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Definition:
'Surf Rock' originated in Southern California in the early '60s where the sport of surfing and the young people who
followed the trend became a sub-culture of their own. Dick Dale, a surfer himself, originated the sound on 1961s
instrumental "Let's Go Trippin", using a generous amount of 'reverb', fast staccato picking, and use of the 'whammy
bar' to to generate the excitement of rushing down a crashing wave. Other Instrumental bands followed the 'surf'
sound including 'The Ventures', The Surfaris, The Chantays, and The Tornadoes. In '62 & '63 the Beach Boys and
Jan & Dean recorded harmony-filled songs and ballads with the surfing theme. After its peak year of 1963,
the instrumental surf-rock style gradually faded from prominence, while the vocal-oriented surf-rock style began to shift
towards 'hot-rod' music, which consequently had the potential for even broader national appeal. In the 1990s,
the popularity of the soundtrack from the movie "Pulp Fiction" (1994) brought about a whole new generation of
instrumental Surf Rock bands, such as 'The Blue Stingrays', 'The Aqua Velvets', 'The Mel-Tones', & 'The Bomboras'.
Today there are hundreds of 'Surf Rock' bands from around the world keeping the original sound alive.
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