8/4/07 - Outpatients,
9th Wave, and more in NYC
Now, this was a great evening of live surf music, the August 4th SURF-ROCK
SHINDIG at OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD in NYC
THE OUTPATIENTS kicked it off with a tight set of their surf/blues/jam
sound....tremendous playing....JOHNNY 'I PLAY LOUD' COLA's lead runs were just
spectacular!! Band's rhythm section of Tony/Captain Insano and drummer
King Klient was just chest-pounding goodness; this great Long Island based
band is coming back for the December 2007 Surf-Rock Shindig; speaking of
Long Island....special thx to Marbles Mahoney of STRANGE BUT SURF who was in the
crowd, and most helpful (yet again) to the proceedings; STRANGE BUT SURF
are on the same bill as THE OUTPATIENTS in December, by the way; also in
attendance from Long Island (well, Queens....but that's pretty close) - Patti
and Paul from the TarantinosNYC.
THE 9th WAVE played a rockin' powerful set as well. This great hot-rod
surf combo strayed somewhat from their usual repertoire to accomodate ROBI
BILODERIC of THE BITCH BOYS as their guest
guitarist for a bunch of songs. They covered some classics, and MIKE
'STACCATO' ROSADO and ROBI were brilliantly trading licks, back-n-forth, with
OCEANA/SANDY also strummin' at times -- 3 guitarists all keepin' the surf vibe
at an intense high. Phred (drums) and Negative Ed (bass) - speaking of
pounding....these 2 dudes never let up. It was a joy to see ROBI play
again (first had this opportunity in 2004 in Calella Spain at the WIPE-OUT
FESTIVAL -- saw THE BITCH BOYS play an amazing set of wondrous surf that day).
When THE SURFALICIOUS DUDES let me know they could not appear.....it hit me....ROBI
was coming to town (I had arranged an apartment for him in my neighborhood,
HELL'S KITCHEN). I reached out to MIKE and SANDY, and also threw the idea
at ROBI before he left SLOVENIA....and voila, long story short, it came
together. ROBI's playing was, yeah, I'll say it, genius. His
girlfriend DARJA (The Goddess) was dancing up a storm. Keep in mind that
ROBI and THE 9th WAVE never rehearsed!! And they sounded so amazingly
tight.....professional surf musicians at their best. What a thrill for all
of us.
Then came the deep reverb and dark sci-fi stylings of the great N Y band, THE
COFFIN DAGGERS! Complete with a back-drop of B-Movie (or is it C-Movie or
even D-Movie) sci-fi clips playing behind them, it is a complete multi-media
experience. I think, personally, the band never sounded better; more
cohesive, a true working unit. Keyboards were much sharper and present,
which I think is a must for this band. Would love to hear a new album from
them....hint....hint....Plus they really packed the place.
The evening concluded with the blues/surf sounds of THE GEARJAMMERS.
Personally, I love this band. But, for the record, the last time they
played, they offered a lot more surf. This time out, barely any. Needless
to say, as good as they are, I suspect they won't be returning to any SURF-ROCK
SHINDIGS as they just don't fit the format
enough.
Another surf bands represented was EL
MUCHACHO.
Hope to see comments from other attendees and musicians.
This scene going on at OTTO's is just fantastic.
And I thank everyone, in particular Nell and Steve at Otto's, and Frank Wood
too, for all their love and support.
TWANGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Unsteady Freddie
