Southern Surf Stomp! presents Fiend Without A Face, The KBK, Bad Friend, Fringe Factory DJs

Fiend Without A Face is one of Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds' side projects that explores a twisted sort of roots music from surf, rockabilly, bluegrass, blues, and more.  The music is whimsical, performed with a seemingly tongue in cheek nod to equal parts horror movie, circus sideshow act, and burlesque show.

The KBK (formerly Kill, Baby...Kill!) is one of my all time favorite live acts, and their recording output ain't half bad either!  The bands shows are devastating and hit you right in the chest, which makes it understandable why they have picked up the post-apocalyptic theme.

Bad Friend play songs written by other people.  In doing so, they lead the listener down dark corridors or perhaps the bottom of a bottle.  Nothing is off limits for the quintet, from ABBA to the Cramps, somehow making it their own to form some kind of Gothic Americana.

Our resident DJs The Fringe Factory will be there to spin spooky hits between bands.

Southern Surf Stomp! presents The Compartmentalizationalists (CD release), Gemini XIII, Band. James Band.

The Compartmentalizationalists is the moniker for multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Bützer's guitar based trio.  In this group, Bützer channels his inner Sonny Sharrock, Thurston Moore, and Starcrunch to create noisy, reverb laden instrumentals.  Not only will this show serve as the official Southern Surf StompFest! after party, but the band will be taking the opportunity to release their debut album, "Sutures", as well.

Gemini XIII have been on a bit of a hiatus recently as they've been working through some personnel changes, but I'm happy to announce that they will be debuting their new lineup at September's Southern Surf Stomp!  If ever there were an underrated surf group in Atlanta, it would surely be these guys.  The quartet writes some truly great music and their live shows have escalated exponentially since the band's inception.  Having been a huge support to the Stomp and the local surf community in general, I'm excited to see what future missions they have in store.

"You expect me to talk?  No, Mr. Bond.  I expect you to...surf!".  Rounding out the evening will be the declassification of top secret tones from Band. James Band., Atlanta's own James Bond themed tribute act.  You can expect to hear your favorite Bond themes, as well as other spy themes and many more surprises.

We're also glad to have our resident DJs, The Fringe Factory, back with us for this event.  They'll be spinning the best surf, garage, rockabilly, and golden era rock 'n' roll.

Southern Surf Stomp! presents The Out Of Limits, The Surge!, The Backyardbirds

  

The Out Of Limits hail from the far reaches of our solar system via Greenville, North Carolina.  The five piece outfit plays a sort of spaced theme surf a la Man or Astro-man? and while their demeanor may be a bit campy, rooted in schlocky sci-fi idioms, their music is anything but.  The songs are well written with interesting arrangements and have obviously required much thought.  Playing out their human roles, these gentlemen are also avid supporters of the surf and instrumental music scene, with a focus on our thriving Southern syndicate.

I hold a certain sense of pride that July's show will mark our sixteenth(!) Southern Surf Stomp and the first for a band to return.  It is truly a testament to the wealth of great music in this genre.  Of course I the band about which I write is Atlanta's own legends The Surge.  Armed with their signature great wall of amps along with a brand new release, the boys are sure to blow the roof off of Kavarna and once again educate the audience with how surf music is, and should be, done.

The Backyardbirds feature an all-star cast of Atlanta musicians including The Surge's Frank Mako.  They play the jangly sounds of the 1960's British invasion with stunning accuracy.

While on the subject of Atlanta all-stars and veterans, we will once again be joined by our resident DJs, The Fringe Factory, which will be spinning choice 45's from their vast collection.

Southern Surf Stomp! presents Eddie Angel (of Los Straitjackets, TN), The Penetrators (tribute), Rodeo Twister

This is bound to be our biggest yet!  Eddie Angel is a true legend in the surf, instrumental, and rockabilly genres having performed with countless groups such as The Planet Rockers, The Neanderthals, and most notably Los Straitjackets.  With Los Straitjackets, Eddie has performed around the world several times over, released over 20 albums, performed on Conan O'Brien several times, and even been nominated for a grammy!

