| "Surf Island" Reviewed at ReverbCentral.com! |
"Dry Heat" Named One Of The Top 12 Instrumental Surf Albums Of All Time By Dan Epstein, Editor Of
Revolver Magazine (The World's Loudest Rock Magazine)
Don't know who these guys are or where they come from; but from the desert-baked sound of 2005's Dry Heat, one suspects they
might have tried to surf a sand dune or two in their day. That in itself might not be the brightest move, but you can't fault their
tasty playing, nor the sense of whimsy and creativity they bring to arrangements of "Hawaii 5-0," "Ms. Moto" (yes, you read that
right) and even "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music as well as whammy-licious originals like "Escape From El
Diablo" and "101 on the 101."
Revolver Magazine (The World's Loudest Rock Magazine)
Don't know who these guys are or where they come from; but from the desert-baked sound of 2005's Dry Heat, one suspects they
might have tried to surf a sand dune or two in their day. That in itself might not be the brightest move, but you can't fault their
tasty playing, nor the sense of whimsy and creativity they bring to arrangements of "Hawaii 5-0," "Ms. Moto" (yes, you read that
right) and even "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music as well as whammy-licious originals like "Escape From El
Diablo" and "101 on the 101."
"Dry Heat" Reviewed by the West Valley View in NW Phoenix
Entertainment writers Michael Clawson and Daniel Burnette gave "Dry Heat" an
excellent review! Read our interview with Daniel Burnette here.
"These days you could be in Japan, Great Britain, or right here in the Valley of the Sun and feel the excitement of hanging 10
through the sonic rush that is Surf Music. The Swamp Coolers are more than keepers of the flame, the group's fanning it, with
a great new collection of 12 tracks. With its pounding drive, rapid-fire electric guitar licks, and heavy use of reverb and
tremolo, the group puts its own stamp on classics like "Hawaii Five-0" and "Pipeline." The laid-back prelude to "Hawaii Five-0"
is like a shoreline at low ebb until the waves crash in and the song takes off with the upbeat tempo we know from the TV series.
No horns here, but you won't miss 'em!
Originality gets any act extra points, though, and The Swamp Coolers earn an "A" here for original compositions such as
"Escape From El Diablo", "101 On The 101", and "Sonora Sunrise." Step up to the whammy bar, dude! The surf guitar is up"!
Entertainment writers Michael Clawson and Daniel Burnette gave "Dry Heat" an
excellent review! Read our interview with Daniel Burnette here.
"These days you could be in Japan, Great Britain, or right here in the Valley of the Sun and feel the excitement of hanging 10
through the sonic rush that is Surf Music. The Swamp Coolers are more than keepers of the flame, the group's fanning it, with
a great new collection of 12 tracks. With its pounding drive, rapid-fire electric guitar licks, and heavy use of reverb and
tremolo, the group puts its own stamp on classics like "Hawaii Five-0" and "Pipeline." The laid-back prelude to "Hawaii Five-0"
is like a shoreline at low ebb until the waves crash in and the song takes off with the upbeat tempo we know from the TV series.
No horns here, but you won't miss 'em!
Originality gets any act extra points, though, and The Swamp Coolers earn an "A" here for original compositions such as
"Escape From El Diablo", "101 On The 101", and "Sonora Sunrise." Step up to the whammy bar, dude! The surf guitar is up"!
"Dry Heat" Reviewed at ReverbCentral.com!
Phil Dirt, "King of Surf Radio" at California station KFJC 89.7, reviewed The Swamp Coolers' first CD
"Dry Heat". The CD received an overall rating of four stars, with "My Favourite Things" scoring all five
stars, the highest rating!
Escape From El Diablo
This is a richly textured track with a catchy riff and whammy chords. The sound is unique to The Swamp Coolers. While the
progressions are simple, they take unexpected turns that make this a very memorable song. Very nice!
Hawaii Five-0
Sleepy island whammy and lush palms swaying bring forth a slithery version of "Hawaii Five-0." The wholly original
arrangement of the first verse gives way to a pumped and wonderful arrangement inspired by the Ventures' original. Quite
nice, and very refreshing.
Journey To The Stars
Liquidy and reverent, this glissando laden rendering of "Journey To The Stars" is solid and fun. The arrangement is a
combination of others, with a touch of Thom Starr and a chorus.
