Week 5 readings: McTavish

Reading the McTavish Article was a trip for me. I've no very little about surf culture but this article just kinda gave an overload of information. I had never heard of ninety-five percent of these names until reading this article and I thought it was totally rad. I thought it was really cool how his different stories revolved around what new boards he had shaped for himself and his friends. Something I found particularly powerful was just reading from the point of view of a pioneer shaper and someone who is more or less responsible for the popularity of the short board. Moreover, I find it really lame that McTavish received little to no credit for the boards that he designed in the sixties and watched as so many surfers went out with subpar boards made out of subpar materials. I think the best part is that He is still a shaper and working on longboards again rather than the fad of short boards.

Big Wednesday - Opening Scene

Week Five: Griffin

            One of the articles  I read this week was called “Rick Griffin: A Beautiful Pandemonium”  by Steve Barilotti discusses Griffin’s life and impact on the surfing culture through his art work.   After getting into a car accident, he became more focused on his artwork because he wasn’t aloud to surf anymore and wanted to gain control of his life again.  His Murphy comic strip debuted in 1961 in the Surfer magazine and became a sensation. It was his best known character and is a surfing icon.  In his other works he did posters for Jimmy Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison and was one of the first to do psychedelic posters.  Griffin managed to bridge through three powerful cultures (rock, art, and surfing ) effortlessly. I enjoyed reading this article because it showed how Griffin managed to get past all his struggles and take life for what it was. He took his so much to work in his favor and many respected him for that. Pezman stated that Griffin "was the cornerstone of a whole movement that was really a way of looking at life and what's worth doing in life". 

Week 5: Surfing Ownership

This week's Crowley reading illustrated the transformation from a spiritual lifestyle to how I'd always thought of surf culture before coming to Santa Cruz: a cutesy, wholesome, white, affluent, tourist-consumed summer activity for people with too much time on their hands. Crowley's description of the Newport Beach surfing regulations was reminiscent of the battle between the Hui Nalu and Outrigger Canoe Club, though in this case, the fight was less a contest that relied on skill and braggadocio and more of a misguided attempt to create a new, regulated summer pastime for Americans.

"For a style of music originally intended simply to make people dance and be happy, surf music found itself confronted with a maelstrom of political and politicized issues in the middle 60s." This sentence to me says a lot about what I find to be the main problem of surf culture. All accounts of ancient Hawaiian surfing, despite its "Sport of Kings" moniker, describe it as a sport enjoyed by all islanders, no matter their social standing, age, gender, etc. Much like any aspect of history, it seems that once white colonists came in, it got more complicated. I and many friends of mine have been put off from trying to learn how to surf because the culture is so territorial and competitive now. From what I understand, that's largely due to surfers wanting to resimplify the sport and lifestyle to its origins, a pursuit I would argue might be impossible, at least in California.

That said, during today's class, I felt kind of judgy myself, thinking that Neil Young's Surfer Joe was so far from surf music. I caught myself scoffing and getting caught up in my personal perceptions of surf music, which is even more ridiculous considering I don't surf. I really think it's interesting how easy it is (for me, at least) to get caught up in these issues of ownership, and what accounts for "real" surf culture.

Week 5 Readings

The article I found the most interesting this week was "A Beautiful Pandemonium" by Steve Barilotti.  This article chronicled the life of comic artist Rick Griffin.  Griffin found success with his cartoon Murphy but he still felt as if he needed more out of life.  While on a journey to discover what he was missing in life, Griffin was in a serious car accident that nearly killed him and left him severely disfigured.  After his brush with death, Griffin's art style changed to incorporate the drugs he was using and the hardships he was undergoing with his personal life.  He eventually went to school to further study art, and was commissioned to make posters for artists like Jimi Hendrix.  My favorite part of the article was the section talking about how Griffin submitted a "grown-up" version of Murphy (on his knees at the gates of Heaven) to Surfer magazine, and died only a few weeks later due to a motorcycle crash.  It seemed poignant that that particular cartoon was one of his last;  to me, it symbolized Griffin's growth as a man and that he finally seemed to find peace with his life.

Week 5 Readings

In week 5 readings, I was interested in the article Surf Beat by Crowley. It discussed that as technology evolved so did the surf music. It also mentioned information about the surfing environment that has changed through the years as the numbers of surfers and non-surfers crowded the beach. Back in the days, the beach would have not been as crowded as it is today. There was a new fender reverb amplifier created, which took away the need for an outboard reverb unit. This new invention had taken away the uniqueness of the surf music. It no longer had the water sounds such as the drips, pops, and drizzles. These new designs in the long run helped the creation of the blues genre. Surf music was the type of music that had the "youthful vitality and spirit, the celebration of life" as stated in this article. In my opinion, I think every trend usually dies out and comes back. Maybe surf music might become something popular again in the future. Even though surf music may or may not be as popular today as it was years ago, it was a part of our history and still is heard nowadays.

Another article was, A Skipping Stone about Jeff Divine's portfolio. As defined in the article, surf photography: "holds a special place of value amongst out tribe, the sensation of the ride being so acute that a mere photo or line up shot can deliver a real gut punch to the surf wise viewer." I really admire the photos that he captured through the 30 years shown in this article. I thought that the last photo I posted of the surface of the ocean is really breathtaking.

