EAR BLISS Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow! The Trashmen and Suns of Adam releases
Thanksgiving is upon us and being trapped in the 1960s is the modus operandi for Ear Bliss on this holiday weekend as we look at a couple of blast-from-the-past collections from the surf and garage rock & roll worlds that have been recently released. The Trashmen were born in the upper Midwest, namely Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s not exactly where you’d think a band favoring unabashed surf rock & roll would hail from, but this foursome accomplished the deed. It is the band that gave us the iconic “Surfin’ Bird” which in the years since it first hit the airwaves in 1963 has been used in countless advertisements, most notably as of late for the current Apple Arcade ad, not to mention multiple episodes of Family Guy. A new collection called The Best of The Trashmen available in CD, vinyl (including clear orange!), and digital formats combines familiar favorites from the band along with some newly unearthed Trashmen treasures. Put simply, this platter represents 21 slices of the band in its all its gnarlyness. It’s in the Ear Bliss spotlight this week along with another gem of a garage rock collection focusing on the legendary 1960s Los Angeles garage gods The Sons of Adam. Saturday’s Sons: The Complete Recordings 1964-1966 gathers together the band’s entire recorded output including rare 45s, demos, and outtakes. It also features a previously unheard 1966 Sons of Adam live performance from San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom. Let’s take a look.
The Trashmen
The Best of The Trashmen Sundazed Records
Who could have imagined that some of the gnarliest, reverb-soaked surf sounds of the 1960s would have come from the self-proclaimed “Land of a 10,000 Lakes” and not somewhere like the sunsoaked beach towns of Southern California? Yet, that is exactly what happened when a band from the Twin Cities of land-locked Minnesota in 1963 sent a salvo across the country with a crazed little tune called “Surfin’ Bird.” The smash hit packed a party wallop like no other with its iconic choruses of “The bird is the word” and “Papa-OomMow-Mow.” Other than a sequel song of sorts called “Bird Dance Beat” which had a bit of success, “Surfin’ Bird” could certainly qualify this foursome as one of the great one-hit wonders. Adopting such a mindset, however, will having you missing out on some of the wettest surf rock & roll in the annals of the sound. Case in point the new The Best of The Trashmen collection from reissue house Sundazed Records. Available as a15-song collection on clear-orange vinyl or the slightly larger dose with the 21-track CD version, it features a bounty of previously released Trashmen beauts along with two newly unearthed cuts, not to mention detailed liner notes providing the complete skinny on the history of the band. With songs steeped in beach culture packing titles like “King of the Surf,” “Tube City,” “My Woodie,” and the not-sobeachy “Mashed Potatoes,” The Trashmen certainly were not about taking the listener deep when it came to songcraft. On another level, these guys had playing chops aplenty delivering high energy music all about forgetting your woes, shaking those hips, and letting that rock and roll flag fly. On that level, The Trashmen, as the collection The Best of The Trashmen clearly proves, were arguably at the top of the surf band heap. Visit www.sundazed.com.
The Sons of Adam Saturday’s Sons: The Complete Recordings 1964-1966 High Moon Records
When it comes to garage rock of the 1960s, the Pacific Northwest and California were hotbeds for the instrumental rockers and surf stuff at the outset of the genres before vocals began finding their way into the mix. California, in particular, produced some legendary acts from bands like the Count Five (“Psychotic Reaction”), Chocolate Watch Band, Syndicate of Sound, The Music Machine (“Talk Talk”), The Leaves (“Hey Joe”) and of course, The Seeds (“Pushin’ Too Hard”). Another band from the scene that often does not get its due was The Sons of Adam. That all changes with the release of the first-ever anthology collection of the band called Saturday’s Sons: The Complete Recordings 19641966. The set gathers together the entire recorded output of The Sons of Adam from various sources including rare 45s, demos, and outtakes including its early incarnation of the band as The Fender IV. As an extra bonus, the set also features a previously unheard 1966 live performance from the band in its prime at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom. With a foundation in surf rock while also taking a nods from the best of the British Invasion, Sons of Adam was a mid-60s fixture on a Sunset Strip scene that included acts from The Byrds to Buffalo Springfield to The Doors. While nowhere as heralded as those legendary ‘60s outfits, it was a band lead by guitarist
Randy Holden (Blue Cheer, The Other Half) that could rip it up with the best of them. Look no further than the material contained on the long overdue Saturday’s Sons: The Complete Recordings 19641966 available in all formats and featuring extensive liner notes, lavish artwork, and a bounty of never-before-seen photos from the band’s brief period. Visit www.highmoonrecords.com.
