Hey y'all!
I'm trying a new thing! I've had two issues with how Storm Surge of Reverb has been lately:
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I can't get back to reviewing literally everything I can find like I did before I had kids. Not even close.
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I desperately want to get off of Meta platforms. Not only because of personal convictions, but because I also think they're an awful experience, and I'm only on them at this point to promote my show.
So I'm going to try to publish one of these each week, probably on Thursdays (to get ahead of Friday releases that I won't have had the chance to hear yet). A quick little update on recent releases, relevant surf news updates, etc. I suppose they're blog posts! On a blog of all places. The idea is to try to do more while not overtaxing myself with a lot of work.
The plan is to also have an active mailing list to keep people in the loop, and then eventually quit Facebook and Instagram. I'll keep my discord (in its current state of neglect), currently keeping my Bluesky because I haven't found a good enough reason to hate it yet, and keep Mastodon because I like Mastodon. Being off facebook and instagram will definitely hinder my ability to find music and updates, but I'm hoping that I've built up enough of something at this point that some people will keep me in the loop. And hey, maybe having stuff like this accessible here will help you get off those platforms too!
Do you want to get emails when I post stuff here? Sign up!
All of this is very early. I mean that image that I used was LAZY. I'll tweak everything as I go.
Quick note about Gremmys
I'm working on them! No ETA for any of it. If you want to do Guest Gremmys, be my guest! Email me!
NEW RELEASES
It always takes a while for new stuff to wind up each year, and it was slow until just now!
Mark Malibu & The Wasagas - Knock Me Out!
I think every Wasagas record is just a smidge better than the last, and sure enough this is excellent. Great trad surf, as upbeat as they've ever been, but with a little more range for slower, prettier stuff than I've come to expect from them!
Lucky Pepper - Cooking Without Singing
From what I can tell, Lucky Pepper was primarily a rockabilly/old school rock & roll artist before he did this instrumental record, and he makes the transition beautifully! Trashy and retro, with a big Link Wray influence, and some great piano to give it a bit of a unique touch.
Perro Agradecido Cumbia - Live at Georgetown Records CDMX
Cumbia group with surfy guitar that's been around for a while, featuring surf guy Sys Malakian on guitar. It's definitely not a studio recording, but you can groove to it all the same.
The Eerie - Live at the Shacklewell Arms
Another live record, this time from UK weirdos The Eerie. If you've heard them in the past, I still think this is worth a listen as they sound a little harder, more textured, and a little more wild than I recall from their studio recordings.
Mammoth Torta - Seven Inch and Demos
8 collected tracks from a short-lived band that put out some good scummy punk surf. I think I had their 7" and wished I'd heard more from them.
NEWS
Bandcamp announced that they are banning "Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI". Bandcamp is where I find the vast majority of my surf music and I have to admit, it's exhausting sometimes. While it won't help for AI scammers using distributing services, I have to admit that having the power to report changes my attitude a bit, as it's preferable to squinting my ears and wondering if it's AI, emailing the group, maybe hearing nothing back... Yeah, I'm gonna use that report button, y'all. It's actually a bit more drastic than I would have expected! Really, all I ask for is *disclosure* about whether AI is used -- leave it up to the listener to decide -- but I'm not gonna cry about a flat "no AI" approach.
The lineup for Surf by Surf East (not to be confused with Surf x Surf West in Seattle, though you'd be forgiven since it's in the same city as South x Southwest). 20 Bands, Feb. 27th-Mar 1st in Austin. From outside Texas they have Messer Chups, Sheverb will be playing despite a year's drought of live shows, and most excitingly The KBK have reunited! Wait, let me make that it's own section...
The KBK (formerly Kill, Baby... Kill!) are back, with a string of concerts and even a promise of new material coming very soon! This is a special group to me because not only are they, ya know, really good, they also played the first (of two) WTUL benefit shows that I put together. I was thrilled enough to hear that they're back, even more thrilled to learn that they'll be coming to New Orleans. They're dropping by Carrolton Station February 28th (on the way to Surf x Surf East).
Speaking of surf festivals, Winter Surf Fest is just around the corner on Sunday, January 24th. Put on by Jeff "BigTikiDude" Hanson at Surf Dog's in Huntington Beach. Lineup looks great, with Lawndale (80's group that released on SST in the 80's!), The Von Dwells (who have a great record coming out in about a week), The Boss Jaguars, Wretched Edsels, Judodojo, Blue Doom, Waves of Steele and The Deweys.
Revisits
Via Combusta - S/T 7"
I LOVE this record. Surf at breakneck speed from Seattle, sadly seem to have gone dark as of 2019. I wish I could have heard more, I'm pretty sure they had a repertoire of more than four songs given all the live shows they played. Discogs lists two other recordings: a live tape with three copies made and a live CD-R with two copies made. That's pretty limited!
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Not Surf
Any Resonars fans out there? I've had this track in my head all week. By the way, they just put all of their stuff up for either dirt cheap or free. Get all of it. I worship them.
MEANINGLESS POLL
Let's start with a big one. Depending on where you live, there's a good chance that ONE of these bands were a big part of why you play guitar. Forced to choose one, which do you prefer?
Ventures or Shadows?
^^^ that "support us" link is for poll.ly, not Storm Surge of Reverb. If you want to support me, go here
