THE TOURMALINERS: Live & Alive

Many bands don’t hold up well playing tunes from their albums in a live setting, usually because of all the window dressing you can add in the studio, with special effects, multiple tracking, retakes, punch ins, and splice editing. This is not the case with the Tourmaliners in their recent release, Live & Alive. Their dynamic original neo-surf instrumental compositions are even more pronounced in a live setting with their infectious rhythms and extended reverb-drenched guitar melodies and solos front and center throughout all 12 tracks.

The live setting was recorded over two nights last year at Tio Leo’s, featuring nine tunes from their most recent release, Surfidia, in addition to three tracks from their first album, Tourmaline Dream. Their lineup remains intact with Deven Berryhill and Joe Dameron on guitars, Matt Clowminzer on bass, Ina Soliz on keyboards, and John MacElwee on drums, with all tunes penned by Berryhill and Clowminzer, along with producer Miles Clowminzer overseeing the recording and mixing of the project.

One advantage in a live setting is that a band can expand on their tunes, particularly in more melodramatic out-of-tempo intros and expanded solos, thus the case on the opening track, “Espania,” where you can visualize the matadors at the bull ring making their entrance, accompanied by the flamenco-flavored guitar melody.

Duly noted immediately on the second track, “Point Break” is MacElwee’s perfectly placed opening surf-driven drum chops, effortlessly setting the groove at a swift tempo throughout the track. Additionally, his drumming is the backbone for supporting all the myriad grooves behind the shifting sections of each tune.

As on their studio album Surfidia, the interplay of the two guitars comes through loud and clear in the live setting, especially on the straight-ahead surf rocker, “Swanky,” where they successfully bob and weave in a call-and-response manner.

The melodies and riffs are written and played brilliantly in replicating the 1950s/1960s surf era, especially Berryhill’s reverb-drenched lead guitar solos, melodies, and flawless tremolo picking.

What makes the Tourmaliners so unique is that they cover all the compositional blueprints of that era, from the Spaghetti Western “Coyote” to the alluring tango backdrops on “Tiki Woodbridge” and “Picante!”

“Glasshouse” from their first album, Tourmaline Dream, is a funky two-chord jam vamp, fueled by Clowminzer’s driving bass guitar figures, not to be outdone by the straight-ahead rocker, “Voyage to Mars,” featuring an ascending chromatic chord progression that builds towards an ensuing spaceship launch.

The band gets to stretch out on an extended version of “Loco Moco,” with the audience anticipating their moment to join in on the spoken title words as the music periodically stops. Well, at least the band nailed all the vocal breaks.

Then, of course, there has to be that song that mimics the last dance at the high school prom. “Surfidia” fits that bill. The obligatory slow 12/8-time doo wop chord progression is the perfect backdrop for Berryhill’s swooning guitar phrases.

“Grimace” becomes the perfect closer to the festivities, highlighted by the exhilarating chromatic guitar flurries alternating with classic low end Duane Eddy guitar riffs amid the frenetic tempo, with just the right dramatic group ensemble conclusion, Las Vegas style, to garner cheers from the receptive live audience, a perfect ending to a stellar live album.