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Post by sumgai on Nov 29, 2012 18:45:32 GMT -5
Mickey Baker passed away a couple of days ago. If you don't recognize that name, you've never listened to music. By that I mean real music, not that burn-your-fingers-as-if-you-had-skill-but-actually-don't-have-a-bleeping-thing-to-say crap called music by an assortment of societal dropouts....
Mickey may sound simple here, but check him out - if you put your mind to it, I think you'll find that he influenced absolutely everyone that followed in the guitar vein.
sumgai
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Post by long813 on Nov 29, 2012 19:43:08 GMT -5
Guess I don't listen to music *sniff sniff*
Love surf music though and this is great! Wouldn't label it simplistic, I'd say it's good.
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Post by sumgai on Nov 29, 2012 23:00:53 GMT -5
Love surf music though and this is great! Too bad that isn't surf music! ;D It's basic Rhythm & Blues, the nascent form of Rock 'n Roll. For 1956, it was palatable to both kids and those old fogies who saw it as another version of swing, something they could dance to with ease. Surf music, OTOH, is my forte. I can wax pedantic at length on the topic, trust me.   And yes, that was good, at least in my estimation. Where it sounded like something more than Rock is where M.B. threw in some passing jazz-type chords and double-stop runs. The man was a master of his craft, enough so that he wrote several books on how to play the guitar..... perhaps you've seen them in music stores?  HTH sumgai |
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Post by long813 on Nov 29, 2012 23:29:55 GMT -5
Love surf music though and this is great! Too bad that isn't surf music! ;D It's basic Rhythm & Blues, the nascent form of Rock 'n Roll. For 1956, it was palatable to both kids and those old fogies who saw it as another version of swing, something they could dance to with ease. Surf music, OTOH, is my forte. I can wax pedantic at length on the topic, trust me. And yes, that was good, at least in my estimation. Where it sounded like something more than Rock is where M.B. threw in some passing jazz-type chords and double-stop runs. The man was a master of his craft, enough so that he wrote several books on how to play the guitar..... perhaps you've seen them in music stores? HTH sumgai Well, it's not a genre I listen to much (clearly, as I don't know of any bands... hint hint) but it sounded surfy/rockabilly/rock/blues/swingish ... Actually it's a testament to this post Going to have to check out more of his music though! |
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Post by sumgai on Nov 30, 2012 13:21:44 GMT -5
Going to have to check out more of his music though! Unfortunately, that's gonna be a bit more work than usual. M.B. had his heyday under his own name, but not nearly so often as he should've. Instead, he preferred to 'take the back seat', and do the studio thing for nearly everyone who ever entered a recording studio. So often we don't know, and might never know, who the backup band members are/were for many, if not most of the early recordings. (I mean, as in just about anything pre-1970's.) But don't let me stop you, I encourage you to seek out people like this, the ones who make Rock 'n Roll famous, and yet were ignored by nearly everyone outside of the small, elite studio circles. Tommy Tedesco comes to mind, another all-genre great that was so busy doing other people's stuff, he didn't have time left over to do his own.  Back issues of magazines like Guitar Player might be a good resource, if you can locate them in a library or something....  Not many websites willing to dig them out and digitize them for posterity on the World Wide Wait.  Well, me bucko, all you need do is ask. But I'm not the only one here to hold Surf Music up as the High and Mighty, you might ask generically, and see who else responds. Be prepared, you might get back more than you bargained for! ;D HTH sumgai |
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Post by lunaalta on Nov 30, 2012 18:30:44 GMT -5
Naaaa, I bought one in the mid sixties, for learning jazz, he really knew his stuff! I often pull it out and go over some of the lessons. Inspirational stuff. <added> Nice vid, by the way. </added> |
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Post by newey on Nov 30, 2012 20:23:58 GMT -5
Not the only one, indeed. Seems to me we had a long discussion of the Surf genre a while back, in the Cowabunga! thread. With plenty of videos and music therein, to boot. Lots of good surfy music at Continental Magazine & Double Crown Records Buy a copy of the mag and you get a compilation CD. (No, I don't work for them) What I'm listening to these days: The Madeira The Atomic Mosquitos There's also Alt-surf, like the band Man or Astro-Man? And, yes, I still want a '63 Fender Reverb for Christmas . . . Back on the topic of Mickey Baker, there was a well-written and insightful obit in the NY Times today. It sounds like he lived to the fullest. I hadn't realized that he ended up in southern France. |
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 1, 2012 0:15:27 GMT -5
SG did go a long way to expose me to the whole Surf Genre. While technically old enough to remember it, I never spent much time listening to it before a few years ago. I would have to say he is the the defacto expert on the subject around here.
In my explorations into Surf in general I tripped across Los Straightjackets. While technically not part of the original wave (pardon the pun) of surf bands, there's something about a band wearing Mexican wrestling masks that strikes a chord with me. (pardon the other pun, too...)
