SATURDAY AUGUST 18
The Aquamen -- Drunken surf intoxica!
Going Going Gone Girls -- Shimmy Shake Go-Go Girl Revue!
Pineapple Princess -- Punk Rock Ukelele Chicks!
The Coppertones -- Fun in the sun!
at El Rio, 3185 Mission St, San Francisco
$7, 21+
Doors at 8, Music at 9
A drunkenly raucous surf-revival group, the Aquamen formed in San Francisco with a shifting lineup that has included guitarist "El Capitan" Mike Drake, bassist Matt Harris (ex-Overwhelming Colorfast), and drummer "Lookout" Steve Bank; Drake and Harris formed Oranger upon their eventual departure. The group issued two independent albums, 1995's All Tanked Up and 1996's Gin-o-Sonic, before signing with the Heyday label and recording their first nationally distributed album. Do the Alkeehol was released in 1999 with a lineup of "Ensign" Nat Bletter (guitar), "First Mate" Srini Kumar (bass), Turtle "1st Engineer" Meuniot (guitar), Zack "Cruise Director" Pitt-Smith (saxophone, organ, percussion), and "Cabin Boy" Vixx (drums). -- All Music Guide
Listen to Do The Alkeehol! on iTunes
The Aquamen serve up a big slab of primal rock 'n' roll. It's hot and sweaty and raucous, and thankfully not mired in Lo-Fi muddle. -- Rhapsody.com
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"Now these are my kinda guys -- playing surf/garage rock (most tunes with a booze theme) with a Galaxie 500 on the front cover of their CD! ... These guys play aggressive surf/spy/garage rock with heavily reverbed lead guitar, pounding drums and occasional organ and theremin to thicken the sound a bit... influenced by everything from The Ventures to The Mummies."
The Continental
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"They swim in a vast cove of distilled delights, many of which find their way into song titles. "Sour Mash", "Blue Hawaiia", and "Wild Turkey" were the result of the Aquamen's
rambunctious weird science that would've had no problem making Frankie and Annette shimmy on the beach - or check into an AA meeting..."
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Don Vigeant, Zero Magazine
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"These boys have made quite a stir around town with their Bacardi-breathing/Tiki-torching antics"
-Otto von Stroheim, The Tiki News
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"The Aquamen stagger around stage in suits, striking metal poses, yowling in staccato outbursts. The band's unique blend of spastic surf "intoxica" channels the spirits of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Man ... or Astroman? and Dean Martin in a boozy seance."
-San Jose Metro
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"Throw in countless surf compilations, a pinch of what made the Kinks sassy, and some of the Hi-Fives' reckless abandon, and you come pretty close to the Aquamen's sound. The Aquamen are a perfect party band; you could see their crowd whooping and hollering to a sound track for a demented Frankie and Annette movie."
- SF Bay Guardian
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"Like Jon Spencer fronting a surf band, the Aquamen were amazingly tight, precise, sloppy and scattershot all at the same time. Songs about drinking, drinking and, well, drinking."
- Todd S. Inoue, San Jose Metro
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"The Aquamen played between sets on the other stage and man, were they wailing! They seemed to have the most fun of any of the bands we saw -- beer-drenched mania, with a xylophone thrown in the mix! "
-The Penetrators
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"...a band with immense energy & pinnace... from what I can tell, I'd bet that they just plain rip on stage."
-"Surfmeister" Phil Dirt, DJ on KFJC 89.7 FM
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"The Aquamen hurl themselves into the songs with all the reckless abandon of a Buick full of barflies, and the result is a raucous reminder that surf music isn't supposed to be background music for tropical theme restaurants. Sure to piss off the purists, which isn't exactly a bad thing"
- Paul Gaita, Cool and Strange Music
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" The Aquamen rocked hard, playing a mix of loud trash surf tunes and tunes utilizing significant lead guitar skills. Added to this were the Aquamen's stage antics, which included numerous episodes of fire breathing, flaming cymbal playing, jumping up and down, and hamming up the crowd while playing on the floor. . . "
-alt.cowabunga