LIVE SHOTS: Thanksgiving Weekend is always a great time to reunite with old friends and catch some live music in the process. The offerings are plenty this weekend and looking forward. We begin in South County at one of the favorite haunts,
The Ocean Mist in Matunuck which offers up the
Shari Puorto Band with special guest Doug Woolverton for the free Sunday Funday starting at 4 pm. At Pump House Music Works in Peace Dale (164 Kingstown Road),
Violin River plays the music of The Grateful Dead on Friday evening. Paula Claire & Special Edition perform on Saturday evening before the monthly open mic session closes out the weekend on Sunday beginning at 5:30 pm. Don’t forget that every Monday night is the Uke jam at the Pump House while Tuesdays are Ole Time jam night and Wednesdays are Lounge night hosted by Matt Fraza. The Greenwich Odeum in East Greenwich presents ‘80s hitmakers The English Beat on Saturday night. Christmas With The Celts happens at The Odeum on December 3 and the legendary Judy Collins brings her holiday show to the venue on December 4. Music next happens at Courthouse Center for the Arts in West Kingston on December 2 with Van Morrison Tribute act Moondance. Steve Smith & The Nakeds bring the good times to The Narragansett Café in Jamestown on Friday night. The Tommy Raines Band brings the blues and more to The Ganny on Saturday night. The weekend closes with the always fun
Superchief Trio playing a Sunday afternoon show starting at 4 pm. In Westerly at the
Knickerbocker Music Center on Railroad Street, Mystic Dead play the music of The Grateful Dead on Friday night with Glaucoma Suspect in the opening slot. Jeff Pitchell & Texas Flood play high energy R&B, rock, soul, and funk on Saturday night. Will Orchard plays the Tap Room on Sunday evening. Coming up next Wednesday is the Al Copley Quintet for your listening and dancing pleasure. The
United Theatre in Westerly presents Will Evans of Barefoot Truth fame with special
guests on Friday evening. In the Northern reaches of the state, Chan’s Restaurant in Woonsocket (267 Main Street) presents club stalwarts
The James Montgomery Blues Band on Friday night.
Diane Blue sings blues and soul for a CD release party on Saturday with each show at 8 pm. Kevin Doyle’s Roscommon Soles Thanksgiving Holiday Concert called “Health to the Ladies” happens at the Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland on Saturday evening. Coming December 3rd is A Very, Very Cassie and Maggie Christmas. Askew on Chestnut Street in Providence on Sunday evening presents Ladies of Folk Night to benefit 2023 Rhode Island Folk Festival. It
will feature multiple talents from the Ocean State singer/ songwriter ranks. Don’t forget that Meatball Mondays and Open Mic with Adam Newell happens every Monday at
Askew. The eight-piece Mexican band Tierra Cali featuring five brothers(!) comes to
The Strand in Providence on Friday night with Los Creyentes del Poder opening.
The Schemers reunite for their annual Thanksgiving Weekend show at The Met Café in Pawtucket happening on Friday night. Dogs in a Pile with opening act Guess Method are at The Met on Saturday evening. In the East Bay, the Newport Live music series continues its “Women’s Voices” series on December 3 with a performance by singer/
songwriter Alisa Amador at the Jamestown Arts Center. Roomful of Blues makes its annual Thanksgiving weekend visit to the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River with a performance on Friday night at 8 pm. Songwriter allstar band Fantastic Cat with special guest Pat McGee comes to the Narrows on Saturday night.
(Dan Ferguson is a freelance music writer and host of The Boudin Barndance, broadcast Thursday nights from 6 – 9 pm on WRIU-FM 90.3.)