The Mach IV Reunite, release "Eleki Extra!"

In the early 2000s, I was playing with Pollo Del Mar, which had gone way over the edge into prog-land. I really wanted to play surf music, and found three other like minded guys, all of who happened to be fantastic reverb musicians. Mel Waldorf from Los Mel-tones, and in a few years, Meshugga Beach Party. Johnnie Hamilton from The Berzerkers who has since become a very desirable bassist of choice. Shigemi "33" Komiyama was an all around musician's musician, and had a long list of credits including the Shig and Buzz "Double Diamonds" album. (I'll post the liner notes to our reissued CD later, as it has complete details that I don't want to re-write.)

Anyway, we did an album, and broke up, and then almost 20 years later, it was reissued on Surf Cookie Records, based in Greece. Cool! For the reissue, we wanted to record some new songs, and this made it a lot more exciting for me; it felt like we were taking a step forward, not just sideways. Mel and I each wrote two new songs and we picked two of our favorites from Shig's catalog of songs. We also released a song recorded by Phil Dirt at KFJC way back in the day, and recorded a new version of Paul Johnson's Bedlam.

Jeff Hanson, the Big Tiki Dude, asked us to play at the Surf Guitar 101 Convention, and we said sure. The last time we got together was 2016 for the same event, asking Tony Bald known in the surf music world for his work with The TomorrowMen, and also currently plays with alt-country band The Whateverglades. But, we haven't rehearsed together in years, and Mel and Johnnie aren't currently in gigging groups. Rust and cobwebs for sure, not to mention playing songs that had never been performed live.

Johnnie, Tony and I drove down to Palm Springs where Mel lives for rehearsal. On Friday, the day before our first gig, we ran through the set about six times, taking breaks to jump in the pool. It was above 110°. We totally focused on getting the songs together, playing the right notes, and getting the groove solid.  There were hand cramps, blisters, and deafness. We ran through the set again Saturday morning, then drove to Long Beach– very slowly.

We were the opening band at a Convention pre-show at the Secret Island Tiki Bar. After setting up the gear, we had some time to relax and talked with all the fans there, most of them old friends by now. It was a great scene.

Here's the interesting thing. As soon as we started our set, Mel, Johnnie and I instantly reverted back to our old physical antics– syncronized moves, duck-walking, crashing into each other. All the proper notes in the rehearsal went out the window. As Mel says, "They're not bad notes, it's Jazz." Within minutes, we were covered in sweat, and the audience was dancing, and it was a total blast.

The next day, Sunday, at the VFW Hall in Hollywood was a lot tamer. It's a big, well lit room and, at noon when we went on, most people were sitting in chairs with their arms folded waiting to be entertained. I always feel like I'm under a microscope, which leads to scrutiny and self doubt. We did our best to entertain and get the crowd going, and there were a few folks ready to dance, which we appreciated greatly.

Eleki Extra! is available through Bandcamp or you can listen to it on Spotify, Apple Music or the other streaming services.