Without people like George Tumsco of New Mexico's Fireballs, rock music in its current form, would be different. Mr. Tumsco's band is essentially the first with the classic rock instrumental line-up of two guitars, bass, and drum with the star lead dominant in Duane Eddy and Link Wray. In 1958 the Fireballs started lighting up New Mexico with their instrumentals. Tumsco even met Buddy Holly himself who, without asking, took his Fender Stratocaster, plugged in, tuned up and played Margaya.
Here he is in a recent picture. One of these days I hope I am aware of his Southern California appearance and attend a show. The Fireballs signature instrumentals: Bulldog, Torquay, and Rik-a-Tik are fondly remembered by me. When I first heard them in Los Angeles the year was 1960. An era which did not just promote singers as radio and most television now does. The best way for me, has been to see and hear such entertainers live.
Huntington Beach Pier is one of the best. Walk down the streets near the pier and one see foot prints of surfers. A museum dedicated to the sport and culture, including the music, is near-by and as one who well remembered the early 1960s music and television on KHJ channel 9 and KCOP 13, it is great to see this important contribution getting at least some recognition without D.C. dictating to it. Gotta be few surfers among congressmen and senators, I hope.
Slacktone is a trio of veteran musicians that have been playing at a professional level since they were still lads. No instrumental combos sounds like Slacktone.Their playing has syllables and no one else does. It's unique. Surf based, yet much more and, unfortunately, not honored in Los Angeles like is ought to be.
Huntington Beach has is correct by not only honoring surfing culture but surfing music as well; that instrumental sound that came out of Southern California around 1958, according to Dick Dale, and really began to flourish in 1962 and 1963 only to be decapitated by the UK bands such as The Beatles. One band, The Yardbirds, found So. Cal one of their most successful touring spots and still return here for gigs.
The music was evolving. A rather simple, spring of 1962 tune like Paradise Cove by the Surfmen was not as sophisticated as the fall of 1962 Pipeline by the Chantays, or Ghost Wave by the Vistas in 1963. Skip ahead and The Fender IV, and Davie Allan are pushing the music even further in 1964 and '65. No help from the English was required.
The Reventlos are one of the best and most progressive rock instrumental acts on the scene today. These two pictures were taken as they performed fan favorite Reventlo Hayride an hard rock, psycho-billy number recorded in 1996 yet remains as popular today. You wanna test your chops? learn this number!
It's one to hear it on a CD and quite another to hear live it and up close. The fire is their own.
When he was guest on the 870 Am KIEV Ray Briem radio show, I spoke in 2000, to the great musician and inventor Les Paul. We spoke about instrumental music and he considered them merely "filler". I disagreed since so many hits in the 1930s-1960s were instrumentals that stand the tests of time.
I see the demise of the instrumental akin to the overhauling of radio in favor of television: radio's theater of the mind is interpreted individually while television, with its explicit images and words, can be more easily programmed for mass influence. So vocals with exact words are better for consensus and control of listeners. With the establishment of a security state and Top 40 being founded, in part, by a former OSS man (see The Covert War Against Rock)it makes sense to use music as sort of a opiate or distraction. And this is one of the reasons I prefer instrumental music to vocals.
Much kudos to Bob Dylan for his writing of topical lyrics. Instrumental music, to me, was just as relevant. Tunes like "Fidel Castro", by Roland Alphonso, "Christine Keeler", "Malcom X",by the Skatalites, "Sniper", by The Royal Flairs,or "Tel Star" by the Tornados do not have words but their titles were very timely and expressed ideas words might have fallen short on and possibly not even allowed on commercial radio. In this regard they are akin to abstract paintings which, in some cases, were done to express ideas with no literal interpretation.
Paul Johnson was there when Southern California rock instrumental music was born. With his band the Bel-Aires he and Eddie Bertram, established what Lance Carson called, in 1961, 'surfin' music!' which he wanted to hear some more of. Their signature number Mr.Moto has been performed by instrumental bands for years and will be as long as Fender guitars are still being made and played.
Gil Orr and he form the Duo-Tones and perform in and around Los Angeles. Both are men of Christian faith and this has affected their music as well.
