Michael Draine's Twisted Vista
The Tornadoes
Beyond the Surf: The Best of The Tornadoes
(Sundazed)
This teen LA quintet achieved immortality
when Frank Zappa  sampled the splashy
opening of their 1962 hit “Bustin’ Surfboards”
on The Mothers of Intervention’s
We’re Only In It For the Money. Early
exponents of instrumental surf, the Tornadoes
sport a more garagey, R&B-based sound
than the immaculately recorded Del-Fi
stable. “Moon Dog,” “Bumble Bee Stomp”
and “Vaquero” radiate an eerie, late show
sci-fi air, while the unreleased Link Wray
cover “The Swag” would do the Rayman proud.
Titles like “The Inebriated Surfer” and		Music Reviews
“Shootin’ Beavers” hint at the band’s sense
of humor, on display in an entertaining
25-minute interview with the Tornadoes
which recounts the group’s adolescent antics		Twisted Cinema
and reveals that a pre-Mothers Frank
Zappa engineered their LP. An indispensable
slice of instrumental rock history.
Published in Vendetta #13, Fall 1999
www.sundazed.com