Week 5- Morning of the Earth

I felt that the film "Morning of the Earth" had an interesting approach to presenting surfing in film. the film was drastically different than previous films we have watched. Compared to last weeks film "Muscle Beach Party", we see a completely different side to surfing. In "Muscle Beach Party" surfing was a group activity, a past time, and their lives continued on. In "Morning of the Earth" surfing was much more of an individual experience on the waves, shown my focusing on each individual as he rides the wave, and a life encompassing activity. For the surfers in "Morning of the Earth", the majority of their day is presented to be in or around the ocean, with other activities being sparse and far between. Their hangout time consisted of life necessities and cultural bonding: fruit picking, life in the tree house, DIY surf board building and repair, smoking with the natives and the fishing the natives brought to shore. I enjoyed seeing the juxtaposition in culture between the surfers and the natives - the natives with their fishing and cock fighting to the surfer's carefree surfing lifestyle. Unlike "Muscle Beach Party", "Morning of the Earth" is not a movie with a plot line, but instead tries to portray surfing as an  art-form to be appreciated. The film is completely without words, filled only with music, giving the film a mood of never-ending joyousness in the day long surfing.

 I can't help but to wonder what cultural information could have been gathered if they had brought anthropologists with them to these "unspoiled" lands.

Eli Bottom - Shortboard Revolution

This week I was most intrigued by the Bob McTavish article on the Australian origins of the short board revolution. It was interesting to read about his adventures as a shaper and how is constant innovation was formed through relationships with other surfers. One thing in particular stood out to me in the article and that was how mobile he was during the development of the board. He took his skills with him from place to place and channeled the influence of other shapers into making a perfected short board.

Week 5 Thoughts

The article on Rick Griffin has been my all time favorite thus far. What an amazing story! When I first began reading the article I was beginning to wonder where it was going with the constant "Click..." but I kept reading and thank God I did. I remember growing up and my dad having saved some of Rick's Murphy cartoons, and having my dad show me them. Reading this article gave so much more history to them! Griffin as a "frustrated rockstar" turned Christian is definitely an interesting theme, but because of his accident and acid trips, I guess one could believe it. The Murphy cartoon represented  much more than just a cartoon a high school surfer drew, it represented an entire sect of the baby boomer generation who were lost in between middle class suburbia and what they truly wanted to do, surf. I like that Griffin decided to "kill" off Murphy and replace him with himself instead. Through his comics, Griffin was able to give readers the "under the table information" they wouldn't be able to receive anywhere else and it also served as a timeline for his own stories and adventures. It was also fun to read how Griffin's psychadelic experiences crept into his newer cartoons and the people who shared those experiences with him saw the same things, thinkng that Griffin had "nailed it". The experience he shared with Ida and his new baby are exactly what Mexico is to me, surfing, sleeping, beer and tacos. It's sort of funny and pretty familiar to me, the fact that he just kept stumbling onto things that would take his life on new adventures, with no real plans, thats exactly how its worked for me thus far.

Week 5: Surf Beat

People argue about how even though a song had the word "surf" in its title, it wouldn't be considered surf music. This is one of the many changes that people had to encounter during the 1960s. It was a period when people changed, singers changed, as well as surfers themselves. People blamed it on popular bands such as The Beach Boys and The Beatles. New bands like these believed the rock music was an art, not a simple sort of entertainment. At first, surf music changed the technology of music, but later backfired and surf music was changed by the technology as well.
Besides the musical dilemmas, surfing started to get out of control. Surfers would dangerously crowd the beaches all the time, therefore the authorities later began to ask for surf licenses in order for them to surf on the beach. As Crowley states, "Surfing became a Problem." Since this period of time was so hectic ad busy with the segregation and racism of blacks, it eventually impacted the surf music. Black surf music became popular during the 1960s. It became a political/social drama because the Beach Boys were being blamed for stealing the black music, therefore the Beach Boys decided to quote something they said on the cover of a magazine which stated, "We're not colored; We're white and we sing white." This, obviously, caused a racial conflict. It also led to people getting tired of all the different changes that was occurring to surf music and led some to say hat only surfers could play surf music. The surf music was changing rapidly. There were no surf sounds/ water sounds such as drips, pops, ad drizzles. It was all just "the art of rock". The new "surf music" also eliminated the strong romanticism it used to have. Now it emphasized its message in bravery or white power. Surf music evolved so much that it seemed as though the old surf music was changed completely.

Week 5 Response

The McTavish article gave a very detailed account on how board shape and design changed over time. I found it interesting how different designs were being used simply because of popularity of design rather than what would let you ride the wave better. The way he shaped boards for a living gave a lot if info about what people wanted for a board but gave him time to figure out what rides best. What was helpful was the sketches of the boards to show what they looked like and how they compared to others, the way he had the insight about the design of the shortboard being what would be popular later on and the specific design characteristics that gave a superior ride. I especially liked the Divine portfolio and how it showed the look of the decade and the images show things on both how they were and how they were perceived to be by others.

Week 5 Readings

Reading the Rick Griffin article gave me an understanding of just how much surfing was connecting different areas of culture together. Rick Griffin began his career by creating Murphy, a comic strip for Surfer magazine. He appeared on the August/September 1962 issue and was instantly considered the poster child for the magazine. His cartoon, Murphy, really connected with the youth. Although, he was getting a lot of praise for what he was doing and was becoming really popular within the surfing community, he realized that he needed more in life. He was constantly jealous of his rock star friend, who once played bass for the Belairs. He began to feel burned out and out of his frustration, he hitchhiked his way up the Pacific Coast Highway. During this time, Griffin suffered a horrible accident leaving the left side of his face disfigured. Since he was unable to surf and confined in his home, he began to change his art style. John Severson suggested he attend art college to polish his style.
In 1966, Griffin attended the Acid Test. This inspired him to create more psychedelic art to mimic that of an acid experience. Attending art college in LA really helped his work get noticed by bands and eventually he was asked to create posters for dance concerts at Avalon Ballroom. He created posters for rock heavyweights like Jimi Hendrix, Quicksilver Messenger Service and The Doors.  His posters connected music, surfing, and art.

