Surf Zombies, Pistols at Dawn, Compact Deluxe

media release: The seeds of the Surf Zombies were planted long ago in a basement in Fort Dodge, Iowa, when Brook Hoover and his neighborhood friends discovered a scratchy 45 of the Surfaris’ “Wipe Out,” and the journey to unlock the secret of surf guitar began. A 9th Grade talent show performance of the tune lead to years of reverb-soaked high school jams, and while everyone moved on to new things, the sounds of surf never left Hoover’s mind. After years of friends and fans alike suggesting he start an instrumental surf group, Surf Zombies were born in 2006 with Hoover and Doug Roberson on guitar, Jim Viner on drums, and long-time collaborator and childhood friend Joel McDowell on bass.

Surf Zombies started on a high note, with their first performance being the opening act for surf guitar legend Dick Dale, and a self-titled debut album soon to follow. For their second album, “Something Weird,” Roberson and Viner departed to make room for Kyle Oyloe on guitar and baritone, and a rotating cast of great drummers beating the skins. The band began scoring some bigger gigs, securing a yearly spot at Iowa’s Vintage Torquefest as well as various music festivals and club dates, and started reaching a wider audience after having songs featured on TV shows like MTV’s Ridiculousness, Bad Ink, and others.

“Lust For Rust” introduced heavy hitter Tyler Russell on drums, and Oyloe’s departure made way for studio engineer Ian Williams to step in on guitar duties. This album introduced new layers of fuzzy guitars and gritty garage rock, and by the time their fourth album, “It’s a…THING!” was in the works, the Blendours’ Trevor Treiber joined the ranks on bass guitar. “It’s a… THING!” was the first Surf Zombies album to see a vinyl release, and was sold out by the time the band was inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. The band was also honored with a successful beer, Surf Zombies IPA, brewed by Iowa Brewing Company in the band’s home base of Cedar Rapids, IA.

After years of work and many attempts, the band’s fifth studio release, “Return of the Skeleton,” finally saw the light of day in October of 2018 and introduced Luke Ferguson of Lipstick Homicide on drums. The album features wide reaching songwriting from Hoover, Treiber, and Williams and shows the band at their finest, with returning artist Erin Wells providing artwork.

Surf Zombies have played in all corners of Iowa and frequently visit, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, and Nebraska. Their live set has been fine tuned to a non-stop medley of powerful hooks that would make the Ramones proud. They strive to create unique grooves and stretch the genre as much as possible, while still retaining the classic elements of the initial 60s surf craze that inspired the young minds in Fort Dodge all those years ago.

It’s rare to find a band with three experienced songwriters who share a dedication to the music and enjoy each other’s company. Surf Zombies love to collaborate with one another and continue to make plans for spreading the fun of surf instrumentals throughout the world! Expect their sixth full-length, Surf Zombies in Color, to be available world-wide in the fourth quarter of 2021.

SURF ZOMBIES are:

Brook Hoover - Guitar

Trevor Treiber - Bass

Ian Williams - Guitar

Luke Ferguson - Drums

Midwestern surf bands have always had a hard way to go.

When some wag isn't cracking wise about the limited opportunities for wave riding hereabouts, folks who aren't familiar with instrumental rock's long history in this country are certain to ask about which Beach Boys songs will be in the set. As Alex E. Smith, drummer for the Madison-bred instrumental act the Pistols at Dawn puts it: "Yeah, you say surf and people go, 'Oh, the Beach Boys.' We go, 'Nah, like Pulp Fiction.' Then a few of 'em get it."

Two years into their run, the Pistols at Dawn have managed to cobble together a very respectable following from the kinds of audiences that have a soft spot for old-school instrumental acts like Dick Dale, Link Wray and the Ventures. The 23-year-old Smith says guys in their 40s and 50s nearly always respond to both their guitar- and Farfisa-driven originals and familiar covers like the theme music from The Munsters.

Basement shows and regular appearances at surf celebrations in Minneapolis and the Wisconsin Dells have also attracted skate punks, bikers and hardcore instrumental fans to their flame. Something about the mix of a steady 4/4 beat with warbling organ and a guitar smeared with thick applications of reverb clicks with the outlaw demographic. "When people hear us, they usually like it," laughs the Pistol's stocky bass player and onstage emcee Matt Leaverton, who at 47 is the old man of the multi-generational group. "Of course, if you listen to Z104, you probably don't."

This past Sunday, as the Pistols at Dawn held forth in front of 50 or so punks, freaks and graybeards at the sun-baked Willy Street Fair, the band's appeal was immediately apparent. If 23-year-old guitarist Alexei Broner's aggressive slashing on the brooding "Timebomb" didn't grab your ear and give it a shake, 30-year-old organ jockey Tim Consequence's cool phrasing of the breezy head to the classic Booker T. & the MG's groove "Time Is Tight" most certainly did. The music wasn't astoundingly original, but it was loud, it was fun, and the band and the crowd were on the same wavelength.

In my book, that's a party worth attending - even if Z104 addicts who spend their morning commute singing along with Beyoncé and Daughtry would never quite understand why nearly everyone within earshot was grinning like a circus clown.

Compact Deluxe co-founder Tim Consequence is a man out of time. Born in 1977, the year punk rock broke, he collects & restores vintage keyboards & sound equipment. He uses them to perform covers of mostly instrumental music from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Describing the danceable sound he strives for as “party-time music,” Consequence joins forces with virtuoso organist Harris Lemberg & drummer John Woodburn to perform an intimate showcase of Cold War-era music.

Compact Deluxe honors such groups as Booker T & the MGs and Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass with punchy, trippy renditions of Memphis soul, surf rock, spaghetti Western soundtracks, ’60s spy-show & movie theme tunes as well as lounge-pop. Imagine Ennio Morricone‘s hypnotic “The Good, the Bad & the Ugly” mashed up with Dick Dale‘s “Miserlu.”

A native of Wisconsin Rapids, Consequence has a day job as a union stagehand (IATSE Local 251) & recording engineer. His passion since age 16, however, is performing music ranging from hip-hop (as organist in Optigan) to the B-52s (in the tribute band Deadbeat Club). He has collaborated with Lemberg (aka Harrissimo) since 2007. During a recent visit to Acme Sound Studios near the ice arena on Madison’s east side, Consequence invited me to smell the electronic guts of his Hammond B-3 organ – a tactile treat that reminded me of a visit to the Stax Museum of Soul Music in Memphis.

He also demonstrated his Leslie cabinet, a modulating device used frequently in recordings by the mid-’60s Beatles. The Leslie’s spinning speakers project sound through all four sides of the cabinet, filling an intimate venue like the Cardinal Bar with its whirring melodic drone.

Consequence then fired up his Rheem Le Bass, a gorgeous little red & white instrument with black keys that can substitute for a bass guitar. He’s proud of the ’80s-era Yamaha synthesizer he gutted & used to build an analog-digital hybrid Tim calls a “digi-Farfisa.” It hums to life beside his silent vintage Vox Continental keyboard.

Tim also showed me a Farfisa model Compact Deluxe organ, which inspired the band’s name. He bought it via Craigslist from fellow enthusiast Chip, a Madisonian who served as Melissa Etheridge‘s guitar tech.

Consequence & Lemberg formed the predecessor band Compact Duo a few years ago, recently expanding it to include acoustic drums & occasional female guest vocalist Terry Lynn Lane. Their first gig was in August 2015, on the seashell-shaped stage at the Tempest.

The band’s mission, Consequence says, is to be “efficient in space and time.” Compact Deluxe plays tunes that rarely surpass 3 minutes in length. Their equipment, while old & heavy, requires few wires to set up.