Listen: 'On the Edge of a Dream'
In the wake of Damien Lovelock’s recent death much commentary flowed towards the concept of ‘surf music’, a genre the Celibate Rifles were undoubtedly a part of. Not a category you’d ever see indexed at the record store, or on iTunes, or Spotify, or wherever you access music these days, but the concept has always existed.
From cheeseball beginnings with the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean, to ‘Harvest’ era Neil Young, and here in Australia, Radio Birdman, Sunnyboys, The Hellmenn, and The Riptides all contributed to the genus, while more recently there’s been The Beautiful Girls, Ocean Alley, and the Goons of Doom.
A wide mix of styles, no? That’s ‘cos the genre always had more to do with who was listening than who was playing. Yet the surf music label is becoming increasingly meaningless. The problem nowadays is that everybody surfs, not just young restive blokes, so the idea of surf music is so broad as to be pointless.
A new idea of surf music is required. I’m gonna propose we be a bit more rigorous in our interpretation, just a way of flying the colours, of keeping the imposters at bay, and I’m putting forward the soundtrack to ‘On The Edge of a Dream’ as the new template. It’s a contribution to surf culture that outsiders will never understand.
‘On The Edge…’ came out earlier this year and the whole project was an exercise in artistic involvement. Of exploring surfboard design, specifically Edge design, through various mediums: film, essay, poetry, and music, with a leitmotif that runs through all of them: “You gotta beat that feeling of terminal velocity.”
The search for velocity doesn’t extend to tempo with sprawling garage rock filling most of the tracks, slowing occasionally for evocation, with the whole thing building to a Crazy Horse-style electric pile on in ‘Surf Song Sally’ courtesy of Area Pin - the ultimate band name for insider surf music.
‘On the Edge of a Dream’ is available on vinyl through Big Sky Records.
Comments
So Stu speaking of on edge hows your edge board?
Board got ridden. Board got shelved. But board didn't stop getting thought about.
I brought it back out about a month ago, put different fins in it, and I've been riding it almost exclusively during this last month of swell.
Got a lot to say about it but I'll save it for an upcoming article.
Like that tune. Some Radiohead in there.
Yeh, my thoughts exactly. I really liked it, shame it was only a taste......
I really like the dirty guitar bit, radiohead needs to revisit that.....
Nothing wrong with Jack McCoy's use of INXS in the Green Iguana/Sik Joy era either. Heaven Scent still gets me thinking of Occ's Hawaiian backside blasts.
Generous serves of The Cruel Sea used by Brian Bleak also in the Quiky classics 110/240 and Surfers of Fortune.
PK and the 90's search films rings a bell also?
More of this please.
Mad Wax — GANGgajang
Gangagain! Sick album! I've been so frothing on it lately.
Too right!
"In 1987, Gang Gajang's music was featured exclusively in the Quiksilver surf movie Mad Wax. The film became a cult surf classic and introduced the band to a worldwide audience: Gang Gajang was named 'World's Best Band' two years in a row by the Association of Surfing Professionals."
Protest Doco ...'Dominion II Trailer'.
Hazmat Vegan protesters storm a high security razor wire surfboard farm.
Plenty of wheelie bins & cars stacked a mile high to free the tortured surfboards.
tbb is guessing a Rainbow Region promo for yet another feral Green Limousine.
Folksy jingle from Nimbin Department of transport .
"Don't smoke yer scoobs in a combi load of chem slabs."...Warning by Cloud Catcher.
I honestly don’t know why you bother tbb. No one but you knows what you’re on about. I reckon I can decipher about 5% of each of your comments and those are the bits where you’re talking about yourself in the 3rd person.
See: Mount Warning - The 'Cloud Catcher' of the Bundjalung 'Rainbow Region'.
That is the location of featured Surf Flick.
See: Countless Surfboards rest on the 'Barbed Wire perimeter fencing'.(a real lot)
See: Many folk in Hazmat Suits of Masks & gloves...Don't look like farmers?
These outfits when associated with farms resemble Vegans- re: 'Dominion Movie'.
Invasions play out in the News in this part of the world. Nothing to fear! We hope!
See: Boards on bins or stacked in Green Limo...presumably a breakout of sorts.
Listen: As the song hook keeps going on about about smoking in cars...(yep!)
tbb was merely suggesting that local Transit (Nimbin) Warn of said danger.
Think twice before smoking a (Nimbin Ciggie) in a car load of fuel.(Boards)Kaboom!
