MORE MUSICA SURFICA

MusicaSurfica Emerging Artists tour is now complete for 2007. 4 public concerts+ 3 private including one for our sponsors APN – big thanks for making it all possible, 2 schools and the luck of surfing 4 nice point breaks: Crescent Head, Scotts Head, Broken Head and Noosa Heads. We followed the swell and after each concert, the hardcore surfers in the band drove some 3-4 hours each night to be there for the dawn surf, led by Derek Hynd. It’s rare to get surf in this part of the world in October and so we were blessed, especially at Noosa Heads where the swell must wrap around a long way to break. We arrived at film maker Jack McCoy’s Scott’s Head house after 1 am and were awoken by Derek Hynd at 5am with the words “ the nightmare has begun”. His words couldn’t be further from the reality. More like a wonderful dream to be on the far northern NSW coast to surf these perfect point breaks. The waves weren’t as big as we were hoping for at first and the wind was ill, but we waited until 7 am and the wind backed off, the dolphins came out and the swell picked up.

Perhaps the best vibe I’ve experienced in the water, we the finless crew were joined by a motley assortment of varied surf craft including a one legged surfer who managed to STAND on his surf ski balancing with his prosthetic leg and oar. I hope Jack McCoy filmed it. Mate – whoever you are, you are a legend. We also had Warren riding his inflatable mat and the pure elfin spirit of Sage Joske surfing on the finless ancient Alaia. Missing were the usual slash and burn assholes aggressively claiming their right to rule.

We are dreaming that we are recapturing the soul of surfing with the free spirit of finless. Surfing in the day, playing concerts in the night (joining the ACO were Tim Freedman and Shark Island charger Terpapai Richmond on drums, Joseph Tawadros on Oud and our emerging artists), couldn’t be better.

We’ve been playing our arrangement of Shine on you crazy diamond and Paganini’s 24th caprice live to Mick Sowry’s surfing cut from his under construction doco.

It was great to see two colossal Jacks in the audience: Thompson and McCoy.

After the Bellingen school concert one young bloke told me that he was going to take the fins out of his board and asked me where you can learn to play the viola. That’s thinking out of the square.

Let’s conclude with the words of Derek Hynd:
To surf free friction, or fin free, primarily forces the surfer back to the core. It is an act of homage to thousands of years of wave riding. It’s a return to an unpredictable wild side in a sea of conservatism. It is a test of composure in delivering the upper hand to nature. Most of all though it’s just a frontier feeling of being untethered and unguided that brings fun to the fore. And fun IS the key.