Longboard Ranch “LBR”, started in November 1998
with Doug Appleton, drummer and Bruce Duncan, guitarist.
Doug ran a classified ad in L.A. Weekly Magazine,
with Bruce responding the day the ad first appeared, (**see above**).
We had a mutual love of traditional “First Wave” surf/instrumental music of
the early 1960's, both being big fans of The Ventures, Dick Dale,
The Lively Ones, The Bel Airs, et al.
By February, we recruited a bassist and guitarist and began rehearsing about
25 classic surf tunes to play in public.
In March 1999, having already performed at private parties, we taped some
rehearsals, chose the best tunes, made a demo tape, and sent it to the City
of Glendale, offering to perform live Surf Music during the Glendale Cruise Night scheduled for July 27, 1999.
We could hardly believe it when we got the letter telling us we were hired!
This is the same venue that has featured The Surfaris, Dick Dale, The Champs
and a host of other legendary bands, and scarcely six months into LBR's existence.
We played that venue in front of an audience of several hundred people!
Let's just say we were WAY STOKED!
Understandably charged up from this experience, less than two weeks
after Cruise Night, having been advised by a friend that we needed more
contemporary, less cliched material, Bruce started “living” in his music studio, and began composing original surf/instrumental tunes.
The early 1960's style is woven into his heart and soul, and within a couple of weeks he presented a five-song demo to the rest of the band.
Songs in this demo included “Ghosts at the Ranch”, “Midnight Cruise” and
“Rincon Revel”, all of which appear on the band's upcoming CD,
“Longboard Ranch Rides Again!”
In the six years following, Bruce has contributed an additional 20 or so original songs to LBR's repertoire.
Due to personnel changes in LBR, we were most fortunate to persuade Loyd Davis, founding member of “The Surf Raiders” to join us in 2000. Along with Loyd came Chris Ireland, a bassist who creates an unbelievable synergy of rhythm with Doug.
Loyd had written several original songs and collaborated with Bob Dalley in
writing several others for The Surf Raiders. Among those, the immortal
“Wave Walkin'” which appears in “Surfin' Out West”.
Loyd has gifted LBR with some 18 original songs written in a style that ranges from Island-Exotic to Creepy-Eerie to blissfully romantic.
Because we're all major fans of The Astronauts, another early 1960's Instrumental Band, who are best remembered for “Baja”, we decided in early 2001 to add a second rhythm guitar to the lineup.
David Kaufman was brought in and between Bruce, Loyd and David, we switch the lead and rhythm guitar chores around so we always have that full rhythm sound, and it helps keep any one of us from endlessly doing the same thing!
In 2002, we released our first CD, “Surfin' Out West” to extremely positive reaction from surf music fans and DJ's, including Phil Dirt, who awarded the CD 4-stars, with four of the songs getting 5-stars! Not bad for our first time out!
(This is Bruce speaking: “Surfin' Out West” is an album I'm super proud to have contributed to as songwriter and guitarist. However, as good as it is,
“LBR Rides Again” blows it into the weeds!
Our sound engineer, Mike Peake of Wally Sound, Venice, California, was involved with both CD's and agrees.)
“LBR Rides Again” will be several weeks in final preparation before we're able to do a formal release. But, we promise that it will be available for your stoked listening enjoyment before Christmas 2004!
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For those who love early 1960's music, you can order “Surfin' Out West”
direct from the “Merchandise” link.
Anyone wishing to be e-mailed upon release of “LBR Rides Again”
should send their request via the "Contact Longboard Ranch" link below.
