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She Said, Z Said: All ‘80s, All the Time

'It was a surf party. It was a surf SURF surf SURF party' at Fiesta with Santa Barbara band The Tan

By Leslie Dinaberg and Zak Klobucher, Noozhawk Columnists | Published on 08.16.2009

Z: “It was a bad party. It was a bad BAD bad BAD party.”

She: No one knows what you’re talking about.

Z: “We’re hanging out. We’re hanging out.”

She: OK, I’m sorry, four people know what you’re talking about. Maybe five.

Z: The Tan. How can anyone not know about Santa Barbara’s pre-eminent surf band from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s?

She: I don’t know. They have jobs? They’ve evolved a little bit in the past three decades?

Z: C’mon. It was such a massive blast from the past seeing them during Fiesta at the all-Santa Barbara über ‘80s reunion at EOS.

She: The ‘80s again? I think that’s all we’ve written about this month. People are going to start thinking we write a column called “She Said, Z Said, Cyndi Lauper Said.”

Z: It’s August. It’s a slow news month. People will understand.

She: Really? OK. In that case, I totally agree. It was rad! I love the Tan.

Z: For those in town who don’t know, Spencer the Gardener’s first band out of high school was the Tan.

She: I saw them every chance I could get. They were so cute.

Z: I actually even hired them once, when I was in charge of getting a band for a La Colina Junior High School dance. I was a ninth-grader with excellent taste and considerable power.

She: Aha. That must have been when you were peaking.

Z: For years, every time we went to a bad party, we’d replace “bad” with whatever the party was in my favorite Tan song. “It was a bar mitzvah party. It was a bar BAR bar BAR mitzvah party.”

She: Those weren’t really bad parties — those were great parties. I remember dancing till my head was spinning.

Z: Are you sure it wasn’t the spiked Big Gulps?

She: Quite.

Z: The surprising thing to me is that apparently every generation has a Santa Barbara surf band that they love.

She: What?

Z: I was talking to a woman who is a decade older than me, and she went to a concert starring the Tridents and the Duquanes during Fiesta.

She: I’ve heard of the Duquanes.

Z: They are two local bands that have been doing surf songs forever.

She: According to an article in Southern Oregon’s Mail Tribune, “In 1966, the Duquanes triumphed at a Santa Barbara ‘Battle of the Bands’ and became a rock ‘n’ roll legend where the surf meets the sun. They became so popular that they were booked for 72 weeks in a row, an amazing feat for four teenagers who weren’t from Liverpool.”

Z: That’s awesome. The Tan’s not from Liverpool either, you know.

She: I think they’re from the Mesa. Hey, do you think Toad the Wet Sprocket counts as a surf band?

Z: Probably a stretch, even though they had a few Beach Boys-esque harmonies. But apparently, there’s a band called Kelp that’s keeping the surf beat alive these days.

She: Kelp is a good name for a surf band. Actually, the perfect name for a Santa Barbara surf band would be Tar the Tourists.

Z: Or how about just “Dude”?

She: Hey, I wonder if the Kelp audience wears towels, like guys did for Tan concerts?

Z: “It was a surf party. It was a surf SURF surf SURF party.”

She: It was really fun. Still, we seem to be stuck in the ‘80s lately. Too many margaritas or something.

Z: Uh, spiked Big Gulps?

She: Bad BAD for you on so many levels. Speaking of which, doesn’t it seem like we should have written something about health care this week?

Z: “It was a Democratic party. It was a dem DEM dem DEMocratic party.”

She: Yes, dear.

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Comments

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» Helen Murdoch on 08.17.09 @ 05:43 AM

Dancing with She and Z at EOS was very ‘80s and fun! Ah, those were the days. We used to go out to Winchester Canyon (the TImbers) to dance to the TAN at the under-age dance club. VERY fun!