the bongo teens
= Paul Buff & Dave Aerni
When
Art Laboe of the Original Sound label contacted Paul Buff
about recording some surf tracks with bongos in the spring of 1963, Buff got
together with guitarist Dave Aerni and
became The Bongo Teens. Other than
guitar, Paul Buff played and recorded everything else himself.
Laboe's idea was to combine three tracks from Preston Epps (of "Bongo Rock" fame) with whatever Paul Buff could come up with. Including Preston Epps' #14 hit "Bongo Rock" and his #78 hit "Bongo Bongo Bongo," "Surfin' Bongos" was completed that summer and was originally issued by Original Sound in September 1963.
March
2010 saw the
first official reissue of that album from the original mono and stereo album
masters, along with many rarities and unreleased tracks drawn from master tapes
and acetates. In addition,
The Bongo Teens' version of "Bustin' Surfboards" (originally by The
Tornadoes) was featured in the film "Aloha Summer."
The 2010 edition was a download only release and was available in separate MONO
and STEREO editions with the same bonus tracks.
As part of
the bonus rarities of the 2010 re-release, both sides of The Rotations' single
("Heavies"/ "The Cruncher") and the Brian Lord & The
Midnighters single ("The Big Surfer"/ "Not Another One!") were
included along with extremely rare tracks ("Baja Rhythm" and "La
Gran Ola") that were only released in Mexico.
"The Big Surfer" was written by Frank Zappa, who played guitar
and portrayed a surfer on the track.
Together with the "Surfin' Bongos" re-release, Crossfire Publications also released "Raw Tracks", presenting the raw recordings from before the reverb, equalization and final mastering were added.
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.4" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"Recorded shortly afterward, The Bongo Teens’
“Last Night” was a strong cover of The Mar-Keys’ classic. Paul Buff and
Dave Aerni’s recordings as The Bongo Teens are also available as separate mono
and stereo releases of the “Surfin’ Bongos” album as well as on the “Raw
Tracks” album with The Hollywood Persuaders."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.5" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"Finishing out this volume is an acetate from The Bongo Teens – “Another Wipe
Out.” Clearly inspired by The Surfaris’ “Wipe Out,” this is Paul Buff
and Dave Aerni’s interpretation of a similar theme. The original acetates
sounded like they were done in a tunnel, but we have presented the track with
the best possible sound from such a fragile disc. You should have heard it
before!"
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.10" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"More surf is on the way! The Bongo Teens' "Surfin'
Bongos" was Paul Buff, Dave Aerni and a long-forgotten bongo player, and
note the sped-up guitar parts!"
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.11" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"Also unusual is The Bongo Teens' version of "La
Gran Ola," which is what "Heavies" was called when it was
released in Mexico! The title translates to "The Big Wave," but there
are no sound effects on the Mexican version."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.12" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"We're
still riding a wave here, so let's hit the next five surf tracks. Frank Zappa
was behind the board when The Tornadoes recorded (James) Norman Sanders'
"The Inebriated Surfer," the B-side of their single "Moon
Dawg." This single mix is different than the later album mix. The Truants'
"Sunset Surf" is a very sedate piece, with Edward Rea's guitar going
into Duane Eddy territory. If you listen closely, you can hear where Rea changes
guitar effects during the song! The Rotations' "The Cruncher" was the
B-side of "Heavies" and another respected surf work. Of course, The
Rotations was another name that Paul Buff and Dave Aerni used when they were not
recording as The Bongo Teens, so we have a stereo mix of "Baja Bongos"
that was not originally released. Our last surf track in this run is The
Esquires' "What A Burn," done at the same session as their A-side
"Flashing Red"."
"On this
edition, you can also hear The Bongo Teens' "Surfin' Bongos" before
the bongo player came in!"
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.13" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"The Bongo Teens' "Baja Rhythm" was another
tune that was only released in Mexico. Paul Buff and Dave Aerni covered
different ground on this one."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.14" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"It's time to "Wipe Out"! Yes, it's The Bongo
Teens' version that appeared on the "Surfin' Bongos" album that they
shared with Preston Epps. That album has been reissued in mono and stereo."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.15" liner notes by Greg Russo:
""Blue
Skies" by Irving Berlin was done in a pre-surf version by The Biscaines in
late 1960. In mid-1963, it was now The Bongo Teens' turn to attack it in full
surf style."
"Buff and Aerni
initially recorded "The Happy Surfer" without their hired bongo
player, so here is a rare opportunity to hear it in its "naked" form.
Buff's second version of "You Will Never Have To Dream" along with
"Donnica" didn't go any further, but it's interesting to hear
different ideas that Paul was playing with."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.16" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"An
alternate mix of "Mr. Clean" with Frank Zappa on guitar takes us into
an instrumental version of Buff's "Donnica.""
"The
Zappa-engineered "Raw-Hide" by The Tornadoes is a compact but powerful
take of the Link Wray tune, with The Bongo Teens' instrumental version of
"Surfin' U.S.A." accomplishing the same task."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.17" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"The first
of two Tornadoes-related songs is The Bongo Teens' version of the classic
"Bustin' Surfboards." Despite being a three-chord song, "Bustin'
Surfboards" remains a perennial favorite. The Bongo Teens' version was used
in the 1988 film "Aloha Summer." A slightly longer version of
"Bustin' Surfboards" appears on the "Raw Tracks" album.
Following that, The Tornadoes themselves offer the Frank Zappa-engineered
"Shootin' Beavers." When it was released in late 1963, parents were
outraged that their children were listening to such a "lewd" song!
While the title may have been in bad taste, the song was practically
instrumental with the occasional side comment!"
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.18" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"The Bongo Teens' "The Happy Surfer" is the
original stereo mix and is just as the title describes! "
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.19" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"The Bongo
Teens' "Forget It" was a Buff/Aerni piece that Paul Buff got more
mileage from when it was remixed for the Hollywood Persuaders album "Drums
A-Go-Go." A considerably longer Bongo Teens version of "Forget
It" is available on "Raw Tracks.""
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.20" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"We have
lots of alternate versions on this volume from The Bongo Teens (the mono LP
version of "Baja Bongos"), The Hollywood Persuaders (the single
version of "Yes, I Want To Dance," an alternate version of
"Sunset Strip," the original stereo mix of "Tijuana," the
demo and single versions of "Drums" and "Drums A-Go-Go," and
the demo of "Agua Caliente"), The Buff Organization
("Windows" with Paul and Allison Buff's vocals, and the stereo mixes
of "Studio 'A'" and "Upside Down World"), and Sonny Wilson
(an unreleased demo version of "My Proudest Possession")."
the bongo
teens and preston epps: surfin' bongos (1963, lp, usa, original sound osr-lpm 5009) - the bongo teens = paul buff and dave aerni |
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the bongo
teens & preston epps: surfin' bongos (mono) (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - the bongo teens = paul buff and dave aerni ; including various bonus tracks ; feat. frank zappa |
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the bongo
teens & preston epps: surfin' bongos (stereo) (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - the bongo teens = paul buff and dave aerni ; including various bonus tracks ; feat. frank zappa |
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the
hollywood persuaders / the bongo teens: raw tracks (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.4 |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.5 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.10 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.11 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.12 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.13 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.14 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.15 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.16 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.17 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
||
various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.18 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
||
various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.19 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.20 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives: the collection (2011, flash-drive, usa, crossfire publications) = the complete 35 album series, with bonus liner notes on pdf and 56 extra tracks |
![]() |
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various artists:
paul buff presents highlights from the pal and original sound studio
archives (2012, 5cd-box, usa, crossfire publications) = a selection of the pal and original sound studio collection // feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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