The Bomboras

The Bomboras
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Instrumental, surf, garage
Years active	1995–present
Members	Jake Cavaliere Gregg Lord Hunt Johnny DeVilla Shane "The Showman" Van Dyke Ben Marazzi
Past members	Dave Klein Action Andy Von Franco

The Bomboras are an American all-instrumental surf band from Los Angeles.

History

The band was formed in the summer of 1994, sharing a love of 1960s surf and garage music such as The Ventures, Booker T, and The Sonics.

Donning Day of the Dead regalia onstage, the fivesome tempered their retro-stylings with an update by way of The Ramones, The Pandoras, and Nuggets. Accompanied by frenzied Go Go girls, spitting flames, stage-diving, and destroying their own equipment, the Bomboras' livid funhouse take on surf rock became an object of fan adoration, albeit a worry to the local fire department. ^[1]

The Bomboras took their name from a classic surf instrumental by the Original Surfaris (not to be confused with a different song with the same title, "Bombora," by the Australian surf combo The Atlantics) and released several albums on Burbank-based indie label Dionysus Records between 1995 and 1997. In summer 1997 Rob Zombie took notice of the band and signed them to his then newly formed Zombie a Go-Go label, which was distributed by Geffen Records. ^[1] The Bomboras finally called it quits in 2000 with some of the members forming the Lords of Altamont and some members formed The Legendary Invisible Men. Drummer Dave Klein is currently running his own recording studio in Los Angeles, Dave Klein Recording. On December 31, 2006, New Year's Eve of 2007, The Bomboras played a return show in Hollywood at Vine Street Lounge (now closed). ^[2] The Bomboras played a full set of songs at The Wild'O Fest in Mexico City June 16, 2018. They also played a full show at "Tiki-Au-Go-Go" at The Warehouse Restaurant in Marina Del Rey, California on January 25, 2020.

More recently, the band has been involved with the MuSick Recordings label, and released a "comeback" EP The Return Of The Up Up Sound (2021), and the first new full-length since 1998, Songs From The Beyond! in 2023. ^[3]

Line up

• Action Andy – bass/vocals
• Von Franco – guitar
• Dave Klein – drums
• Shane "The Showman" Van Dyke – bass/vocals
• Johnny DeVilla – guitar/vocals
• Gregg Lord Hunt – guitar/vocals
• Jake Cavaliere – keys/vocals

Selected discography

• Savage Island, 1995 ^[4] The band's first album for Dionysius, Savage Island cost only $200 to make and was recorded in just two days. ^[1]
• Swingin' Singles!, 1996 ^[5]
• Organ Grinder, 1995/1997 ^[6]
• Starship Troopers, 1997
• It Came from Pier 13!, 1997 ^[7] The album was described by Stewart Mason on AllMusic as being "as good as neo-surf instrumental albums get" ^[8]
• Board Headz Movie, 1998
• Head Shrinkin' Fun, 1998
• The Return Of The Up Up Sound, 2021
• Songs From Beyond!, 2023

References

1. "The Bomboras | Biography". AllMusic. August 8, 1997. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
2. "Vine Street Lounge – Hollywood, CA". Yelp. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
3. "SONGS FROM BEYOND!, by The Bomboras". The Bomboras. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
4. "Savage Island: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
5. "Swingin' Singles: The Bomboras: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. March 13, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
6. "Organ Grinder: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
7. "It Came From Pier 13: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. February 21, 1997. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
8. Stewart Mason (January 14, 1997). "It Came from Pier 13! - The Bomboras | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved July 29, 2014.

External links

• The Bomboras MySpace page