Kraftwerk's Original Vocoder Used On Autobahn On Ebay!!

It's going for $5000 at the moment, but you can own a piece of music history. The original vocoder used by Kraftwerk for their first hit, "Autobahn", is up on Ebay. Check out the listing for more photos (and to bid!) by clicking here.

Continental Magazine #13 w/CD Available Now (Southern Culture On The Skids Cover)

The Continental Magazine - Issue #13 w/23 song CD - #CT013 - $5.95 (OUT NOW!!!) The latest issue of The Continental Magazine, featuring interviews with Southern Culture On The Skids and The Barbary Coasters (featuring Johnny Bartlett of The Phantom Surfers/Saturn V Featuring Orbit/Hillsdale Records).

It includes a 23 track CD packed with great surf/instro/twist/garage rock tunes and is now available for only $5.95. Also included in this issue are The Nebulas, The Kilaueas and much, much more. 36 pages in all, with a 2 color glossy cover.

To order send $5.95 US + shipping ($1.05 to any US/Canadian address, or just $2.05 to any other address) to Double Crown Records - P.O. Box 4336 - Bellingham, WA 98227-4336 - USA. You can also send a Paypal payment to records@dblcrown.com or cash/check/money order, or order online at www.dblcrown.com.

Track List For Continental #13 CD:

1. The Breeze & I - The Bitch Boys (Golly Gee Records)
(from Ride The First Wave - www.gollygeerecords.com)

2. Cobra’s Fang - Phantom Frank (MuSick Records)
(from Phantom Frank - www.musickrecords.com)

3. Honey For Sale - The Barbary Coasters (Hillsdale Records)
(from Honey For Sale - www.hillsdalerecords.com)

4. Burning Mirage - The Madeira (Double Crown Records)
(from Sandstorm - www.dblcrown.com)

5. I’d Rather Be With You - Kaiser George & The Hi-Risers (Spinout Records)
(from Transatlantic Dynamite! - www.spinoutmusic.com)

6. Slingshot To Durango - The Cocktail Preachers (Self-Released)
(from Stealing From The Collection - www.cocktailpreachers.com)

7. Logan’s Run - The Nebulas (Double Crown Records)
(from The Nebulas - www.dblcrown.com)

8. Rippin’ - The Surge (Self-Released)
(Unissued track - www.myspace.com/thesurgeinstro)

9. Fuzzy Slippers - The Goats (Vagrant Records)
(from The Goats - www.vagrantrecords.com)

10. Playa Del Sol - The Nova Rays (Self-Released)
(from their upcoming CD - www.thenovarays.com)

11. Tsunami Struck - Pollo Del Mar (POP Records)
(from Year of the Rooster - www.pollodelmar.com)

12. Buried Alive - The Hexxers (Golly Gee Records)
(from Buried Alive - www.gollygeerecords.com)

13. Hellfire Wheeps - The Invisible Surfers (No Fun Records)
(from Waves Of Reverb, Sea Of Fuzz Volume 1 - www.nofunrecords.com)

14. Another Summer Song - Los Kahunas (Oleoducto Records)
(from El Fantastico Sonido Surf & Hot Rod De... - www.loskahunas.com)

