This was my third year missing out on booking a room directly at the Golden Sails Hotel. It takes a while for me to get my calendar in order. The previous two years I had gone for whatever cheap motel I could find on Hwy 1. I gotta say though, it's a pretty boring area. Trust me, I walked like 3 miles from my motel to the Golden Sails one year. So this time I thought I'd nestle myself a little more into Long Beach, and stayed at the Beach Inn, which was within walking distance of the Beach and the Queen Mary. It was about 4 miles away from the Golden Sails, still not a huge distance. I could either check out the town or head to the Golden Sails because this year they had breakfast and music from 9:30 to 11am at the pool.
That sounded like fun. But given my odyssey the day before, I couldn't really muster it. I slept in a bit. Bathed the stink off myself. Did laundry at the laundromat across the street. I figured I would grab a bike from the local bike share and make my way over in a more scenic, active and economical fashion than the usual Lyft. I headed out at about 10:30. And realized I was super hungry. I stopped for breakfast at a nice place along the way. I stopped at a garage sale and bought some books for my kids. I stopped at two closing Rite-Aids because I was looking for a USB Mini Cable and because I was curious (they didn't have any). I stopped at a gas station for a gatorade.
By the time I got to the Golden Sails I had missed the interview with Bob Spickard of The Chantays, which is a bummer because usually I love the interviews, but poor time management won out. In fact, the music had already started!
The Other Timelines
This was my eighth SG101 and I thought finally it's going to happen: I'll meet Sean Berry of Double Crown Records, since he plays bass in The Other Timelines. Nope, not this time either, bass duties were handled exclusively by Travis Stewart (who also was the only bassist on their recent Doubleshot Vol. 4 EP). I'm sure of this because his jacket said Travis on it.
That said, it was cool seeing Johnny Browning on stage -- not only a touring Astro-Man, but I've always had a soft spot for Jonny & The Shamen, who released an album on Turducken Records, run by a WTUL alumn!
Anyway, they not only looked great in their uniforms, but their sound stood out. Chances are if you watch a video of the performance it'll sound more or less like the recordings -- not entirely a vintage surf sound but not far removed from MOAM or Jonny & the Shamen. Hearing it in person it sounded extra spacey. Not a wall of sound but a cavern of it. They also did a sort of stunt that Daikaiju does where they hand off the guitar to a random(?) audience member. Unlike when I've seen Daikaiju do it, she seemed fairly comfortable with a guitar, just uncomfortable being dropped into the middle of a song without instruction. She kept it minimal and it worked out OK.
I thought they were great, and I wonder how they would have been received in a later slot when the audience had been warmed up a bit. Oh and they had a brand new LP at the event too!
The Fuzziyama Surfers
We're only on our second band of the day and it's one of the bands I'm most excited about seeing. I still think The Fuzziyama Surfers' debut LP is one of my favorites of this decade so far, and if I were on the fence about going (I'm pretty much committed to going every year I can), they would be one of the bands that would tip me over.
They lived up to the hype. Every member of the band had such personality. On lead guitar you had Masssumi "Fuzzio" Fujio looking poised and pleased. On drums you had the bubbly Nakkie, who just looked happy as hell to be pounding out those songs. Their bassist... it's funny to me that even in a Japanese surf group you can spot the bassist of a band in a lineup. Long hair, mellow-looking guy whose body undulated with the music. He meshed well with Chiaki, who had about as much rock & roll spirit as anybody I've seen at this event, seemingly putting every bit of his heart into every moment, even when he switched onto keys. Great showman.
I don't mention much about their individual abilities as musicians because it would have been redundant. They were all absolutely locked in from start to finish, playing hard-hitting songs with an unstoppable pulse to them in the same sense you get from their album. They played a few new tracks that landed just as well as the rest (and had a special tour EP with four of them on-hand, including one song that translates to Long Beach, perhaps as a tribute to this!). Towards the end, Chiaki took off his sweater (I'm imagining members of the Volcanics empathizing) and started playing his guitar high up on his chest. I thought it was strange, but it looked kinda cool and he was rocking it in a way that looked intentional. Chad Shivers of The Frigidaires had a more trained eye than I did, and crept onto stage to reattach his shoulder strap to the guitar. Ha!
Funny detail I noticed: their uniforms were great and gave them both retro appeal and a bit of dignity, not to mention tied a band with a wide age range together a bit. I was amused that Fuzzio, who evoked a bit of a stately concert performer vibe (versus Chiaki's punk rock edge), sported Chuck Taylors, while the rest of the band was a bit more formal.
Quick digression: I probably spent less time on the second stage (The Taboo Tiki Room) than ever. I certainly wasn't avoiding it, it just felt like I didn't have much time! I don't know if the band turnarounds were more snappy than previous years? Anyway, I only caught moments of The Voodou, who had a trashy Crampsy vibe to them. I missed the impeccably named Wanna-Be 52s entirely, and I only caught a song or two of The M-Squad, who did a great authentic-sounding job of a few old spy themes and the like.
