An encounter with "Artificial Stupidity". I posted on an event for a gig today and facebook took the post down calling it "hate speech". What?! I gave the dates and band names and put up a drawing. Did the algorithm…
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May 10 2023
May 10 2023
An encounter with "Artificial Stupidity". I posted on an event for a gig today and facebook took the post down calling it "hate speech". What?! I gave the dates and band names and put up a drawing. Did the algorithm…
Read moreMay 3 2023
I attended high-school back in the Pleistocene Era and played electric guitar in a garage band. After graduation, I left the city and moved to a small town to attend college. Alas, there was no real rock there, just a…
Read moreApr 21 2023
It's here! The new album is finally done!
El Borko ¡Surf! is the first album with Cameron Wick on drums and James P. Daley on bass. I've been around the Pacific Northwest with these guys, they're fun to hang out…
Read moreApr 3 2023
Most people who have recorded an album know how much work it is. You have to write the songs, then play the songs, then record the songs. Then you gotta mix the songs, master the songs, make an album cover…
Read moreFeb 20 2023
It's fun to break down a genre into sub-genres and see what they bring to the whole. Here are four possible sub-genres for surf music; cinematic drama, barefoot beach party, hotrod hoodlum, and sensuous jungle tiki.
Cinematic drama is the…
Read moreFeb 5 2023
Ask someone for an example of surf music, then get ready for many different answers. Some will say "Beach Boys", some will say "Dick Dale", some will talk about the Ventures or Duane Eddy. They are all correct.
Surf music…
Read moreJan 9 2023
I spent 2021 releasing and promoting two albums (Surf Monster & Surficana) and putting together the current line-up of El Borko ¡Surf!. I spent 2022 booking and playing gigs with El Borko ¡Surf!. Here at the end of the year…
Read moreNov 18 2022
Everything has to be new all the time. Does everything have to be new all the time? Why does everything have to be new all the time? Everything new happens all the time. So every time a thing is new…
Read moreOct 15 2022
Sometimes we do things just to see if we can. This week was an example of that where I played an El Borko show in Seattle on Thursday, a Miller Brothers show in Eugene on Friday and tonight it's up…
Read moreSep 5 2022
I have been so lucky to find such a great band. Jon Neher is a loyal friend and a great musician. He brings intensity and life to everything he does. James P. Daley illustrates the maxim, "still waters run deep"…
Read moreJun 19 2022
There's no such thing as an "unknown" band. If you're a band, and you play out, then someone must know you. I've played gigs where it was us and the bartender and two drunk people who left after awhile. So…
Read moreMay 10 2022
I like the early Rolling Stones, they were rowdy and innovative, but the Mick Taylor period is my favorite. I was a teen, discovering music and girls, and guitar just as the Stones were maturing into a great band. Time…
Read moreApr 27 2022
Playing in a band is similar to playing on a sports team. Each member has a particular skill. You have a practice schedule. You have gigs/games. At the gig/game, things don't always go the way they did at practice. The…
Read moreApr 18 2022
When making setlists, I imagine each set as a one act play where each song is a character or an event. In this context, a song has a role and a personality. The opening song is vivacious and engaging. The…
Read moreMar 14 2022
I saw a facebook post today which said... "What about changing the name of the group to ... No Strictly Surf Music Appreciation Society?". Right away I started thinking about what makes a musical genre. I realized that in any…
Read moreJan 6 2022
Some bands are famous, we all know about them. Some bands are only known in their locality or genre. This second kind interest me more than the famous ones. A few of these groups actually make a living at it…
Read moreNov 5 2021
One of my favorite scary stories from middle school English class was "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs. A creepy talisman from an exotic land causes badness. Imagine my delight when a Tiki Bar opened in Springfield called... Yes…
Read moreOct 5 2021
It finally started raining here. I hope it rains a lot. We need it. As the leaves begin to fall, I practice guitar and look at the kids playing at the school across the street. They don't mind the weather…
Read moreSep 21 2021
Two El Borko Shows this week. The first is at Covered Bridge brewing in Cottage Grove TONIGHT! Tue, Sep. 21 7:00PM. Covered Bridge is on the corner of 9th and Main in Cottage Grove. This will be just a trio…
Read moreSep 5 2021
Sensible people recognize that we as individuals are insignificant. We hope that we matter to those we care about, but in the big picture we are nothing.
Nonetheless, this is our life, and it means a lot to us. Not…
Read moreAug 24 2021
I have two shows this weekend, one with Miller Brothers at Friendly gardens Friday night and one with El Borko Surf! at Viking Braggot Brewery Saturday afternoon at 4:00. I say "I hope" because things are shaky here as in…
Read moreJul 12 2021
I have two shows coming up this weekend:
This Saturday July 17, 6:00pm — 8:00pm
El Borko Surf!
Viking Braggot Brewing Brewery & Taproom,
520 Commercial St, Unit F, Eugene, OR
Classic and modern surf including music from their album…
Jun 14 2021
I have two bands, El Borko Surf! and the Miller Brothers Band. El Borko is usually a duo with myself and Jon Neher. Miller brothers is a dance band playing 20th Century Pop Music. Since the pandemic began, we have…
Read moreJun 9 2021
Ahh... chunky lows, chimey highs, and thick, bright single notes. I call it "Thump & Chime". The three main factors in getting this sound are the player's touch, the guitar pickups, and the gain structure from guitar to amp. I…
Read moreMay 24 2021
This Monday, May 24 El Borko is the featured band on “Electric Beach Party”, a fun weekly surf music show from Cape Hatteras. https://www.radiohatteras.org/listen-live
EASTERN TIME: 9:00 PM and 12:00 midnite
PACIFIC TIME: 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM
99.9 WHDX-FM…