Ed "Big Daddy" Roth #08 "The Beatnik Bandit"

www.ratfink.com

Ronny And The Daytonas - The Original G.T.O. LP [1964]

Ronny and the Daytones - one of the very rare Non-Californian Surf (and Hot Rod) bands - were
formed in Nashville, Tennessee, around 1964 and famous for GTO, written by John "Bucky" Wilkin.
Billy Justis cut the tune with various Nashville session players, who had a feel for rock & roll and instructed Bucky to come up with a group name to put on the record. Wilkin became Ronny Dayton with the anonymous backing group becoming the Daytonas. GTO as song appeared later on many compilations. Managed by Billy Justis ("Raunchy" and former Sun Session player) they run their business for a couple of months. Some sources mentioned, that Bucky Wilkin didn't like touring and playing live, so they sent a phantom group on tour (which later came to fame as "The Hombres" ) ... After this tour Buzz Cason joined the group and their sound moved quickly away from the surf and hot rod image. One more album "Sandy" followed in 1966 [Mala 4002]. In 1968 they also changed their record company and released two further LPs.

but GTO left their only GREAT album!

recording/session musicians for the GTO album:
Paul Jensen (vocals, guitar),
Don Henderson (bass, guitar)
Lynn Williams (drums)
Lee Kraft (songwriting, guitar)
and John "Bucky" Wilkin (songwriting, guitar, vocals),
with contributions from many more such as Ronny Clark.

On the photo you have Bucky Wilkins (3rd from left?) with three "anonymous" session players.

Three deuces and a four-speed and a 389 *

originally released on Mala Records

California Bound + Antique '32 Studebaker Dictator Coupe + Hot Rod Baby + Little Rail Job + Hey Little Girl + Bucket "T"
------ G.T.O. + The Little Sting Ray That Could Surfin' + In The Summertime + Back In The U.S.A. + Hot Rod City + Little Scrambler

The Original Surfaris - Bombora!

The story of this band started like many other band stories too. Some school mates are founding their first band, they had rehearsals and had some gigs, then a TV appearance and finally a record deal. But anyhow, after their first success, everything went different. Today this band is much more famous for the quarrel with the "other" Surfaris( famous for "Wipe Out")  about the right on the name "Surfaris" than for the music they played. Almost half a century later nobody should care about such things. They played live the songs from other bands, perhaps without paying royalties, and have written Bombora, an also often copied song. Well, they had two records credited to their name but the album "Wheels" is probably not completely played by this band. Always the same story!

Whhooom

Snackin' With The Manatees [2001]

The Manatees at first glance come across as just another surf group yet deserve to be examined a bit closer. With the bulk of their material being instrumental guitar-rooted music, one could easily say that puts the Manatees in the ranks of multiple surf-based bands. What separates the Manatees is their unique song structure and complexity of the material they write and perform on Snackin' With the Manatees. On "Mendoza," one gets to experience the band's expert use of multiple time signature changes and melodic passages. The gradual addition of each instrument at the onset of the tune proves to be the first hook, followed by many other hooks. "Immigration," which begins with a Latin twist, progresses through multiple facades before returning to the original Latin flavor. This serves to have a hypnotic effect, capturing the listener into the band's tangled web. "Batman," one of the three covers from the 18 songs on the album, is sure to be a favorite with the dance crowd. The great dance groove and unique lead instrumental passages tend to lift this interpretation into the ranks of elite cover tunes. The use of guitar, instead of the original trumpet, as the prime focus proves to be a winning choice in the presentation. The Manatees are made up of an extremely tight rhythm section which is capable of changing tempo at the drop of a hat. The two guitarists who undertake the mission of inserting the melodic hooks do so with the expertise of true masters of their craft. Phil Bentz, one of the guitarists, brings the theremin, ukuele, mandolin, and lap steel into the mix when the need arises. These small nuances he brings to the board are many times one of the creative hooks which separate the Manatees from the typical surf group. With close to a solid hour of great instrumental guitar-rooted music, Snackin' With the Manatees is sure to be a treasured addition to any surf music collection. One need not be a surf music lover to appreciate this album, all one needs is the urge to hear rock music at its instrumental best. by Larry Belanger, All Music Guide

test it here
Aloha!

Jazz'n Surf *

Diamond Head - Soundtrack (1963)

Music by Lalo Schifrin

>>>> toukoutou.blogspot

soundfiles from a two Lp on one CD album(!) "Diamond Head" & "Gone with the wave"

"Gone with the wave" (1964) recently posted also over at twilightzone.

(vinylversion)

unusal "Surf" album with own compositions and some classic surf tunes. A great mix of a typically surf guitar and Kai Winding's trombone ... with Jazz, Lounge and Easy Listening flavour. Recorded 1963

was posted on - I really can't remember ... thanks anyway!

download

that's a real Jazz album by Art Pepper - somewhere between Hard-Bop & Cool Jazz if you want.

Recorded 1952

Cool Surf picture - years before the Surf hype started.

download

Maybe the first Surf documentation ever. Filmed in 1958 by Bruce Brown (you remember?)
The sleeve should be much more blue :(
the JAZZ Soundtrack by Bud Shank

download the soundtrack ...

The Dead Ranch Hands - Our Pistols Are Useless (2009)

Some time ago you put a few of my songs that were available for free download on your blog. I just thought I'd let you know that right now all of them are available for anyone to freely download - until I put out the next Dead Ranch Hands album. They can be downloaded here:
 

http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands

This includes all the songs from Our Pistols Are Useless, plus a new song ("Bring Me The Blaggard What Stole My Horse) and a few lo fi versions of old songs.

 

http://www.myspace.com/thedeadranchhands

The project of guitarist Ben McCombs of Uma Floresta and Outside.
A hodgepodge of surf, rockabilly, spaghetti western and all things twang.

The Boys Next Door [1964-1967]

"The Boys Next Door" started as "The Four Wheels" and were true contemporaries of TBBoys; not only did they perform around the same time (1964-1967), this Indianpolis group of friends patterned their entire sound and appearance around their west coast doppelgangers.  But The Boys Next Door weren't a simple cover band, they wrote and performed their own material, which payed obvious homage (and sometimes outright theft) to TBBoys' sound.  Just listen to the first cuts on the disc: "Cold 45," "Central High Playmate," and most especially "Mandy" which steals it's structure directly from TBBoys' "The Man With All The Toys!"  In fact, listening to the first three tracks, you might be hard-pressed to distinguish between this group and Brian Wilson's songs.  But then this group does a great thing - by track four you hear them begin to develop an individual sound, which although it keeps the four-part harmonies and songwriting prowess, but begins to stretch out past the cars and girls sensibilities of their early records.  "One Face In The Crowd," "Why Be Proud" and "See The Way She's Mine" all have a darker, more complex mood which fits the late-sixties experimentalism that was becoming more prevalent.  They still retain their clear BBoys sound - the thick harmonies, the high falsetto lead, but the rhythms become harder and more complex, the lyrics become more introspective, and their music takes on a folk-rock edge which is interesting.  Although The Boys Next Door never broke into national recognition, this CD makes a compelling argument that they were worthy of greater exposure. [&]


This album was released in 1999, meanwhile out-of-print. Before it runs out of mind: grab it!
For sure you can still buy this album used!

musicians as known - corrections welcome ...
James Adams: guitar & vocals
Steve Lester: bass?, guitar & vocals
Jim Koss: drums & vocals
Steve Drybread: bass & vocals
[Skeet Bush: keyboards]
Bobby Goldsboro (partly producer, has written some songs too)

[note: in 1973 an Australian band featuring Nick Cave started under the same name]