"do you wanna go out, let's go out, I got some money, I got some weed, c'mon baby get high with me..."
Of course, surf music has been around since the 50's / 60's and surf punk since the mid 70's but for me, at least in my scattered mind, at least in Southern, California, the sort of revisionist surf punk / garage rock halcyon days were 2010. Maybe because of all the Tijuana Panthers shows I attended, or Surf Curse in garages or at the iconic The Smell, or Pangea before they were Together Pangea doing their thing that may not of felt as surfy as some but still felt perfectly right around beach campfires after surfing. The genre has exploded but sometimes it feels sort of surfed out whether more punk or more surf rock.
So, I push play on "Cruisin'" by three piece garage rock band The Moonjacks, originally out of Clovis (Central California) and ironically like probably 150 miles from the beach. and I hear a jammy track that puts me back at So Cal venues in 2010. Incredibly potent and sort of classic pushed by an incredibly catchy "oooooh ooh oooooh" mirrored with a synth sound that feels like a collision of a theremin, old school Vox continental organ or mellotron on top of a surf beat, sprite guitar shapes and singing about partying. "Cruisin'" feels like an amalgam of 1960's The Surfaris, Together Pangea, Tijuana Panthers, Surf Curse, Mexican Slum Rats and a crowded house party, feels like youth and growing up.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.tiktok.com/@themoonjacks
https://www.instagram.com/themoonjacks/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4AqRJ5gzqsHLsIIfBZWT16
(San Luis Obispo, CA) - Somewhere on the outskirts of the Central California coast lies the dirty garage and rehearsal space of three Best Buds known as The Moonjacks. Originally formed in Clovis in 2019 shortly after the trio graduated high school and inseparable ever since; the DIY youths have shared stages with the likes of Mexican Slum Rats, Hot Flash Heat Wave, and The High Curbs to name a few. Their infectious live show and ability to write digestible sun drenched ear-worms caught the attention of Indie Record Exec Brian Witkin, who signed them to San Diego's Pacific Records in 2020. Their first studio single "Sk8 Hi" was released In August of 2022 and gained traction organically before being picked up and placed on on "New Music Friday" And "Surf Rock Sunshine" by Spotify’s Editorial Playlist Curators. Their debut studio LP titled "Bad Guy Stuff" was released the following month to warm fan reception, underground acclaim, and major network television placements.
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