By Jim Barber
Brian Wilson is at relaxation now, and hopefully he understood the respect, admiration, love and inspiration related together with his life and his profession as a songwriter and performer. The founding father of the Seashore Boys, who succumbed to a prolonged sickness on June 11, had a pivotal position in creating the artistry and craft of each rock and roll and pop music via his progressive compositions, peaking with the seminal traditional Pet Sounds album in 1966, and songs like ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good,’ ‘Good Vibrations’ and the powerfully compelling, ‘God Solely Is aware of.’
He can relaxation simply figuring out that his legacy is in good palms musically as there’s a youthful rejuvenation within the reputation of what has been termed ‘surf’ music as epitomized by The Seashore Boys and Jan & Dean, in addition to by a plethora of guitar-based instrumental bands who had been contemporaries of these extra vocal-focused group. Bands like The Ventures, The Surfaris, The Tornados and The Chantays had been influential too, with imitators and appreciators persevering with to evolve the sound over the following a long time.
A part of the flourishing of the style, which whereas nonetheless pretty area of interest, is nonetheless populated by hundreds of thousands of followers all through the globe, features a Canadian act which is garnering glowing press accounts, going viral on social media, and delighting audiences all through North America in addition to remote European locals as Spain and Estonia with their unforgettable reside live shows.
Beginning life in small city Port Perry, Ontario, Canada, the dynamically great, eminently tuneful and joyfully effervescent Surfrajettes are bringing the inimitable happiness and unadulterated enjoyable of the twangy, melodically irrepressible instrumental surf music to a venue close to you this summer time, as they embark on what’s, surprisingly, one among their first huge efforts to tour their dwelling and place of birth.
Comprised of high-school buddies Shermy Freeman and Nicole Damoff, their twin lead guitar assault is buttressed by longtime bassist Sarah Butler, and newcomer Annie Lillis on drums, who hails from Cleveland. Butler is a full-time instructor, so when the band is on the street through the faculty yr, her spot is taken by one other Cleveland resident, Abby Joe J.). Beginning in late June, the quartet has exhibits straddling the U.S.- Canada border with stops in Buffalo, NY, on June 26, Lake George, NY two days later after which on to Amherst, Massachusetts on June 29, earlier than sliding throughout the border into Quebec for a present on June 30 at Bar Le Ritz in Montreal, then on Canada Day at Home of TARG in Ottawa.
July 2 sees The Surfrajettes make their first ever cease in Kingston, Ontario, at The Mansion, earlier than transferring on to The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on July 3, then collaborating in The Artistic Pageant in Toronto on July 6. After that, they head west … and north for a present in Whitehorse, Yukon on July 9 resulting in a present on the Altin Arts and Music Pageant in Atlin, British Columbia on July 11; the final date on this run of live shows.
The band has launched two full LPs, Curler Fink, issued in 2022, and Simple as Pie, which got here out in direction of the tip of 2024. They’ve additionally launched a handful of singles and EPs alongside the best way, with every launch bringing in a pile of latest followers, new admirers and constructing on their repute for firecracking reside exhibits.
In line with the good and movie good throwback retro aesthetic of the band, let’s step again in time to greater than a decade in the past, when McKenzie ‘Shermy’ Freeman and Damoff first met, and the way their widespread need to make music, their chemistry as writers and performers, and Freeman’s near-obsession with the tradition and life-style of the early Nineteen Sixties had been the constructing blocks of what would quickly change into The Surfrajettes.
“We weren’t in bands collectively in highschool, however we knew one another, though she was two grades above me. There have been two primary bands which had been like extracurricular actions after faculty: a rock band and an R&B band. Shermy was the guitar participant within the rock band and I used to be the guitar participant within the blues band. So, we had been on this music program collectively and would run into one another on a regular basis. Exterior of highschool I received into an all-girl rock cowl band. We met at a music summer time camp and performed round at a number of locations. We had been nonetheless youngsters. I didn’t get into an expert band of any type till The Surfrajettes,” defined Damoff, who now lives close to Haliburton, Ontario, whereas Shermy nonetheless lives within the Port Perry space.
