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Since February 26, 2006, SurfGuitar101.com has been the premier home on the web for friends and fans of the world-wide phenomenon known as surf music! Created in Southern California in the early 1960's, surf music is very much alive today and has spread around the globe. Join us in our forums to discuss surf music, past and present. Meet new friends and discover new bands. Want to play surf music? We have lots of forums devoted to playing, performing, and writing surf music. We have lots of discussions on gear: guitars, amps, and drums. Check out our podcasts and hear some really great tunes! Finally, we feature news and articles on the surf scene, and you'll always know where you can catch some live surf music!
Join us in our forums for some lively discussions. Here are the forum topics with new posts.
New single of my upcoming LP "El Sorfista 11th anniversary" released by Colorado Instrumental Fanzine is available now on all digital platforms:
The stellar seventh issue of Colorado Instrumental Fanzine is now available for the Summer of 2026 at: https://coloradoinstrumentalfanzine.bandcamp.com/merch/colorado-instrumental-fanzine-issue-7-and-4-by-4-7-compilation
Issue seven features interviews with:
Agent Octopus (Maryland, USA)
Atomic Mosquitos (Maryland, USA)
The Desolate Coast (Washington, USA)
The Surf Coasters (Japan)
Sys Malakian (Mexico)
Mark Malibu & The Wasagas (Canada)
In addition to the six interviews, the zine features live photographs and music reviews for your enjoyment. Weighing in at a hefty 40 pages, you'll have hours of reading material about some incredibly talented surf/instrumental bands.
This issue includes a copy of our incredible 4 by 4 7" Compilation on Iceberg Blue Vinyl. A four-band, four-tune compilation representing four countries. The international surf music community is alive and thriving!
The 7" features:
Mark Malibu & The Wasagas - Great Lake Surfer (Canada)
Humanga Danga - Red Desert Rampage (Belgium)
Sys Malakian - Idilio (Mexico)
The Terra Surfers - Solar Vortex (Colorado, USA)
Plus, for fans in the USA, you get free stickers and FREE MUSIC from Agent Octopus. We have a limited number of CDs from Agent Octopus and their early incarnation, Reverb Galaxy, available. You can listen to their music while reading their interview.
Physical copies will be available in Europe at Surfin's Back Again and in Mexico at Georgetown Records.
Hey surfers, gremmies, hodads and wahini's! There's a brand new radio station playing the most excellent surf rock classics and gnarly rare gems. Longboard Radio!
John Blair (author and recording artist--Jon & The Nightriders) sent me this review on my new book “Sun, Sand, Surf & Sidewalls” IV. I was excited to see this and learn his thoughts on the my new book. Thanks John, I so appreciate it! Tom Tourville
For over 40 years, Tom Tourville has remained one of the more important surf music historians. His focus has been documenting the many surf bands from America’s Midwest. As was noted in the liner notes for the second volume of the four-album series “Surfin’ In The Midwest,” which Tom helped with at its inception, the 12 states that comprise America’s heartland “...make a pretty good argument the landlocked Midwest did spawn a fair number of good surf tunes.” The Midwest states produced an abundance of great, reverbed surf music that few people would have never heard had it not been for records like this. Just the fact that so many teen bands adopted the style, and yet were capable of doing so thousands of miles from the nearest saltwater, said a lot about the popularity and spread of surf music in the United States during the early 1960s.
But, Tom is also the author of several self-released discographies including: “Minnesota Rocked The 1960’s,” “Musical Winds of The Northern Plains” and “The IGL/Sonic Recording Story.” More recently, over the last ten years, Tom has published four separate editions of “Sun, Sand, Surf & Sidewalls.” A subtitle, for all intents and purposes, notes “Looking Back at Surf & Summer Music as Seen Through Autographs.”
All of these four editions are fun to page through or to just linger for awhile to check out the graphics and explanatory text next to each entry. While these books are not discographies nor are they intended to entertain only autograph collectors, they are, nevertheless, a creative way to document the era. If you happen to own a rare surf record that’s autographed by someone included in any of Tom’s four editions, an added bonus of having the book(s) would be to confirm if that autograph is actually valid or not.
If you have a group of books about 1960s music, or surf music more specifically, Tom Tourville’s books ought to also be a part of that.
John Blair
June 2026
For Immediate Release
Midwest Publications Announces New Book Release On Surf & Beach Music Autographs
Midwest Publications has announced the forthcoming new book by Tom Tourville titled, “Sun, Sand, Surf & Sidewalls- Looking Back At Surf & Summer Music As Seen Through Autographs”-Fourth Edition.
The book is part of a series of books that is the first of its type to focus on classic to current surf & hot rod music artists from the early 1960's through 2026. The book covers over 200 groups/artists, using over 750 autographs, photos, memorabilia and graphics with artist overviews on 113 pages of surfin’ fun. It features a fantastic cover designed by graphic artist, Sherry Gibbons.
This book represents the most complete surf music book on surf music autographs ever published. It’s a great guide and collectable for surf music fans and autograph collectors. This new book is part of a series of four books that Tourville has written that have been published. The publisher for the book, is Midwest Publications. This is Tourville’s thirty second published book.
