The Surf Punks were a

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

band formed in 1976 by Malibu residents Dennis Dragon (1947-2017) and Drew Steele. (Dragon was the son of symphony conductor

Carmen Dragon Carmen Dragon (July 28, 1914 – March 28, 1984) was an American conductor, composer, and arranger who in addition to live performances and recording, worked in radio, film, and television. Early years Dragon was born in Antioch, California, ...

, the brother of Captain & Tennille's

Daryl Dragon Daryl Frank Dragon (August 27, 1942 – January 2, 2019) was an American musician, known as Captain from the pop musical duo Captain & Tennille with his then-wife, Toni Tennille. Career Born into a musical family, Dragon was the son of ...

, and he was previously the drummer of

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

and

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

. Steele's stepfather was

Gavin MacLeod Gavin MacLeod () (born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's '' The Love ...

McHale's Navy ''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the ABC television network. The series was filmed in black and white and originate ...

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Mo ...

and

Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

fame.) Dragon recruited the additional talents of Malibu residents Tony Creed AKA the "Hulk", for lead guitar and blues harp, fellow bodysurfer/frisbeeist John Hunt on the bass, and South Bay resident John Heussenstamm for lead guitar. This was the original core group, produced and engineered by Dragon in his garage studio across the street from

Zuma Beach Zuma Beach is a county beach at 30000 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu, California. One of the largest and most popular beaches in Los Angeles County, California, it is known for its long, wide sands and excellent surf. It consistently rank ...

, his favorite body surfing spot. Mark Miller joined them on "Locals Only." Jeff "Ray Ban" Eyrich joined the Surf Punks on bass when John Hunt left the group. Scott Goddard (1952–2006) later joined as lead vocalist on a few songs.

Background

Record producer and then Malibu resident

Denny Cordell Dennis Cordell-Lavarack (1 August 1943 – 18 February 1995), known as Denny Cordell, was an English record producer. He is notable for his mid-1960s and early 1970s productions of hit singles for The Moody Blues, Leon Russell, The Move, Procol ...

saw merit in the group and released their first recordings on a single, "My Beach" b/w "My Wave", in Australia on

Shelter Records Shelter Records was a U.S. record label started by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell that operated from 1969 to 1981. The company established offices in both Los Angeles and Tulsa, Russell's home town, where the label sought to promote a "workshop ...

. Their subsequent first album, an independent release on their own label, Day Glo Records, garnered them enough airplay on the then fledgling L.A. alternative radio station KROQ-FM to lead to a re-release of the album on Epic Records in 1980, and the release of two further albums, ''Locals Only'' and ''Oh No, Not Them Again'' on

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/d ...

, with Mark Miller, keyboard player Jerry Weber and lifeguard/guitarist Andy Jackson. Dragon and Hulk also provided the theme song to

KLOS Klos or KLOS may refer to: * Klos (surname) * Klos, Dibër, a town in eastern Albania ** Harketari Klos KF, a defunct football club based in Klos, Dibër * Klos, Elbasan, a village in central Albania * Klos, Mallakastër, a village in south-central ...

disc jockey Frazer Smith's signature show bumper, "Cool Patrol". Heavy rotation on KROQ-FM was largely responsible for the band selling out their first live performance ever at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The Surf Punks were road managed from 1980 to 1983 by Michael Parenti (the artist, not the political writer), who also provided many of the T-shirt designs for the band. At one time, rock legend

Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is an American musician. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit sing ...

showed interest in the band by co-producing with Dragon a single titled "Surfs Up Medley", released on his own

Soul City In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

label. TV producer

Chris Bearde Chris Bearde (June 18, 1936 – April 23, 2017) was a British-born comedy writer, producer and director best known for his work as a writer on ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' and for co-writing and producing television specials for Elvis Presley, ...

also managed the band for a short time and tried with movie producer

Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer and writer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated f ...

and Rivers to procure a Hollywood movie deal for the band. The live shows of the Surf Punks, in the heyday of the punk explosion in L.A., were full of wild abandon. High points of the show were "I Can't Get a Tan" and "Big Top". The lyrics of the band centered primarily on the in-group/out-group experiences of "locals" (surfers living on the beach in Malibu) and "valleys" (commuters from the San Fernando Valley to the private and public beaches of the exclusive Malibu Beach community). Never truly "punk" in the traditional sense of the word, the Surf Punks were sort of a "

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

of the punk world," offering their take on the "turf wars" over the southern California beaches and its waves. The band made at least five music videos: "My Beach", "Big Top", "Welcome to California", "Shark Attack" and another for their cover of "

Come on-a My House "Come On-a My House" is a song performed by Rosemary Clooney and originally released in 1951. It was written by Ross Bagdasarian and his cousin, Armenian-American Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan, while driving across New Mexico ...

", which was originally a hit for Rosemary Clooney. They also appeared in the 1988 film '' Under the Boardwalk''.

Discography

* ''Surf Punks'' (1979) * ''My Beach'' (1980) distributed by

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

, contains a cover of

The Sunrays The Sunrays (previously known as the Renegades, the Renegade 5, Larry Tremaine & the Renegades, the Rangers and the Dirt Riders) were an American band from Pacific Palisades, California. The group was led by singer/songwriter/drummer Rick Henn, ...

' I Live for the Sun retitled "We All Live For The Sun", featuring a

dulcimer The word dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

solo. Mastered at Artisan Sound Recorders by

Greg Fulginiti Gregory Fulginiti (born February 13, 1951 in Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, New Jersey) is an American recording and mastering engineer. Fulginiti grew up in Wildwood, New Jersey and graduated from Wildwood High School in 1969 ...

* ''Locals Only'' (1982; reissued with bonus tracks 2013) * ''Oh No! Not Them Again'' (1988; reissued 2007) * ''Party Bomb'' (1988; reissued 2007) * ''My Beach, My Wave'' (compilation 1988)

References

External links

Obituary of Dennis Dragon

Tony Creed aka Hulk's Website

Michael Parenti's Blog with Surf Punks History

Interview with Dennis Dragon of the Surf Punks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surf Punks Surf music groups Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups from Los Angeles Pop punk groups from California