It was hard to know what bands to do for drum week.
I remembered that the drums had really appealed to me when I was listening to
Vixen, which I will cover tomorrow, but I couldn't tell you why they appealed
to me. (Unless I figure it out by tomorrow, which would be nice.)
The other thought that occurred to me was
"Wipeout" by The Surfaris. The logic of reviewing that related to
drumming is more evident - that's some pretty powerful drumming.
Here's something that might be less obvious. I
listened to a lot of surf music in my childhood, and other tunes of that era. I
had listened to "Wipeout" many times, and it was included in many
collections. Still, until 1987 I believe I associated it more with the Dick Dale
style guitar. That changed with Dirty Dancing. The brilliance of the
drums didn't hit home for me until I saw Jennifer Grey as Baby going up and
down the stairs, rolling her hips, stamping and kicking in frustration at
first, then vamping as she got better and could feel the music.
Response to music is very personal. In addition to
"Wipeout", The Surfaris are generally known for one other original
song, "Surfer Joe". I was not impressed by it, but listening to a
recording of a concert, the crowd was excited to hear it coming up, and
approving that it was the five original verses.
Regarding other material, in my listening I heard a
lot of covers. Some of them were songs that fit in really well with their
style, like "Misirlou" and "Tequila", generally done pretty
well. There is also a song, "Punkline" that seems to be their own but
from 1982, which I really liked. "Point Panic" is also theirs, and
pretty good. Still, I am mainly thinking about drums right now, so I want to
talk more about "Wipeout".
Surfaris drummer Ron Wilson played in the school's Tartan
marching band, and loved Scottish marches. The drum solo comes from that, and a
paradiddle exercise, and bongo rock-type breaks. It was something they put
together in about ten minutes, rhythm guitarist Bob Berryhill says. And yet it
was a fast hit, something drummed out in malt shops and aspired to by learning
drummers, and they got a gold record.
It took ten minutes, but it's not ten minutes,
because there is all of the practice and listening to music and loving music
that came before, coming out in the song.
Reading about the band now is kind of depressing. Bob Berryhill is still around
and playing the songs with his own lineup which includes family members.
Otherwise bassist for their tour, Ken Forssi, died from a brain tumor in 1998,
saxophonist Jim Pash died of heart failure in 2005, and Wilson himself died of
an aneurysm in 1989, one month before his 45th birthday.
But the song won't die. Music lasts, and it continues
to reach people decades later. It can continue to be seen in different ways,
with new things noticed.
That's not a bad legacy for anyone.
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