“She and I had misplaced contact for a bit after highschool. Then a number of years after I graduated she simply contacted me out of the blue with this idea. She considered the band identify, The Surfrajettes. She mentioned, ‘hey, wouldn’t it’s cool if there was an all-girl surf band known as The Surfrajettes. I actually need to make this occur.’ And since she remembered me from highschool being like the one different woman guitar participant, she known as me and requested me to assist her type this band. So, the idea was all hers after which we received collectively and made it occur.
“I actually don’t know why she selected this idea. However I do know Shermy’s all the time been a lover of classic, retro stuff and we had some buddies within the Toronto surf scene round The Nice Lakes Surf Battle, which is a pageant they’ve yearly. I feel she was impressed by that and needed to start out her personal surf band. She’s a really, very inventive particular person and I feel this was an outlet for her, and for her love of retro garments and furnishings and devices.”
For a fast recap of what surf music entails, let’s go to our buddies at Wikipedia:
“Surf music (often known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a style of rock music related to surf tradition, significantly as present in Southern California. It was particularly widespread from 1958 to 1964 in two main kinds. The primary is instrumental surf, distinguished by reverb-heavy electrical guitars performed to evoke the sound of crashing waves, largely pioneered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. The second is vocal surf, which took components of the unique surf sound and added vocal harmonies, a motion led by the Seashore Boys.”
The nascent Surfrajettes delved deep into the lore, legends and legacy of surf music, and cultivated a glance that would simply have been lifted from an Annette Funicello seashore film of the Nineteen Sixties, or extra just lately, a Quentin Tarantino movie. The beehive hairdos, matching miniskirts, Go-Go boots, and brilliantly colored set dressings, throwback devices and even the furnishings and knick-knacks in all their movies and photograph shoots have been rigorously and artfully crafted, with an consideration to element that will impress any theatrical artwork director or museum curator.
The entire picture, tone and vibe of The Surfrajettes is one among unbridled enjoyable. They undertaking vibrant, Technicolor awesomeness via their music, their presentation and energetic reside exhibits – one thing that’s bringing a pinch of sunshine and positivity to what’s seemingly turning into a darkening world.
“It was numerous work, however I’d say that all of it got here fairly naturally. It is extremely deliberate, however that’s Shermy. That’s what her precise home seems like and she or he’s actually into all that stuff. She has an excellent eye and imaginative and prescient for aesthetics so it comes fairly simply to her as a result of that’s what she’s into in any case. A number of the props and stuff are literally hers, and others we wanted, she would simply go hit an vintage store or prop store. She’s a collector of all that stuff. The look was her imaginative and prescient from the very starting. The Go-Go boots, beehives, which was all the time the imaginative and prescient and it’s one thing that has all the time been in step with our aesthetic,” Damoff defined.
The identify Surfrajettes is intelligent in so some ways, incorporating the style of music, alongside not-so refined dose of feminine energy and solidarity because it’s a variation of the time period suffragette, the identify given to girls in the UK and North America who started to prepare collectively, protest, foyer, exhibit, write about and demand the appropriate to vote all through the late 19th and into the early 20th centuries. Altering out the ‘G’ for a ‘J’ provides one other layer of authenticity, because it matches with the naming conventions of bands from the unique surf motion. It additionally completely matches the mandate of the band from day one to be all-female, on a regular basis.
“Really, when Shermy considered the identify there was no alternative however to really make it occur as a result of it’s such a superb identify. And having a intelligent identify like that and even messing round with the ‘G’ and ‘J’ was a manner for us to have a little bit of an identification as a result of we don’t have a singer, proper. Neither one among us actually sings, and we actually didn’t need to. Plus, it was one other approach to set us aside and for the band look and sound totally different?” Damoff mentioned, including that in addition they drew inspiration from a reasonably broad musical palate inside the Surf style, together with The Ventures, a legendary instrumental surf music band that’s thought-about to be of probably the most influential acts of all time, promoting greater than 100 million albums. They’ve been dubbed ‘the band that launched a thousand bands,’ for what number of younger musicians all through the Nineteen Sixties picked up the guitar, bass and drums and shaped bands. ‘Stroll, Don’t Run,’ their debut album, primarily based on a single of the identical identify, is a should have for each early rock and roll aficionado.