Pretty certain that's a true blue bash (real deal) of what went down....nothin' suss!
Lived here all my life & don't recall any other locals making any more or less sense!
If you think that I know what I'm on about, then my psychiatrist is wasting his time. [Disclaimer] Yes tbb has discussed changing meds! No! I wouldn't joke about that!
PS:
swellnet treat mental illness sufferers with dignity so it's no bother to them or us.
tbb, I don’t always follow exactly what you say but it keeps these forums interesting and I (and no doubt many others) enjoy your posts. Keep them coming!
Onya tbb. Like most here I understand FA of many of your posts, but every now and again I find useful links, valuable info and even a good chuckle. And for that I salute you in peace. (#livelongandprosper)
.it might seem a small thing..but Dick Dale didn't event surf guitar..it was Link Ray with "Rumble"; which was released in 1958, with Dick Dale's self-proclaimed "King of the Surf Guitar" 2 + years later.
Dan Rumour and the Drift have a whole album dedicated to that iconic 'surf guitar' sound.
&list=PLPt2UO7GqSZ3bFvRO0u_1J58PV8ydQArNThe Warumpi Band and Jack McCoy movies stoke me out every time. Surf Hits- Jungle Jet Set is a classic.
The soundtrack to "Self Discovery For Social Survival" is pretty good. I believe the songs may have been made on location for each section too? I still haven't seen the movie but the soundtrack has been on heavy rotation on my Spotify
radiationrules raises a good point...
tbb punked out to both concerts... Link Wray (Dog House) & Dick Dale (Playroom)
This list below only highlights those that got a break not the 95% of innovators.
tbb has collated GC music & less than 0.5% of pre-1970's bands/sound are on-line.
GC surf songs & lingo can be traced back to Surf Rafterz of 1840-60's. (No Guitars)
1958- Link Wray...Rumble (Twang verges on Surf Guitar?)
1960 - The Gamblers ...Moon dawg! (1st 'Surf Instrumental' & still the best )
1961/62- Dick Dale (King) -'Let's Go Trippin' (1st Surf/Guitar LP -'Surfer's Choice')
1963- Link Wray- 'Jack The Ripper' (1st Surf/Punk tune & still the best) #1 Innovator!
1978- Live Jap' overdrive version is outrageous.
In this version Link tributes distortion to Gambler's "Moon Dawg!" (Listen Closely!)
1973 Cloured Balls GOD (Guitar Over drive) (Live @ Sunbury) ('Ripper'-wind down)
1965 Davie Allan & The Arrows tribute to - 'Moon Dawg!' (Skater Fuzz / Cycledelic)
1966 Davie Allan & The Arrows 'Blues Theme'...(Hear the Original DK Punk riffs)
2005 'Kerblamo' Version
So yeh! All these Guitar Gods tribute one another's masterpieces ...We salute them!
The Dog house...only short lived but a great venue and many a rowdy night had in there!
Speaking of links, here's one to an SBS doco called Rumble - the American Indians who rocked the world. Featuring Link Ray.
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/1226975299738/rumble-the-indians-w...
Thanx philosurphizing for the link-up to Link.
1996 Link tour to Oz was wild despite 50-100 punters @ Goldie Gig.
tbb went to buy a T Shirt & had to wait cause Link himself was selling them.
He thought it a bid odd that someone wanted one...had his own 'Arrow' Logo.
Both Link Wray & Dick Dales Gigs only ever got them to the next town.
tbb can vouch that only core fans rocked up...Legends ahead of their time.
Above - "Rumble"- Link stabbed the speaker cone to recreate "Rumble" sound.
Instrumental was banned as the sound imitated a gang Rumble. (Inciting violence)
1961/63 'Jack the Ripper' released in 1961 ? ...(20 yrs ahead of time.) re: Cramps
TTB > many thanks > that link took me on a journey. I might be biased but Link Wray's slash-and-pause for the reverb, sounds so precise, fuzzy and contemporary.
I don't recall hearing Dave Allen "Blues Theme" before - what a cracker.
I saw Dick Dale live in London about 3 months after Pulp Fiction became a cult film - 1992? He had screens running either side, above the Marshall Double Stacks, with vintage disney cartoons on one screen and vintage porno's on the other? It made it quite difficult to concentrate on his music. His guitar playing was sublime BTW
Now this is surf music......
when I hear the Beach Boys on the radio, I always turn it up. it still gets me there.
Great stuff crew...tbb equally punked out to Turnbuckles ...fantastic..
