The Mermen | |
---|---|
Origin | San Francisco, Santa Cruz, California, U.S. |
Genres | Psychedelic rock, surf rock |
Years active | 1989–present |
Labels | Mesa Blue Moon (Atlantic), Kelptone |
Members | Jim Thomas (guitar) Jennifer Burnes (bass) Martyn Jones (drums) |
Past members | Vince Littleton, 2000-2002 Prairie Prince, 1998–present (alt) Contents |
Website | mermen |
The Mermen are an American instrumental rock band from San Francisco, California formed in 1989. [1] [2] [3] They have since moved to Santa Cruz, California.
The group's sound was originally rooted in surf and psychedelic rock music of the 1960s, although they have made "sincere attempts to get away from the surf music label" [4] and currently delve into many genres, mainly driven by the melodic visions of the band's founder, songwriter, and guitarist Jim Thomas. The band's music is entirely instrumental and "does a good job of defying description". [4] The Mermen perform as a power trio: electric guitar, electric bass, and drums, with occasional guests for live concerts. They were featured in the soundtrack of the Sony PlayStation video game Road Rash 3D and have contributed music for films as well.
The 2010 album, In God We Trust, was their first release in a decade. It was followed in December 2012 by their first full-length Christmas release, "Do You Hear What I Hear - A Very MERMEN Christmas".
Thomas also fronts The Shitones, an associated band that features some of the same personnel (Jennifer Burnes on bass, and Shigemi Komiyama on drums prior to his 2014 death. [5] ) While Mermen feature Thomas's original compositions almost exclusively, the Shitones are a cover band that emphasizes instrumental rock hits of the 1950s and '60s by the likes of Link Wray and The Ventures, along with instrumental versions of songs by Neil Young, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix and others.
Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically every subgenre of the style. Instrumental rock was most popular from the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, with artists such as Bill Doggett Combo, The Fireballs, The Shadows, The Ventures, Johnny and the Hurricanes and The Spotnicks. Surf music had many instrumental songs. Many instrumental hits had roots from the R&B genre. The Allman Brothers Band feature several instrumentals. Jeff Beck also recorded two instrumental albums in the 1970s. Progressive rock and art rock performers of the late 1960s and early 1970s did many virtuosic instrumental performances.
The Surfaris are an American surf music band formed in Glendora, California, in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the charts in the Los Angeles area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" and "Wipe Out", which were the A-side and B-side of the same 45 rpm single.
Surf music is a 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 instrumental surf, distinguished by reverb-heavy electric guitars played to evoke the sound of crashing waves, largely pioneered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. The second is vocal surf, which took elements of the original surf sound and added vocal harmonies, a movement led by the Beach Boys.
45 Grave is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band.
Roy Wood is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard.
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet are a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best known for the track "Having an Average Weekend", of which an alternate version was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall. Although commonly classified as a surf rock band they rejected the label, going so far as to release a track called "We're Not a Fucking Surf Band", although they also later released a compilation box set titled Oh, I Guess We Were a Fucking Surf Band After All.
The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the 1960s. While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains especially revered in Japan, where they have toured regularly. The classic lineup of the band consisted of Wilson, Bogle, Nokie Edwards, and Mel Taylor (drums).
Surf's Up is the 17th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 30, 1971 on Brother/Reprise. It received largely favorable reviews and reached number 29 on the U.S. record charts, becoming their highest-charting LP of new music in the U.S. since 1967. In the UK, Surf's Up peaked at number 15, continuing a string of top 40 records that had not abated since 1965.
Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Los Straitjackets is an American instrumental rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, in 1988. Originally comprising guitarists Danny Amis, Eddie Angel and drummer L. J. "Jimmy" Lester under the name The Straitjackets, the band split up soon after forming, but reunited as Los Straitjackets in 1994 with the addition of bassist E. Scott Esbeck. Esbeck left the band in 1998 and was replaced by Pete Curry. The current lineup also features Greg Townson on guitar and Chris Sprague on drums.
Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian folk rock band from Wainfleet, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto.
Tim Ware is an American composer and musician, born in Sacramento, California. He is also the owner of HyperArts, a Web design and development company located in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Oakland, California.
Papa Doo Run Run is a band from Cupertino, California, United States, that specializes in covers of songs from the heyday of surf music in the 1960s.
Martin Cilia is an Australian musician. Cilia is best known for his songwriting skills, and his membership in The Atlantics, where he performs on the guitar. Cilia played his first gig in a school hall in Morley High in 1972 with fellow students. He remembered playing songs by The Shadows, The Monkees, The Beatles, and Cat Stevens.
This is a listing of official releases by Phil Keaggy, an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist.
Shawn Lee is an American musician, producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the co-founder of London-based yacht rock duo Young Gun Silver Fox, along with Andy Platts. He is known for creating the entire score for the acclaimed video game Bully. His song, Kiss the Sky, was featured in the Telltale video game Tales from the Borderlands. He is currently working on an upcoming album Janktone Productions, composed primarily of cheap and fun home-made instruments. There is no set release date. He currently lives in London, England.
The Revels were an American rock band from California, associated with the 1960s surf music craze. They had hits with "Six Pak", and "Church Key" which was their most famous single.
Say Sue Me (Korean: 세이수미) is an indie rock band from Busan, South Korea, currently consisting of members Sumi Choi, Byungkyu Kim, Sungwan Lim, and Jaeyoung Kim.
A Glorious Lethal Euphoria is an album by the American band the Mermen, released in 1995. The album was bought by Atlantic Records, which distributed it via their Mesa label. It won a Bay Area Music Award, in the "Outstanding Independent Album or EP" category. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
The Amazing Colossal Band is an album by the Finnish band Laika & the Cosmonauts, released in 1995. It was one of many instrumental rock albums released in 1995, part of a mid-1990s trend that encompassed lounge, surf, and space rock styles.