Week 5: Rick Griffin

This week I read Steve Barilotti’s article “A Beautiful Pandemonium” about artist and surfer Rick Griffin.  Griffin was an important figure for surf music and art.  He managed to create the perfect blend of rock, art and surfing.  He started out as an artist, a cartoonist for the magazine Surfer.  He was the creator of the Murphy cartoons, a two page cartoon in the Surfer which ran from 1961-1963.  Because of these cartoons Griffin was fairly popular within the surf world.  A few years later, upon hearing that his girlfriend was pregnant, Griffin went to the Acid Test.  This was a dance rite where people could enjoy their LSD experience and meet new people.  A group who would also frequent there was The Grateful Dead, which ultimately lead Griffin to meet Jerry Garcia.  Griffin was now an acid convert and turned his main attention to the surf world.  By putting pot references in his comics we started a connection between the drug world and the surf world in a very public way.  This was unlike any surfer at the time.  Many surfers credit Griffin for portrayed the feeling of riding the wave into a visual object.  His has become very well known in the surf world and helped start the Psychedelic Revolution which would head up the 1970s.

This article was very interesting to me because I don’t usually associate psychedelic art with surf culture.  I don’t know that much about the Grateful Dead and their music but I do recognize their artwork and posters.  This is because Rick Griffin made the connect between these worlds, the surf world, the art world and the rock world.  Surf culture doesn’t just revolve around surfing.  Music and art is a major part of their culture.  The idea of manifesting a visual component to the feeling these surfers experience is a large part of bringing this sport to life.  To surfers surfing isn’t just a hobby, it is a way of life.  So it only makes sense that the music and art they surround themselves with correspond.  They live and breathe surf, therefore other aspects of life must represent surfing as well.  Drugs aside, this kind of artwork does just that.

Racial Lines in the Sand

Looking back at surf culture in America from a historical perspective one can see the predominantly white community surrounding it (surfing). Although surfing originated (or at least the general consensus that it was indeed) in Hawaii, white colonists and then white teenagers adopted the culture as their own. Even in the rock'n'roll based surf music scene, African-Americans and Latinos are left out of the surf music history books. The likes of Chuck Berry and Fats Domino exist on the outer edge of what many consider, "surf music". The racial divisions also stem from the time period that the surf revolution was happening, the early 1960's.
As African-American youths fought for their rights against police brutality and legislative blockades, white youths soaked up the sun on the beaches of Southern California. This dichotomy only fueled the discontent that minorities felt towards white America. Even in Southern Californian cities like Sylmar, or East Los Angeles, race riots and bigotry between African Americans, Latinos, and young whites adopting the surf look. Therefore, surf culture became synonymous with white culture and at a time of political race tensions equated to a dismissal of surf among minorities.

WK # 4-- Post # 2: Pump House Gang

I found this article to be a great read. Tom Wolf was masterful with his punctuation; he was truly able to "speak" through his writing using a certain attitude and lingo that completely transported me to Windansea Beach during the 60s. Throughout the article I found myself being, perhaps, overly critical of my own experiences surfing. I thought to myself: "shit, I am a total city boy--a complete kook by the Pump House Gang's standards." I've "haired-out" plenty in my city-boy life, trying to make a buck and participate in society.

Though, if I am being honest, I've been fighting a tug of war with myself  for years. I am 30 years old. I have worked my ass off in jobs, and I've also checked out of society several times when I've gotten to the point where I feel like I am working just to pay bills and have "stuff." Ultimately, however, what I realized after reading this piece, is the Pump House Gang and others like them were/are brats. That is not to say there is nothing they can teach us. They represent a valid expression of human life which lives completely free, day in and day out. Their every move was free-flowing; there was nothing forced, or false, contrived, or phony about them. Still, they were brats. They had the luxury of time and resources. To be born and raised within walking distance of a beach is, to me, a huge luxury.

By the time I graduated high school I had moved seven times across three different states, and I had been enrolled in six different high schools--of which I attended five. I've been working legitimate jobs and paying taxes since I was 15--and not because I wanted to, but because I had to to survive. The Pump House Gang didn't know how good they had it! The same goes for so many young people like them growing up in small beach towns. For instance, I often think about the young people growing up in Santa Cruz and the bubble they think is universal. It's like, come up to Oakland or San Francisco and start talking about the Westside or the Eastside of Santa Cruz--no one will care.

Basically, I enjoyed the excerpt for the sheer nostalgia of it, and I could see where the mindset of young beach brats might lead them to believe so strongly in their Peter Pan fantasy to go so far as to committing suicide before growing old. And, I know I sound cynical here, but I truly appreciated the expression of life that Tom Wolf exposed with his piece. The Pump House Gang was unique, and they showed us all that, in fact, we need very little to live an enchanting life.          

WK # 4--Post # 1: Muscle Beach Party

Well, I am joining the party late, but better late than never, right? I want to address the film, "Muscle Beach Party," first. My impression of that movie is that it played on two themes in a kitschy, campy sort of way. Essentially, male narcissism was played out by the ridiculous muscle crew, while the aimless, content-with-nothing-but-the-waves surfer was played out by the carefree surfer boys. Then, of course, there was Candy, who seemed to provide an echo or a parallel, rather, for the new surf rock of that era with her far out moves. It seemed to be an almost asinine attempt to capture California beach culture in a generalized manner during the 50s and 60s--a mockery if you will. It was wacky and zany. I found myself wondering if there wasn't a concerted effort by the entertainment industry to marginalize surfers and beach culture with movies such as "Muscle Beach Party." It was too ridiculous for anyone to take it seriously, so how did that contribute to people's perceptions of surfers and beach culture in reality? It and films like it must have had a lasting effect--after all, we're still talking about it.  

Femininity & Masculinity in Muscle Beach Party '64

It's easy to categorize most movies from this era as vehement supporters of standard gender roles, because most of them easily earn that rank. However, I believe that Muscle Beach Party could, upon reflection, provide some interesting ideas about masculinity and femininity.

