Reverb Central .:. Review .:.

Mid February '97 saw one of many pitstops from the Berzerkers. Always magical and fun, they lived up to their name. On-mic shenanigans and off, and a mess of hard drivin' reverb surf. This night the lineup was Nathan Payne - drums, John Hamilton - bass, and Dino Francesconi - guitar.

Picks: Meadowlands, Eel, El Scratches, It Came In The Wind, Waimea Cruncher, Steecho, Mung Taco, Mermud, Clap Pacific Sang, Manana Surf, In The Bottle, Sacquito Fria, Chummin', Surf Raider, May This Be Love, Herman's New Woodie

Surf (Instrumental)

This fiery version of "Meadowlands" is tuff and gutsy, with great feedback and edge. Dino's style is all over this one. Magnificent. About 9 years ago, I played a version of Meadowlands by the Vanguards on my show. Dino loved it immediately, pestering me to play it every week for an eternity. It was under the title it has been better known as in Euro rock instro circles, Rocket Man. Dino's arrangement is pretty true to it.

Surf (Instrumental)

The "Eel" lives on after oh-so many years in the Berzerkers set. Tuff, catchy, and inspired, it's got surf written all over it.

Surf (Instrumental)

Dino's introduction says it all... it's all in how you reach for those out of the way zones. A fun song with a grin for the name and the creative melody line. Powerful and inventive.

Surf (Instrumental)

As Dino said in the introduction, "this song is about a smell... a surf smell." A great performance of one of Dino's more fluid compositions. Tribal, chunky, and full of life.

Surf (Instrumental)

Ultra heavy duty surf monster from the north shore of the big island where the walls of water are fifty feet and deadly. The song conveys every bit of that hugeness and danger. Great performance.

Surf (Instrumental)

"Steecho" is all about the smell of floaters encountered on the break. This is a bluesy performance a smelly song... well, maybe it's just suave and cool.

Surf (Instrumental)

Dino makes up stories about the inception of his songs which change all the time. Dino refers to the titling of this tune by saying he "met a little friend floating along (while in the break of San Francisco), it looked kinda like a taco, smelled really bad, and he had this melody in his head, so he called it "Mung Taco." Now, that's not really how it got its name, but then it probably doesn't matter. A great song with tribal drums, suave bass, and bluesy splashy guitar. Unique and highly entertaining.

Surf (Instrumental)

"Mermud" is about the birthplace of mermaids and mermen. This is quite an edgy version, with grating vibrato and throbbing power. Larger than life edge, oceanic crunch, and big Kahuna swirl... yes, it's kinda like that! This is one gutsy and grodie performance of one of the Berzerkers' more enduring songs. Vibrato, reverb, thundering bass, drums a go-go, and twango. Extra cool!

Surf (Instrumental)

Drama and whirl pool currents abound in "Clap Pacific Sang," where the "blood, the color blue, and a clap" merge, all based on a "transworld koto riff." Groovy and tribal, with tuff drums.

Surf (Instrumental)

This moving and picturesque song pours sinewy romance like water from a crystal spring. Magnificent!

Surf (Instrumental)

Dedicated to single moms everywhere, "In The Bottle" is a richly riffed rocker with aggressive intentions. Not melodic as most of Dino's songs are, but powerfully assaultive with a splashy break that is split by one long glorious glissando.

Surf (Instrumental)

This beautiful surf song requires three guitars to bring out it's full life, yet this live trio arrangement is quite solid. Dino's introduction was priceless: "all you guys, and you gals to... I bet this happens to the upper area of women, I got a feeling... I wish I had a feeling... when you go out in that cold water... when you come out of the water things have shrunk, and for a man, it's his most prized possession... I'm a pretty slim guy, and I felt smaller than normal, and I looked down in my pants and this is what I saw." Suave surf!

Surf (Instrumental)

This song is about "when you take human bodies, cut 'em up into little bits, and feed 'em to sharks," or so Dino said. Double picked melodic low-E power surf, with major crunch and silky glissandos. Excellent!

Surf (Instrumental)

The Surf Raiders' namesake song "Surf Raider" gets the trio assault, with extra edge and brutal attack. Grodie and chunky, with tuff glissandos and lots of slithering around. Great stuff!

Surf (Instrumental)

Jimi Hendrix' liquid "May This Be Love" is a long overlooked classic just waiting for the reverb. Among the first live performances of this song, it's was still evolving, yet is so-o-o silky. Very cool!

Surf (Instrumental)

The Palominos' crunchy "Herman's New Woodie" gets a bit of roughshod treatment due to not having been played in a very long time, yet it sure is cool! Twang and surf noodledom, with catchy riffs.