Revolution Surf 2020 & Show # 817

One of the first surf/instrumental based songs to have a space or sci-fi theme was the song “Telstar” by The Tornados. Not to be confused with the US band of the same name (spelled “Tornadoes”), this band was from the UK and worked together with producer Joe Meek in the early 60s. Meek wrote and produced the song for The Tornados, utilizing new, pioneering production techniques that created distinctive, and “space age” futuristic sounds. It sounded pretty strange then, but still sounds fresh today. With its use of keyboards and the Clavioline, “Telstar”, which was named after a telecommunications satellite that went into orbit on July 10th, 1962, became an immediate hit when released in August of 1962. In the UK the song was at #1 on the UK singles charts for 25 weeks and #1 in on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The Tornados were also the first British group to have a number one single in the US. Since then there has been a plethora songs and surf/instrumental bands that have named themselves based on space or sci-fi themes. Their first full-length album, Bustin’ Surfboards, was released in 1964. The album mixed 60s surf themed tracks with some vocal based tracks. It would become a cult classic, but reached new found popularity following the inclusion of the song “Bustin’ Surfboards” on the 1994 soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.

In 1964, instrumental band The Ventures released their album (The) Ventures in Space. The album explored more experimentation within the band’s classic sound and was influenced by Joe Meek’s space age production style. The Ventures, who have put out so many releases often of both cover songs and originals, put out this album on Dolton Records. (The) Ventures in Space was also one of the first albums that The Ventures used Mosrite guitars on. Prior to this they used Fender, but from this album forward, The Ventures would use Mosrite guitars and would help set the standard for this brand. The model of guitar that they used was initially known as “The Ventures” model, but later became known as the Mosrite "Mark 1" guitar. As mentioned, the album showed a more experimental aesthetic as opposed to their other albums. This one also stands out as being quite different due to that fact. This pre-computer age sci-fi/space themed album combined intergalactic versions of TV theme songs such as “The Twilight Zone”, which ends the album with originals such as “He Never Came Back”, “Exploration In Terror” and “Solar Race”. The album begins with “Out Of Limits”, which was originally by The Marketts. This song when originally released by The Marketts was called “Outer Limits”, inspired by The TV show of the same name drew musical similarities to the theme song to the TV series The Twilight Zone. Despite being sued by creator Rod Serling, the song was changed to “Out of Limits” and became one of The Marketts biggest hits. It was also a popular song for The Ventures on this album. “Bat” with is low flying garage fuzz sounds, “Solar Race” with its psychedelic/cinematic aesthetics, and “Fourth Dimension” with its unnerving space surf tones all add to the make up of this album. While songs such as the eerie “Fear”, the gong dominated “Exploration in Terror”, the creepy, and the otherworldly sound “War of the Satellites”, all play out like a mix between a film soundtrack and a surf music album. (The) Ventures In Space is a pre-psychedellic experimental collection of surf songs.

Man Or Astro-man? formed in 1992. The band mixes elements of 60s surf rock with punk, new wave and some hard rock into their sound. Although primarily an instrumental group, they also have songs with vocals. The majority of their songs and albums have space and science fiction themes. In addition to the musical instrumentation, they have also used the Theremin, synthesizers and dot matrix printers in their music. Man Or Astro-Man? also use audio clips from old sci-fi movies in their music, a lot has been said to come from the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes. The band’s backstory states that they arrived from outer space some years ago and integrated into human society as a rock band. Man Or Astro-man? consists of Star Crunch (Brian Causey) on guitar/vocals, Birdstuff (Brian Teasley) on drums and Coco the Electronic Monkey Wizard on bass/electronics. These three are the core members of the group, there have been additional members over the years. Man Or Astro-man? released their first album entitled Is It Man Or Astroman? in 1993 on Estrus Records. The band toured and released music from 1993 to 2001, releasing ten full-length albums, not counting singles and EPs. They have released music on Touch and Go Records, Estrus Records, Get Hip Recordings, through Chunklet Magazine and on Third Man Records. The band toured and released music from 1993 to 2001, releasing ten full-length albums, not counting singles and EPs. After a hiatus the band returned playing live in 2006 for the Touch and Go 25th Anniversary Celebration in Chicago. They began touring intermittently starting in 2010. Most recently, Avona Nova (Samantha Paulsen) has been playing with Man Or Astro-man? on guitar. Their most recent album Defcon 5...4...3...2...1, was released in 2013. It was recorded by Steve Albini, who has also worked them on 1995’s Planet Infinity and A Spectrum of Infinite Scale in 2000.