One recurring theme I noticed in the film, especially among the gym members, was the complete freedom with which men called each other beautiful, appreciated the male form and were unafraid to come into close contact with each other. Meanwhile, in the past decade or so, I've noticed a violently homophobic rhetoric condemning all male contact (even through contact sports like wrestling or football) as a sign of homosexuality; god forbid anyone should hear you calling another guy beautiful if you present yourself as straight.
Furthermore, the difference in male beauty standards really interested me. The male "eye candy" of the film (big sarcastic quotes there) are all hairless and visibly smooth - usually also now seen as a feminine trait. The surfers are similarly landscaped. It seems that in '64, even the most macho men pay incredibly close attention to their hygiene and body hair, something that now seems expected only of women.

While a cursory glance at this film would yield the assumption that it is entirely misogynist, there are a few spaces where women push back against the objectification endemic in the surf scene. As I mentioned in class, even the blonde gym "accessories" (a title so demeaning it almost defers all close analysis) are physically powerful and (comically) hold their own in the brawl scene, kicking ass just as well as any of the muscleheads. While Candy is seen as a humorous male sex object, she is also powerful in her own way, using her allure to actually conquer other men during the fight. These bombshells all use their bodies to take what they want.
Moreover, Giuliana's character, while sometimes referred to as whimsical, could be argued as a feminist character. She uses her money to do as she pleases, and has several men in her employ. She objectifies the hell out of Mr. Galaxy and the rest of the crew, which the film emphasizes in her once-over of his body during their first meeting. Her main account handler and Jack Fanny both seem flummoxed and threatened by the unabashed sexual desire she exhibits. And, all the "proteges" she takes on are entirely at her disposal. Despite, perhaps, its best efforts, this film makes it clear that Giuliana is much more than part of the surf environment, and that women do have narrative agency.

"...finding your own league" - Week 4 Readings

Tom Wolfe's compilation of short stories "The Pump-House Gang" is all about the conception of social status. He is portraying the lives of a great variety of subcultures like Bikers, 'Hair Boys', and, of course, Surfers. The most horrible thing in life the members of the Pump-House Gang can imagine is turning 25. Growing old is what they fear most, they never want to become on of the black panthers. They are rebels. But what interested me most is that they are rebels without a cause. They are children of the lucky post World War II generation that gave them time to be against IT. Whatever it may be. In my opinion, the Tom Wolfe reading shows how surfing is on the same hand rebellion, as it is conspicuous leisure. The gang is in a "mexican standoff" with the older generation, just because they do not have anything else to rebel against. They have found "their own league," as Wolfe is calling it, and they do everything to keep it to them. The concept of age-segregation seems to be somehow related to that of localism in surf culture. You found your niche and you want to keep it for yourself. The Pump-House Gang's niche is also endangered by the growing popularity of their "league." That is why their beaches are packed and it also shows that the transition of surfing into mainstream culture is definitely happening at that time (as the Crowley reading on the Beach Boys illustrated).

Week 4

While listening to this weeks music selection I noticed the guitarists started to show off with their solos. This really ties into the surf culture changing into a macho sport when the competition started to increase in the water. Surf music was about experimenting with sound by means of reverb and echo. Each musician and surfer had to prove themselves as worthy of being noticed. Not only did the surfers want ti be noticed but they also wanted to show how rebellious they were. They would focus on the surf and not care about a thing. With surf rock came songs about cars for surf dudes to further their manly lives and show off about how cool they really were. Surf culture became about who owned what. Who owned parts of the beac and who owned the surf rock scene. The drums started to become a noticeable part of the music rather than just in the background and it set the way for future metal bands.

Week 4 response

This week's articles were very interesting to me, especially the Hynson piece. The story of how he had adventures of smuggling film through India was very descriptive of the strict international regulations at the time. The best part was how he came up with the idea to smuggle hash using a hollowed out surfboard. The surfboard was a relatively unknown piece of equipment at the time so it attracted a lot of attention. Regardless of the attention though no one in foreign countries knew the makeup or weight of a surfboard so it worked very well to hollow out a board and stuff it with hash despite all the difficulties he had doing it. The article really showed how drugs played a large role in surfing culture both in obtaining them and their use. It was really apparent in his story that obtaining these drugs using his wits was not only important to himself but also gave him social recognition in the eyes of his peers. The Wolfe article focuses on gangs, more specifically age groups, and the effects they had on society. The connection it had with surfing and living in garages as well as the impact it had on the nightlife in La Jolla shows how ingrained surfing and its lifestyle is in California and United States history. These social effects are easy to observe through these personal stories and display perfectly how they mesh with popular culture at the time, by communicating the importance in age difference we can get a better look about what was socially important at the time. The event where the girl with no ID with her getting turned down from a club because she "didnt look younger than 25" almost shocked me because of how much things have changed since then.

Eli Bottom - Week 4 - Muscle Beach Party

This week I was most intrigued by the William Asher movie, Muscle Beach Party (1964). The movie presented the story of Frank and Annette, two beachgoers and their group of friends who had to deal with a bodybuilding consortium next to their beach house. The film has several unique qualities which solidify it as an important representation of surf culture at the time. The first quality is the aesthetics of the film.

Muscle Beach Party was shot on 35mm Pathécolor film which gave it the classic Hollywood look of the time. Colors that we would now consider a part of the retro aesthetic were the most common to film with at the time. The Panavision brand cameras used were top of the line studio cameras outfitted with cinematic style anamorphic lenses. The high quality equipment used would have been time consuming to set up on location, thus nearly all of the film was shot in a studio. Intercuts of a real beach and certain surf maneuvers (including wipeouts) were used to provide a sense of realism to offset the perfectly even studio lighting that makes up the majority of shots in the film. This Hollywood aesthetic helped represent surf culture in a technical way, but the plot of the film also did the same in a different way.