“After we first began out, the primary songs we realized had been by The Trashmen and The Rancheros, who had been among the extra obscure older surf bands. And we love The Ventures, they’re most likely our primary inspiration on what we do. We began issues primarily based on doing covers of songs that we realized earlier than we began writing our personal. We liked the best way The Ventures had been so inventive with the variations of the songs that they coated and made them their very own. And that’s what we’ve all the time tried to do, like in overlaying Britney Spears’ ‘Poisonous’ and doing sudden covers, which I really feel was actually the factor that made The Ventures so good and so widespread.”
The YouTube cowl of ‘Poisonous,’ launched in 2018 was an instantaneous hit, and has garnered greater than 7.3 million views, propelling the band right into a degree of recognition unprecedented for a contemporary surf band, incomes them a report cope with Hello-Tide Recordings, and resulting in provides to carry out all through the US.
One other bump in recognition got here after they had been featured on a video by Norman’s Uncommon Guitars, an internet site and YouTube channel very talked-about with guitar nerds (not meant as a pejorative!). As properly, they’ve additionally been featured within the venerable trade touchstone Guitar World Journal.
“I’d say most likely a very powerful factor that has occurred to our band is that video [‘Toxic’]. I don’t actually perceive how the algorithm of YouTube works however for no matter purpose that video simply received hundreds of thousands and hundreds of thousands of views. Individuals come as much as me at each present and say they found us due to the ‘Poisonous’ video. So, it’s undoubtedly an enormous purpose for our success. And I additionally get lots of people due to that Norman’s video. For a guitarist, that’s a reasonably large factor to be on that channel, and in addition the Guitar World characteristic. I feel it’s helped get us just a little extra respect as a result of numerous occasions we’re nonetheless listening to, ‘simply look, oh, ladies with guitars, they most likely don’t know what they’re doing,’ and write you off earlier than they even hearken to you,” Damoff mentioned, speaking concerning the persistence of sexism, misogyny and sheer dismissiveness that also exists in direction of feminine within the music trade, even on this apparently ‘woke’ age.
“If you happen to go and skim our YouTube feedback, and I do know they’re simply feedback, however we’ve even had folks say issues to us in particular person like, ‘oh, that was higher than I believed it was going to be,’ due to folks’s expectations after they see girls with guitars. I imply, most individuals aren’t like that, however there’s a minority of them, and so they’re fairly loud at occasions, who suppose like that. We attempt to not let the unfavorable ones trouble us; the vast majority of individuals are very supportive.”
Whereas the present album, Simple As Pie incorporates one other cowl model that ought to delight Nineties pop music lovers, a delightfully jangly and eminently danceable interpretation of ‘Spice Up Your Life,’ from The Spice Women, the majority of the fabric, as on Curler Fink, is unique. Damoff and Freeman are the first writers of the band, which is sensible contemplating they’ve identified one another for therefore lengthy and are geographically appropriate.
“We do a lot of the songwriting and its often fairly collaborative. One among us will give you an concept for the melody or no matter after which take it to the opposite particular person and say, ‘hey, take a look at this, what ought to come after it? Are you able to do something so as to add to it?’ We simply work collectively like that but it surely’s not all emailing forwards and backwards. We used t reside collectively and so it was simple to only sit round and give you songs in the identical room, however now often nonetheless love to do it in particular person, though we’re not in the identical city anymore,” Damoff defined.
“As soon as we’ve a tune form of mapped out, we’ll report just a little voice notice of it and ship it to our drummer who’s in Cleveland, and she is going to work off that voice memo. Then she’ll lay down her half and ship it again to us and the following time we get collectively, we’ll rehears it after which report it.”
