5th Annual Surf Guitar 101 Convention
Saturday, August 11, 2012 !
The Starting Gate,
5052 Katella Ave.,
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
8AM-8PM,
$30 Admission
SURFGUITAR101.COM/CONVENTION
Machine gun staccato guitars drenched in dripping reverb, twangy plunk, bouncing bass, driving, tribal drums………most are unaware that the musical genre known as “Surf” that was catapulted onto the radar of modern pop-culture by Pulp Fiction has evolved and developed into a full-blown sub-culture with fanatic followers, complete with its own online ground zero, a website called (what else?) surfguitar101.com.
Once a year, the fanatics convene for a marathon 12-hour festival of all things surf–live performances by 8 of the best bands in the genre from all over the world, a “Living Legends of Surf Jam,” which features performance collaborations from the original players that were there back in the genre’s 60s beginnings, a surf music and memorabilia marketplace, and an extremely generous raffle featuring music, clothing, collectibles, and musical instruments and accessories from prominent makers/sponsors such as Fender, Eastwood, Nocturne Pedals and many more!
Now in its 5th year, the Surf Guitar 101 Convention has grown from a small gathering of geeks, to an all-out international festival, drawing attendees and interest from across the globe to Los Alamitos. Starting Gate, an all-age concert venue with full food menu and bar. 2012 promises to be the largest convention yet, with substantially increased advertising, marketing and corporate sponsorship.
5th Annual Convention Highlights:
–A historic reunion performance by the band that re-ignited interest in Surf Music in the 80s andushered in the so-called “Second Wave,” JON & THE NIGHTRIDERS –A Live set by the group that many consider the best modern surf band in the world, direct from Indiana, featuring material from their new album Tribal Fires, THE MADEIRA –A performance by Denmark Surf rockers El Ray, on their first American tour –The second US visit by Euro-Instro/Surf/Ska/Soul troupe Los Venturas from Belgium –From Wisconsin, one of the best traditional surf mainstays since 1994, The Exotics –Direct from Florida, Southeast Surf/Rockabilly/Space masters The Intoxicators! –Local Orange County, California Hot Rod/Surf legends The Dynotones–Celebrating their 6th album, East Coast Surf, Sci-Fi, Spy, Hot-Rod veterans 9th Wave –Incredible live reunion performances by first wave bands The Rumblers, of I Don’t Need You No More and Boss fame, and Southern California’s own The Nocturnes, famous for the classic Third Star from the Left
Last year when moving the Dionysus Records office I found a few boxes of empty Dukes of Hamburg LP covers. Shortly after, our old pal, Dukes of Hamburg’s Thilo Pieper reconnected with Dionysus, giving us news that there are now two reformed Dukes, in the US and Germany, and sending over some new recordings of his version of the group based in Bielefeld, Germany. We agreed to do a new LP and run enough LPs to fill the empty jackets for both Bad Side of July (Dukes of Earl) (around 300 copies) and Twist-Time im Star-Club Hamburg (around 400 copies) LPs. Both are available via Dionysus Records Mail Order (follow the above links) as well as select shops and internet mail order companies… you can only get them on vinyl as there are no CD or download versions of either! The represses also have different label designs than the originals, courtesy of Thilo!
The new Dukes of Hamburg release Liverpool Beat on Dionysus will be out soon, we’ll let you know when it’s just about ready to ship!
7pm – Round Two Hulabilly Costume Contest – Prizes for Best Male, Best Female
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