15. Winds Of Barcelona - The Lost Boys Of Penzance (LBOP Music)
(from All Over The Map - www.lbop.net)

16. The Dare (Alternate Mix) - The Nova Rays (Self-Released)
(Unissued track - www.thenovarays.com)

17. Gypsy Cove - Big Surf (Self-Released)
(from Hang Eleven! - www.bigsurfband.com)

18. Bali-lita - Pontius Sky Pilot (Vagrant Records)
(Unissued track - www.vagrantrecords.com)

19. The Wake Up Call - The Razorblades (General Schallplatten)
(from The Dark Side Of The Beach - www.therazorblades.de)

20. Shadow Of Pele - The Defiant Ones (Burn & Surf Records)
(from Super Secret Disaster - www.defiant-ones.com)

21. Play That Game - The Fleagles (Garage & Beat Records)
(from Goodbye To Mars - www.garageandbeat.com)

22. Paddle Or Die! - The Surge (Self-Released)
(Unissued track - www.myspace.com/thesurgeinstro)

23. Big Black Shadow - The Vincent Razorbacks (Raucous Records)
(from Volume 13 - www.raucousrecords.com)

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #13

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #13

This show is a little later that usual, but there's been a lot going on here at Double Crown HQ. The most recent distraction has been the World Cup tournament. I am a huge soccer fan, and even play 3 times/week. I am trying to follow several teams through the tournament - the US, England, Brazil and Germany, and it's turning out to be nearly a game every night. Once the tournament moves beyond the group phase I won't have quite as many games to watch. I have also FINALLY wrapped up work on Continental Magazine #13 (featuring Southern Culture On The Skids and The Barbary Coasters). It is available for purchase from the Double Crown website at: www.dblcrown.com/catalog.html. This week's show is another mix of old and new surf/instro tunes. Like last week, I have also included an instrumental from a non-surf/instro band. This week it's a track from the legendary UK band The Smiths (this tune's perfect for those of you who can't stand Morrissey!). If you have any requests/comments, please send an e-mail to: records@dblcrown.com or use the handy comment form below.

We're up on iTunes now, so if you're looking for an easy way to subscribe/download this podcast, just go to the iTunes music store and search for the "Double Crown On The Rocks" podcast.

You can download this week's show here:

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #13 23.6 MB MP3 6/16/06

Purchase CD's By This Week's Bands At The Following Websites:

Double Crown Records - www.dblcrown.com
Estrus Records - www.estrus.com
Amazon.com - www.amazon.com
Zptdudamusic.com - www.zptdudamusic.com

If you like the show and would like to see it improve in the future (longer and/or more frequent shows), feel free to make a Paypal donation for any amount by clicking the button below. Thanks go out to those of you who have sent in a donation - your money will go towards web hosting for future podcasts.

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #12

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #12

This show is just a mix of old and new surf/instro music. However, with this and future shows I hope to feature at least one instrumental track per show by a band that isn't normally thought of as a surf/instro band. This week it's a track from Scottish pop artists Belle & Sebastian. If you have any requests/comments, please send an e-mail to: records@dblcrown.com or use the handy comment form below.

We're up on iTunes now, so if you're looking for an easy way to subscribe/download this podcast, just go to the iTunes music store and search for the "Double Crown On The Rocks" podcast.

You can download this week's show here:

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #12 21.6 MB MP3 5/20/06

Purchase CD's By This Week's Bands At The Following Websites:

Double Crown Records - www.dblcrown.com
Estrus Records - www.estrus.com
Amazon.com - www.amazon.com
Zptdudamusic.com - www.zptdudamusic.com

If you like the show and would like to see it improve in the future (longer and/or more frequent shows), feel free to make a Paypal donation for any amount by clicking the button below. Thanks go out to those of you who have sent in a donation - your money will go towards web hosting for future podcasts.

Important Announcement Regarding Double Crown On The Rocks Podcast

First of all, thanks to everyone that has downloaded and sent in comments about the Double Crown On The Rocks podcast. It's been a lot fun putting each show together. However, I'm running into a slight problem with my current online storage space. To increase space I will need to pay more each month, and while I have received a few donations for the podcast, it's not nearly enough to pay for added space. So at this point, I will need to either reduce the number of shows available at any given time from 3 shows to 2 shows, I will need to reduce the length of each show to about 20 minutes, or I will need to reduce the sound quality of each show.

It really wouldn't take much to add more storage space - $10 or so each month would pay for another 100-200 megs of space, which is enough for 4-8 shows at the current sound quality. Since I do the show on a Mac, I could also open a .Mac account and store the show there - that option is $99/year for 1 gig of space.

At the moment about 100 people are downloading each show, so if each person donated $1 I could open a .Mac account and store every show (up to about 30-40 of them). I could also potentially make the show longer, perhaps 30-40 minutes/show. Without donations, I will stick to the current format, but will have to reduce the number of shows I have online to about 2 shows at any given time.

If you like the show please make a Paypal donation for any amount by clicking the button below.

The Mummies On You Tube!

For those of you out there (including me) that have only heard about how legendary The Mummies were as a live band, but never got a chance to see them, You Tube (www.youtube.com) has a ton of full-length videos from 'em! I've found about 8 in all - just go to the site and do a search for "The Mummies". I've also found some cool vintage Johnny Cash, Tom Jones and Man Or Astroman clips there.