Wish I could have caught more, but alas, I have only one self.
King Pelican
I believe this is the second time I've seen King Pelican here, though back then they only had their LP Matador Surfer out and they've released some great stuff since. Their sound can be lightly seasoned with Spaghetti Western, which was in short supply this year compared so recent years, and made it a nice break in-between some more full-throttle groups. They were joined by Chris Barfield, who had appeared on a few of their recordings as well.
Unfortunately I am a human and I need to eat, so I didn't catch their whole set. I ended up going to an empanada place across the street, where I happened to meet Simon and Andrew from The Space Agency. I had a great chat with them, including hearing about the precautions they had to take as musicians traveling from the UK to our currently scary situation for foreigners in the US. This is probably something to dive into elsewhere, but I worry about this festival's ability to pull in headliners from outside our border in the next three (hopefully that's it) years. Anyway, it was great to get to talk to them, and these little chance meetings are a bonus of this event. It may call itself a festival now, but it's still very much a convention, and the fact that there's such a thin line between performer and attendee is a big part of what makes it special.
The Volcanics
I've probably seen The Volcanics at SG101 more than any other group and I have a few theories as to why they keep ending up here.
- They're nearby and convenient.
- They're really fun.
- People like them.
The Tourmaliners
Deven Berryhill first graced the SG101 stage last year as a current member of The Surfaris, who I quite enjoyed. However, last year I had also been to Surfer Joe and caught The Tourmaliners, the band that he has a much more prominent role in. The only reason I wasn't blown away from this show was because I'd already been blown away last year. They were LOUD. I mean really, I think the amps were cranked a bit higher and after taking a few photos I needed to retreat to find earplugs (gracias, Danny Snyder!). But they are a well-oiled performing machine to a degree that I'd compare to The Boss Martians. Coordinated jumps, guitar movements, getting up close to the audience -- the cliche is to say they could play these songs in their sleep, but I think they could do it while running a mile too. It's one of many performances I see at surf events that make me think "fans of other music don't even know what concerts could be like."
Of course, they also have a mellow side, though never fully cooling down to something sleepy. At one point they played a flamenco-influenced song and invited any flamenco-familiar dancers to join on stage. Going once, going twice, didn't happen, they played the song. And then one of the go-go dancers popped up and took center stage. Even though it was basically what they were asking for, the delay made it feel more spontaneous and fun.
The Delstroyers
I think I'd seen The Delstroyers three times: once at SG101, once at a pre-show for SG101 and once at Hi-Tide Summer Holiday. But that was also roughly six years ago! Which truly does not compute, but they've changed since then. I mean for one I believe their guitarist has changed look entirely like three times at least. They've also released a whole 'nuther LP since then. But mostly I say this because they just hit harder. They sounded so energetic at SG101 and there was an extra bit of crunch to their sound that I didn't hear for others bands -- I particularly noticed it on their song "Laser Bees".
I also don't recall the between-song banter from their bassist Lukas, who approached it with a goofy horror-host angle, speaking in deadpan deadman voice while cracking jokes. Loved it.
The Astronuts
This was listed on the schedule as "Deke Dickerson’s All-Star Tribute To The Astronauts" and I gotta say, I underestimated the All-Star-ness that came on stage. You had Mel Bergman (Phantom Surfers), Deke Dickerson, Garret Immel (Ghastly Ones), Jonpaul Balak (lots, Insect Surfers), and Duff Paulsen (The Torquays) on stage -- kind of a hard lineup to beat for anything. They were here to play songs by The Astronauts, and as I believe Mel pointed out, there aren't many other places where you could do that and have people get excited about it. And they took the assignment seriously, buying matching sparkly jackets for (for $37 each!), playing only "Olympic White" guitars, and even had a custom drumhead with the name "The Astronuts" (Nuts not Nauts), so we're sticking with that name.
I don't usually post setlists, but for a tribute show like this I feel like "what did they play?" is a bigger question than for a regular band. So here it is.
- The Hearse
- Surf Party
- Gouch
- El Aguila
- Banzai Pipeline
- Movin'
- Kuk
- Che Che Che
- Quiet Village
- Ride the Wild Surf (vocals!!!)
- The Pier
- Batman
- Hot Doggin
- Baja
So yeah, great balance of the big ones and the more obscure ones that were stuck onto Japanese releases and soundtracks.
Most three-guitar bands sound incredible at SG101 with this backline, and probably moreso with this personnel, but there was a little extra magic too. Astronaut Bob Demmon's son was in the audience and had lent his dad's guitar to Mel. And Mel had purchased original amps from The Astronauts a while back, so pretty damn authentic for a tribute band.
And of course Deke took over microphone duties, providing context and light humor, but not to the degree of The Untamed Youth... or a certain later act. He's good at that stuff.
And then the finale. They invited five more people to play "Baja", including Chris Barfield, Ted Pilgrim, Johnny Bartlett, Bob Demmon's son, and Max Kominsky. To be honest, I can barely remember how it sounded, sometimes you're just too focused on the spectacle of the thing (and taking pictures of it) to even take it in. It was fun, it was a surprise, and this was one of the acts that people kept bringing up as one of their favorites. This wasn't the first Astronauts tribute done at SG101, but it'll be hard to improve on this.