Even had a good mate in that band Shh! Top Secret! Can't blow his cover.
Jan 1964 Beach Boys played Bne > S Paradise I believe
June 2010 Beach Boys played Surfers Paradise for 2nd time.
Daggy Promo + Medley Slips a lot but they pulled a healthy Crowd
Dick Dale Story is a sad one! by 1965 cancer all but killed him.
radiationrules (Extras paid for meds) re: Swellnet "King of the Surf Guitar" Tribute
https://www.swellnet.com/comment/605550
Had to Play or Die ($3,000 mth for colostomy bags +meds).(Pain on his face is real!)
Says bag got in the way of guitar even burst & drenched his trousers on stage..
The bloke was a walking corpse even booked out a year in advance on his death bed.
So yeah! Sometimes a TV Part/Duo ...Back to the Beach...(Reckons it saved him)
Dick Dale & Stevie Ray Vaughan...'Pipeline' (Bit of Fun! Sounds to good to be true!)
When tbb saw him he'd make eye contact & ramped it up as you wish..the real deal!
tbb's fav 1960's surf track hails from Quebec..that's not the weird bit!
Les Talismans..'.I 'interplanetaire' (Porpoise song..Echolocation Clicks)
Tune is beyond our realm just reimagine tbb's unfathomobile...he's half asleep!
Guru Surf Guitar /Organ groove is so far ahead of time [Track #1 on your stasis cube]
1961 Wot? (That's ridiculous...must be aliens!) Tarantulas....Tarantula
How much wild Surf Guitar can the crew handle in just one song?
&list=PLg-jS7VWuFqdGtUShJ5QGL2VkuJibXWQd&index=1561960's Mystery Japanese Surf Band hits overdrive @ 1minute mark...hang on tight!
As tbb was saying you just never know where next even better surf song is found.
Bring it on!
thanks tbb, enjoyed that
Link Wray[RIP] rocks. I'm surprised no one has mentioned The Break. Modern take on Atlantics style surf music played by consumate professionals. The songs on one of their albums are mostly named after surf breaks.
Also check out the Delightful Rain album. An excellent mix of surf inspired tunes by various artists. Special mention for The Angry Tradesmen with "Big Wave".
surfside six...sydney band from early 80s...one or two on them still paddle out on ocassion.
Love those icy pole sticks on the cover :))
new, using real icy pole sticks is a nice touch.
( /////-SURF SIDE 6 -//// ) Icy Pole Stick is the real one.
They mixed up the stick colours & placement for each copy.
eg: tbb's copy has the Blue Lemonade Stick stuck on corresponding Blue Stick.
I agree it works & stacks well as mine has held on since 1981 not even loose.
Bastards probably used real icy pop slobber as the glue.
Just gave mine a lick...still has it's flavour....
Chook can go suck on a Pineapple!
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SURFSIDE-6-CANT-YOU-SEE-THE-SIGN-RARE-OZ-SUR...
Pacific standard Lime for OHV500
http://assets.rootsvinylguide.com/pictures/surfside-6-can-t-you-see-the-...
...might want to gargle some detol after that.
they're still complaining about how much work it took to stick them all on..
Bugger the music - its the icy pole sticks, that this article is really about :))
Surf music...
http://surfingdownsouth.com.au/2019/08/14/1950s-trad-jazz-at-yallingup-b...
or to get more esoteric...
Bud Shank & Bruce Brown. Diggit.
Surfers!
Dane knows...
Although laden with seppo driven commentary and promo the Billabong Surf Into Summer and onwards (PUMP, Filthy Habits etc.) were favourites with Bill Lincoln and his surf guitar, The Abecedarians, Agent Orange, la la la... Great soundtracks to some solid mostly Aussie surfing. Loved it.
Only a surfer knows the feeling?!
Marshall and the Fro.......get your thongs on!
Gold Coast surf-horror; Pleasant Mans Bag:
Scariest (surf) band in the world, Deadbolt - Hobo Babylon with hits such as "one day I will kill you":
Talk about an Aussie surfer/singer/songwriter with a ball tearing guitar groove and set of pipes to match Ash Grunwald deserves a guernsey. Port Campbell is best surf ballad since MOTE.
Aside from Garret’s recent past forays the Oils were a huge aussie surf band in the day.
Fk yeah saw the Cramps at the Playroom what a night at least the bits remembered.
Great thread inspired me to meta morph from voyeur to contributor. Cheers all
Surf? Music?
That last video was partitcularly out there....