The main crux of the film is based around the rivalry between two Malibu beach groups, Jack Fanny’s muscle heads and Frankie’s teenage surf gang. This rivalry was a comic reproduction of the very serious rivalries between other surf clubs in places such as Hawaii and other places along the California coast. Each club with their unique identity - Fanny’s tanned muscular meat heads and Frankie’s laid back mix of teens, reminded me of the conflict between the Outrigger Canoe Club and the Hui Nalu Club in the early 1900’s. Though both groups in the movie were Caucasian, I feel there is something to be said about how the darker skinned, more physically fit group was presented as less intellectually adept. Though such a stereotype of muscle heads has marginal credit, I couldn’t help but make a connection to the Hui Nalu Club’s native Hawaiian members as a way for the film to show the group as having a lower intellect. Such a comparison again exemplifies the showoff culture that was present in early surf culture.

The objectification of men and women in the film was astounding. The showoff aspect of surf culture was clearly evident in the film, when the contessa Julie travels halfway around the world to meet the famed Mister Galaxy. Additionally, there is no shortage of muscle flexing, booty shaking, and playful touching in the movie among each of the clubs. Zoomed in shots and extended cuts help make these actions as important attributes of the film.

Combined, the Hollywood aesthetic, beach group rivalry, and showoff culture of the film solidify Muscle Beach Party as an important historical representation of surf culture in California. The beach blanket itself even held and important place in the film, giving credit to the accuracy of the film’s depiction of culture at the time.

4th Week - Blog

The Pump House Gang

For the fourth week for our readings, I read articles The Pump House Gang by Tom Wolfe and Gidget by her father, Frederick Kohner.

The Pump House Gang article was based on Tom Wolfe’ view of the Southern California surf culture. It was an era of segregation between the teenagers and older folks. The surfers created a little society for themselves, which ranged from the age of 16 to 25. It was quite a life to live for some folks. It was a way of living “The Life”. It was the life of being so carefree and being mostly happy. The people were close to each other. That became the norm life of surfers. At first while reading the Pump House Gang, I did not know who the black panthers were until a certain quote near the end of the reading. It stated, “Some of the older guys, like Gary Wickham, who is 24, are still in The Life, they still have it, but even Gary Wickham will be 25 one day and then 26 and then… and then even pan-thuh age. Is one really going to be pan-thuh age one day?” I interpreted the black panthers to be the older people who really did not fit in the age range of 16 to 25 anymore. I thought one part of the article was insane when a person would commit suicide because they probably thought after you reached the age of 25 there was nothing else to live for since they lived it through “The Life”. The sort of life they lived was the happiest place for them. This article reminded me of the film, Muscle Beach Party because the kids in Pump House Gang would all live together (even boys and girls together) just as the kids in the film, Muscle Beach Party did too.  They had parties as well. The characters in Muscle Beach Party lived a carefree and happy life at the Beach like the kids from the article, The Pump House Gang. I really enjoyed watching the film. I love back in the day movies. It makes me want to live in those times sometimes.




In the other article, Gidget, by her father, Frederick Kohner was the life of surfing through the perspective of a woman. I noticed in most articles it was mainly from a man’s viewpoint, so I thought it was really interesting to see from the opposite sex. It was a summer that changed her. It was when surfing came apart of her life. She was simply just a woman in love with a surfboard.

Hynson, Stoner, & Wolfe

I never thought that a person can actually traffic drugs using a surf board. This very much surprised me and caused me to chuckle. Hynson's story about trying to cross the border in order to go to Australia explains how they were successful in doing this. In one of the last paragraphs, I felt like I finally discovered how to explain how a person feels when they're high in words! Other than this interesting topic, the photographs that were taken by Bruce were definitely valuable and they couldn't afford them to be confiscated by the authorities in the airports. It was also funny how they' use Robert's "good-looks" in order to create some sort of distraction.
In Stoner's Portfolio, the photographs are very beautiful. It's different though because the surf photos I've seen on magazines and fosters are usually in color but the one's in his portfolio were black and white. Ron Stoner's black and white photographs would capture the moments of beautiful surfing waves and was eventually published in popular surf magazine. These images taken by Jeff Hollenbeck in the 1960's, Ron Stoner's nephew, was not a surfer but he was always near the surfers snapping pictures. This is similar to today's surf photographers. Besides the photography, there was a draft during the mid 1960's and soldiers were encouraged to eat toothpaste in order to increase blood pressure! I have never heard of this.
Since I've been raised in the city, I was never able to see the surf culture. But Wolfe's article certainly made me look back on the multiple times I'd see a trunk full of surf boards as I'd drive to the Santa Monica beach. Wolfe wrote about how the Cali surf culture would consist of old people socializing with old people and young people socializing with young people. This pretty much summed up what I'd observe at the beach. He also taled about some of the "surf saying" or "surf language" such as "bitchen" which basically means "great". I am naively aware of the only surf term "gnarly". (If that's a real surf word?)

Writing Styles: Week 4

I enjoyed reading the various writing styles that were presented in the articles this week. Crowley has a very formal and informational style where, after reading his works, I actually feel like I learned something. I feel like I know much more about the formation and development of The Beach Boys after reading his second article, Chapters 5 and 6.

