Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA The Fat Man and Team Fat - Surfin' At The C.E.S.
 | This is an advance DAT of a rare live performance from legendary Video Game Music composers Fat Man & Team Fat. They headlined the lounge at the recent CES show (a geeky gathering of video heads and game product hocking - Consumer Electronics Show). They billed their show as Surfin at the CES. Their music sometimes contains cheesy game sounds and wimpy synths and REALLY odd drum machines, their live shows use real guitars, bass and drums, and the 'tween track chatter ranges from stupid to really funny. I'm working on Fats to convince his slenderness to record a real surf album, 'cuz under all that Texas Video glitz is a California surf guitarist waiting to emerge from the tube. The crowd sounds are dubbed most likely, but the performance is real life real time fun. |
Picks: (Ghost) Riders In The Sky, Mr. Moto, Rumble, Heads Up, Miserlou, Wing Commander (from the game), Banzai Pipeline, Hill Country Theme, Pipeline, Seal Team, Leander Rider, Brain Race To Terror, Dixie
Track by Track Review
(Ghost) Riders In The Sky Cowpoke Surf (Instrumental)
Definite cowboy (as opposed to rockabilly) flavor. Energetic and pretty in a Johnny Cash way. "When Luther (Perkins) Plays The Boogie," Fats does the cowpoke blues.
Surf (Instrumental)
A spirited version with surf guitar and a bit of overdrive too. Big sound and great performance.
Rumble Link Wray (Instrumental)
The single arrangement... could use more edge and spunk.
Heads Up Blues (Instrumental)
A bluesy number that starts out hinting of Fat Angel (which could be surfed up right proud along with Wooden Ships), but quickly becoming a simple blues instro.
Miserlou Surf (Instrumental)
Arranged Dick's way, this is really honest, with guitar errors and all, probably owing to not being up to sustained double picking.
Wing Commander (from the game) Surf (Instrumental)
A slow tune with a very pretty melody. It has an almost Sandals quality about it, plus elements of early Grateful Dead. Quite the cool tune.
Lounge Dinner Surf (Instrumental)
Henry Mancini's oft surf tune played with jazzy feel much closer to Hank's original version. Smooth and cool for cats.
Cowboy Surf (Instrumental)
Military drums merge into a cowboy tune with so much flair and fun. I like this a lot.
Surf (Instrumental)
Wow, no glissandoes, not even on the drums. It opens with the bass line and that rhythm pattern plus some psych harmonics. A nice interpretation through out.
Surf (Instrumental)
Very cool Zapatta drums and rhythms and a slow moody melody. I like this. Fats is a good rider.
Leander Rider Cowboy Surf (Instrumental)
A slow guitar intro with long notes and sustain and fuzz and a seventies melody feel. Quite nice.
R&B Surf (Instrumental)
Harmonics and a majorly cool variation on the main theme of Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang." Very psychedelic in a basic way, plus surf and spy and growl. Way cool.
Dixie Country (Instrumental)
S-l-o-w dance version of Dixie that's ever so serene. Soulful, in a James Taylor sorta way... you know, white boy insincerity.