The Infrareds playing "Delivering the Microfilm" at their 10 Year Reunion Show at The Blue Fin, Monterey CA circa 2009
The Infrareds playing "Adventures in Capture" at The Larimer Lounge, Denver CO circa 2003
The Infrareds playing "Number One on the Spectrum of Light" at Frederick's Music Lounge, St. Louis MO circa 2003
The Infrareds playing "Celluloid Planetoid" at The Hi-Fi Club, Cleveland OH circa 2003
The Infrareds playing Hava Nagila at The Hi-Fi Club, Cleveland OH circa 2003
The Infrareds playing "The Umiac Mission 2003: The Eskimo Files" at CBGBs, New York NY circa 2003
The Infrareds playing "The Rambo Kid" at W2 Concertzaal, s'Hertogenbosch Holland circa 2005
The Infrareds playing "Opening the Watergate" at W2 Concertzaal, s'Hertogenbosch Holland circa 2005
The Infrareds playing "The Red Scare" Netherlands circa 2005
The Infrareds with Frankie Delatorre from the Volcanics playing "Heart Beat" by The Avengers VI at Spike's, Rosemead CA circa 2007
excerpts from:"Meet The Infrareds, contemporary surf's purest exponents"By John Goddard. Article origianlly published July 16, 2003 in The River Front Times St. Louis, Mo.
The '90s saw a continual rise in the number of more-or-less traditional surf bands, with groups like the Mermen and Man.or Astro-man? adhering to many of the original rhythmo-melodic formulas while putting a fresh spin on instrumentation and guitar textures. Many surf rock traditionalists think that's all fine and groovy, but there are also those who'll settle for nothing less than the purity of a Jazzmaster raging through an ultra-cranked Fender amp with an outboard reverb.
Enter the Infrareds. Among today's exponents of surf, the Monterey trio can count themselves among the purest of sound and intention.
With nearly 300 miles of coastline separating Fortune from bassist Keigan Skydecker and drummer Matt Glasby, it's probably no surprise to the band when folks ask them to map out the logistical requirements of their partnership. "We learn all of our new songs by writing them out and sending demos back and forth through the mail," Fortune explains. "There have been several times where we've shown up to a gig and played brand-new material that we'd never practiced or played together, and we were hearing the songs for the first time along with the audience. Our new album was written in that fashion."
And the Infrareds certainly deserve a few points in the "prodigious creativity through extensive use of the postal service" category. On their recently released full-length, Recorded on Microfilm, no less than seventeen tracks bear witness to the primal ululations first heard on the Balboa peninsula some forty-odd years ago, and every last one's a scorcher. With any luck, they'll be able to recoup some of the clams they spent on stamps as they tour in support of the disc.
"The word 'tour' is very broad," Fortune says. "If you consider touring playing groups of shows that are out of town together, we do it all the time and are pretty good at it. If touring is something that bands do to make money, we've never been on tour. We think of them as road trips where we get to play a lot of shows."
By all reports, the shows themselves do as much to highlight the Infrareds' ferocious energy and spirited charisma as they do to showcase the group's technical virtuosity and complete command of style. Explains Fortune: "We all come from a punk/rock/hardcore background, as well as all the off-shoots of those styles. Surf just kind of feeds from all those genres.
"Dick Dale pretty much kicks ass," he continues. "I don't really care for his newer stuff, but everything he did in the '60s is great. We're basically just young kids who are into the '60s stuff and like to play it very aggressively."
Although Fortune's diagnosis of the current state of trad-surf is grim at best, there's apparently an upside for the Infrareds. "Instrumental music in California is totally dead right now," he pronounces. "It was popular about five years ago, and there were some great bands doing it, like the Bomboras and Satan's Pilgrims.but it's pretty much a foreign concept now, which is kind of cool for us because it's like we're doing something that no one else is doing. I guess it reinforces our sense of individuality."
Cowabunga, daddy-o.
Reviews for "Recorded on Microfilm"
"OK, Here's the deal: I just received in my mailbox the new album "Recorded on Microfilm" by Monterey, CA's own The Infrareds, and let me sum it up in two words: HOLY SHIT!!! Hands down this is by and far my favorite surf album of 2003." - Dan Ware (The Nebulas)
"What is the best surf release of 2003? I think that's a toughie (slim pickens) this year. I'll start: The Infrared's "Recorded on MIcrofilm" - Brian Neal
"If I had to bite the bullet and name only one "Best of 2003", I think that The Infrareds 'Recorded on Microfilm' wins." - Dick Messick
"Having just received a copy, I'll simply say that "Recorded on Microfilm" definitely WILL be talked of among the best of 2003. When people say "this is how surf should be" they mean this band." - "Big Wave" Dave Becker
"Recorded on Microfilm" **** "Sounds From the Darkroom" ***** - Phil Dirt (Reverb Central)
