Learn how to play “Ewa On The Beach” by Frankie & The Poolboys – if you don’t have their disc to play along with, pick it up from our shop.

I’ve been reviewing surf music for a long time, and have received music from bands all over the world – Japan, Argentina, Denmark, Croatia, Australia, Germany, Holland, France, Peru, Brazil, etc… However, it always surprised me that I didn’t hear more from Russia. A while back I got a disc from Hula Hoop that was pretty good, but nothing else.
Thankfully that all changed when I hooked up with Art of the King Kongs – thanks to him I’ve been turned on to a bunch of great Russian surf bands from …

The new issue of Pipeline Instrumental Review is hot of the press and The Mobsmen’s Scelerats Syndicate was named as one of their top 10 albums of the last quarter of 2009! Here is the complete list:
1. O.K. Kings – It’s OK
2. Los Fantasticos – Into The Infinity Tunnel
3. The Royaltones – Detroit Rock & Roll Began Here
4. Booker T. – Potato Hole
5. The Mobsmen – Scelerats Syndicate
6. Los Straitjackets – The Further Adventures Of…
7. V/A – Suomalaiset Rautalankalevytykset ‘61-’68 Vol. 2
8. Martin Cilia – The Odd One Out
9. The …

Sundazed is releasing seven early Dick Dale 180 gram vinyl LP’s in March, including a 2 LP set compiling his early singles from ‘61-’65.
Here’s the full lineup:
• DICK DALE AND HIS DEL-TONES: Singles Collection ’61-65 2-LP Set
• DICK DALE AND HIS DEL-TONES: Surfers’ Choice
• DICK DALE AND HIS DEL-TONES: King of the Surf Guitar
• DICK DALE AND HIS DEL-TONES: Checkered Flag
• DICK DALE AND HIS DEL-TONES: Mr. Eliminator
• DICK DALE AND HIS DEL-TONES: Summer Surf
• DICK DALE AND HIS DEL-TONES: Rock Out with Dick Dale and His Del-Tones (Live at …

Chunklet.com’s got an interview with Birdstuff regarding the upcoming Man Or Astroman reunion, including news about the tour, possible releases (including vinyl and new merch), and the reasons why they’re getting back together. Plus, there are a bunch of Peel Session tunes to download at the bottom of the page! Sorry if I seem a little over-the-top about this, but not only were they the band that got me into surf music back in the early 90’s (and still listen to regularly today), but this is a huge boost for …

Just stumbled across this old newspaper clipping, where Pete “Buzz” Miller (half of Bonney & Buzz, who have released two CD’s on Double Crown) and Keith Richard(s) of The Rolling Stones, talk shop. It’s a great read – not the kind of thing find very often these days. At this point Keith had only been playing guitar for three years, and offers some great, and not-so-great, advice for people that want to start playing. I agree that it’s good to start with cheap gear, and spend as much time practicing …

Great news sci-fi surf rock fans – Man Or Astro-man? is getting back together for a series of shows, including this year’s SXSW festival!  Word came first from drummer Birdstuff (aka Brian Scott Teasley) via his Facebook page. They will be playing The Bottletree in Birmingham, AL on March 6th, then will follow it up with an appearance at SXSW. However, rumors are spreading that additional dates will be announced – Bookman has even said they’re working on some Northwest dates! The video below is from their last reunion show, …

After a long hiatus, the Bambi Molesters are back with a new LP/CD called As The Dark Wave Swells, the long awaited follow-up to Sonic Bullets.  It will be released on Dancing Bear Records in Croatia and Glitterhouse Records through the rest of Europe. We’ll try to find a way to score copies for the Double Crown mail order catalog. Kudos the the band for coming up with such great cover art – this has got to be one of the most gorgeous album covers I’ve seen for a  surf/instro …

My wife and I were talking about the earthquake in Haiti and decided we wanted to send a donation to help the people there during what is sure to be a long recovery process. I thought that maybe instead of just sending “x” amount of dollars, I’d tie it in with the record label. So from now through the end of January, we’ll donate $4.00 for every full-length Double Crown CD purchased through our website. This includes any of the following releases:
V/A – Seasonal Favorites: Volume One Reissue + Bonus …

Sadly I’m stuck in Bellingham, WA and can’t make it down for this, but if you’re in California, or can get there next weekend, you absolutely must attend Deke Dickerson’s 7th Annual Guitar Geek Festival. I saw his mini-Geek Fest at Viva Las Vegas last year and it was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend, and one of the most entertaining shows I’ve ever seen. The highlight of the fest next weekend has got to be the rare live appearance of legendary guitar twang-meister Duane Eddy. But that’s …