The Lonely Bull
Sol Lake's beautiful "The Lonely Bull" is very nicely laid down. Lush and shimmering with surf anticipation, this moderately
paced take is a pleasure to enjoy on the open road.
Pipeline
In some ways, this reminds me of Dean Torrance's 1977 version, at least aurally. The drums play the glissandos a la the
Challengers, and the guitars are fairly dry. The duel lead on the bridge is jazzy. The big break is pure rock. All in all, a
different take on the Chantays' signature song.
101 On The 101
"101 On The 101" is a rock instro with the shimmer of surf chords. The melody is motion driven, and the feeling of the wind in
your hair with the top down is quite pronounced.
Out Of Limits
Swirly chants in the distance fade as the classic riff ensues. Slithery, smooth, and unlike other covers of this Mar-Kets' classic.
Quite a nice track.
Ms. Moto
This oriental-ization of the Belairs' signature "Mr. Moto" is sultry and very cool. Moderately paced and whammied out, this
reverb arrangement takes on a new sound and feeling that's
Europa
"Europa" moves slowly through a European guitar melody styling that's tremolo driven and moody. Very nice.
Route 66
Bobby Troup's poppy TV theme made popular by Nelson Riddle and covered by hundreds including the Rolling Stones gets
yet another lease on life. This time out it's saucy and liquid, yet tuff open highway motivated.
My Favorite Things
The Swamp Coolers take on "My Favorite Things" as if it was meant for the surf. What a wonderful idea. Playful, smooth,
slithery, and too much fun!
Sonora Sunrise
"Sonora Sunrise" softly oozes the orange warmth of an equatorial morning. The stereo slither of the whammy chords shimmer
in the dawn's light. Quite nice.
Phil Dirt, "King of Surf Radio" at California station KFJC 89.7, reviewed The Swamp Coolers' first CD
"Dry Heat". The CD received an overall rating of four stars, with "My Favourite Things" scoring all five
stars, the highest rating!
Escape From El Diablo
This is a richly textured track with a catchy riff and whammy chords. The sound is unique to The Swamp Coolers. While the
progressions are simple, they take unexpected turns that make this a very memorable song. Very nice!
Hawaii Five-0
Sleepy island whammy and lush palms swaying bring forth a slithery version of "Hawaii Five-0." The wholly original
arrangement of the first verse gives way to a pumped and wonderful arrangement inspired by the Ventures' original. Quite
nice, and very refreshing.
Journey To The Stars
Liquidy and reverent, this glissando laden rendering of "Journey To The Stars" is solid and fun. The arrangement is a
combination of others, with a touch of Thom Starr and a chorus.
The Lonely Bull
Sol Lake's beautiful "The Lonely Bull" is very nicely laid down. Lush and shimmering with surf anticipation, this moderately
paced take is a pleasure to enjoy on the open road.
Pipeline
In some ways, this reminds me of Dean Torrance's 1977 version, at least aurally. The drums play the glissandos a la the
Challengers, and the guitars are fairly dry. The duel lead on the bridge is jazzy. The big break is pure rock. All in all, a
different take on the Chantays' signature song.
101 On The 101
"101 On The 101" is a rock instro with the shimmer of surf chords. The melody is motion driven, and the feeling of the wind in
your hair with the top down is quite pronounced.
Out Of Limits
Swirly chants in the distance fade as the classic riff ensues. Slithery, smooth, and unlike other covers of this Mar-Kets' classic.
Quite a nice track.
Ms. Moto
This oriental-ization of the Belairs' signature "Mr. Moto" is sultry and very cool. Moderately paced and whammied out, this
reverb arrangement takes on a new sound and feeling that's
Europa
"Europa" moves slowly through a European guitar melody styling that's tremolo driven and moody. Very nice.
Route 66
Bobby Troup's poppy TV theme made popular by Nelson Riddle and covered by hundreds including the Rolling Stones gets
yet another lease on life. This time out it's saucy and liquid, yet tuff open highway motivated.
My Favorite Things
The Swamp Coolers take on "My Favorite Things" as if it was meant for the surf. What a wonderful idea. Playful, smooth,
slithery, and too much fun!
Sonora Sunrise
"Sonora Sunrise" softly oozes the orange warmth of an equatorial morning. The stereo slither of the whammy chords shimmer
in the dawn's light. Quite nice.
