>> The Listening Post - The Mermen

[tgjameela]

Hi Everyone,

Today's addition to The Listening Post is a story Steve Rose put together on one of his favorite bands, The Mermen.

The Mermen are a San Francisco surf-rock trio formed in 1989 and considered to be part of the “3rd Wave” of instrumental surf music. Read about them here...

http://www.totallyguitars.com/thelisten ... he-mermen/

[thereshopeyet]

Gosh.....that's a lot of information.... and videos....

I'll need to have a listen.

Thanks Steve.

:ohmy:

In God We Trust

[BobR]

Thanks Steve


I'll need to check them out.

[millponddave]

Well, now you've sent me out on a whole evening of Merman surfing !! Great stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Dave

[cosmicmechanic]

Steve, as surf music goes, this is a very interesting wave.

I recently got interested in "Hank Marvin and the Shadows" music, which I suppose was a "surf" sound for the British in the early 60's.
At the time this was a new sound, made possible because Hank was England's pioneer (1959) in using the Stratocaster and the "wammy-bar" (no surprise to you, I'm sure).

So here you've got "The Mermen", a 90's third-wave surf band influenced by Hendrix ...
I'm curious to know if there is there any Stratocaster tech (whatever that might mean) in sight, to your knowledge ?

And maybe sometime you could wax eloquent about the relation between the Strat and Surf music in general ?

I've enjoyed all your posts, please keep them coming.

[edit] Thanks Bob, for your link to Amazon's posting of the Mermen's more recent album ... very fun samples !

Pierre

[gavind1]

Very nice point. I actually enjoy reading what he has posted.

[rapidrose50]

Thank you for your comments. Hank Marvin would be a good topic for the Listening Post. It would be interesting to evaluate where he fits in between the rock instrumental guitarists of the 50's like Link Wray and Duane Eddy, and the surf guitarists of the 60's like Dick Dale. Leo Fender plays a pivotal role, not only for his guitars but for the "wet" sound of the spring reverb in his amps. I understand Dick Dale worked closely with Leo Fender to develop the sound made popular by the surf bands in Southern California.

Late breaking news! The Mermen have a show August 24 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Looking forward to seeing them again! - Steve

[rapidrose50]

Made it to the Mermen show last weekend. They were fantastic!

Also enjoyed the "Bakersfield Sound" of opening act Red Meat.

Here is a video from the show:

[rapidrose50]

Hi all, I caught up with the Mermen last night at Slim's, in San Francisco, for an evening of Christmas-themed cutting-edge surf rock. They featured many songs from 'A Very Mermen Christmas,' their new Christmas album, including a cover of John Lennon's 'Happy Christmas War Is Over.' They also did an incredible version of 'Do You Hear What I Hear/Angels We Have Heard On High,' from their Christmas album. One of the evening's many highlights was a cover of George Harrison's 'Within You Without You.' It started as a Indian raga chant built around Link Wray power chords (a la 'Rumble') before transitioning into one of band's trademark Hawkwind-inspired psychedelic space-rock jams. Simply amazing!

Here is a photo of The Mermen from last night's show...

[rapidrose50]

The greatest surf band on the planet returned to Slim's...