Daytonas-Ready Set Go!

Surf and Hot Rod harmonies can be as daunting as approaching a 50 foot wave.  Accordingly, there have only been a handful of bands (the Chesterfield Kings, Fortune & Maltese, the Untamed Youth from the U.S. and Japan’s Charlie & the Hot Wheels) that have risen to the challenge and pulled off the feat during the ‘90s. Notably, it was mostly groups from outside the surf state that excelled at the California vocal sound. Daytonas were also a first-rate instrumental band that were able to strike the perfect tone that crowned them as the successors to the Chantays and slotted them with top-tier contemporaries like the Huntington Cads. Furthermore, it’s amazing they released this album in 1993-an entire year before the Pulp Fiction soundtrack arguably launched the third wave surf revival of the mid-'90s. They also continued the grand surf vocals tradition of Bruce & Terry, Fantastic Baggys, the Sunrays, Ronny & Daytonas, the Astronauts and those Pendleton-wearing kids from Hawthorne-the Beach Boys. Brothers were also involved as the Daytonas featured Jack Fjellgren (drums) and Klas Fjellgren (guitar), Lars Lindberg (bass), Patrick Hammarsten (keyboards) along with ex-Stomachmouths, the Livingstones Lars Kjellén (lead vocals, guitar). Somehow, someway, this group and their music, so perfectly evocative of the Pacific Coast, made its way across the Atlantic from such an unlikely locale as Stockholm, Sweden. Their debut Ready Set Go! perfectly introduces their sound built on lavish reverb, soaring harmonies and precious remnants of '60s surf culture. 

Switching Tracks

Covers such as “Geronimo” by Jon & the Nightriders are indicative of their deep knowledge of surf instrumental music, while original vocals numbers “I Love California” (composed by Lars Kjellén) declare their yearning for the Golden State. This standout is reminiscent of the early Barracudas and features a captivating organ solo on par with “Kind of a Drag” by the Buckinghams before floating into space like “Telstar.” Across the record, their guitars sparkle like sunlight reflecting off the onrushing sea. Ready Set Go! also includes the charging “Go!” which also led off the outstanding instrumental compilation Beyond the Beach that was released by Upstart in 1994. I used to start my college radio show with “Go!” from the aforementioned compilation. I didn’t think I ever needed to hear another cover of “Hawaii Five-O,” but when the Daytonas’ version burst from the speakers sounding like it came from the Pacific shores of Peru with the organ prominently on the forefront, it quickly became my favorite rendition. Vocals numbers return with the title track “Ready Set Go,” that reimagines the Fantastic Baggys’ “Tell’em I’m Surfin,” while “Baked Beans & Chicken” features cool South of the Border guitars and lyrics highlighting hidden, but perilous surf spots under the Baja, California Sun.

Heights Attained

The Daytonas certainly deserved broader exposure during the brief time before “The Great Surf Crash of ‘97” when some surf outfits (e.g. the Bomboras) were even signed to major labels. The Fjellgren brothers went on to record what I consider to be the three best surf instrumental albums of Century 21 with the Surfites. Big Pounder, Escapades in Space and Surfites & Co. on Double Crown Records are remarkable achievements filled with rippling melodies that shift and swirl unpredictably like the sea itself. Additionally, these stellar records offer an impressive array of original instrumentals that are conversant with the many strains of ‘60s instrumental sounds (i.e. surf, R&B, biker fuzz, space, Euro-twang) and delivered with an emphasis on melody and total attention to tone. Today, their legend lives on through their recordings. Ready Set Go! allows listeners to hear where it all began when an unlikely, but determined group of Swedes were able to momentarily recapture the elusive California Dream.  

L to R: Lars Lindberg (bass),  Lars Kjellén (guitar, vocals) Jack Fjellgren (drums), Klas Fjellgren (guitar) and Patrick Hammarsten (keyboards).