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #11

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #11

This show is kind of an odd one. Basically, I tried to choose songs that are surf standards, but done by bands not normally associated with surf music, or with odd arrangements/instrumentation that you don't normally hear with the standards. I get very little feedback about this podcast - hopefully this'll be one that motivates people to drop an e-mail to: records@dblcrown.com with comments/feedback.

We're up on iTunes now, so if you're looking for an easy way to subscribe/download this podcast, just go to the iTunes music store and search for the "Double Crown On The Rocks" podcast.

You can download this week's show here:

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #11 24.8 MB MP3 4/29/06

Purchase CD's By This Week's Bands At The Following Websites:

Estrus Records - www.estrus.com
Double Crown Records - www.dblcrown.com
Amazon.com - www.amazon.com
Zptdudamusic.com - www.zptdudamusic.com

If you like the show and would like to see it improve in the future (longer and/or more frequent shows), feel free to make a Paypal donation for any amount by clicking the button below.

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #10

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #10

This show is dedicated to The Mono Men & Estrus Records. The Mono Men have reunited briefly to play a festival in Spain. However, in Bellingham we were fortunate enough to see them play not only a 2 hour warm up show (in front of about 250 crazed fans), but a short instrumental set prior to the show as Los Monos. This week's episode of Double Crown On The Rocks has a bunch of great instrumentals from bands that recorded for Estrus, including The Mono Men, Satan's Pilgrims, Untamed Youth and The Boss Martians.

We're up on iTunes now, so if you're looking for an easy way to subscribe/download this podcast, just go to the iTunes music store and search for the "Double Crown On The Rocks" podcast.

You can download this week's show here:

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #10 21.8 MB MP3 4/14/06

Purchase CD's By This Week's Bands At The Following Websites:

Estrus Records - www.estrus.com
Double Crown Records - www.dblcrown.com
Amazon.com - www.amazon.com
Zptdudamusic.com - www.zptdudamusic.com

If you like the show and would like to see it improve in the future (longer and/or more frequent shows), feel free to make a Paypal donation for any amount by clicking the button below.

Lower CD Prices (Especially For Imports) At The Double Crown Store!

We've just lowered the prices for many of the CD's in Double Crown Store. Most CD's that were formerly $16.75 are now $14.75. Check it out here.

No Podcast This Week...

There will be no Double Crown On The Rocks podcast this week. I have a nasty cold, which is the main reason, but I've also played 4 soccer games in 4 days so between my day job and soccer in the evenings I just haven't had time. There will be a new podcast next week! If you haven't downloaded last week's podcast, do it now - there is a contest going where you can win a copy of the new Nebulas CD!

Skaterdater LP For Download

You can grab a copy of this classic soundtrack LP here.

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #9

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #9

More great surf/instro music from the past & present, plus a contest giving you a chance to win our brand new CD by The Nebulas!

We're up on iTunes now, so if you're looking for an easy way to subscribe/download this podcast, just go to the iTunes music store and search for the "Double Crown On The Rocks" podcast.

You can download this week's show here:

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #9 23.3 MB MP3 3/29/06

Purchase CD's By This Week's Bands At The Following Websites:

Double Crown Records - www.dblcrown.com
Amazon.com - www.amazon.com
Zptdudamusic.com - www.zptdudamusic.com

If you like the show and would like to see it improve in the future (longer and/or more frequent shows), feel free to make a Paypal donation for any amount by clicking the button below.

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #8

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #8

Old-school, new-school surf/instro and unreleased demos!

It's podcast #8! We're up on iTunes now, so if you're looking for an easy way to subscribe/download this podcast, just go to the iTunes music store and search for the "Double Crown On The Rocks" podcast.

You can download this week's show here:

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #8 23.3 MB MP3 3/22/06


Purchase CD's By This Weeks Bands At Double Crown / Amazon.com / Zptdudamusic.com:

The Exotics - The Nebulas - The Sadies - Laika & The Cosmonauts - The Finks - The Vulcanes - Peter & Alex - The Apemen - Man Or Astroman?

If you like the show and would like to see it improve in the future (longer and/or more frequent shows), feel free to make a Paypal donation for any amount by clicking the button below.