Simple As Pie, in addition to the earlier album, was recorded on the Woodshed Studios in Toronto, which is the house studio of the legendary Canadian band, Blue Rodeo, and was produced by Blue Rodeo guitarist, and famous Canadian producer, Colin Cripps, who created what Damoff known as ‘a extremely cozy, welcoming vibe.”
Cool tunes and viral movies alone don’t a hit story make, particularly inside a distinct segment musical market akin to surf. Like a lot of rock and roll, a band or artist earns their stripes, builds their fan bases and makes a greater dwelling for themselves on the street. Or within the case of The Surfrajettes, an tour or two on the excessive seas. One other breakthrough second for the band got here with a pre-COVID pandemic look on The Seashore Boys Cruise, an unimaginable alternative to attach with of us who already had a predilection to like their music – in a captive setting!
“We additionally did the Melissa Etheridge Cruise and we received to go on stage and sing with Melissa Etheridge. After which we did the Seashore Boys Cruise two years in a row and even simply attending to journey for me is wonderful. I simply love doing these cruises and going throughout North American and seeing Europe: locations I wouldn’t have had the prospect to go to in any other case if not for the band. So attending to tour and go to new locations and meet folks and play for them – it’s all been a spotlight,” she mentioned, including that in addition to hanging with Etheridge, she and her bandmates did get to satisfy ‘Uncle Jesse’ from TV present Full Home, as actor John Stamos typically performs with The Seashore Boys,
“Yeah we received to hang around with Uncle Jesse. I imply, once I was watching Full Home as a child, I by no means thought I’d be hanging out with Uncle Jesse on a cruise. I actually needed to ask him to say, ‘have mercy,’ however I managed to restrain myself.”
The cruise appearances led to extra bookings, at a considerably longer distance. After a vastly profitable set at an occasion in Spain, The Surfrajettes had been contacted by a promoter of a pageant within the small Baltic nation of Estonia to take part of their occasion [The American Beauty Summer Meet car show]. The leap of creativeness it takes to consider a child from Port Perry spending time enjoying music to a rapt viewers in Estonia, is actually not something Freeman and Damoff would have even thought-about again after they had been buying their first pairs of Go-Go Boots.
“It’s solely been a yr or so since we form of took the band full time and began actually hitting the street. We performed a pageant in Spain final yr and the pageant in Estonia and that was the primary time we’ve been exterior of North America. We discovered there’s these little surf music communities everywhere in the world, and I feel they find it irresistible as a result of it represents Americana, or what America used to face for, and folks elsewhere world wide nonetheless discover that unique and thrilling. These little communities are so keen about it and it’s thrilling for them to see their favorite bands performing that music,” mentioned Damoff.
“We had performed a rockabilly pageant in Spain and the one who places on the pageant in Estonia was on the pageant in Spain and so they supplied us the present simply from seeing our efficiency. We saved saying to ourselves via your entire journey, ‘did you ever suppose we’d be enjoying in Estonia of all locations?’ And it was a cool pageant the place there have been all these traditional American automobiles, however the pageant itself passed off on the grounds of an previous fortress and it was like, wow, what a wonderful setting. The surroundings was wonderful. And the folks had been very nice. Everybody there was so excited as a result of that they had introduced in performers from everywhere in the world. I used to be a extremely cool, distinctive expertise that I by no means thought I’d get to do.”
Returning to the topic of the band’s lineup, there’s a little bit of the Spinal Faucet curse at play, as over the band’s decade lengthy existence, Lillis is their fifth drummer.
“Thankfully, nobody has spontaneously combusted or died in a gardening accident. It’s extra of a factor the place it’s laborious to decide to being in a full-time band, and folks need to do different issues with their lives, which is completely comprehensible. Annie was in one other band known as The Beyonderers, a surf band out of Cleveland and so they opened for us as soon as and so we famous on the time, ‘wow, this woman’s actually good.’ Then a number of months later our drummer on the time left the band so I considered Annie and known as her, and she or he was tremendous into it and actually needed to affix us. So, yeah, we stole her,” mentioned Damoff with amusing. “And Abby Joe J., she’s childhood buddies with Annie, so she slot in completely.”
