Name: Bongo Surf

Genre: Traditional Surf Instrumental

Geographical Area: New Jersey / NYC

Interview with: Tom, Dave, Mark, Chris E. and Chris P. on 8/29/07 by email

1. What is the current line-up of your band?
 

Tom Virzi – Lead guitar
Dave Stellmach – Guitar, keys
Mark Stellmach – Percussion
Chris Edelson – Drums
Chris Poppe - Bass
 

2. How and when did you get started with your band?

Dave: Our friend, Chris P. taught me a few surf tunes way back when, and then I met
Tommy at Long Beach Island in '95 - he was playing blues on this cool, really old guitar.
We swapped a few tunes, started surfing together, and he ended up buying all these old
Ventures albums which we would listen to and learn from. My brother was usually
surfing with us, and we would jam with him playing bongos and stuff. Then, you have
Chris P. (back to the beginnings, in a way) and Rusty joining around 2001.
 

Tom: Seems like we’ve been playing together for as long as I can remember. I do recall
when Chris (Rusty) Edelson joined us when we were looking for a drummer……he
showed up at a rehearsal in my living room, none of us knew him, and he says “I might
be a little rusty – I haven’t played in a while” only to blow us away from the first hit of
the drum.
 

Chris E.: I had been dreaming of doing a surf project for quite a while. One fateful
evening, back around the turn of the century, a friend of a friend of a friend phoned me
up with a tale of a band in need of a drummer. It was love at first reverbed twang

3. What bands or music have influenced you most?
 

Tom: My love of instrumental guitar started when I was a kid and learned to play Duane
Eddy’s Peter Gunn. Other big influences include Dick Dale, Link Ray, Danny Gatton,
Chet Atkins and a slew of blues and jazz greats including Kenny Burrell and Grant Green which adds a strange twist to my version of surf guitar.
 

Mark: Obviously surf music, but also I learned much of the foundation of Afro-Cuban
rhythms which I really like. The last few years Latin Jazz has been really appealing to
me.
 

Chris P: When I was first learning to play guitar 30 years ago, the first two songs my
friend taught me were Wipe Out and Pipeline. It wasn’t until I really got into the surf
music thing a few years ago that I found out who recorded those songs.
 

Dave: Surf-wise, anything with great tone and rhythm - the simpler the better.
 

Chris E.: Strange as it may be for a drummer, Wipeout was not an influence early on.
Nowadays, the amazing feats on the classic surf recordings drive me. I also really dig the precise sound of Teen Beat (Los Straitjackets) and the energy of the punk/surf bands.

 
 
4. What is the breakdown of cover vs. original material in your live shows and/or recordings?
 

Tom: Right now we are doing mostly covers with one original – The Flying Eye –
written by a friend of ours, Zeke. More originals are in the works.
 

Chris P: We really love playing all these classic surf covers from the 60’s. That’s what
brought us together.

5. What recording have you done?
 

Chris P: We’ve only recorded a few songs for demo/promo purposes. We hope to do
some more recording soon, maybe work out some originals. It’s hard getting us all
together though. We live pretty far apart from each other, and with jobs and families, it’s
tough finding the time. We rarely even practice together. Usually we’ll email each other,
“Hey, let’s learn this new song for the next gig…”
 

Chris E.: I think the tunes on the MySpace site were recorded the third time we were all
in the same room together.

6. What kind of gear do you use?
 

Tom: I play Fender Telecasters mostly, but you never know what will show up at a gig.
For my amp I use an old reissue Vibrolux. The only pedal I usually use is a HOLY
GRAIL reverb (the holiest of reverb of course).
 

Dave: 1962 Fender Strat Re-issue; Re-issue Fender Deluxe Reverb Amp .
 

Chris P: 1995 Fender USA Precision Bass, early 70’s Ampeg V4 Bass Amp.
 

Mark: CP Congas and various other percussion instruments
 

Chris E.: ’06 Gretsch 18/12/14 or ’63 Rogers 22/13/16. The smaller Gretsch really fit
well with the music, and they’re a blast to play!

7. What is your band’s favorite food/beverage?

Tom: Donuts and Coke
Dave: Kin Khao and martinis
Chris P: Coffee and cigarettes
Mark: Thai food and beer
Chris E.: beer and cheese

8. How do you get gigs?

Mark: When we first got serious and found a drummer we all made a bit of time for
phone calls and follow up. A few calls were made at the right time to the right guy and
we were able to open for Dick Dale a couple of times.
 