Double Crown Releases On CD Baby

The best place to order Double Crown releases is through the Double Crown website at www.dblcrown.com. However, there are many other places that you can find our stuff, including Amazon.com, Tower Records, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Zptduda.com and many others. If you are a dedicated CD Baby customer, there's a page where all of the Double Crown releases sold through CD Baby can be found. If interested, click here.

Double Crown On The Rocks Podcast Now On iTunes!

If you'd like to subscribe to the Double Crown On The Rocks Podcast through iTunes, just go to the podcast section of the music store and search for "Double Crown On The Rocks". From there you can download individual shows, or subscribe and received new shows as they go online! We'll have a new show up tomorrow (3/22).

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #7

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #7

The Nebulas & Satan's Pilgrims Special!

Right on schedule - it's the Double Crown On The Rocks Podcast #7! This weeks show features tracks from The Nebulas' new self-titled CD on Double Crown Records, as well as songs from Satan's Pilgrims. This is all in anticipation of their shows in Seattle, Portland and New Jersey over the next week or so.

You can download this week's show here:

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #7 16.7 MB MP3 3/15/06


Purchase CD's By This Weeks Bands At Double Crown / Amazon.com / Zptdudamusic.com:

The Nebulas - Satan's Pilgrims

If you like the show and would like to see it improve in the future (longer and/or more frequent shows), feel free to make a Paypal donation for any amount by clicking the button below. Thanks to Kevin K. who sent in a donation a few days ago!

Instrumentals By The Byrds

The Byrds aren't terribly well-known for their instrumentals, but the Planet Xtabay website has got a selection of their instrumentals available for download - check it out here.

Your Chance To Open For The Surfaris

Just got this via e-mail from Jeff Barber:

Attention Surf Bands!

Here is your chance to open for The Surfaris

Please submit the following for inclusion in the contest. Deadline for submissions is May 1, 2006 · One song on CD or tape
· Band Bio
· Contact information
· You must be available to perform on Friday, June 2 at 7:00 PM in Santa Barbara.

Please send submissions to:

The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Attn: Surf Band Contest
3559 Puesta del Sol Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93105

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #6

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #6

It's back - the Double Crown On The Rocks Podcast! It's about 30 minutes of great surf/instro rock n' roll. This weeks show features two new tracks from The Nebulas' new self-titled CD on Double Crown Records.

You can download this week's show here:

Double Crown On The Rocks - Podcast #6 26.4 MB MP3 3/9/06


Purchase CD's By This Weeks Bands At Double Crown / Amazon.com / Zptdudamusic.com:

The Nebulas - The Young Ones - The Bradipos IV - Man Or Astro-Man? - The Nebulas - The Original Surfaris - Vinnie Bell - The Trademarks - Satan's Pilgrims - Archie & The V-2's

If you like the show and would like to see it improve in the future (longer and/or more frequent shows), feel free to make a Paypal donation for any amount by clicking the button below.

The General Motors Futurliner Bus

Well, I think this photo says it all. This was a special bus produced in the 1940's and 1950's by General Motors. Today only 9 of them survive - this one was just purchased at auction for $4,320,000! This particular bus has it's own website, showing before and after photos - click here.

The Nebulas New CD Is Here!!!

The UPS truck just pulled up with five boxes containing the new Nebulas self-titled CD! All pre-orders will ship over the next 2-3 days, as will all copies for Double Crown Music Club subscribers (info about the club can be found here).

FREE SHIPPING IF YOU ORDER THIS CD PRIOR TO MARCH 10TH!!!
If you send a Paypal payment to: records@dblcrown.com, just send $12.75 - no need to add anything for shipping. If you order online at www.dblcrown.com, use the coupon code: NEBULAS when you check out and you will not need to pay for shipping. This offer expires March 10th. This offer is good anywhere in the world and is good for any size order as long as it includes at least one copy of the Nebulas CD!!!