Without The Penetrators, there would be no Southern Surf Stomp and our little scene here in Atlanta might not exist at all.  We're proud to pay tribute to the progenitors of the Southern Surf Syndicate and our friends Rip Thrillby and Spanky Twangler, who are sadly no longer with us.  The original rhythm section, including Sticks Stechkin on drums and Trace Luger on bass, will be joined by a who's who of the Atlanta surf scene including members from The Surge!, El Capitan, and The Mystery Men?.

Rodeo Twister is comprised of veterans the Atlanta roots rock scene.  The three piece uses electric guitar, acoustic guitar, stand up bass, and their fantastic harmony vocals to create a sound that would make Sam Phillips proud.

We're lucky to once again have The Fringe Factory DJs spinning the sweet sounds of yesterday, today, and tomorrow!

Southern Surf Stomp! presents Crazy Aces, El Capitan and the Band With No Name, Flat Cat, and The Fringe Factory DJs

Crazy Aces are an instrumental quartet from Nashville, TN who's been featured in Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar magazines and I believe are slated to perform this year's Surf Guitar 101 convention in Los Alamitos, CA.  The band is comprised of seasoned professional musicians who have performed on stages with some big name acts all over the world, and it really shows.  Not only are they top instrumentals but I believe their songwriting to be unparalleled in the modern times, and when they hit the stage they look as if they're having the best time ever.  I first saw them at Douglasville Surf Fest in 2013 and they seemed to come out of nowhere and completely floor everyone in attendance. They've released two absolutely phenomenal records, "Greatest Hits Volume 2" (their first) and "Surfadelic Spy-a-Go-Go", the latter along with the Barbwires' "Searider" make up my favorite instrumental records of the past decade.  Needless to say this show should NOT be missed!

El Capitan and the Band With No Name is one James Freeman and a revolving cast of outlaws that play a sort of aggressive spaghetti-western influenced surf.  The group has released a fantastic album, "Death of a Tiki" with great production complete with horn section and opened for the likes of Dick Dale and Reverend Horton Heat.  El Cap is quite the showman to boot, having destroyed quite a few guitars along the way.

This show will be a reunion of sorts for Atlanta's Flat Cat, which features Amy Arnold from Stomp alumni The Cherry Bomb.  Each member of the group shares songwriting as well as singing duties, culminating in a veritable power-pop stew.

We're also proud to have yet again The Fringe Factory DJs spinning the best rock 'n' roll from the past 60 years.  Please be sure to check out their radio show at 8pm Wednesdays on WFMU.

Southern Surf Stomp! presents The Delusionaires (FL), Vacations, The Cherry Bomb, and The Fringe Factory DJs

The Delusionaires - Imagine yourself in a smoky lounge which time has forgotten and whose patrons have been there since anyone remembered.  An old jukebox is playing some old country or R&B tune to which an old couple dances, and a few men sit at a bar sipping their whiskeys and High Life's in silence.  A band sets up in the corner where no one seems to notice.  Soon they begin playing and folks begin filtering in as the night progresses and before you know it people are gyrating, debauch commences and the night blurs into the next day.  The band in question...The Delusionaires.  Equal parts raunchy surf and sleazy, sax driven R&B, the group provides the soundtrack to curvy, dancing go-go girls in pasties.

Athens, Georgia's Vacations are newcomers in the Southern surf scene.  The trio's style varies, ranging from gritty garage instrumentals to cinematic numbers that create a moody vibe.

The Cherry Bomb worships at the alter of Joan Jett as well as all things rock 'n' roll, and front-woman Amy Arnold is her prophet, channeling Jett with unmatched energy and power.  I first heard the band when The Mystery Men? played with them at Hollyfest 2014 and I was enamored, so much in fact that when it came to needing a voice for Kill, Baby...Kill!'s cover of The Causey Way's "Commandments" for their latest single, she was my first and only suggestion and boy did she deliver!