The introduction for the book was written by Steve Hough of the Rumbles Ltd who are best remembered for their classic surf instrumental of “Flip Side/Wail It” on Dawn Cory Records, released in 1965.
His life long love and interest in the surf and hot rod music scenes from the early ‘60s through today, has driven him to create and his new fourth edition of “Sun, Sand, Surf & Sidewalls.
Tom was a finalist for the 2023 National Assoc. For Recorded Sound Collection’s Awards of Excellence In Historical Recorded Sound Music, Book Research Nominee!
Special Book Features Include:
The Business Cards of Surf & Hot Rod Music.
“So What Did They Paid?” --Tourville writes a very informative look back at what so many of the famous surf and hot rod bands, from the classic surf era, got paid to play shows during the birth of surf.
Looking back at many of the surf artists of the last 25 years as seen through their autographs. Such groups as: the Phantom Surfers, Insect Surfers, Boss Martians, the Ghastly Ones, Jon & The Nightriders, Surf Raiders, Surfrajettes, Frigidaires, Bomboras, Tourmaliners, Riddlers, and Stupid Cupids, with so many more.
For the first time, the autographs of Japan’s top three surf guitar icons: Yuzo Kayama,Takeshi “Terry” Teraucki and Tatsuro Yamashita shown together on one page.
Over 150 autographs for members of the famed “Wrecking Crew” session musicians.
A graphic overview of the Legendary Masked Surfers sessions. One Of the largest gathering of surf music musicians in history. Read about it.
A special section titled. “The Brilliance Of Sloan & Barri,” that looks back at some amazing P. F. Sloan & Steve Barri surf/beach/hot rod releases all under assumed names!
Featured autographs of:
The Stupid Cupids. Riddlers, Eddie Bertrand, Makaha Sessions, Revells, Devons,Messer Chups, Frigidaires, Eculid Beach Band, the Legendary Masked Surfers, Yuzo Kayama, Adrian & The Sunsets, Gary Usher, John Blair, Surf Raiders and more!
The book retails for $17.99
Paperback-113 Pages 8.5" X 11"
Library Of Congress #2024907212
Publisher Midwest Publications-2026
ISBN: # 979-8-89692-839-3
The book is available on Amazon, E-Bay & Facebook (Tom Tourville) and from Midwest Publications at P.O. Box 404, Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360 beginning immediately. It retails for $17.99. + $5.00 shipping in the U.S. For inquires, send to author at: [email protected].
Dear friends and guitar music fans:
I am delighted to be making this special album available to you at this time. In much the same way that I recently compiled and released "The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company" album from the many acoustic guitar recordings that I have had "in the can" (lying dormant and unreleased in my files over the years since I recorded them), THIS series draws from all kinds of recordings in those files, both acoustic and electric. In fact, the emphasis here in Volume One is to share with you my favorite electric guitar tracks (the surfier stuff) that have been previously unavailable. I trust you will appreciate and enjoy this, as I regard these tracks as some of my best work; and I look forward to continuing this series as a means of accomplishing my goal of making ALL of my music available to you here at my Bandcamp page!
For easy access to this and all my other music; just click:
https://pauljohnsonguitar.bandcamp.com/
Thanks!
Paul Johnson
[email protected]
Midsummer Reverb returns (albeit a bit early this year!) Featuring the Electric Heaters and Czarna Wolgastar (the surf arm of Mr. Ho's Orchestrioca) at the Burren pub in Somerville, MA. Early, Seated and civilized, if that's how you like it. You can even partake of the Burren's excellent food & drink menu. Tix on sale now.
Hello surfers,
Los Atarrayas are back after a long break, with a brand new EP: same line up, same attitude, 4 self-released original songs wilder than ever!
The EP is available for free unlimited streaming exclusively on our Bandcamp page, and if you would like to support us, you can purchase the mp3 files paying what you want.
Best regards,
Los Atarrayas
Submissions are officially OPEN for the annual Golden Wave Award. We are looking for the tracks that defined the year, from classic traditional reverb to the heavy edges of surf-punk and psych-garage. Think your latest release has what it takes to be the Surf Instrumental Album of the Year?
The Prize: One band receives the premier year-end distinction and a featured spotlight across our digital platforms.
Deadline: December 31st. How to enter: Provide a Bandcamp download code or streaming link via our official submission page.
Submit Here:
https://www.surfmusicandart.com/p/golden-wave-award-submissions.html
Talasi (ex-Volny Sovetov) is happy and proud to present their first album — a journey through the waves of classic surf and lo-fi sound. For the recording sessions the soviet bass 'Ural' (notorious for being the least playable bass guitar on Earth) was used, along with the Stylophone notably in such tracks as "We Are the Multitudes" and "Good Morning, Pyongyang!' The oriental and funky style of 'Bahor' showcases some Khruangbin-infused bits, while 'Troika' is a spaghetti western rendition of a tune by the Russian composer Sviridov. 'Zodiaque' is a surf hommage to one of the biggest soviet synthwave shlagers of the 80s, which enters the sci-fi territory along with an extra track 'Planeta Bur' available on Bandcamp only. Listen and enjoy!
P.S. YouTube link for Zodiaque promo video: CLICK IT!
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