Watch: The Dying Craft Of Neon Signs
Here’s a shorebird’s-eye view of the Galveston oil spill
Food and Climate Justice
Murakami: a rocking chair that generates electricity
Electricity decentralization, here we come
Barney Kessel – Let’s Cook! : AmbientExotica.com – Music Reviews of Ambient & Tiki Exotica Albums
Borrowed Time on Disappearing Land
P&G Competitor Colgate-Palmolive Commits to No Deforestation
altaeros energies high altitude wind turbine deploys at 1,000 feet
The Legend Series: Reynolds ‘Renny’ Yater
R.I.P. HOBIE ALTER: MASTER AND PIONEER OF THE SURFING LIFESTYLE
Evidence Finds BP Gulf Oil Disaster Causing Widespread Deformities in Fish
IPCC preview: deep trouble brewing in our oceans
A Half-Century of Worlds
Monster El Nino Emerging From the Depths: Nose of Massive Kelvin Wave Breaks Surface in Eastern Pacific
Global warming to hit Asia hardest, warns new report on climate change
Pro Surfers vs. GMOs : How Hawaii is Leading the Way & What You Can Do to Help
Tiki Modern: Style for the Sophisticated Savage at Palm Springs Modernism Week
Another stolen generation: how Australia still wrecks Aboriginal families
Barney Kessel – Let’s Cook! – Music Reviews of Ambient & Tiki Exotica Albums
Today I googled for Vincent Bell’s name because I couldn’t believe Danelectro didn’t mention him in their promo for the Coral Hornet re-issue now called Dead-On-67. He designed those in the sixties along with several other classic and unique models like the Bellzouki (first electric 12-string) and the Coral Sitar (electric guitar with 12 bordun strings and a sitar bridge). Anyway, so I came across this great page by Moe Thomas for the first time. He says he’s a long time friend of Mr. Bell and when he visited the legendary guitar player’s basement he took pictures of the sheer mass of historic and unique guitars and prototypes – many built by Vinnie himself. He’s a very inventive guy thinking up things like the first wahwah or his trademark underwater sound as heard on Moon Gas and apparently various practices and machinery used in guitar manufacturing – all while making a living as one of the east coast’s busiest studio session men.
Here are links to some highlights of the collection:
also visit www.vinniebell.com
From Otto von Stroheim’s Tiki Events mailing list come these news of two great Surf Music events this weekend and next week:
The Surf Coasters are on tour from Japan and are appearing live with Slacktone this Saturday, September 13, 10 pm.
The Surf Coasters have been amazing audiences all over the States on this tour.
Plus, Slacktone is one of the best bands around.
Both bands are only rarely seen in a venue as intimate as
the Purple Orchid Tiki Lounge. Admission will be limited , so get there early!
$10 cover
21+ only!
Check out these links about the show
Tiki Central link
YouTube link
Surfguitar 101 link
Purple Orchid link
Purple Orchid Tiki Lounge is located at
221 Richmond Street, El Segundo (310) 322-5829.
Just south of LAX!Come on down and help Dave Arnson celebrate his 50th(!) birthday!
Thursday Sept 18th —
Cover is only 10.00 for 4 bands!!
Safari Sam’s
5214 Sunset Blvd ,in east Hollywood
Safari Sam’sthe scintillating and groovy lineup will be-
*8pm -The Barbarellatones
See Dave play lead guitar as ‘Malibu Davida ‘ in this glam-y femme-y Cramps-y gothabilly band!*9pm- The Insect Surfers
Dave’s 20- years -plus-running surfadelic instrumental band ! We’ve invited Guitarist Paul Johnson (‘Mr. Moto’, Belairs, Safaris) to play with us!
*10pm- 3rd Grade Teacher
heavy psychodramatic punky adventures.. and singer Sabrine actually IS a 3rd grade teacher! a-Hunh! Their only show this season!*11pm – Raw Power Rangers
See Dave make a nut of himself as Iggy Pop in our tribute to The Stooges’ 1973 “Raw Power’ album ! See punkrock legend Don Bolles of the Germs wallop the drums!AND—
KXLU’s Reverend Dan (Music for Nimrods) will be DJ!!!
Stormy Byrd will be parked out front with his red nitro dragster ‘Revelation’!