The Swamp Coolers latest disc, Califaction (TIKI Records), was purposely reviewed while
driving in southern California. It pictures the atom bomb on the cover, and inside contains
groove and rebellion. The production is quite good and musical topics sound and feel urban:
buildings, cars, Beatles and outdoors. The lead guitar is good, lead vocals purposely crude
and untrained, mostly bassist Mike Kunes, but also keyboardist Nonie Bernard.
Background harmony balances well (Candi Hofmann’s voice is up front at one point) and
additional audio sweetening is effective. There’s varied syncopation in the tempos and
rhythms, for example “I Got You” is both poppy and catchy. Word on street before review was
the disc’s version of “Route 66” is killer, and the word is right. Especially in a surf sense.
Manhattan Transfer voicings inspire “Big Wave” and the CD concludes nicely with a half-time
instrumental blues variation. Above all the group creates, and has, fun.
Heard live and steady around their home base of Phoenix, the Swamp Coolers go way beyond
surf, whether “Moondance” or John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom Boom.” Often they gravitate to
blues and pop patterns. On record they continue to evolve and grow, and are somehow retro
and a little forward at once.
---Tom Coulson
Radio broadcaster/musician
mailto:tcoulson@ktar.com
driving in southern California. It pictures the atom bomb on the cover, and inside contains
groove and rebellion. The production is quite good and musical topics sound and feel urban:
buildings, cars, Beatles and outdoors. The lead guitar is good, lead vocals purposely crude
and untrained, mostly bassist Mike Kunes, but also keyboardist Nonie Bernard.
Background harmony balances well (Candi Hofmann’s voice is up front at one point) and
additional audio sweetening is effective. There’s varied syncopation in the tempos and
rhythms, for example “I Got You” is both poppy and catchy. Word on street before review was
the disc’s version of “Route 66” is killer, and the word is right. Especially in a surf sense.
Manhattan Transfer voicings inspire “Big Wave” and the CD concludes nicely with a half-time
instrumental blues variation. Above all the group creates, and has, fun.
Heard live and steady around their home base of Phoenix, the Swamp Coolers go way beyond
surf, whether “Moondance” or John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom Boom.” Often they gravitate to
blues and pop patterns. On record they continue to evolve and grow, and are somehow retro
and a little forward at once.
---Tom Coulson
Radio broadcaster/musician
mailto:tcoulson@ktar.com
| American Roots Rock and Instrumental Surf Music |
Modern Love is # 3 and climbing as of July 2011 on the EMusic Surf-rock charts. The opener
is attention-grabbing like a tribute to the Byrds, then into a track played on CNN recently “I
Want to Be an Astronaut.” It provides country and pop modes, covers Elvis, gets a little silly
then surfing, and a couple tracks I feel like the group has recorded before. Maybe their live
shows ring in my head.
The CD concludes with material that stands up admirably to modern alternative, plus a simply
satisfying instrumental. The basic personnel of the group is reduced to a trio for this disc, but
has a number of musicians contributing on various tracks. Of historical interest, to perhaps
only people like me, is that it was recorded by the legendary Grammy winning engineer, Jack
Miller, who is included in the internal CD group photo.
---Tom Coulson
Radio broadcaster/musician
mailto:tcoulson@ktar.com
is attention-grabbing like a tribute to the Byrds, then into a track played on CNN recently “I
Want to Be an Astronaut.” It provides country and pop modes, covers Elvis, gets a little silly
then surfing, and a couple tracks I feel like the group has recorded before. Maybe their live
shows ring in my head.
The CD concludes with material that stands up admirably to modern alternative, plus a simply
satisfying instrumental. The basic personnel of the group is reduced to a trio for this disc, but
has a number of musicians contributing on various tracks. Of historical interest, to perhaps
only people like me, is that it was recorded by the legendary Grammy winning engineer, Jack
Miller, who is included in the internal CD group photo.
---Tom Coulson
Radio broadcaster/musician
mailto:tcoulson@ktar.com
MISFORTUNE Reviewed by David Webber from Dave's Basement in Portland, Oregon
I like this album. All of it. It has everything I would like about an album. I love that first cut. What
a fabulous groove. Good lyrics and I like the way Mike Kunes sings in the transition to the
melody lead, which by itself is a really cool riff with amazing tone. Almost Middle Eastern. Gives
a really appropriate feel of dread. And the "oh yeah" sounds almost like he's not quite
convinced that the best is really comin' but it couldn't get worse. Good lyrics, good solo, good
singing. It's a great opener.
