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David Bowie will finally receive the surf-instrumental treatment when locals the Lost Boys of Penzance and 20 other artists from around the world release their unique surf-guitar takes on classic David Bowie tunes, on an album called Ziggy Played Surf Guitar.
The Lost Boys track, "The Man Who Sold the World," is notable by the fact that the band’s drummer, Nate Morton, played this tune on national TV on the reality show Rock Star: INXS in 2005.
"In contrast to that show’s Nirvana-influenced arrangement of this classic Bowie tune," says bandleader Jonathan Villegas, aka J. Hawk D’Ville, "the Lost Boys take a more rock-oriented approach that is closer to Bowie’s original, but with a few twists thrown in."
Ziggy Played Surf Guitar is set for release June 27, on the UK label Cordelia Records. Songs include:
"The Gospel According to Tony Day" by The Green Windows
"Five Years" by Surfadelica
"Starman" by The Vara-tones
"Moonage Daydream" by The TomorrowMen
"Ziggy Stardust" by The Thurston Lava Tube
"Surfer Jet City" by The Pterodactyls
"Did You Ever Have A Dream" by The Muffinmates
"All The Young Dudes" by The Razorblades
"Life on Mars" by The Weasletones
"Heroes" by The Incredible Mr. Smith
"Speed of Life" by The Insect Surfers
"All the Young Dudes" by The Glasgow Tiki Shakers
"Rebel Rebel" by The Red Planets
"Modern Love" by The Swamp Coolers
"China Girl" by The Mighty Surf Lords
"Let's Dance" by The Bowbridge Band
"Cat People" (Putting Out Fire) by The Breakaways
"The Man Who Sold The World" by The Lost Boys of Penzance
"The Jean Genie" by Monkey Versus Robot
"Panic In Detroit" by Pollo Del Mar
"Lady Grinning Soul" by Los Fantasticos
An earlier surf-rock compilation Beyond the Sea includes the Lost Boys of Penzance's cover of “The Disadvantages of You,” a 1967 Benson and Hedges cigarette commercial jingle. “I remember hearing the tune on TV, growing up in the 1960s,” says Villegas. “The commercial didn't turn me into a smoker but the lilting melody of the song stuck in my head. My dad had the sheet music in a songbook distributed to members of the armed forces.”
To obtain song rights, Villegas says “I got a compulsory mechanical license, granting use of the song once I paid the statutory royalty rate, which is currently 9.1 cents per minute for songs five minutes or less. The minimum quantity is 500 units. So, for a cover of a two-minute song, it cost me .091 x 2 x 500 = $91.00.”
Villegas’s music career was once nearly derailed by hearing loss. “I was born deaf in my right ear and my hearing started to decline when I was about 11. It got worse over the years, which forced me to get a cochlear implant operation at Sharp Memorial Hospital in 1997. It took a few weeks to allow the incision, a large S-shaped curve behind my ear, to heal before turn-on time. It was months before I got fully acclimated…everything was very robotic sounding. The gizmo isn’t perfect, I'm still classified as hard of hearing, but it certainly beats being deaf.”
The Lost Boys of Penzance, based near surfing hotspot Swami’s in Encinitas, includes drummer Nate Morton from the house band on CBS’ Rock Star: Supernova and Rock Star: INXS reality series.
“We normally work together by exchanging audio files and talking via email,” says Villegas. “I did ask him a couple questions about the Rock Star show, but he seemed loathe to talk about it. All I know is that the show we see on Tuesday was actually taped the previous Sunday, late in the afternoon.”
David Bowie will finally receive the surf-instrumental treatment when locals the Lost Boys of Penzance and 20 other artists from around the world release their unique surf-guitar takes on classic David Bowie tunes, on an album called Ziggy Played Surf Guitar.
The Lost Boys track, "The Man Who Sold the World," is notable by the fact that the band’s drummer, Nate Morton, played this tune on national TV on the reality show Rock Star: INXS in 2005.
"In contrast to that show’s Nirvana-influenced arrangement of this classic Bowie tune," says bandleader Jonathan Villegas, aka J. Hawk D’Ville, "the Lost Boys take a more rock-oriented approach that is closer to Bowie’s original, but with a few twists thrown in."
Ziggy Played Surf Guitar is set for release June 27, on the UK label Cordelia Records. Songs include:
"The Gospel According to Tony Day" by The Green Windows
"Five Years" by Surfadelica
"Starman" by The Vara-tones
"Moonage Daydream" by The TomorrowMen
"Ziggy Stardust" by The Thurston Lava Tube
"Surfer Jet City" by The Pterodactyls
"Did You Ever Have A Dream" by The Muffinmates
"All The Young Dudes" by The Razorblades
"Life on Mars" by The Weasletones
"Heroes" by The Incredible Mr. Smith
"Speed of Life" by The Insect Surfers
"All the Young Dudes" by The Glasgow Tiki Shakers
"Rebel Rebel" by The Red Planets
"Modern Love" by The Swamp Coolers
"China Girl" by The Mighty Surf Lords
"Let's Dance" by The Bowbridge Band
"Cat People" (Putting Out Fire) by The Breakaways
"The Man Who Sold The World" by The Lost Boys of Penzance
"The Jean Genie" by Monkey Versus Robot
"Panic In Detroit" by Pollo Del Mar
"Lady Grinning Soul" by Los Fantasticos
An earlier surf-rock compilation Beyond the Sea includes the Lost Boys of Penzance's cover of “The Disadvantages of You,” a 1967 Benson and Hedges cigarette commercial jingle. “I remember hearing the tune on TV, growing up in the 1960s,” says Villegas. “The commercial didn't turn me into a smoker but the lilting melody of the song stuck in my head. My dad had the sheet music in a songbook distributed to members of the armed forces.”
To obtain song rights, Villegas says “I got a compulsory mechanical license, granting use of the song once I paid the statutory royalty rate, which is currently 9.1 cents per minute for songs five minutes or less. The minimum quantity is 500 units. So, for a cover of a two-minute song, it cost me .091 x 2 x 500 = $91.00.”
Villegas’s music career was once nearly derailed by hearing loss. “I was born deaf in my right ear and my hearing started to decline when I was about 11. It got worse over the years, which forced me to get a cochlear implant operation at Sharp Memorial Hospital in 1997. It took a few weeks to allow the incision, a large S-shaped curve behind my ear, to heal before turn-on time. It was months before I got fully acclimated…everything was very robotic sounding. The gizmo isn’t perfect, I'm still classified as hard of hearing, but it certainly beats being deaf.”
The Lost Boys of Penzance, based near surfing hotspot Swami’s in Encinitas, includes drummer Nate Morton from the house band on CBS’ Rock Star: Supernova and Rock Star: INXS reality series.
“We normally work together by exchanging audio files and talking via email,” says Villegas. “I did ask him a couple questions about the Rock Star show, but he seemed loathe to talk about it. All I know is that the show we see on Tuesday was actually taped the previous Sunday, late in the afternoon.”