Pollo Del Mar - Year Of The Rooster Review

From the upcoming issue of The Continental Magazine:

Pollo Del Mar – Year Of The Rooster (Self-Released) * * * * ½

To celebrate the “Year of the Rooster” (Pollo is “chicken” in Spanish), Pollo Del Mar has put together a limited edition CD featuring a whole bunch of live and radio session recordings done over the last 12-14 months. There are songs recorded in California, Japan and Belgium. On this disc you’ll find songs from their studio releases, as well as a few one-off songs and covers such as “The Cruel Seaa”, “The Bells Of St. Kahuna” and “Jack The Ripper”. My favorite is probably “The Wild, Wild West Medley, which takes a whole bunch of songs like “Apache”, “Ghost Riders”, “Good, Bad & Ugly” and mashes ‘em all together. I’m not usually a fan of long songs, or medleys, but this was done very well and had me compelled from start to finish. The sound quality is excellent throughout – even though a couple of the tracks are “ambient audience” recordings, the sound is still very good. It’s even got three videos on it – talk about value for yer money! If you are a fan of the band you will definitely want to act quick and get this before it’s too late. (www.pollodelmar.com)

New Surf/Hot-Rod Titles From Sundazed

Six great new releases from Sundazed, all available for pre-order from Amazon.com. Look for reviews of these in the upcoming issue of The Continental Magazine, which should hit shelves in late-April.

New Nebulas - S/T CD Out Next Week!!!

We are proud to announce the release of The Nebulas' 3rd full-length CD!!!

The Nebulas - S/T CD - #DCCD24 - $12.75
Double Crown is gearing up for the release of the new CD by The Nebulas, which will be in stock next week just in time for their upcoming shows with Satan's Pilgrims! Fifteen amazing tracks, a little faster and a little rawer than what you're used to from this band. Make sure your speakers are in good working order now, cuz this disc is gonna test your hi-fi like it's never been tested before!

Tracks: Retribution - Logan's Run - Kalashnikov - Nebulomp - Chummy Jigger - Morpheus - Dragunov - El Boracho - S.O.S. - All Your Base... - Uhura - Bus Stop - Von Schlieffen Plan + Two Bonus Tracks!!!

You can order this, or any Double Crown CD on their own for $12.75 +
shipping, or you can join the Double Crown Music Club for $35.00 to get this and the next 3 CD releases (US Music Club Price. $40 for Canada. $45 Rest Of The World). Coming later this year is a CD-EP from The Madeira and Seasonal Favorites: Volume 2 CD.

FREE SHIPPING IF YOU PRE-ORDER THIS CD PRIOR TO MARCH 10TH!!!
If you send a Paypal payment to: records@dblcrown.com, just send $12.75 - no need to add anything for shipping. If you order online at www.dblcrown.com, use the coupon code: NEBULAS and you will not need to pay for shipping. This offer expires March 10th, the expected arrival date of The Nebulas new CD. At that point we will ship all pre-orders, as well as copies to all of the Double Crown Music Club members. You can also send cash/check/money order to the address below.

Ordering Information

--We accept cash, checks and money orders, payable to Double Crown Records, Paypal payments sent to: records@dblcrown.com, or online with your credit card.
--Washington residents must add 8.2% sales tax. (subtotal x 1.082)
--Please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery.

Mail Your Order To:

Double Crown Records - P.O. Box 4336 - Bellingham, WA 98227-4336 USA

Double Crown On The Rocks Podcast

I'm getting set to revive our Double Crown On The Rocks Podcast. I did 4 of 'em last year and just wasn't happy with the sound quality I was able to produce at the time. Now I'm getting ready to do it right. I've got an iBook on the way and will soon have the hardward and software I need to do a more polished show. I would like to get some feedback on what kind of show people want to hear. Do you want a mix of music, talk and news regarding surf/instro music? Or would you prefer a 30-40 block of music with minimal talking before and afterwards (perhaps a bit of news at the beginning and a reading of the playlist at the end)? I am also open to advertising possibilities, so if you are a band with a CD looking for some promo, or a label, please get in touch with me at: records@dblcrown.com

Big News From Sundazed!!!

Big, huge news from Sundazed (www.sundazed.com) direct from their PR guy:

"Hi Sean,

We will have more Capitol Surf titles coming in May including: the Ghouls, Mr. Gasser and the Weirdo's, the Kickstands and the Knights.

Also, yes we are proud to say we have reached and agreement with Dick Dale and his representatives for Sundazed to issue the entire Dick Dale catalog.

We will be addressing this over the coming months and I will let you know
when we have more details."

I am so stoked about this news! I have most of the Capitol stuff they have planned for May, but given the Sundazed treatment, I will undoubtedly be picking these up once they are out. However, I've been anxiously waiting for somebody, anybody, to release the early Dick Dale stuff. Now somebody is finally gonna do it! Hopefully they'll also dig up some rare/unreleased material and do the definitive Dick Dale reissue of each of his early albums.

