Quote from Lulu:

The Ventures The Story of The Ventures
by Del Halterman

Description:
The definitive historic account of The Ventures, the world’s number one instrumental group that had a worldwide smash hit in 1960 with “Walk-Don’t Run.” Their second biggest hit came nine years later with “Hawaii Five-0” but they didn’t quit there, continuing non-stop on a fifty-year career of touring and making wonderful instrumental recordings. …

Walk-Don’t Run – The Story of The Ventures by Del Halterman (Book) in Biographies & Memoirs

What I like about this is the spirit and performance. They obviously got the hang of surf instrumentals – great sound, especially the Fender Jazzmaster guitar. The songwriting is focused and quite enjoyable (maybe even more so on this track). They are young and play pretty tight and avoid approaching any sloppy pseudo guitar/drum/bass hero antics. The purity really comes across well. This music is meant to be played in a cool way, with a good punch. And let me tell you, three piece instrumental bands act under a big magnifying glass. You can really hear all the details – I can only second the comment somebody else made about them: Good Job!

Now this japanese guy is one hot Uke player, I tell you. Interesting to see Pacific Longboarder write about him:

‘08 Monday, 11 February 2008Jake Shimabukuro (she-ma-BOO-koo-row) is recognized as one of the world’s top ukulele (oo-koo-LAY-lay) musicians, and one of the most jaw-dropping performers of any instrument. Renowned for lightning-fast fingers, revolutionary playing techniques, and wildly eclectic repertoire, Jake views the ukulele as an ‘untapped source of music with unlimited potential.’ It is no coincidence that Jake is the first ukulele player ever invited to perform as a solo artist at the Sydney Opera House! Playing jazz, blues, funk, classical, bluegrass, folk, flamenco and rock, Jake plays beyond all musical boundaries.It began when his mother gave him a ukulele lesson at age four. ‘When I played my first chord I was hooked,’ says Jake. Evolving from the heavily amplified riffs that earned Jake the reputation as ‘Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele,’ now Jake masterfully extracts the pure ‘clean’ natural acoustic sound of the uke, delicately making a single note smile or cry on his most recent releases, Gently Weeps and My Life. The highlight of Gently Weeps is Jake’s cover of George Harrison’s ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps.’ The video clip of Jake playing this in Central Park appeared on YouTube, and made Jake the medium’s first global superstar with over 3.5 million hits. When Jake had the honor of meeting Harrison’s widow, Olivia, backstage at his show with the Honolulu Symphony, she described feeling George’s presence with her when Jake played his rendition of Gently Weeps. From a modest beginnings at a Honolulu café, Jake has gone on to play at venues such as the House of Blues and The Knitting Factory (Los Angeles), The Birchmere (Alexandria, VA), Tipitina’s (New Orleans), Joe’s Pub and Knitting Factory (NYC), Ottawa Blues Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, The Bumbershoot Festival, The Fuji Rock Festival (Japan) and many others. Touring with Jimmy Buffett in ’05, ’06 and ’07 gave Jake ‘a priceless experience’ of playing to crowds of over 100,000. Jake’s first national TV slot was in December ’05 on NBC’s The Late Show with Conan O’Brien.

continue reading here Pacific Longboarder News / Reviews / Events

From DJ Lemonsqueezer:

Aloha hou!

FASCHING HAWAII
Rosenmontag 04.02.07 21.00 -4.00
Im Atomic Café,
Neuturmstr. 5 München

Live auf der Bühne: HONOLULU SIXPACK
Honolulu Sixpack spielen Hawaii Rock’n’Roll der mit Calypso, Surf
und anderen exotischen zutaten aufgelockert wird. Seit Ihrer Gründung
vor ca. 2 Jahren ging es in der Szene mit der Band steil nach oben.
Bisheriger Höhepunkt war sicher Ihr Openair Gig bei der legendären Hawaii
Party in Senigallia vor ca. 4000 begeisterten Fans. Mit Ihrer 6 Mann
Besetzung (incl. Ukulele, Lapsteel-guitar, Percussions, Piano & Organ)
bieten sie einen breiten, selten so live präsentierten Rock’n’Roll
Sound, der in die Beine geht!

& DJ Lemon Squeezer (Atomic Café) spielt:
Hawaiian Rock’n’Roll, Swing Hapa Haole Songs, Tamouré, Surf, Calypso,
Limbo & Latin Exotica

https://myspace.com/hularock
http://www.rock-a-hula.de/

Spreeblick made me aware of this interesting YouTube video. You have a guitar on your iPhone to play chords, single notes and even vibrato the notes. Well the vibrato needs work. It’s apparently called PocketGuitar. It won’t hurt your fingers as much as real steel strings, you can do it anywhere, but it’s not quite as sexy as a Mosrite or a Jaguar.

Fender Jaguar/Jazzmaster authority and accomplished surf guitarist Mel Waldorf writes at Surf Guitar 101 about an american tv-show (HGTV) they (himself and Jessica Lindsay) participated in and got their home office re-designed.

This is when the action takes place
Air times:
.January 26, 2008 5:30 PM ET/PT
from the HGTV website:

‘Tropical Tiki Office
As avid collectors, homeowners Mel Waldorf and Jessica Lindsey have a jackpot of fun finds to use, so creating a very personalized space is easy. While incorporating bright and fun elements, host Karen McAloon and the Design Remix team give the room purpose, clear up clutter and form functioning workspaces. The result is a home office that’s practical, yet playful and as tempting as a tropical tiki island.’

Disclaimer: The show’s director strongly encouraged us to behave like imbeciles… we were acting…really.

I really would love to see this.

One of these days I have to learn them all, hopefully I already do some of them, without knowing their names. Exotic scales are what sets Surfmusic apart from earlier forms of instrumental rock’n’roll, and connects it with jazz (like early George Benson and Gabor Szabo) and Exotica.

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 $35

Featuring:

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.

Gordon finished his Jaguar project. It’s a very special guitar, based on Fender’s favorite surf guitar – the Jaguar.
Everybody wants to hear it, and I am no exception! He chose Charlie Christian style pick-ups and a reverse headstock, that crazy french-man.

Here’s his blog.

Through Surfmusic101 this article by Drew Kampion came to my attention:

A few days ago, a friend told me she’d got the news that Dick Dale (King of the Surf Guitar) was in a serious fight with colon cancer, which had attacked him back in the 1960s and changed his life (he became a vegetarian, an environmental activist, and a man who lives in the moment). Dick retired from performing for a time, but got back into it during the 1980s. When Quentin Tarantino prominently featured DD’s famous “Misirlou” instrumental in his 1994 film, Pulp Fiction, Dick Dale was once again elevated into public consciousness.
…

article at Surfer’s Path

DickDale.com