Aqua Velvets are an American
surf rock
Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...
revival band from
San Francisco,
California, formed in the 1980s by guitarist Miles Corbin. Rather than simply recreate the vintage 1963 surf sound, Corbin set out to add depth and dimension with original songs that included strings, horns, keyboards, and exotic instruments. The result was a cinematic sound more akin to film composers like Ennio Morricone and John Barry.
The group released their debut album in 1992, recorded over a period of several years. This album was recorded in the auto repair shop where bassist Michael Lindner worked. They signed to
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
in 1995 to release ''
Surfmania
''Surfmania'' is the second album by the American surf rock band the Aqua Velvets, released in 1995.
Production
The album was recorded at the home studio of bass player Michael Lindner. It was produced by Lindner.
Critical reception
''Trouser P ...
''; subsequent releases appeared on
BMG BMG may refer to:
Organizations
* Music publishing companies:
** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008
*** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...
subsidiary
Milan Records. The Velvets continued to release a steady stream of albums through 2015, most notably ''Tiki Beat'' (2010) and ''El Morocco'' (2015). The Aqua Velvets' songs have been covered by a number of other surf artists.
The group performs live mostly on the West Coast.
Members
*Miles Corbin - guitar, songwriting
*Michael Lindner - bass, keyboards, accordion
*Hank Maninger - guitar (also with the
Hacienda Brothers and
Bonnie Hayes and the Wild Combo)
*Donn Spindt - drums (formerly of
The Rubinoos)
*Tim Gahagan - drums
Discography
Albums:
*''The Aqua Velvets'' (
Heyday Records
Heyday Records is an independent record label founded in 1988 by Pat Thomas. ''Rolling Stone'' has called Heyday "one of the ten most adventurous small labels in the world."
The label, later run by Ron Gompertz and Robert Rankin Walker, has rel ...
, 1992)
*''
Surfmania
''Surfmania'' is the second album by the American surf rock band the Aqua Velvets, released in 1995.
Production
The album was recorded at the home studio of bass player Michael Lindner. It was produced by Lindner.
Critical reception
''Trouser P ...
'' (
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
, 1995)
*''Nomad'' (
Milan Records, 1996)
*''Guitar Noir'' (Milan, 1997)
*''Radio Waves'' (Milan, 2001)
*''Cool and Waydown at the Beach Chalet'' (
Miles Corbin Music Recordings, 2007)
*''Backflip Louie and the Pool Party Pagans'' (
Riptide Records, 2008)
*''Reaching Shangri-La'' (
Miles Corbin Music Recordings, 2008)
*''Tiki Beat'' (Riptide Records, 2010)
*''El Morocco'' (Riptide Records, 2015)
Singles:
*''The Christmas Single'' (
Miles Corbin Music Recordings, 2006)
*''Tropic Isle'' (
Miles Corbin Music Recordings, 2007)
Compilations:
*''Hard Rock Surf'' (Hard Rock/Capitol Records, 1994)
*''Blazing Longboards Soundtrack'' (Mesa Bluemoon/Atlantic, 1995)
*''Cowabunga: The Surf Box'' (Rhino Records, 1995)
*''Big Waves: 5 Decades of Surf Rock'' (Rhino/Starbucks, 2007)
References
External links
Official WebsiteAqua Velvets entry
at '' Trouser Press''
{{authority control
Surf music groups
Musical groups from San Francisco