In fact I like the song list of the whole album. Really shows off the variety that's going on. Each
song stands alone but goes well with the rest of the songs. I like the arrangement of each
tune. Some get solos, all of which are different from each other all of them good and then
Cadillac Love gets the intro figure only, but it's such a cool sound that it works. That's another
of my favorite songs. Bonnie Cat is a good rocker.
You got your songs about regrets, about cheatin lovers, fatal attractions, stand up guys that
go to jail for the girl, freedom of the road, helplessness in the face of someone doin the self
destruction, un-nameable despair, the good ole Diddy Wah Diddy and a fabulous instrumental
to cap it off. This album really stands up to repeated listening. It actually gets better. These
songs really cook.
The Ride is yet another cool tune. I like the reggae feel and the solo is outstanding in melodic
drive. I like the fact that I don't know what he means when he says "here comes the jam". Bits
of freedom in the midst of obligation. I can relate to that.
Bonnie Cat is very different in sound than the rest. More cutting and aggressive. Fits
beautifully in. It's one of the fatal attraction songs. The other being Sam and DeeDee. I like the
matter of fact tone. There's no church lady here moralizing. It's a real wild west song. Off they
go. And they are intense. Great aggressive tone and attack.
I Had That Dream is nicely done. It's melody line and the tone of the lyrics are well matched.
Good flow - dreamy but not quite sweet dream dreamy. Who hasn't felt like they were unable
to explain themselves at one time or another in their life. I like the rhythm stabs and the
melodic guitar fills.
Gravity sounds modeled after Feel A Whole Lot Better (one of my all time favorite tunes).
Don't get me wrong, here, I really like the tune. The theme is different in that the singer is doin'
better than the other person (in fact the theme is the opposite of Feel A Whole Lot Better). It's
got a good steady drive. Another beautiful solo. As a whole these cuts are glued together.
Everything sounds different but of a piece. Well played. The band sounds very cohesive.
I like this album. All of it. It has everything I would like about an album. I love that first cut. What
a fabulous groove. Good lyrics and I like the way Mike Kunes sings in the transition to the
melody lead, which by itself is a really cool riff with amazing tone. Almost Middle Eastern. Gives
a really appropriate feel of dread. And the "oh yeah" sounds almost like he's not quite
convinced that the best is really comin' but it couldn't get worse. Good lyrics, good solo, good
singing. It's a great opener.
In fact I like the song list of the whole album. Really shows off the variety that's going on. Each
song stands alone but goes well with the rest of the songs. I like the arrangement of each
tune. Some get solos, all of which are different from each other all of them good and then
Cadillac Love gets the intro figure only, but it's such a cool sound that it works. That's another
of my favorite songs. Bonnie Cat is a good rocker.
You got your songs about regrets, about cheatin lovers, fatal attractions, stand up guys that
go to jail for the girl, freedom of the road, helplessness in the face of someone doin the self
destruction, un-nameable despair, the good ole Diddy Wah Diddy and a fabulous instrumental
to cap it off. This album really stands up to repeated listening. It actually gets better. These
songs really cook.
The Ride is yet another cool tune. I like the reggae feel and the solo is outstanding in melodic
drive. I like the fact that I don't know what he means when he says "here comes the jam". Bits
of freedom in the midst of obligation. I can relate to that.
Bonnie Cat is very different in sound than the rest. More cutting and aggressive. Fits
beautifully in. It's one of the fatal attraction songs. The other being Sam and DeeDee. I like the
matter of fact tone. There's no church lady here moralizing. It's a real wild west song. Off they
go. And they are intense. Great aggressive tone and attack.
I Had That Dream is nicely done. It's melody line and the tone of the lyrics are well matched.
Good flow - dreamy but not quite sweet dream dreamy. Who hasn't felt like they were unable
to explain themselves at one time or another in their life. I like the rhythm stabs and the
melodic guitar fills.
Gravity sounds modeled after Feel A Whole Lot Better (one of my all time favorite tunes).
Don't get me wrong, here, I really like the tune. The theme is different in that the singer is doin'
better than the other person (in fact the theme is the opposite of Feel A Whole Lot Better). It's
got a good steady drive. Another beautiful solo. As a whole these cuts are glued together.
Everything sounds different but of a piece. Well played. The band sounds very cohesive.