In contrast to the academic style of writing presented in Crowley's work, many of the other articles blend together to create the atmosphere and culture of the time - giving a multi-faceted window into the surf culture of the 1960s. Wolfe has a story-telling fashion of writing as he portrays to the reader the Pump House Gang. In almost a second person point of view - like you're hanging out with him and his sharing his memories to you and some other buddies - you feel like you're right there with the Pump Hose Gang yelling out "Mee-dah" just to annoy the mommy-hubbies and dreading the day you turn 25 and lose The Life just like they are. Tying in the photo portfolio by Ron Stoner, you really get a better sense of what The Life was in those days, the surfing life. Crowley's information even adds in building up some angst against The Beach Boys for"hairing out" (Wolfe's term) instead of staying true to Carl Wilson's honest surf music style. See from the best vantage points, hear their developing representation of the surf in their surf music, and join the gang with the story telling of past memories; the compilation of articles really puts you into the surf culture of the early 1960s.

Week Four Journal -

Week 4 readings – Zac Stein

Reading the excerpts of Gidget, it all felt a little false, I mean I’m sure looking at it in this context 2013 at my age, but I dunno the character of Gidget didn’t feel much like a person and just sounded like a bit of a female caricature. She cares so much about what she looks like, then is also meant to be this strong independent female surfer, but then gets in a big wave and is more than happy to be saved by a bunch of dudes. I guess the portrayal of any woman surfing is an important thing to promote, but the whole damsel in distress thing seemed pretty tame.

Muscle Beach Party was a fun watch, I really enjoyed the cheesy aesthetics and would love to try and recreate it somehow, along with the music by Dick Dale you can get a real sense of the “surfing scene” that was being prominently promoted across America to try and lure a lot of people into the lifestyle. Rather than relying on the very spiritual roots that the originators had been promoting.

I found the Crowley article very I insightful; to the time and enjoy that he didn’t condemn anyone for the direction that the surfing industry took and what the popular notion of the sport and lifestyle was becoming. The Ventures were a highlight to the listening and that twangy sound really kept in line with the kind of direction and appearance that surfing was having at the time. Although after a while a lot of the songs started to share the same tempos and rhythms and started to sound pretty similar.

Week Four Entry: Crowley

This week we learned about surf guitar and the importance of music within the surf culture.  My favorite readings this week were from Kent Crowley’s book Surf Beat, which included chapter 5 “Stoked” and chapter 6 “Moment of Truth”.  I liked this article because I love learning about the basis of a movement and cultural phenomenon.  I am also very interested in music and their historical aspects.  After learning about the origins of surf music I feel as if I understand how important music is to surf culture.  Surfers use music is used to describe the feeling of being in the water as best they can.  They do so with the help of the guitar.  Bands then started taking this form of music and expanding it until it became a movement that defined a decade.

In chapter 5 Crowley tells the story of the beginning of The Beach Boys and the Wilson brothers.  With the success of The Beach Boys many more people were aware of surfing and surf music.  They reached out to a much wider audience by adding lyrics to their songs.  But with their success came criticism.  The argument over what real surf music was began.  Only one of the Beach Boys surfed and not all their songs were about the beach.  Therefore real surfers found them to be amusing.  An important aspect to their music was the way in which the bass was used.  Paul McCartney once spoke about Brian Wilson and said, “he’d put a note where it wasn’t supposed to be.  It still fit, but it gave you a whole new field of harmonic opportunities”.  The band took advantage of the new technologies in the era, the electric bass guitar in particular.  Learning about The Beach Boys was very interesting to me.  Growing up in Southern California I heard a lot their songs but always took their music for granted.  I believed that they were the definition of surf music but after reading this article I realized that they were just the beginning.  I did not realize they were so influential to the community.    

In chapter 6 Crowley explains that The Beach Boys, in an effort to differentiate themselves from folk music and eventually establish what is now known as “surf music”, they used the guitar in a more percussive way.  The rhythm guitar could switch between being a drum, a bass, a horn section and keyboard all within one song.  One greatest critique of the band was whether they were a real surf band or just some posers riding the surf bandwagon.  This criticism haunted them throughout their entire career.  Their success gave them the “surf musician" status but to their hecklers however they were selling a lifestyle that didn’t belong to them.  In my opinion The Beach Boys are the founding fathers of this genre and introduced this new style to mass audiences.  That deserves some recognition.  

Week Four Entry: Kohner & Wolfe

So this week some of the articles I read were Tom Wolfe’s article “Pump House Gang” and Frederick Kohner’s “Gidget”.   Wolfe’s article first appeared in a 1966 issue of the New York World Journal discussing his viewpoints on Southern California culture. Two years later, it was published in a book with the same title.  The article was basically about the life of surfing kids from the ages of 16-25.  They would take off from home and go to one of the beaches and most of the times live in garages with other kids down by the beach. These young teenagers made surfing their lives. They did not have to worry about money because when they needed it they would just ask panthers (I believe they mean older adults) for some spare change and they would just hand it over. None of these kids had struggling household lives, such as being poor.  Many were from upper middle class families tire of the “hubby-mommy household” and decided to get away from it all and start a “New Order”.  They believed it was a good life out there with lots of interesting people and things.  Many of these young adults were afraid to hit the age 26 and on because then they would not be allowed to be in that beach lifestyle anymore.  That was “The Life” for them. They thought that the life they were living between the ages of 16-25 was all they had to live for. These kids didn’t want to grow up and become panthers. It’s sad to think that they didn’t believe that there was so much more to life outside the beach and a life past 25.  A couple, Leonard Anderson (18) and Donna Blanchard (21), even took there own lives and many don’t know the true reason behind it; but assume it was because they “had The Life as far as it would go and now it was running out”. 

I really enjoyed reading Frederick Kohner’s article “Gidget”.  Kohner studied at Sorbonne and received a PHD in psychology from the University of Vienna. Later he moved to Southern California and began working in Hollywood.  He wrote screenplays and on of them, “Mad about Music “ was nominated for an Academy Award.  “Gidget” was written in six weeks about stories his 15-year-old daughter told him about learning how to surf in Malibu.  (Okay, after further research I found out he actually read her diary!!) It was published in 1957 and in ’59 Kohner wrote the script for the movie as well as sequel books.  It also became a national phenomenon and help the surfing world enter the pop culture world. She was named No. 7 in Surfer Magazine's 25 Most Influential People in Surfing.  She was also a woman of the year inductee to the Surfing Walk of Fame.  This was a very great article and even though her dad read her diary, it did help influence the surfing culture so it’s all good!

