don wilson and nokie edwards

If I could go back to any time and place I wanted, I would place myself in Los Angeles, mid ’65, when Beatlemania was in full swing and the Byrds and Beach Boys chimed from the open windows of every Mustang zooming down the wide-open freeways. The British Invasion had by then left an indelible mark on American music, and yet there remained a fleeting blip of overlap time during which surf music still sounded hip and fresh.  What a great time to be alive, as long as you were young and white.  When I think of that exquisite moment, a Ventures 45 is what plays on my mind’s turntable. Dick Dale may be the King of Surf Guitar, but for my money the Ventures had the sweetest surf tones of all.  Where Dale’s playing was frenetically speedy, the Ventures  offered something richer and more soothingly melodic, the aural equivalent of a golden sunset after a long day atop 12-foot waves.  It’s easy to forget that the band originally hailed from Tacoma, Washington.  ...Part of the appeal for me when it comes to the Ventures is the visual vibe – the so-square-as-to-be-hip suits (sometimes aqua blue, sometimes pastel pink, sometimes bright red), and, of course, the cool looking Morsite guitars.  But what I dig most of all is the  distinctive popping and tremolo-heavy sound those guitars make in the service of tightly crafted instrumental pop tunes. It's music that transports me to a place where the future looked bright and the possibilities seemed limitless…