Okay, so they're really a 4-piece and they definitely ain't just a surf band. But before there ever was a surf revival, before punk rock was topping the charts, there was the Surf Trio, combining the best of both worlds with a sound that owed as much to the Ramones as to Dick Dale.
Born in the garages of Oregon in the mid 80s, the Surf Trio brought together the purism of 60s garage and surf with the raw energy of 70s punk to create a sound that was all their own. With a repertoire that included both revved-up instrumentals and punk rock rave-ups, the band began to make its mark on the Northwest music scene with gigs around Portland, Eugene and Seattle.
And with their vinyl debut a 7-song, all instrumental EP on Moxie Records they helped breathe life back into surf music, predating the current surf craze by nearly 10 years. An offer from Voxx records followed, and in 1986 the band released its now-legendary debut album, Almost Summer, co-produced by former Bad Religion guitarist/Epitaph Records honcho Brett Gurewitz. The boys played shows from Seattle to Portland to L.A., and made a second album, the souped-up Safari in a Living Graveyard.
Now, after a 3-year hiatus in the early 90s, the Surf Trio are back and better than ever. Between 1995 and 1997, they released two more albums the punky Shook Outta Shape on September Gurls Records and the all-instrumental Curse of the Surf Trio on the Pin-Up label. And, after years of sweating it out in clubs, they've won recognition as one of the greatest live bands in the Northwest. Two European tours and countless high-energy, no-holds-barred shows in the States have won the band a rabid following both at home and abroad. Along the way, the boys have even become TV stars, providing theme and background music for The Learning Channel's national series Neat Stuff. Never a band to rest on its laurels, the Surf Trio put out yet another screamer of an album in 1999. The predominantly instrumental Forbidden Sounds was co-released by Dionysus Records and Blood Red Vinyl and made a big splash with fans and critics alike. Two tracks from the album ("Vibrosurf" and "Salt Bath") were used in the cinematic exploitation opus "Freeway 2: Confessions of a Trickbaby". Plans are underway for a new album in 2000, and the band shows no signs of slowing down.
Cape Wonder
Gila
Surf Is Dead
Port Orford
Wolfman
99th Wave
On The Reach Around
Steamer
Forbidden Zone
Columbia
Mr. Rhythm
The Plunger
Las Luchadoras
The Wedge
2 comments:
Thanks for the re-up!! Now i finally got it... And it´s just as great as i remember it was!! "Cape Wonder" kicks some serious bottom...
What a review like that...I gotta check it out! Thx T :-)
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