Chris P: We’ve been pretty lazy about promoting ourselves. Usually, one of us becomes
friendly with a bartender or club owner and then we’ll try to sell them our concept…“You should really have a ‘beach party’ theme night, you know, margaritas, daiquiris, girls in bikinis…I know this great surf band…”
 

Dave: 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration
 

Chris E.: It’s a mystery to me. I’m the laziest one in the band.

9. What are the difficulties you find playing your kind of music in your area?
 

Chris P: You’d think that being located in New Jersey there would be a lot of
opportunities for a surf band at the shore, but that’s hardly the case. Most places down
there just don’t get it. They like to stick with what they know – like Top 40 cover bands.
At places where there are more than one band on the bill, it’s sometimes hard to find a
spot where instrumental surf tunes would “fit in”.
 

Mark: Based upon crowd response it still is a mystery to me why we aren’t playing all
over the place
 

Chris E.: see answer to #8. Wait a second, maybe I’m one of the difficulties in us not
getting more gigs!
 

Dave: Yea, Rusty... c'mon!

    

10. What positive attributes does your band have that sets you apart from other bands (of any genre)?

Chris P: To begin with, playing surf instrumental music sets us apart from the majority
of bands in this area! The great thing is that it’s hard to find somebody that doesn’t like
the music we play…it’s fun, upbeat, party music. As for standing out from other surf
bands, we’ve got Mark on percussion which really fills out the sound, adds a lot more
flavor. We also like playing with this really great saxophonist (Bryan Beninghove) now
and then. He can really add a lot to our sound on songs like Tequila, Comanche, Peter
Gunn…
 

Mark: Well most of us surf and that vibe I think shines through the music. And as Chris
mentioned Afro-Cuban rhythms on congas add some stoke that is different from other
surf bands.
 

Chris E.: In addition to the above points, I have to add the one thing that sets us apart
from any other project I’ve been in—we all love playing for the sake of playing. We all
show up to practice and play gigs because we love playing this stuff. It’s that simple.
We play, we laugh, we have a great time on stage, and we get to share that energy with
everyone in the room. It’s a totally positive experience. You can’t leave a gig without
getting stoked.

11. What have you found to be the single most effective promotional tool you’ve used to further your band’s musical path?
 

Chris P: Myspace has been great. We probably would have never known about all these
great surf bands, surf nites, etc. in our area. Made some great contacts.
 

Mark: Prior to Myspace….word of mouth.
 

Dave: The adage "Show 'em your face," and the ol' phone call.
 

Chris E.: see answer to #8

12. What’s the most interesting performance experience you’ve had?
 

Tom: The first time we opened for Dick Dale at the now-gone Tradewinds in Sea Bright,
NJ. What a trip to be opening for Dick.
 

Dave: Yeah, opening for Dick Dale two years in-a-row was pretty special, but they all
are, really.
 

Chris P: Our first Otto’s gig for Unsteady Freddie was a blast! It was great playing to an
audience of surf music aficionados, including a lot of NESMA band members who came
to check us out and cheer us on. And I really love that it’s a tiki bar in the East Village !
Mark: For me, our first real gig was at our annual martini party on Long Beach Island
years ago. It was like that first time of really putting together our covers and letting it
rip. We were really surprised how well we played and so was the crowd….I’m sure the
martinis helped.
 

Chris E.: The NESMA Otto’s gig was awesome! Not only were other surf bands, but the
crowd was into the whole thing. Of course, the wedding we played was pretty cool, too.
Oh, and the afternoon gig at Joey Harrison’s after surfing. Then there was the ski lodge
gigs. I guess we’ve had a lot of cool gigs.

13. What do you hope to get out of being a NESMA member?

Chris E.: To help promote this great music, the bands playing it, and the people that give
it a venue.
 

Chris P: It would be great to share some more shows. We had to turn down a gig once,
so I told the promoter to check out the NESMA site to look for another surf band to fill
in. It can also be a great a network to find a musician to sit in for a gig when one of the
guys can’t make it.
 

Mark: Just to share in the community stoke for surf music

14. Anything else?

Chris P: Thanks for having us! Hope to meet more of these great NESMA bands soon.
 

Mark: When are the hurricane swells gonna get here? It’s late August for crying out
loud!
 

Tom: Von Dutch Lives!