse in English and the second in Spanish. It’s really groovy and this is definitely THE song of the summer 2019! For you instrumental lovers, the B-side has no vocal, just great vibes, though I wish they had done a bit of a dub remix with it. I look forward to more from this trio, they are going places!

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This Space Agency single came out in 2016. It’s immediately identifiable, as nobody else is doing what the Space Agency does. Their sound is led by a highly effected (though extremely vintage) guitar, over a psychedelic padding, and no one has the balls to mix the drums as low as the Space Agency. That just makes all the other layers much more audible. Somehow, Simon Jones' production gets a genuine out-of-phase mind warp that’s only possible with a two-track recorded with the head really out of alignment. If you like “Psychsploitation” era Satan’s Pilgrims, and want to go a little deeper, you must know about the Space Agency.

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The Wave Chargers made a huge impression on me at last summer’s Surfer Joe Festival. They are a really modern surf band. It's not that their tones are outrageous, they were really tight, and the rhythm section worked in mechanical way. And then there are those those piped polo shirts... The single is packed with four songs, the first two on side A are originals and have good movement in the structure and melodies. The WCs have good dynamic range, though they mostly function in “this one goes to 11” mode.

Side B mixes it up a little with some raw sax on a cover of “Crossfire” and a I-IV-V romp with “Les Cavaliers de l’Apocalypse sant des sufeurs” Did I mention that they are a French band?

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