INSECT SURFERS - REVIEWS

Most Memorable Shows of 2007 - Insect Surfers, Boardwalkers and Slacktone

I love the dim lights, thick smoke and loud music of my favored dives as much as the next fool at the bar. Surprisingly, twice a year I trade that comfortable, broken in, and well worn feelin' for a day at the beach, Huntington Beach that is. It's there, in Orange County, home of Disneyland, in the heart of the military-industrial complex, that for two sunny Southern California afternoons Cleo and I loaded the kids in the van with a cooler full of juice boxes, bottled water, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and potato chips, then spread out a blanket in front of a portable stage at the foot of the Huntington Pier (AKA: Huntington Beach Amphitheater "Pier Plaza") and enjoy one incredible surf band after another during the International Surfing Museum's Surfin' Sundays Concert Series. Last summer we were treated to a flamin' hot show from the INSECT SURFERS, with their twin guitar attack by means of devilish DAVE ARNSON and DAN "DANO" SULLIVAN with a big healthy bottom provided by DAN VALENTIE (bass) and ADRIAN ANTHONY (drums). Dave's kinetic antics and the band's boundless creativity make for a sonic exploration that propels you to the far reaches of the Death Valley Coastline, skimmin' the shore of Satellite Beach and glidin' over Mojave Reef. The Insects' "Modern Surf" conjures up images of micro/macro cosmos, like amoebas splittin' and nebulas driftin', but with a beat you can dance to. On another afternoon we had the pleasure of soakin' up rays and the sounds of THE BOARDWALKERS, with DAN VALENTIE's rippin' lead guitar, MARTY TIPPENS' thumpin' bass and JEFF UTTERBACK's crashin' drums. This isn't a trip down nostalgia lane with Frankie and Annette, it's a reverberatin' rocket ride round the rim of the black hole that has become rock 'n' roll. Then along came SLACKTONE to remind everyone how incendiary and revolutionary three guys in a garage band could be. Guitarist and songwriter DAVE WRONSKI, drummer DUSTY WATSON, and SAM BOLLE on bass played a set that pealed the wax off boards, burned the sand to glass and turned back that tsunami you heard was gonna hit last summer. The series continues this summer with extra shows and more bands. Check the Museum's website for current info (http://www.surfingmuseum.org). THIS IS 100% SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FOLK MUSIC!

by Mark G., March 20, 2008 from Most Memorable Shows of 2007-Insect Surfers, Boardwalkers and Slacktone

The Insect Surfers are being sponsored by Body Glove.