The Mono Men Are Back!!!

I just found out that the Mono Men are getting back together for a series of shows. They are going to Spain for a short tour in April, but before that they're playing a pair of warm-up shows in Bellingham (on April 8th) and in Seattle. They also have a new website up at www.monomen.net. I'll be sure to write about this gig in the upcoming Continental Magazine (the show is just a tad past our deadline, but this is a historic event that must be covered!). I have been on a Mono Men kick recently, so this announcement couldn't have come at a better time!

Cool Old Horror/Monster LP's For Download

I just found this great blog site, packed with awesome old horror and monster LP's available for download. Check it out here. I especially dig the Frankie Stein & His Ghouls LP's (5 in all!). They also have a bunch of Beatles parody/rip-off LP's, including the great LP by The Buggs. It seems like the number of great blog sites offering old LP downloads has exploded over the last 6 months or so. This is one I'm going to check often!

Reduced Prices For Many Double Crown Surf / Instro CD's!!!

We have just lowered the prices on many of our older Double Crown Records releases. All Double Crown/Continental 7"s are just $2.00 each, and Double Crown CD's not start at just $6.00 each. Check it out at www.dblcrown.com/catalog.html

Rare British Instrumental LP For Download

Sandgroper's Surfspot has got another great collection of instrumentals available for download. Go to his website here.

Trader Vic's Bellevue - The Legacy Continues...

Trader Vic's Bellevue - The Legacy Continues...
I'm stoked about this - in less than a month there will be a Trader Vic's in Washington again! It looks very expensive, but I'm anxious to check it out.

World's Smallest Website - ::guimp::

::guimp:: World's Smallest Website
Check this out - a website with lots of great arcade classics like Pac Man and Space Invaders, only really, really, really small.

Advertising Links On This Page

You'll notice some advertising links along the right side of the page. These have been carefully chosen by me and are companies that I support and send vast sums of money to. Netflix is a great service that, for a low monthly fee, allows you to rent DVD's by mail with no late fees. I've been with them a couple of years and their service is awesome. Recent flicks I've seen include Rock! Rock! Rock!, High School Confidential, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and many others. They have just about every movie ever made, so there's plenty to choose from. Itunes is another favorite. I use my Ipod every day, and although I don't buy much from Itunes, it is an easy-to-use service with good selection. We have a few Double Crown releases there, so if you need a quick surf-rock fix check it out (the albums up there are by The Kilaueas, Dr. Frankenstein and The Madeira, with more to come soon). CCMusic.com (aka Collector's Choice Music) is my favorite CD store, even better than Amazon, with a great selection of surf, garage, rockabilly, early rock n' roll and vocal/Rat Pack/lounge/easy listening. Plus tons of hard to find imports.

Dick Dale - Surfer's Guitar Early Recordings

You can get a copy of Dick Dale's "Surfer's Guitar" release from this site - some of his best early recordings!

Good News For Kaisers Fans!

Kaiser George (of The Kaisers, Scotland's famous beat/rock n' roll combo) has teamed up with Spinout Records recording artistes The Hi-Risers for a brand spankin' new slab o' wax. This should be hitting stores soon, so check'r out! We'll have a cut from this great new disc on the CD that will be packaged with the next issue of The Continental Magazine, due out in April.

One Family's Dune Buggies From The 50's, 60's, 70's

This site is amazing - a family that built dune buggies from the 50's through the 70's, with lots of great photos! Boy, I wish I was this kid growing up! (Link)

The Sadies Have A New Live Album In The Works!

One of my favorite bands of all time, The Sadies (featured in Continental Magazine #11), are currently working on a live CD. They are truly an amazing live band, and if they can capture that sound like they did on Neko Case's live CD, then this will definitely be one of the top releases of 2006. They've got a few friends helping them out, including Neko Case, Jon Langford, Blue Rodeo and Jon Spencer.