Touring throughout Canada has all the time been one thing The Surfrajettes have needed to do, however since going full time, their dance card has been stuffed with dates within the U.S. and additional overseas. There’s additionally the pure measurement of the nation and stringing collectively sufficient dates to make it each virtually and financially worthwhile. They’re hoping the summer time exhibits, most of that are in Ontario and Quebec, will assist construct momentum for extra within the Nice White North.
“We haven’t performed many gigs up right here in comparison with what number of we do in America. We performed Toronto so much and we all the time do fairly properly there. And we’ve performed Montreal a number of occasions, so we’re wanting ahead to performing some extra Canadian exhibits this summer time as a result of we simply haven’t had the prospect. I imply, we’ve by no means performed Ottawa or Kingston earlier than, so we’re actually wanting ahead to enjoying and hopefully increase the Canadian fan base extra. However it’s laborious as a result of Canada is so massive, and the inhabitants is smaller than in America. And there’s far more folks in every city and metropolis and so they’re nearer collectively down there. It’s the identical in Europe. However we actually do need to play extra right here, and I feel enjoying in Ottawa on Canada Day goes to be an enormous deal for us,” Damoff mentioned.
One other facet of the fashionable music trade, one The Surfrajettes are desperate to capitalize on, is getting their music positioned in TV exhibits, motion pictures and perhaps even video video games. It’s a manner to make use of unique music to generate one other income stream, however the placement additionally exposes the artist to probably hundreds of thousands of latest followers. They jokingly point out of their bio that they’re actively in search of to be in a Quentin Tarantino film however would accept having their music a part of its soundtrack in the event that they weren’t solid. However simply consider how cool it will be to see The Surfrajettes cameoing in a Kill Invoice 3 or particularly a Pulp Fiction sequel.
“It’s one thing we haven’t tapped into fairly but, however we need to. We did have a suggestion a number of years in the past, however nothing ever materialized from it. They needed one among our songs to be on a British Netflix present they had been making, however I by no means heard something extra about it,” Damoff mentioned.
Whether or not they make it to the large display screen or on a serious streaming platform, the sheer pleasure and happiness and sense of escape generated by listening to The Surfrajettes music, and particularly seeing them carry out reside, is an incredible sufficient legacy on which to construct for many years to come back. The notion that their music brings happiness to folks in what is typically an terrible world shouldn’t be misplaced on Damoff or her bandmates.
“That’s what we attempt to remind ourselves of on a regular basis. You mentioned the world we’re dwelling in is hard. Yeah, it feels form of foolish typically for us to be doing our foolish surf music when there’s all this heavy, terrible stuff occurring. However you recognize, we’ve had lots of people come as much as us at exhibits and say, ‘thanks a lot.’ So, we simply attempt to preserve our heads up and keep in mind we’re doing issues that convey folks collectively and provides folks pleasure. And I really like seeing little ladies at our exhibits. Not all venues we play enable underage folks in, however we’ve undoubtedly had exhibits the place a number of dad and mom convey their little ladies and we all the time attempt to meet with them as a lot as we are able to and say hello. It all the time brings a tear to my eye to see that. I grew up with out many examples of ladies as position fashions as musicians, particularly in rock music. So, I feel when girls and ladies see an instance of that, it’s actually energizing and lets them suppose, ‘yeah, I can try this.’ And that goes for hockey and basketball in addition to music.”
For extra info on The Surfrajettes, Simple as Pie and their upcoming exhibits, go to https://www.thesurfrajettes.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and writer primarily based in Napanee, Ontario, Canada, who has been writing about music and musicians for greater than 30 years. Apart from his journalistic endeavors, he works as a communications and advertising and marketing specialist and is an avid volunteer in his group. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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