What about the Summer Hits!?!

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

The talk about the Tyde and Further on the Capital of Pop Music thread got me thinking about how while both bands seem to inspire their fair share of love and hate, no one ever seems to mention the one thing that should earn Darren Radermaker a place in rock history--the mighty Summer Hits Group.

The Summer Hits were the Jesus and Mary Chain in an alternate universe where they grew up in Pasadena instead of Glasgow (or wherever) and instead of shooting up they spent their time skateboarding and getting stoned. The singles comp Beaches and Canyons is literally my favorite record ever and I have never met anyone who has even heard it. I wanted to write about it for 106 Beats That, but laziness and the fact that my music writing abilities stop at comparing whatever band it may be to JAMC kept me from doing it.

Does anyone else have love for the Summer Hits, or am I all alone?

― Miranda, Thursday, 29 August 2002 00:05 (twenty-three years ago)

did they have teased out whiteboy dylan afros too?

― jess (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 29 August 2002 00:08 (twenty-three years ago)

There's a couple of songs I've got of theirs on a Four Letter Words compilation which I really like. And that song about Letitia Sadier "Letitia plays a Moog... oooh". Classic. But they've done some duff tunes as well.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 29 August 2002 00:34 (twenty-three years ago)

I like the story about how when the Summer Hits were touring and they stayed with the Make*Up but were distressed when they found out the Make*Up were "a bunch of straights".

That said, out of that whole paisley/crackwhore jeans/groovy L.A. indie clique, the Summer Hits were the best assemblance thereof.

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 29 August 2002 01:06 (twenty-three years ago)

This, of course, not nearly as classic as the story about the one time collision course of wackiness that occurred when Rex Thompson (Summer Hits), Anton Newcombe (Brian Jonestowners), and Jon Basil (resident groovy O.C. cat) all ran into each other at Noise Noise Noise records in Costa Mesa on a Saturday night, and there was an imprumpto match between the three to see who could "out-groove" the other.

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 29 August 2002 01:09 (twenty-three years ago)

"stony creation" is pretty nice, i last blasted it LOUDLY on that little 46W between Paso Robles and Cambria... too bad I didn't crash my little white porsche convertible (or whatever it was).

their discography is compiled on "beaches and canyons"... a great pickup used at Aron's or Amoeba.

what about the northern lights? a bigger letdown than the beachwood sparks/the tyde? Especially after the awesome "Sweet Julianne" recorded for the Beachwood Sparks prior to his departure?

― gygax!, Thursday, 29 August 2002 05:34 (twenty-three years ago)

Grrr! I've had that comp on my wish list for ages, and you make it sound as easy as plucking a Spice Girls CD from the used bin.

― Curt (cgould), Thursday, 29 August 2002 14:11 (twenty-three years ago)

Can I just comment ON HOW JEALOUS I AM THAT YOU PEOPLE HAVE LISTENED TO THE SUMMER HITS!!!

― spiffy james, Thursday, 29 August 2002 14:21 (twenty-three years ago)

Never even heard of 'em! DB, when the heck were they around? Or are they still around?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 29 August 2002 14:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Beaches and Canyons first caught my eye cause of it's awesome cover--they look like a trio of teenage hustlers circa 1971. I love it as much as I hate the Tyde album cover. But, yeah, it's incredible--a weird & wonderful record, a bunch of fuzz-y, druggy love songs to Southern California. Like Donut Bitch, I've never really flipped over anything else that scene's produced. I suspect Tartarex is the secret ingredient. I just love his stoner/surfer babytalk lyrics and delivery. I wonder what he's done since?

― Arthur (Arthur), Thursday, 29 August 2002 14:39 (twenty-three years ago)

started around 1992... 4 7"s... all compiled on one CD. the first 7" is the best.

Ben: How did The Summer Hits come about?

Darren: I met Rex during Further. The basis of the Summer Hits was that him and Josh and I would get together and get loaded and Rex would have a song where he played the bass and sang a melody line. We’d just work something out and three weeks later that was the single. Rex has a lot of talent. Hopefully, that album will be reissued pretty soon. We just did that for fun over the years. The Summer Hits are still together as far as me and Rex are concerned. We’ll do something soon. Rex just has to wait till the inspiration comes.

Ben: The record was ahead of its time. It was like Dinosaur, Jr. meets The Beach Boys.

Darren: The reviews were all like this is a cross between My Bloody Valentine and The Beach Boys. All we had was a shitty 8-track so all we could do was crank it up. We were really into Flying Saucer Attack. We just wanted to be fucked up and crazy. The first Flying Saucer Attack album just blew our minds. We would just sit around on Friday nights getting loaded and listening to music. We’d listen to a lot of early ‘90s indie music and then flow back into listening to old stuff again

i think they actually released a 12" a few years ago.

okay, for even more obscurities: how about rusty troller, gold winter people, tugboat 3000... hahaha.

― gygax!, Thursday, 29 August 2002 16:35 (twenty-three years ago)

tugboat 3000 suck dick on the moon

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 29 August 2002 23:12 (twenty-three years ago)

eleven months pass...

I'm going to be involved in the reissuing of The Summer Hits. Word.

― doom-e, Monday, 4 August 2003 09:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Word is right. I got a copy of this about three weeks ago (thx, Dallas,) and it's amazing.