While potentially not SG's cup of tea, these guys are a tight band, relatively loyal to the genre, still gigging and they put on a pretty good show.
Feliz Senderos -
Cynical One
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Post by sumgai on Dec 1, 2012 2:13:24 GMT -5
I don't know about no experts or nuttin'....... Los Straightjackets is one of the hardest working bands anywhere, in any genre. If you dig down a bit, you'll find they cover a wide swatch of vocal material, backing a gaggle of artists in various parts of the world, doing all sorts of material. All grist for the mill, which can only improve their skill set, not to mention looking impressive on their resumes..... ;D Two thumbs up, says I. Note the DePinto guitars: cynical1's favorite of late, Laika & The Cosmonauts, is a premier Finnish Surf band, working for 2 decades, but now 'on hiatus'. Two of my personal favorites: Mixing things up like a schizophrenic savant, Agent Orange can go from punk to surf at the sproingoingoingoing of a reverb tank. I don't care for their vocal material, almost always punk, but when they decide to "fuzz up" Miserlou or Mr. Moto, they do it right. Even Dick Dale and John Blair like these guys. But for all out "Pure First Wave Surf", you have to go back to the man who re-started it all, personally inventing The Second Wave, so to speak. While he and his band(s) is/are still working, I have to say that when it's time to get off my lazy butt and operate the treadmill for ¾ of an hour, Fiberglass Rocket (of 1996) is my go-to album. In particular: If all this is a bit too hard for you, you might opt for the Tiki sub-set of Surf. F'rinstance.... Conversely, you can flip through your Tom Petty collection, and suddenly realize that his group has always been called "Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers". Whyzzat important? Because without T.P., The Heartbreakers are also known as The Blue Stingrays: OK, that's enough for now, let's let Mickey rest in peace, shall we?  If we need to get into more of this Introduction To Surf 101, then we need to start a new thread/topic. sumgai |
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 1, 2012 2:35:47 GMT -5
I've found that the best segue into a new genre is through someone you already know in a familiar genre. Since SG mentioned Dick Dale, a legend in his own right, let grab one of his:
Another way in is through modern interpretations of classic songs of said genre. I always thought Gary Hoey did some interesting takes on surf music...SG's opinion may vary...
Happy Trails
Cynical One
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Post by 4real on Dec 1, 2012 18:00:20 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear that MB has passed away...I can say I have all his books and studied them a lot when I was learning guitar...I even had an album, it was so good a fellow musician stole it, damn!
As for surf, well I like a bit...
Vote for 'slacktone' for me and occasionally 'The Mermen'...
'Surf music' is not necessarily 'simple' and as slacktone shows, teh drums are equally if not more important. There is plenty of shred out there that hasn't the complexity and so bathed in distortion it plays itself...IMHO...plus, I actully live within earshot of the surf for real!
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Post by sumgai on Dec 2, 2012 4:58:04 GMT -5
Did someone say.... Mermen? ;D One of my favorites by them, with fairly good sound: (Of course it never hurts to have Jennifer Burnes show up for the gig, either!!) While often labled as "surf/psychadelic", in fact the leader, Jim Thomas, is an accomplished musician, able to hold his own in many styles while still imparting his personal stamp on whatever's coming out of the speakers at the time. The Mermen play mainly original compositions, whereas J.T.'s other band plays mostly covers from just about everywhere in musicdom. Witness: If'n yer curious about the sticker on Jennifer's bass, I'd have to suggest a quick trip over to Google. We need to create a new thread for this stuff! sumgai |
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Post by long813 on Dec 3, 2012 9:49:01 GMT -5
My productivity just went out the window! Great exchanging of tunes here. More hours on YT to come.
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Post by sumgai on Dec 3, 2012 11:36:19 GMT -5
My productivity just went out the window! Great exchanging of tunes here. More hours on YT to come.Hyuk, hyuk, he said "productivity" and "YouTube" in the same sentence, har har har!  long, trust me, you ain't seen nuttin' yet! To paraphrase a famous Internet meme: All Your Waking Hours Are Belong To Us! sumgai, aka The Sinister Surfer |
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Post by long813 on Dec 3, 2012 13:46:17 GMT -5
My productivity just went out the window! Great exchanging of tunes here. More hours on YT to come.Hyuk, hyuk, he said "productivity" and "YouTube" in the same sentence, har har har! I managed to survive my college chapter without getting sucked into YT. In the last few months of unemployment YT has basically become my home page. I see what you did there. |
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Post by sumgai on Dec 4, 2012 13:22:04 GMT -5
I see what you did there. Yeah, but are is your estate gonna try to sue me for 'wrongful death by Internet' or some such thing?  ;D sumgai |
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Not many websites willing to dig them out and digitize them for posterity on the World Wide Wait. 
If we need to get into more of this Introduction To Surf 101, then we need to start a new thread/topic.
