Sarah93003 wrote:In September I'll be attending the annual NorCal/NorNav Gretsch Roundup. Generally it's just a real fun jam. This year they are adding a theme element which means for one of our sets it will be surf music. I'm embarrassed to say...I don't know any.
I know a couple of Beach Boy tunes (Little Deuce Coupe, 409, etc) but I don't know if they are really "surf" music, as I understand it anyway.
I'm sure someone will be doing Pipeline, and other mega hits, but I'm wondering if someone can suggest 1 or 2 songs that I can learn by then. Is The Shadows "Apache" considered surf music? They also did "Riders In The Sky". Is that surf music?
Sarah one time my old band was sharing a bill with a surf group called Dragstrip. They did a surf instrumental versions of "Don't Fear The Reaper". This made it concrete in my mind that any song can be made into a surf song.
Just add a "twist" beat, staccato bass (picked and all downstrokes), a few glissandos down the low E string, and minor chords and your on your way to SURF CITY.
Comparing groups like The Shadows and The Ventures can be problematic. Yes, they are both instrumental bands (even though The Shadows did vocal tracks too with killer vocal harmonies) and tended to do the same songs at times. But where they differ is in the "beat" and arrangements.
You have to remember that The Shadows had some talented members. Their second drummer Brian Bennet was also a composer and arranger as well as being a great drummer. Hank Marvin and Bruce Welsh were working musicians and semi-pro long before Don Wilson tried to sell Bob Bogle a car.
The Ventures also tended to simplify the songs they recorded. If you heard their version of "The Savage" and then The Shadows version, The Shadows version trumps it because The Ventures totally drop a section of the song and the tempo on The Ventures version doesn't work IMHO. Plus The Shadows were great a re-arranging a song where The Ventures would try to cop the feel of the original. In other words The Ventures would just play a cover.
Don't get me wrong, I love both groups dearly but both groups are guilty of heading into SCHLOCK CITY on more that a few occasions.
You can easily download the following Shadows songs you will be ahead of the game. Because some "surf" bands do the same songs or manages to make every one of them sound the same. You will be the one to break up the monotony.
The Savage
Apache
36-24-36
Shotgun
Don't get hung up on what is "surf" music and what it is not. Go with your gut and think outside the box.