Maybe Ms. Fractal will be fire-dancing on the patio!—
Otto von Stroheim
Tikioasis
Tikioasis MySpace
Tikiblog
from Jerry Cole’s MySpace profile:
Our dear friend Jerry Cole died Wednesday night at his home in Corona, California. Funeral services are still pending but a public memorial is also being planned for the near future. Jerry’s wife Gale was with him when he suffered a massive heart attack. Jerry was 68 years old and is survived by Gale and their daughters, Monique and Katrina, and son, Cane. Jerry’s other son, Keith, died just a year earlier at the age of 28.
from Answers.com
Throughout the ’60s and , guitarist/songwriter Jerry Cole worked with some of the most prominent talents in rock’n’roll, including Them, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, and as a session man in Phil Spector’s ‘Wrecking Crew.’ With his own group the Spacemen, Cole released four albums of space-age surf music in just over two years, beginning with 1963’s Outer Limits. As the ’60s progressed, Cole worked on sessions for the Byrds’ ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’/’I Knew I’d Want You’ single and Them’s 1965 self-titled album. He teamed up with Roger McGuinn again in 1972 for McGuinn’s debut solo record, and session work with Roger Miller, Chuck Howard and Susie Allanson sent him in a country-rock direction. Cole’s work with the Spacemen was collected in the 1999 Sundazed compilation Power Surf! The Best of Jerry Cole & His Spacemen. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
Hot Buttered Soul was a revolutionary four track LP released by Isaac Hayes and the Bar-Kays in 1969. A few months later, 20-year-old Terry Fitzgerald, fresh from a Hawaiian winter season and a big fan of funk and soul rhythms decided to identify the name for his new surfboard company with this multi-layered music genre. But all three words didn’t quite fit on the rainbow sash logo. Thus Hot Buttered Surfboards were born – and with it one of surfing’s true originals. But the third word never went missing. Instead it’s lived in the handmade, hand-painted HB surfboards and the styles that arose from riding them, over three decades, in the best surf on the planet. Hot Buttered Soul: The Movie draws on a deep well of surf cinema heritage to present the surfing of the HB extended family. Choice selections from HB’s “Sultans of Speed” series, along with surf flick classics Morning of the Earth, A Winter’s Tale, Fantasea, Storm Riders and more, are expertly intercut by editor Mick Waters, with interviews and commentary from Andrew Kidman and Derek Hynd. Wherever they went, “Sultans” trips always had the knack of scoring amazing waves. …
… The unique soundtrack, featuring ex Tamam Shud guitarist Tim Gaze in front of a six piece band, was written, practiced, and finally recorded as a single 59-minute free-flowing piece, in sync with the movie’s final cut. It’s an inspired enhancement to inspired footage. The unique packaging will feature two photos which can either remain in their original frame or be removed as individual collector’s items. The first 3 different series of artworks will be limited to 600, 600 and 800. A limited numbered edition of 42 units, of each design, will come with hand signed photos by the Sultan of Speed himself.
Action Sports Video | Hot Buttered Soul DVD
Guitar Geek Festival
Deke’s 5th Annual Guitar Geek Festival
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Jolly Roger Hotel Ballroom (amazing 1960s pirate-themed ballroom!)
640 W. Katella (at Harbor), Anaheim, California
Only one block from the NAMM show/Convention Center!
Doors at 3 p.m., show starts at 4 p.m. sharp!
All ages welcome (must be 21 to drink)
$35 advance / $40 at the door / $35 with NAMM pass
Advance Ticket $35Featuring:
The Collins Kids: Larry and Lorrie!
Straight from the stage of ‘Town Hall Party’ we present Larry and Lorrie Collins in their first Southern California appearance in 15 years, and their first show in Anaheim in decades! Singing their big hits ‘Mercy,’ ‘Rock Boppin’ Baby,’ ‘Let’s Have A Party,’ ‘Whistle Bait,’ and others, the show also includes Larry Collins playing the snot out of his double- neck Mosrite on such tunes as ‘Rockin’ Gypsy’ and ‘Hurricane!’ Larry and Lorrie never fail to put on an amazing show, and this will be the most exciting Guitar Geek Festival headlining act yet!Teisco Del Rey: King of the Guitorgan
Featuring Paul ‘Mr. Moto’ Johnson! Many remember Teisco Del Rey as the columnist for Guitar Player magazine for many years. Others remember him from his astounding instrumental albums, where he tackled everything from surf to soul, channeling the spirit of Duane Eddy. Yet others will remember him as the only man in the last 3 decades to seriously play the ‘Guitorgan’! All this and more will be revealed in Teisco Del Rey’s first-ever Southern California live appearance, with an all- star band featuring Paul Johnson of the Bel-Airs (who came and rocked his song ‘Mr. Moto’ at last year’s fest!), Steve Soest from The Torquays, and Pete Curry of the Halibuts and Los Straitjackets! A set not to be missed.Deke Dickerson & Crazy Joe: Twin Guitar Special!