<----------P.S. I really enjoyed this film!!! In a sense it kinda related to the Wolfe article. Not in every aspect but in the way they were living their lives on the beach and how Frankie was so carefree and loved his life on the beach and thought there was nothing better than that lifestyle. 

Reverb Revolution

Surf music is often cited as the origin of three-chord guitar rock and most modern guitar melodies yet one of surf's biggest impact on music was on the recording end. Originally called "echo", reverb in the simplest of terms bounces sound around within the recording (at this time it was often record straight to tape and later a 4 track). Reverb since the 50's has become a huge part of popular music, it affects everything from modern mainstream pop to the deepest of underground noise-rock or thrash punk. Here are two examples of reverb:

This is Dick Dale's seminal "Let's Go Trippin'" a very famous surf rock instrumental.

Here is DIIV's track "Human" off of their debut album released late last year (2012).

 Both songs utilize reverb, or the bouncing of sound, to create a larger space in which music is heard. Dale uses a smaller "wet" reverb found in Fender amps whereas Cole Smith (the guitarist of DIIV) uses reverb to create an echo chamber in which he records the entirety of the album.

Another innovation available in reverb is the ability to broaden what could be done with 4-track recording equipment. Unlike large studios of today, the older 4-track forced musicians to think carefully of how to craft a song with only 4 inputs. The standard (drums, vocals, guitar, bass) was useful but in some cases bands wanted both a rhythm AND lead guitar. Here is an example of reverb allowing for a guitar to make a larger impact within the confines of a 4 track.

"California" an early surf punk song by the band the Simpletones (whom would later reform as the Vandals during the hardcore era of the 1980's) of the late 1970's was recorded in a very DIY sense. Yet even within the confines of sparse recording gear the band generate a huge "wave" of sound using reverb. Specifically, the guitar sounds almost detached from the rhythm section and comes crashing in and out of the song thus allowing for a "bigger" feel.

Ultimately, the infusion of reverb into popular music completely revolutionized music as we think of it today.

Week 4: The End of Endless Summer

My favorite reading from this week was Chapter 1: The End of Endless Summer in the excerpt from Transcendental Memories of a Surf Rebel by Mike Hynson.  After watching the film last week, I researched a little about it and found out how significant and iconic it has become since it was released in 1966.  Chapter 1 caught my attention because of how close Bruce Brown came to losing his footage in India because of the customs policy regarding cameras and filming.  It made me wonder what would have happened if the footage had been lost; would the relatively unknown break off of Cape St. Francis in South Africa have been discovered and become as famous as it is today?  Or would Brown, Hynson, and Robert August still have spread the word about it?

The other chapter that was interesting to me was Chapter 34: No Turning Back.  A the beginning it talked about Hynson's first experiences smuggling drugs in surfboards.  Despite his worries, Hynson was able to successfully smuggle hash back to the states.  I thought it was unusual to hear how concerned and stressed out he was about smuggling the drugs yet he still went through with it (despite the risk).  I feel like if he and his friends had gotten caught, he would have thrown away what some would call the perfect, ideal life...he had so many opportunities to travel and surf in places with some of the best waves, which is what many surfers are only able to think about and hope for.

Week 3: A Sentimental Journey

For this post, I borrow the title of one of the readings, because while this set of readings was important in establishing surfing's beginnings in California, I also think they were key in identifying what makes surfing so personal and even spiritual for some. Reading about Granny, Doc, Vince, Jim, John, etc and their post-Depression surfing experiences painted a kind of idyllic scene. It definitely played into the American obsession with nostalgia, for me, harkening back to a "simpler time" when summer fun was leaving the house and raising hell with your friends. While I think that leaning too heavily on nostalgia is unhealthy and unoriginal, these articles were definitely helpful in painting surfing as more than just a sport for braggadocios but as an all-encompassing lifestyle, that in Doc's case was incredibly healing as a victim of PTSD. As was mentioned in discussion today, surfing gets you in touch with nature in its purest form, wind, weather and water. That's what impresses me most about forming relationships ocean through any sport, because it is so universal. I enjoyed these readings a lot because they were definitely less about the materialism, localism and competition usually associated with surfing. This era of surfing is kind of, in my opinion, the calm before the storm - surfing is still small enough to avoid overcrowding, there's little to no territorialism, and it hasn't been fully commercialized and bastardized by Hollywood and the Beach Boys.

(woo! 11:52!)

Week Three: Doc and Granny

One of the articles I read this week was Lockwood’s article on Granny and Doc, two men whose friendship lasted for six decades. They were both surfers and photographers.  Throughout the article, there were many interesting facts about the surfing life in the early 20^th century.  Prior to the 1960’s, documented photographs of surfing were scarce, but Doc’s 1930’s photographs really grasped what life was like during the “Pre war American Society”.  Another subject I learned about was the concept of the Surf Clubs.  Surfing clubs today appear as “commercial driven surf culture” made by marketing teams in order to sell and display products. As in the 1930’s and 40’s, the clubs dominated the American society. There were clubs for all sorts of things.  Many of the surf clubs were exclusive country/ beach clubs that were ethnically restricted membership.  There were some clubs in Honolulu (Outrigger Canoe Club) that denied many races, religions (mainly Jewish), and Orientals.