The Space Agency
How are there still three bands left? I was wondering how The Space Agency would do following such a show of force, and they were also at a bit of a disadvantage playing non-surfy psychedelic tunes on borrowed instruments and gear. But then again when I talked with Simon earlier he seemed overwhelmed by the enthusiasm he'd met from people so far, saying he thought people knew more about their band than they did, so they weren't flying under the radar.
Well, much like The Astronuts, they were playing the right event, and the crowd not only was decent enough but grew quite a bit as they went. This is a band where a lot of their appeal is the psychedelic sound they conjure, and though they retained some of that with a fuzz pedal, I was surprised how much I appreciated them with it much more stripped back and surf-like sound. I think people responded especially well to the more eleki-styled picking of songs like "Teeside Guitar". And as a fun mix-up towards the end, they mixed it up! Hiromi, normally playing a Bass VI, hopped on guitar, Simon took over drums and Andrew moved over to bass. Hiromi killed it!
All in all a really enjoyable set that prevailed with great musicianship as a break from a whole lot of power.
The Phantom Surfers
So normally Jeff has an introduction for a band, and I assume he had one for the Phantom Surfers too, but he was awkwardly sidelined as somebody else grabbed the mic. Cult comedian and Drag City recording artist Neil Hamburger was firing off lowball jokes about classic rock artists, perplexing the crowd for at least five minutes. And then The Phantom Surfers took the stage, donning masks, as they do. I had seen them last year at Surfer Joe, though I was also extremely tired and a little ill, so maybe my recollection is off, but this set was much more ridiculous. They started off with some off their songs, a few jokes in-between, sure.
At some point it's time for Bingo. You see earlier they were handing out surf music bingo cards as seen below.
IMO it could have done without three versions of the same joke about women in surf music, but otherwise I got a kick out of it.
Anyway, Neil Hamburger was brought back on stage as Bingo Master. They brought out a tumbler and everything. He reached in and pulled out balls that corresponded to spaces on the bingo cards. I'm pretty sure we all had the same bingo card un-randomized and I'm pretty sure he read out five things that made for a bingo, SO IT WAS ALL A FARCE, but the illusion held long enough for the gag. Our reward for bingo? The rest of the bingo balls, which were ping-pong balls branded with the Phantom Surfers logo, were shoved into a t-shirt cannon sorta device and peppered onto the audience.
And then it was mostly back to a regular set of Phantom Surfers songs, but even "regular set" is a bit diifferent. You've got a few synchronized guitar movements here and there, you've also got Johnny Bartlett wearing a Rat Fink dunce-sorta cap, you've got Russel frequently standing up to play the durms, and for whatever reason Mike Lucas doesn't play his bass with a strap, which has him balancing it on his hands etc. And lots of jokes between songs. Somebody commented to me that they spent more time talking than playing. One person told me they overheard somebody saying "it's been great but things seem to have taken a downward turn." I thought it was all pretty amusing and fun.
Anyway, they finish with a vocal number with Russell on the mic. Wild energy that felt appropriate.
Jackie and The Cedrics
Great Japanese surf group in the 90's, but do they still have that energy today? This was answered almost immediately as you watch both guitarists high-kicking their way onto stage. I mean it y'all, I'm fairly athletic and decided I needed to try my best kick to compare... I can't come close to what Rockin' Enocky could do despite I believe having 20 years on me. We're talking foot above head, I could manage maybe foot at chest level.
And what a joy they were to watch. So high energy and such a trio of performers.
To diverge a little bit, often when I'm at a surf festival where I'm spending most of my waking hours immersed in surf performances, I keep thinking "other types of music could be like this, and they should". Why don't other bands synchronize their movements? Wear uniforms? They should, but maybe there's a reason. Broadly speaking, today's vocal bands (less so in earlier decades), are there to let you peek in at their art, absorb their lyrics and relate to what the music is about. Surf music isn't really about anything specific. Rather than looking into what the band has, surf musicians give to the audience. They're showmen (gender non-specifically), who know you came to hear music and get excited, and they are qualified to deliver.
Jackie and the Cedrics are absolute showmen in the sense that you rarely get to see these days. Their music was sharp and expertly played, a treat for your ears while you watch them closely wondering what you'll see next. At one point Enocky tripped over a cable and fell onto his side. He scrambled up instantly and jumped right back into playing the moment he was on two feet, without so much of a pause to assess where he was in the song or even if he was OK.
As only a trio, they didn't have the overwhelming force that bands with three guitarists were brandishing, but smart, fun playing and bouncy stage antics kept them engaging throughout. When it was over I bought a shirt! And headed back to the motel.
Writing about all this now I kept thinking "how were there so many bands?" This could have ended at that Astronauts bit and been a great day, but there were still THREE great acts after that. But we were hardly done.
