Surf Beat:
Das Who Is Who Der Surf Und Unstromusik
By Martin Schmidt

Surf Beat by Martin Schmidt Martin Schmidt is the leader and guitarist with The Razorblades, a superb modern surfband in Germany. His love of the music has resulted in this compendium of bands, new and old.

Das Who Is Who Der Surf Und Unstromusik is a comprehensive listing and bio of more instrumental bands than you can count, and there are also bios on websites, reviewers, radio people, and more.

The information was compiled directly from the bands when they could be tracked down, and from public sources when not. Pictures, descriptions, and more fill this monumantal work.

I thought I would find a few bands in the book that I was unaware of, but there were quite a few more than I expected. So, now I'm off looking for even more surf to review for Reverb Central.

Martin has gathered data on instro and surfbands from all over the world. It's a very impressive list, ranging from high profile bands to obscure defunct outfits from faraway places. Since he covers instro at large as well as surf, the book appeals to a larger audience.

With new surfbands forming daily, no work of this nature could be complete and still ever reach a dedline. Yet, virtually everyone who is anyone in surf is here.

The book is in German, but I found it very pleasant and interesting to parouse even though I can't read much German.

Recommended!