Stingray Stomp

 

The phone call I made to Epitaph/Epitone Records in early 1997 started out really weird:

Him: "Good morning."

Me: "Hi... thanks for taking my call, it was hard finding your number! I want to get some information about a surf band on your label named Blue Stingrays.  I just bought their CD and really love it, but I have no idea who they are and I'm hoping you could help."

Him: (says nothing)

Me: (after a few seconds) "Hello... are you still there?"

Him: "Who IS this?"

Me: "... uh, excuse me? My name's Bob, I live in Mission Viejo and I'm trying to get some info on the Blue Stingrays."

Him: "Are you a reporter?"

Me: (stunned) "What?"

                           'Brave New World' - Blue Stingrays

The day before that phone call, a random search through the CD racks at my local Borders Bookstore uncovered a mystery that was like catnip to this music geek.

I'd been searching for some cool surf tunes in preparation for a music taping project. I was planning to record six hours of music (all drawn from my personal digital and vinyl collection) onto cassette tapes for use during the 1997 International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) personal watercraft (PWC, a.k.a. jet-ski) racing season.

As the IJSBA Regional Event Supervisor, I'd be working at all the National Tour and World Finals races during the year, so having a say in the kind of music being played would be AWESOME.

Our Competition Director asked if I'd be up for the project, which I agreed to in a nanosecond.

My goal: mix one 90-minute tape of semi-mellow music for morning practice sessions, then mix three more tapes of rocking music for the qualifying sessions and races. Although compact discs were already a thing, the players were very finicky and prone to jamming in outdoor environments. Cassettes were low-tech but very reliable, so that was the medium of choice. The tunes would be played over the race site PA system to get the crowd amped up during the morning pre-race rituals and competition events.

One problem: I didn't have that much surf music in-hand, so off to Borders I went.

'Goldfinger' - Blue Stingrays

After scanning through the 'Surf' music section at Borders, I'd already pulled out 'Bikini World', a compilation of surf tunes by bands from around the globe. Otherwise, the pickins' were slim.

That's when I found 'Blue Stingrays Surf-N-Burn'.  Never heard of this band, but I recognized a few of the song titles and decided to buy it and take a risk. Plus, great CD cover image... always a good sign.

I cued up the CD when I got home and was blown away at their sound: totally old-school, crystal-clear with lots of reverb, and marinated with a sense of humor and homage to the surfing lifestyle that we native Californians of a certain age have in our DNA. The kind of tunes we heard on our transistor radios.

An added bonus was the cool dark blue guitar pick with the band logo on it that fell onto my lap when I opened the jewel case.  WINNER.

My confusion began when I started to read the liner notes.  According to their bio, Blue Stingrays was the original California band that started the surf music trend in 1959. Once the genre began to blow up, they rejected stardom and moved to a Tahitian island for 30 years to hone their sound, with 'Surf-N-Burn' as the result. The other LPs in their discography were no longer available. 

Now... I've listened to a LOT of surf music in my life but had never heard of this band or their music, which was odd because they were supposedly the first to break out the signature surf sound.

I had to find out more about Blue Stingrays.

                           'Stingray Stomp' - Blue Stingrays

I was able to locate a phone number for Epitaph Records in Hollywood, the company that released the CD under the 'Epitone' name.

That's when I made the phone call that took a decidedly weird turn.

Him: "I said... are you a reporter?"

Me: " Nope... not a reporter. Just a surf music fan who found this CD by a band that I've never heard of. I'm making a mix tape for the upcoming jet-ski racing season and want to add some surf music. I have to know more about the Blue Stingrays... they're GREAT!"

Him: (apparently satisfied with my answer) "OK, I appreciate your honesty because this is a brand new release. Do you know who The Heartbreakers are?"

Me: "You mean Tom Petty's Heartbreakers? His backing band?"

Him: "Yeah, that's the one.  Tom's been on a hiatus, so the guys... Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell and a couple of others... they wanted to do a side project during their downtime, and since they all love surf music they created a fake band name and bio as a cover to record under so no one would know."

Me:  "Wait a minute. You mean the liner notes... the bio... the discography... it's all fake?  That is SO COOL! They sound so original, and the music is just fantastic!"

Him:  "I'm glad you like it, they had a lot of fun recording new stuff and creating the bio. The music is first-rate 'cuz those guys are all great musicians. That's why I asked if you're a reporter... the CD was released unannounced a few days ago and we're trying to keep it quiet so Tom's record company won't get all pissed off. You must've bought one of the first copies on the market!"

'Surfer's Life' - Blue Stingrays (my favorite cut on this CD)

We talked for a few more minutes and he asked me to be low-key about the music for at least a few weeks, because the news would get out soon enough. I agreed and thanked him for letting me in on the secret. I mean... he didn't have to tell me squat, right?

The mix tapes? They were played over the PA system at all eleven of the IJSBA National Tour races that summer and all eight days of the World Finals in Lake Havasu City, Arizona that October, where we hosted over 1,300 professional and amateur PWC racers from all over the world. It was AWESOME.

A Regional event promoter who helped with announcing at the World Finals admitted to me he'd dubbed copies of the tapes to use at his own events during the next racing season. 

Hearing my mix tapes blasting from the PA at race event sites all over the country was a pretty special feeling for this lifetime music geek.

                           'Zuma Sunset' - Blue Stingrays

If you love great surf music, there's a lot more on the CD than the sampling here, and knowing the genesis of this 'fake' band only makes it easier to appreciate the craftsmanship and skullduggery it took to create Blue Stingrays.

Sometimes, only certain kinds of music will work for my state of mind, the task at hand or the situation. 'Blue Stingrays Surf-N-Burn' is that kind of music. 

Every time I hear 'Surfer's Life', I see a video in my head of the jet-ski races... the snap of the Starting Line band, a dozen boats at speed aiming for the first buoy, a stand-up racer dragging his leg in the water on a hard turn... all in super slow-mo, the water flying away in sheets from the hulls in a massive spray, catching the sun and sparkling, just like the music.

Download this musical release and you'll be rewarded with a gift that crosses time and space. Better yet, find and buy the CD and read the liner notes about a band that never was... but will always be.

Plus... FREE GUITAR PICK!

Then imagine what it was like to hear bitchin' surf music on a transistor radio!

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Special Bonus Track -- The other CD I bought at Borders was titled 'Bikini World' (Relativity Records) and featured music by surf bands from all over the world.  This tune by The Fathoms, a Boston-based group, is one of my faves from this excellent and eclectic collection.

                             'Fathomless' - The Fathoms

Imagen principal, Gracias de Google Images; todos los videos, Muchismas Gracias de YouTube; cuando cae la goma, la mierda se detiene.

Special Dedication: This post is dedicated to Snackie, Blake (my brother from another Mother), Jonny Ya-Ya, Connecticut Steve, Tim, Mark, Mike, Tony, Shawnie and all the IJSBA brothers and sisters for some of most memorable working days of my life. I've never worked as hard or had as much fun as we did during those halcyon racing days... the IJSBA Traveling Circus.