            Mainland surfing was a sport for the middle class. It reflected a “main street mentality” in the USA.  A lot of the surfers were young men who were unemployed or under employed.  Surfing today differs from surfing when Doc and Granny were young men. Surfing now a days is too sophisticated to embrace the “naïve exuberance” that characterized it’s past. Also surfing now is seen strictly on the professional and ego side of the sport rather than the freedom and the “happy go lucky depression era” wave riders of Doc and Granny’s time.  Many don’t focus on the love of the sport anymore, just the fame and the rep it will bring you. I find that sad and a great loss to the surfing culture. We should have more surfers out there with the love and appreciation Doc and Granny had for the sport. 

 

(Doc Ball in his later years)

Week 3 blog

The article that stood out the most for me this week was the Sentimental Journey. The way that it tells the story of growing up around surfing and beach towns reminded me a lot of home and felt like a memoir. It was very interesting to read about how not only surfing culture but also his experience of town life slowly changed over time until San Clemente changed forever with the addition of a freeway. For me it was clear how much impact that surfing had as a culture rather than just a sport in this article. The communities that formed and the way that traditions and norms formed allowed me to relate to it on a personal level as well as being able to relate it to the movie Endless Summer. This also related to the way that music has been related distinctly to surfing and surf guitar and yet because I grew up with it I had never realized that it was such a big part of California history, I had only thought of it as music that i grew up to.

Week 3 Blog

            One of the articles that had sparked my interest was the Sentimental Journey written by Severson. This was a time when it was post-war and pre-populated in the beach town of San Clemente for the Severson brothers and Vince. I never knew that before surf boards were created that surfing mats were used instead. This article showed the changes of a surf board, the beach life, and the modernization happening to San Clemente through the years. After having to use surfing mats, people would make plywood belly boards, which later on they converted to using the Malibu surfboards. In the early days before San Clemente became populated; a crowded day at the pier would be about three or four guys. That is shocking to think that three or four guys was considered as crowded. That is not at all crowed to today’s population. As the years went by, modernization began taking place. For example, there was a freeway built right through the middle of town of San Clemente. John would reminisce about how it used to be before everything changed and how wonderful his teenage years were especially having the experience to surf. This article reminded me about the Hawaiian singer, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, who sang the song about Honolulu and about how it changed and how would the king and queen from the past feel and think about the changes of the beautiful place that is now covered with modern buildings. It makes you really appreciate the past and the simple things in life. Also, John Severson was the founder of the Surf magazine and created surf films. If it was not for him, there probably would have not been any surf art or culture today.

 

          I really loved seeing the film at the Brewing because it allowed us to relax from being in the dorms too much and get to have a view of Santa Cruz a little more in my opinion since these have been my first few weeks ever in Santa Cruz. It was interesting to see people in the film travel all over the world just to find the beautiful places that is out there for people to surf at.

Week 3: The Good Ol' Days

In the reading this week the articles discussed a topic that revolved a lot about recollection of the past. In Seversons 'Sentimental Journey' both Severson brothers and Vincent speak in dialogue about growing up in San Clemente post-WWII. They fondly revealed their childhood memories retelling their journey of the surf life they had lived throughout their childhood and adolescent years. The way they interacted with the locals was definitely something of the past. Living in a small beach town where only few had lived brought back my childhood memories when my hometown, Lake Arrowhead (located in the San Bernardino Mountains) when it had not yet been populated, the neighborhood kids gathered around building tree houses, playing warriors with sticks, and jumping into the lake. They had lived in an era where collectively their environment influenced their interests. At the end of Seversons article he ends it with,

"Then one fall, a light Santa Ana was a little brownish, kind of smokey. What the hell is this? Then they slammed a freeway right through the middle of town, and the people came. They built on our trail and tried to modernize little San Clemente. Every time I go back through, I can still find traces of our past, and still feel the spirit of the great little town. And I'll never forget that easy life."

Bringing the end of their sure culture of that era.

Connections of the Articles

In this week's readings I enjoyed finding connections. Confessions of a Confirmed Photo Hound by Brad Barrett referenced some of the influential photographers of the 1960's: John Severson, Ron Church, Roy Porello, Lee Peterson and LeRoy Grannis. John Severson is one of the three speakers of Sentimental Journey along with his brother Jim Severson and friend Vince Nelson. This article of their youth and experiences gave great background to how influential he was in the surfing community. Same goes with LeRoy Grannis and the article Granny and Doc by Craig Lockwood. Lockwood must have interviewed Grannis about his youthful surfing adventures with John "Doc" Ball to have formed his article. The insight Lockwood gave inhanced the viewing experience of the many photographs presented in Confessions of a Confirmed Photo Hound as he spotlighted Grannis' surfing photography throughout the 1960's. With knowledge of his life and background the photographs grew in poignancy and really allowed me (the reader) to feel in the photograph with the surfers.

Malibu Privatization

In Warshaw's History of Surfing, Malibu beach of the nineteen twenty's is described as a private beach owned by the Rindge family. Yet, even today Malibu beach is not a truly open and free beach. Sure many people visit Malibu beach today but now instead of one rich family controlling the beach, many rich celebrity families do.

Here is a photo of Malibu in the early 1930's

The beach is cordoned off somewhat by homes on the beach, a few roads exist that allow for access to the beach but not many. This "private beach" attracted many wealthier families over the next few decades but nothing as to the amount of people currently owning beach front property.

Here is a photo of Malibu today

Most if not all of the beach is completely blocked off from the highway or public access. Millionaire homes line the beach front, with security systems meant to keep people away from their homes and "their" beach.
This privatization of the ocean has become more and more apparent in the last few decades as the truly rich can afford to capitalize on any beach or beach town they see fit.

Even Santa Cruz or more specifically Capitola has a problem with people building homes right at the edge of the beach. What was once a freedom enjoyed by many people has now become a luxury for the wealthy.