Here's the official notice from the YepRoc website:
"Toronto-based Yep Roc artists The Sadies will be giving a special treat to their hometown fans when they perform at Lee's Palace in Toronto on Feb. 2 and 3. Not only will they be rocking an extremely rockable house two nights in a row, they will also be recording a live album there to be released later this year on Yep Roc. And as if that weren't enough, the band have put together an impressive list of guests for the two-night stand: labelmate John Spencer of Heavy Trash and The Blues Explosion, Jon Langford of The Mekons and Waco, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, The Jayhawks' Gary Louris, members of Blue Rodeo, Good Brothers, and, as Lee's website puts it, "others TBA," which sounds to us like, "once people get wind of this show, they'll be lining up at the stage door to play." Check out Lee's website for more info."

Double Crown Bands On MySpace

If you're into the whole MySpace thing (personally, I have mixed feelings about it, but hey, tons of people seem to dig it), here's a list of Double Crown bands that have MySpace pages:

The Madeira: http://www.myspace.com/themadeira
The Nebulas: http://www.myspace.com/thenebulas
The Dynotones: http://www.myspace.com/dynotones
The Boss Martians: http://www.myspace.com/thebossmartians
The Krontjong Devils: http://www.myspace.com/thekrontjongdevils
The Penetrators: http://www.myspace.com/penetratorssurf

Rock Over Graceland Blog

Rock Over Graceland

For fans of lounge, exotica and easy listening here is another cool site with loads of vintage vinyl to download as MP3's.

The Surfites - New Album In The Works!

The Surfites, a Swedish surf combo featuring Klas & Jack of The Daytonas, are putting the finishing touches on their debut release. I, for one, am really excited about this release, since the Daytonas were one of my favorite surf bands from the '90's.

You can check this band out on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/thesurfites

The Kilaueas - Profesor Volcanova CD Back In Stock!!!

The Kilaueas - Profesor Volcanova CD is back in stock at Double Crown Records. It's the follow-up release to their Mundaka Calls CD, which we released not-too-long ago. You can order it from our catalog page (www.dblcrown.com/catalog.html) or send a Paypal payment to: records@dblcrown.com. It's $16.75 + shipping ($3.25 US / $4.00 Canada / $5.00 World). OR, you can order Profesor Volcanova + Mundaka Calls for a total of $30.00, with shipping included anywhere in the world! Take advantage of this offer and we'll even throw in a Kilaueas pin, absolutely free!!!

Sandgropers Surfspot

For fans of old, vintage surf music and spaghetti western stuff, go on over to Sandgropers' Surfspot. They update the site frequently with new old LP downloads.

Web Link: http://sandgropers.blogspot.com/

New Focus For This Blog

Okay, I haven't updated this in a while. Sorry about that, but honestly, what I was doing before really didn't catch on and only a few hundred people read it. Plus, it didn't really fit in with the whole Double Crown/Continental vibe. So here's my new idea - I'm going to use this to post surf / instro / rock n' roll news as I hear it. This news often comes from the Cowabunga / Reverborama / Surf Guitar 101 lists, so if you are a member of these groups some of the news I post here will be redundant. However, I often get e-mails and letters from bands updating me on gigs, new releases, etc. So I'll also include that stuff here.

Also, there are quite a few websites that post old, vinyl LP downloads as MP3's. I don't support the download of music for free which is on CD and is available for purchase. However, when it comes to old, dusty vinyl that'll never be reissued, I really don't have any problem with folks posting it online to share with the world. So I'll post links to websites offering new items for download. If I post something that is available for purchase somewhere, please let me know and I will delete the link.

I may find other uses for this space. Hopefully I'll be able to update it on a daily basis, so check back often!

Death By Caffeine?

Curious how many cups of coffee or Red Bull it'd take to kill you? If so, this website has the answer for you http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine/

Redneck Party Pictures From The 70's

Check out this set of redneck party pictures from the 70's here.

Gallery Of Freaky Food

This website is is pretty amazing - loads of images of weird, mutated fruit. This lemon reminds me a bit of Pogues singer Shane MacGowan (or Austin Powers, I guess). Lots of other freaky food items at: http://www.hanttula.com/exhibits/freakyfood/

Juice, Anyone?

Okay, I like juice as much as the next person. It's tasty and nutricious. However, this new product just isn't that appealing to me. It is a chair that would seemingly make ass-juice. However, it's actually intended to make real juice...in strip clubs! The stripper places an orange (or other juicy fruit) in their butt-crack or cleavage, and grinds away until a glass of juice is produced! You can even get one for your home, if you're so inclined, at: www.lapjuicer.com

Cool 4th Of July Sparkler Art!