Revolution Surf 2020 Play List:

1. Atomicos - Shoot the Moon (Surfodelic - Norwegian Blue Records - 2017)
2. The Metalunas - Blast Off! (X-Minus One - American Pop Project - 2000)
3. The Saturn 5 - Voyage Around the Moon (That Thing You Do! Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Play-Tone/Epik Soundtrack - 1996)
4. Les Robots - Big Trouble In Outer Space (The Fascinating sound of Les Robots - Spazz Records - 2019)
5. The Astronauts - Rocket To Mars (Lost In Space - Pin Up Records - 1993)
6. The Astronauts - Pinball Crazy (Lost In Space - Pin Up Records - 1993)
7. Los Straitjackets - Space Mosquito (Jet Set - Yep Roc Records - 2012)
8. Gene & The Esquires - Space Race (Space Race/Rave On Single - GNP Crescendo - 1965)
9. Joe Meek & The Blue Men - Orbit Around The Moon (Music from Planet Earth Vol 1 - Stag-O-Lee - 2013)
10. The Ventures - Moon Child ((The) Ventures In Space - Dolton Records - 1964)
11. Tornados - Telstar (Music from Planet Earth Vol 1 - Stag-O-Lee - 2013)

SURFPHONY OF DERSTRUCTION 2000 SEGMENT:

12. Los Freneticos - Teletransportacion (Teletransportacion - Hi-Tide Recordings - 2019)
13. The Phantom Dragsters - Galaxy Quest (Surfin' After Death - H-Records - 2016)
14. King Ghidora - Hal 9000 is Re-Activated (The Secret Origin of An Unknown Planet Destroyer - Sharawaji Records - 2018)
15. Los Kosmos - Mega Hit (Los Kosmos - 2018)
16. Megatronadores - Surfergalactico (Wanglen - 2017)
17. Mark Malibu & The Wasagas - Astro Bot (Crash Monster Beach - Sharawaji Records - 2018)

18. Urban Surf Kings - The Day the Surf Stood Still (Surf vs. Flying Saucers - USK International - 2004)
19. Urban Surf Kings - Deep Space (Surf vs. Flying Saucers - USK International - 2004)
20. Reverb Syndicate - Lunar Attack (Sputnik A-Go-Go - The Reverb Syndicate - 2007)
21. Blue Demons - Moon Dawg (The Blue Demons)
22. The Vondells - In Orbit (The Vondells (Unreleased) - 2003)
23. The Surfdusters - The Moons of Jupiter (Waves of Pleasure - Surfdust Records - 1994)
24. C&C Surf Factory - Phasors on Stun (Garage City - Six Shooter Records - 2015)
25. The Spotnicks - Telstar (Deluxe: Orange Blossom Special - Puzzle Productions - 2013)
26. Dave Miller - Telstar (Old Door Phantoms - Ears and Eyes Records - 2016)
27. Tornados - Moon Dawg (Bustin' Surfboards - Josie Records 1963/Sundazed Records - 2012)
28. The Trashwomen - The Happy Taco (The Trashwomen Vs. Deep Space - Repent Records/Pin Up Records - 1994)
29. Man or Astroman? - The Universe's Only Intergalactic Radioactive Breakfast Bar (What Remains Inside A Black Hole - Au Go Go - 1996)
30. Man or Astroman? - Defcon 3 (Defcon 5...4...3...2...1 - Communicating Vessels - 2013)
31. Man or Astroman? - Planet Collision (Live At Third Man Records - Third Man Records - 2017)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for February 29.