Surf Punks | |
---|---|
Origin | Malibu, California, U.S. |
Genres | Surf rock, pop punk |
Years active | 1976–1988 |
Labels | Epic, Engima, Shelter, Day-Glo, Restless |
Past members | Dennis Dragon Drew Steele Mark "The Shark" Miller Andrew Jackson Jerry Weber Kevin Roberts Tony "Hulk" Creed John Hunt John Heussenstamm Scott Goddard Jeff "Ray Ban" Eyrich |
The Surf Punks were a pop punk band formed in 1976 by Malibu residents Dennis Dragon (1947-2017) [1] and Drew Steele (d. October 2021). [2] (Dragon was the son of symphony conductor Carmen Dragon, the brother of Captain & Tennille's Daryl Dragon, and he was previously the drummer of the Byrds and the Beach Boys. Steele's stepfather was Gavin MacLeod of McHale's Navy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Love Boat fame.) Dragon recruited the additional talents of Malibu residents Tony Creed AKA the "Hulk", for lead guitar and blues harp, fellow bodysurfer/frisbeeist John Hunt on the bass, and South Bay resident John Heussenstamm for lead guitar. This was the original core group, produced and engineered by Dragon in his garage studio across the street from Zuma Beach, his favorite body surfing spot. Mark Miller joined them on "Locals Only." Jeff "Ray Ban" Eyrich joined the Surf Punks on bass when John Hunt left the group. [3]
Scott Goddard (1952–2006) later joined as lead vocalist on a few songs.
Record producer and then Malibu resident Denny Cordell saw merit in the group and released their first recordings on a single, "My Beach" b/w "My Wave", in Australia on Shelter Records. Their subsequent first album, an independent release on their own label, Day Glo Records, garnered them enough airplay on the then fledgling L.A. alternative radio station KROQ-FM to lead to a re-release of the album on Epic Records in 1980, and the release of two further albums, Locals Only and Oh No, Not Them Again on Enigma Records, with Mark Miller, keyboard player Jerry Weber and lifeguard/guitarist Andy Jackson.
Dragon and Hulk also provided the theme song to KLOS disc jockey Frazer Smith's signature show bumper, "Cool Patrol". Heavy rotation on KROQ-FM was largely responsible for the band selling out their first live performance ever at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The Surf Punks were road managed from 1980 to 1983 by Michael Parenti (the artist, not the political writer), [4] who also provided many of the T-shirt designs for the band. At one time, rock legend Johnny Rivers showed interest in the band by co-producing with Dragon a single titled "Surfs Up Medley", released on his own Soul City label. TV producer Chris Bearde also managed the band for a short time and tried with movie producer Brian Grazer and Rivers to procure a Hollywood movie deal for the band.
The live shows of the Surf Punks, in the heyday of the punk explosion in L.A., were full of wild abandon. High points of the show were "I Can't Get a Tan" and "Big Top".
The lyrics of the band centered primarily on the in-group/out-group experiences of "locals" (surfers living on the beach in Malibu) and "vals" (commuters from the San Fernando Valley to the private and public beaches of the exclusive Malibu Beach community). Never truly "punk" in the traditional sense of the word, the Surf Punks were sort of a "Beach Boys of the punk world," offering their take on the "turf wars" over the southern California beaches and its waves.
The band made at least five music videos: "My Beach", [5] "Big Top", "Welcome to California", "Shark Attack" and another for their cover of "Come on-a My House", which was originally a hit for Rosemary Clooney. They also appeared in the 1988 film Under the Boardwalk .
The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by its vocal harmonies, adolescent-oriented lyrics, and musical ingenuity, the band is one of the most influential acts of the rock era. The group drew on the music of older pop vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create its unique sound. Under Brian's direction, it often incorporated classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
Surf music is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is instrumental surf, distinguished by reverb-heavy electric guitars played to evoke the sound of crashing waves, largely pioneered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. The second is vocal surf, which took elements of the original surf sound and added vocal harmonies, a movement led by the Beach Boys.
Dennis Carl Wilson was an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. Dennis was the only true surfer in the Beach Boys, and his personal life exemplified the "California Myth" that the band's early songs often celebrated. He was also known for his association with the Manson Family and for co-starring in the 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop.
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"Don't Back Down" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys and the final track on their 1964 album All Summer Long. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics describe a group of surfers who "don't back down from that wave", explaining that they "gotta be a little nuts" to show the girls "who's got guts". It was the group's last surfing-themed song until 1968's "Do It Again".
"Lady" is a song written by Dennis Wilson, recorded by him with Daryl Dragon and released under the name "Dennis Wilson & Rumbo" in the United Kingdom on 4 December 1970, on Stateside Records. The song served as the B-side of the "Sound of Free" single. The single was not issued in the United States.
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"Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World" is the 1980 debut single by the American punk rock band the Descendents. It was the band's first release and displayed a new wave and surf sound. It was recorded at a time when the band lacked a lead singer, so vocals on the recording were provided by guitarist Frank Navetta and bassist Tony Lombardo. With the addition of singer Milo Aukerman in 1980, the band moved towards a hardcore punk sound. "Ride the Wild" and "It's a Hectic World" were re-released in later years on compilation albums.
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For the UK band, see Astronauts (band)
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Ladies and Gentlemen... The Bangles! is a compilation album of early material by The Bangles. It was released by the band on Thanksgiving Day, 2014.
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