Here's a whole set of photos people took during the 4th of July this year using camera's with a long exposure time - pretty amazing! (Link)

Trippy Computer Animation

Check this out - a cool computer animation
http://www.primepuzzle.com/images/clinger.swf

It's Live 8 Day Today All Around The World

Is Michael Stipe of REM trying to save people or scare them? It's Live 8 day today, and I am taping as much coverage as possible to watch when I get home from work. I watched the original Live Aid concerts 20 years ago - it's hard to believe that much time has passed so quickly! I'm looking forward to seeing Coldplay, U2, Travis, REM, A-ha, Roxy Music and the reunited Pink Floyd.

Katamari Fantasy Photos

My kids and I are big fans of the game Katamari Damacy on the PS2. Basically, it's a game where you control a character as shown in the photo above, who rolls a small sticky ball over objects, progressively making the ball bigger and bigger. In early rounds of the game, you roll over candy, thimbles, thumbtacks, etc. In later rounds you roll over buildings, tanker ships, Godzilla and giant octopus monsters. This website has photos of a couple of extreme fans, who dressed up in Katamari costumes and took a whole bunch of really cool, vivid photos.

Which Creation Records Band Are You?

Which Creation Records Band Are You?
Take this quick quiz to find out which Creation Records band best fits your personality. Creation Records is/was one of my favorite labels of all time (along with Factory and Estrus). The book The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize is essential reading if you are a fan of the label. There is also a cool website with loads of up-to-date info on the label and affiliated bands at: www.creation-records.com

Here Goes 20 Bucks Down The Drain!

I'm takin' the kids to see Herbie: Fully Loaded in the next day or two. The kids and I both like the original movies (they're among the few kids movies that I can actually tolerate watching). I have very low expectations of this new Herbie film. It's rated G, and my kids like just about anything they get to see in a movie theater, but for an adult it has all the makings of a true crap-fest. The only positive will be watching Lindsay Lohan for the last time before she became an anorexic, cracked-out Britney wannabee.

Cool Robot Dinosaur In The UK - I Want One!!!

You can't get this sweet robotic dinosaur in the U.S. yet, but as soon as it's available I'm gonna get one. We just got a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, and I'd love to see the Roboraptor and the Roomba wage battle against one another! More info on this can be found at: www.roboraptoronline.com

Tom Cruise Gets Sprayed With Fake Microphone - Goes Ballistic!

Tom Cruise was doing a meet n' greet prior to the premier of "War Of The Worlds" in London, and got sprayed in the face with water from a fake microphone by a film crew taping a show that shows pranks played on celebs (sounds like a Punk'd rip-off show to me!). The BBC website has a video showing the whole incident at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4107922.stm. At first he tries to laugh it off, but soon gets very pissed off and starts going ballistic. Poor guy, can't take a little water in the face, can he? Whata freak!

Loverboy's "Workin' For The Weekend" Video - RAWK!!!

Check out this new video posted on the internet recently. I bet if this were given to MTV, Loverboy would be back on the charts!

Link to video: http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=Barrester&tab=weblogs&uid=270892934

Here's another great video to check out - a disco version of surf/instro favorite "Apache": http://www.boingboing.net/2005/05/04/disco_apache_video.html

Mission In Motion Magazine

Well, I tried to get Mission In Motion magazine going, but unfortunately it doesn't look like it's gonna happen. I received a whole bunch of review CD's, but I couldn't get more than a few advertisers and bands/labels to participate in the CD that was going to be packaged with it. So instead of doing a print magazine, I'm going to try to make it a webzine/blog. It's been a few months since I have updated this blog, but I hope to focus more on it with updates at least a few times each week. I am also going to try to incorporate the blog into a webpage that also includes CD/show reviews and interviews. So keep coming back over the next few weeks for updates and changes to the website!

Japanese Minivans Modded Into Retro VW Busses!

Japanese Minivans Modded Into Retro VW Busses!

It seems like a new fad in Japan is the turn their modern minivans into retro styled Volkswagen busses. It would be so cool to import one of these babies into the US. I've always been strongly against minivans and SUV's (despite the fact that my wife and I have 2 kids and they would make our life much easier). However, I would love to have one of these!!

Check 'em out at: http://www.geocities.jp/kgdgk927/minbus.html