State Street - 4th of July 2006 in Santa Barbara, CA. That's Sam Frankeberger dead center, drummer for Kelp. Sam started Kelp with myself and Paul in a guest house I was living in back in '95 overlooking Rincon Point, a famous surfing spot in California. Sam split for personal reasons and was later replaced by a guy whose dad was the lead singer for REO Speedwagon. He was replaced by another guy from a speed metal band. I left town and moved to Brooklyn, NY in 2000 (stupid, stupid, stupid) and returned a couple years later. Sam also returned and we continue to play up and down the coast. By the way, if you look over Sam's left shoulder you'll see Sammy Hagar (I can't drive 55) who was enjoying the festivities. We shook hands and exchanged pleasant dumbfounded remarks with each other. It was a surreal moment.
Paul "Pablo" Fritz - guitar
Paul and I met in Santa Monica in 1994 at a software company that we both worked at. We moved the company that year to Carpinteria, CA outside of Santa Barbara. It wasn't until the following year in a Boston hotel where we attended a tradeshow that we learned that we had common interests in music. Paul had been in a number of bands in high school and college and thought it would be fun to get together and jam. An incredibly talented guitar player, Paul plays through two Peavey amps (a big no-no in the world of surf music) which gives him a stereo sound. He plays a Fender Jaguar and occasionally brings out his 73 Rickenbacker 12 string or 60's Vox Phantom. Paul has written many of the originals for the band.
Todd Buranen - Bass Guitar
Finally, this is me. I grew up in the midwest in a small town in Minnesota called Pipestone. The number one thing to do in Pipestone is to plan how to get out of Pipestone. And I did. I listened to the Ventures, Surfari's, Jan & Dean, etc. as a kid. Essentially any record my brother owned I would listen to when he wasn't home. Always loved that heavy reverb sound. I had played in a couple of bands in college but nothing like Kelp. I play a Fender Jazz Ventures edition bass through a Zoom effects box and itno a Fender BXR 200 combo amp or an old Peavey MK IV on top of an even older Ampeg cabinet with 2 15" speakers. I also use a Danelectro Spring King for splashes of reverb and a Hi-Watt theremin for the occasional out of this world sound. We also use a 30G Ipod as a sort of sampler to play an assortment of sound effects and movie phrases before some of our songs. It works amazingly well. I play several other guitars including a Hallmark Swept Wing, Dipinto Mark IV, Vox Phantom and Rickenbacker 4001.
KELP is a fun band with a surf sound that goes beyond the traditional sound of surf music. And playing with Paul and Sam is always a blast. One of the reasons this band works so well together and why we have been together for so many years is that we genuinely like each other. And we love playing surf music.
In future blogs I will get into more of the surf music scene in Southern California. We'll share stories about our experiences with other bands in the surf genre - mostly good and a few not so pleasant. We will also share bizarre band moments....weird stuff. Until then...
Aloha,
Todd
