I’m going to play on September 11th with Los Apollos, supported by Berlin Beat band The Groovy Cellar. Afterwards I’m going to spin some records, until the sun comes ups again (hopefully).

A while ago I posted a link to the work in progress, here it is now filled to the brim.

200 Exotica Music Videos on YouTube

I only heard good things about this years Surfguitar 101 convention out in California.

Here is the Surfguitar 101 YouTube playlist of the event.

This time german band The Space Rangers made an appearance there as a stop on their California tour. The band hails from Ulm and on guitar is Muck who played rhythm guitar on one tour with my old band The Looney Tunes. On that tour I borrowed him my Musima Eterna DeLuxe as he only owned a Steinberger headless and a jazz-box. It’s great to see him finally sporting a Jaguar. I knew the Surf-bug bit him when he started doubling my lead on Miserlou during one of our shows, and checking out the playlist from the convention I reckon his new band plays old showstoppers from the Looney Tunes setlist The Swingin’ Creeper (as it is tradtionally called in Germany, elsewhere known as Nightstick*, A Go-Go Dancer**, Kickstand*** by The Ventures) and Stampede. Talk about keeping the torch on fire.

* UK, ** US, *** Japan

This is a “Mondo”-style movie, today this genre would be called “docutainment”. The subject is life in Hollywood during the second half of the 60s. With this southern California theme we get lots of surf-music along with some surfing and skating. I find the whole thing quite entertaining, and think it projects a vision of a town in transformation, when some people had other plans than becoming a movie-star or starlet.

If I’m remembering correctly the guitars are played by Davie Allan.

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Update

The Leak appears to be plugged, 7/15/2010, here’s hoping the cap will hold the pressure.

Waikiki Beachnik, originally uploaded by Biff Bang Pow.

Nice mid-century poly-pop paperback cover art. As always in those years illustration and type work great together.

I know my smart readers get that if the end of the ocean’s food chain decreases the natural balance of sea life is altererd leading to dead reefs and more horrible consequences.

If you occasionally come by this blog you might have recogned my passion for mid-century asian pop-records. They had their unique qualities. When they covered western hit records the asian touch was most obvious. For my listening pleasure I prefer originals and instrumentals, but anyway.

Here we go!