Is it a straight (er...you know what I mean) re-issue of the Beaches and Canyons CD, or is there more?

― M Specktor (M Specktor), Monday, 4 August 2003 09:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm getting the Beaches and Canyons CD from Ann Tyde - I'm sure that between Darren and Rex, that it probably will be loaded with extras and my dear self on liner notes.

― doom-e, Monday, 4 August 2003 10:09 (twenty-two years ago)

well I'll look forward to it on both counts, then. You will keep us posted?

(Why, as a southern Californian and a drug-music enthusiast, I'd never heard of these guys until recently is completely beyond me...)

― M Specktor (M Specktor), Monday, 4 August 2003 10:14 (twenty-two years ago)

who's doing the reissue? rainbow quartz?

(i love my post up there)

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 4 August 2003 10:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Revola. I spoke to Joe and he is up for it. Darren asked him as well. Next I'm going to push for the further releases to be reissues! I met Ric Menck at the Tyde show. We talked about Velvet Crush and his reissue label. I hooked Joe and Ric up for more reissue madness. But at the moment I'm just chasing The Summer Hits. Word.

― doom-e, Monday, 4 August 2003 10:59 (twenty-two years ago)

i realise it may well be impossible thanks to Roback, but any chance of whispering in Joe's shell pink ear about reissuing some Opal?

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 4 August 2003 11:13 (twenty-two years ago)

(although i think Rykodisc tried and failed)

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 4 August 2003 11:13 (twenty-two years ago)

i talked joe into reissuing all that early nineties west coast psych-noisefuck stuff. just to introduce kids to the dawn of the umpteeth summer of love and violence. i think it's going to be bjm, the summer hits, the crush and perhaps further?

after that i'm going to try to help him track down the master tapes for hope sandoval's first project - 'going home'. joe is mates with the mary chain. as for opal? dunno. depends on who owns it.

― doom-e, Monday, 4 August 2003 11:14 (twenty-two years ago)

it'd be nice to see some comprehensive Further reissues..

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 4 August 2003 11:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Agreed! And I think Creation owns the rights to the Further catalogue.

― doom-e, Monday, 4 August 2003 11:17 (twenty-two years ago)

also, if you're hovering around the Crush axis, some Choo Choo Train reissues would be welcome too

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 4 August 2003 11:18 (twenty-two years ago)

ric sent me a big package of all his solo recordings and the velvet crush recordings. ric's reissue label is sweet - the action and pogo (walt kelly..)

― doom-e, Monday, 4 August 2003 11:21 (twenty-two years ago)

i got a single from josh recently. i was really surprised at how groovy and electronic it is. those guys are usually old-fashioned and mellow (i'm not a huge fan of some of their other stuff). but that was amazing. it doesn't seem like you'd find those guys in the same room though nowadays.

― lolita corpus (lolitacorpus), Monday, 4 August 2003 18:04 (twenty-two years ago)

the guy from further is like 50 now isn't he? the pre-further band was godawful then he jumped on the pavement bandwagon. sometimes chimes and griptape are way overhyped, pretty mediocre but they released that cool double seven inch once upon a time. the tyde should be drowned.

― keith (keithmcl), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 00:36 (twenty-two years ago)

wow congrats doom-e. is this UK only?

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 02:11 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, uk only, but it should be easily available on www.revola.co.uk, word!

― doom-e, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 05:29 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

you used to know
about the difference in the sand
but the California bummer, baby
is getting outta hand

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Saturday, 29 April 2006 15:36 (twenty years ago)

nine months pass...

O_o

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Monday, 5 February 2007 08:47 (nineteen years ago)

eleven months pass...

Did the reissue mentioned above ever come out? Any idea where to find (or even hear) some of this stuff?

I completely missed them at the time, only heard their name when Sic Alps pasted over a Summer Hits cover (which was pasted over a Walker Brothers cover) for their recent single. The descriptions in this thread sound awesome...

― city worker, Friday, 1 February 2008 22:15 (eighteen years ago)

This was not as good as I had hoped.

― Spencer Chow, Friday, 1 February 2008 23:21 (eighteen years ago)

A very profilic band, apparently. These are just a few of the Summer Hits albums I came across on the Net:

http://www.oldies.com/i/boxart/large/85/090431854822.jpg http://www.7digital.com/shops/assets/sleeveart/%5C829410453677_350.JPEG http://www.forzashop.sk/ganet/forza/music/shop.nsf/1E29F4D11C8658E9C125703F002CA15D/AbstImgA/0.84

― Geir Hongro, Friday, 1 February 2008 23:57 (eighteen years ago)

eight years pass...

Beaches and Canyons is on Spotify (artist mistagged as "summerhits"). Fourteen plus years later and it's still the best.

― fffv, Tuesday, 11 October 2016 19:27 (nine years ago)

eleven months pass...

RIP Josh Schwartz
http://i.imgur.com/3dqBkdW.jpg

Great drum track (except for the mic smack at 0m44s):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5pxKdvxeak

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 12 September 2017 05:17 (eight years ago)

two years pass...

Recent interview with the sole surviving member (!), Daddy D(arren):

https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2020/06/the-summer-hits-interview.html

I did not know that Rex had passed away.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Monday, 31 August 2020 22:13 (five years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.