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Review of "Do The Alkeehol!" in Cool And Strange Music Since the world should never be without a drunk and horny instro surf band, San Francisco's Aquamen have thankfully stepped up to carry the torch previously held by such malcontents as the Bomboras, Mummies, Surf Punks, and the grandpappies of them all, the Trashmen. As one would assume from the title, "Do The Alkeehol!" is obsessed with all things related to the fruits of the hop and the grape, and the album's 16 tracks (actually, 12 tracks plus the "Shimmy, Shake and Stir!" EP) [ed note: YES!!!] are played with an appropriate amount of punked-up, fuck-all abandon. "Alkeehol!" hits all the traditional surf touchstones - a handful of rave-ups ("Wild Turkey"); a few "dangerous" songs ("Gin and Tonic"); the token ethnic number ("Jose Cuervo"); at least one cut featuring a theremin or equally surf-inappropriate instrument ("On The Rocks"; vibes on "Blue Hawaii") and one oddball cover done Dick Dale-style (the theme from "The Godfather").
The A'men 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 ---- Live Show Review - Stork Club, Jan 14, 2000
In an abbreviated three-piece incarnation, the Aquamen
quickly got folks up and dancing, the late hour
notwithstanding. In natty gray suits, they tore into an
instrumental with wild "Wipe Out" drums and low-down
guitar. A sloggy heavy metal opening gave way to a
Munsters-style rockin' luau, ending with bassist Srini
Kumar screeching like a bat out of some '80s hair band.
The noir-surf "Thunderbird" yielded to the jangly
teenager-in-love "Dandelion Wine" and the slow
boardwalk stroll "Blue Hawaii." "Caipirinha" added a little
cha-cha-cha, and "Diablo" had the bulls running all over
the beach. Thick and fast the frothy numbers came, but
by then I was wiped out. ---- Review of "Do The Alkeehol!" - The Continental, (Bellingham WA) 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! I just sold my beloved '62 Galaxie a few months ago, so seeing this really brought back some fond memories. 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. It seems like they've been influenced by everything from The Ventures to The Mummies. Twelve cuts are new to this release, plus you get 4 cuts from their out-of-print Shimmy, Shake & Stir! EP. ---- Live Show Review - Hotel Utah, June 5, 1998 - - - - Review of "Do The Alkeehol!" in the Tiki News
These boys have made quite
a stir around town with their Bacardi-breathing/Tiki-torching antics.
Not to mention their musical mayhem which includes a rotating roster
of members (somewhere between 4 and 7) who switch instruments including
oddball noisemakers such as theremins and cokctail shakers full
of liquor and ice. Most songs are named after drinks, our fave being
"Blue Hawaii." There are 7 tracks on side One and 5 more
on side Two plus 4 bonus tracks "from the out of print ep "shimmy,
Shake, and Stir!" Musically you get a bit of 50's Las Vegas
grind blended with some surf and a few dashes of Frat Rock garnished
with vocals. While listening to this CD (and having a cocktail of
course) you can admire the boys in action at the Tonga Room (back
cover photo), read their hilarious liner notes or gauge your state
of entertainment with the Gin-o-Sonic Effect chart. - - - - Review of "Do The Alkeehol!" in the SJ Metro
Not the Aqua Velvets, not the
Aquabats, it's the Aquamen. The San Francisco band fell off the
wagon of traditional surf music long ago. 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. Main topics of choice: sucking
'em up ("Gin and Tonic," "Jose Cuervo," "Wild
Turkey"), dancing up a storm (the explosive "Do Thee Alkeehol")
and some nonalcoholic selections ("Cuz Yo a Woman," "Beans
and Rice," "Panty Raid"). The fellas claim to have
tossed back more than a few during recording of the album, and the
result can be heard in a smattering of overeager timing mistakes.
But so what? The Aquamen bring out the "happy drunk" in
all of us. - - - - A review of "Gin-o-Sonic!" in the SF Bay Guardian
- - - - Live Show Review - Cubberly Auditorium, July 5, 1997 - - - - Live Show Review - Paradise Lounge, August 2, 1997
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! - - - - A review of "All Tanked Up!" by Phil Dirt
- - - - Live Show Review - EBF, May 17, 1995
The Aquamen rocked hard, playing a mix of loud trash surf tunes
and tunes utilizing significant lead guitar skills. I was especially
impressed by the number of original songs with strong leads influenced
by Spanish melodies. These were excellent songs. . . Added to this
were the Aquamen's stage antics, which included numerous episodes
of fire breathing, flaming cybmal playing, jumping up and down,
and hamming up the crowd while playing on the floor. . . |