Your host teams up with the king of nerdabilly from Enon, Ohio, in a special set of guitar duets! This will NOT be two guys sitting down with a couple of acoustic guitars. This set promises to be extreme and dangerous!Brian Lonbeck: the Barn Burner of Bakersfield!
In a dangerous attempt to see how many Mosrite doubleneck players we can fit onto the bill, we bring back perennial favorite Brian Lonbeck of Bakersfield to tear down the house with more Maphis-inspired mayhem!Maestro Alex Gregory: Maestro of the Heavy Metal Mandolin!
If you haven’t heard of this guy, look up his name on the internet. What you see with your own eyes will still be hard to believe! The English-born Gregory was given the title ‘Maestro’ by Queen Elizabeth’s government in 1983. After years of studying classical music, he entered the field of rock, where he has mastered such inventions as the seven-string guitar (Gregory holds two patents on the seven- string guitar!) and the electric mandolin. His most recent CD shows him holding an electric mandolin while urinating on the graves of Steve Vai and Yngvie Malmsteen! This will without a doubt prove an interesting set!Junior Watson: Southern California Blues King!
We’re excited to get ‘Junior’ Watson on the Guitar Geek Festival bill. Junior has been playing around Southern California for the last three decades, first as a founding member of the Mighty Flyers with Rod Piazza, then as a ten-year member of Canned Heat. Since then he’s played with just about everybody in the blues world and has amassed a cult following as the blues cat with THE TONE!!!!The ‘All-Bigsby Band!’: Featuring Jeremy Wakefield & T.K. Smith!
It is rare to see an instrument made by Paul A. Bigsby, inventor of the Bigsby vibrato. Many people know that Bigsby was an important instrument maker who invented the first modern solidbody electric guitar for Merle Travis, but most have never seen one of these instruments in person! For one evening we will have a band on stage playing exclusively instruments made by Bigsby. The band will be led by festival stalwarts Jeremy ‘J.W.’ Wakefield on steel guitar and ‘T.K.’ Smith on electric guitar, along with a slew of other older and younger players–all living Bigsby owners have been invited to participate! This will be a photo opportunity never to be repeated again! Several vintage guitar dealers have already been rushed to the hospital!Lester Peabody With Special Guest Marti Brom!
Hailing from Finland, Lester Peabody is a double threat to be reckoned with–not only as a great Chet-styled finger picker on the guitar, but also as a great steel guitar player! Bonus for all the lonely guitar fans will be an appearance by sultry-voiced Texas singer Marti Brom, who will sing a number or two with Lester on his great set!James Calvin Wilsey: The Guitar Behind Chris Isaak!
Jimmy Wilsey has an impressive resume. Not only is he the guitarist who played on Chris Isaak’s breakout hit ‘Wicked Game,’ with its haunting atmospheric guitar parts, but he was also in the seminal punk band the Avengers, who can actually claim to have shared a bill with the Sex Pistols at their very last show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco in 1978! Jimmy Wilsey has a brand-new band called Wilsey and a new album out, and they will be showcasing their exciting brand of tunes at the Guitar Geek Festival!Opening Set: Breakout Talent Showcase!
The most difficult thing about putting together the Guitar Geek Festival each year is that we have so much phenomenal talent and not enough time to get everybody involved. So this year, a bunch of great guitarists will get the evening rolling with one tune each! Guaranteed you’ll want to be there from the opening bell, as these guitarists are every bit as talented as our featured acts!All ages (must be 21 to drink)!
Full bar available!
Booths from Hallmark, TNM Custom, and more!
Deke’s Amazing Guitar Museum with a special Bigsby exhibit!
DJ Dan Moses!
Guitar Raffle courtesy Fender/Gretsch guitars!
$35 advance / $40 at the door / $35 with NAMM pass
This is an Early Show! Doors open at 3 p.m., show starts at 4 p.m. sharp!Jolly Roger Hotel Ballroom (amazing 1960s pirate-themed ballroom!)
640 W. Katella (at Harbor), Anaheim, California
Only one block from the NAMM show/Convention Center!
I would go there – if it was anywhere near. He should do a world tour, and fill up the line-up with local acts like Ladi Geisler in Hamburg, and Bert Weedon and Judd Proctor in England.