Chairmen of the Boards are not a typical surf-rock band, but as their upcoming debut album Surfin’ The Apocalypse (weewerk Recordings) proves, they are hands down one of the best out there. Keeping things lean and mean, the new trio consisting of Toronto scene vets Rob Hiemstra (guitars), Leonardo Valvassori (bass) and Gary Craig (drums) blast out 14 instrumentals guaranteed to put a little extra wax on your deck and keep you ridin’ the nose through the riptide of daily life.
Leading off with the vintage twang of first single “Board Whacks,” COTB display the full range of their stunning chops on the deliciously funky “Booty Wiggle,” the kick-sand-in-your-face-while-I-sip-my-martini swagger of “Dirty Grind,” and a cover of one of surf-rock godfather Dick Dale’s classic tracks, “Taco Wagon.” If you only know surf-rock because of Quentin Tarantino soundtracks, then strap yourself on to get the full experience!
Quote from Chairman Rob:
“The seeds for the band were planted when I started bringing original ‘surf compositions’ to Chairman Leo during a residency at Grossman’s Tavern. In no time we were working out new ideas, and soon had enough material to make an album. We laid down drums at Revolution Recording in Toronto and the rest of the album was done at Chairman Leo’s personal studio The Notebox, where additional sugaring to songs was applied by keyboardist Denis Keldie, pedal steel guitarist General Kevin Neal, and the Hang Ten Horns—Rebecca Hennessy and Carrie Chesnutt. Playing this music is such a blast, and we hope it can help people escape to their favourite beach, real or imagined.”
