Month: May 2007

THE LONE SURFER AND HIS SUPER PALS!

Remember the early 90s surf revival boom? Sure ya do. There was this fella Mike Lucas here in the SF Bay Area doing his darndest to help it along, vis-à-vis a great instrumental surf combo called the PHANTOM SURFERS, some quasi-legit LP releases of old & rare 60s surf monsters, and various one-off projects like this one, THE LONE SURFER AND HIS SUPER PALS. Far as I know it, the band wasn’t really a “bandâ€Â in the conventional sense of the word, more a conglomeration of pals from then-current acts like THE MUMMIES and THE TRASHWOMEN, among others, with Lucas at the helm.

There was one small-batch 45 of revved-up, reverb-dosed surf crunch from them, pressed up in 1993. It was called “Church Key/Horror Beachâ€Â, and it was recorded live at San Francisco’s Chameleon Club. I happened to be in attendance that night, but if memory serves me correctly, I left the premises before they got on as headliners (or perhaps as the mop-up act), as I missed the best part of the night. That was when the band started taunting a pal of mine, one Michael Ashby, who happened to have hair down past his shoulders and was thusly regaled as a “hippieâ€Â. As the tale was told to me, Ashby bravely and verbally fought back for a while as things became more heated, before finally being coaxed to the stage and actually PAID TO LEAVE THE CLUB by the band, for the crime of being a benevolent hippie in San Francisco. Different times, hunh? He actually left the club a few dollars richer, whereupon he came to the place we were drinking that night and told us the story (and hopefully bought us a beer with his new earnings). Much of their repartee is captured on this 45, posted here for your listening pleasure (there’s also a photo of Ashby being paid off on the cover of the single!).

Play or Download THE LONE SURFER AND HIS SUPER PALS – “Church Keyâ€Â

6. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

6. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

6. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

6. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

6. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

6. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

6. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

6. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

6. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.