If you are looking for the NEW Susan SurfTone press kit, please visit: http://susansurftone.com/press.htmlFor reviews of "There She Goes Again - S&ST Play The VU" go to: http://www.susanandthesurftones.com/ThereSheGoes.html Reviews of "Untitled #10"... "NEW" GANDY DANCER (UK) - "Their albums are always listenable for their fresh look at rock instrumental classics and their equally enjoyable original compositions of which there are eight this time around... We liked 'Barb-O-Boy' a decent little reggae rocker, among a variety of clever, effective guitar instrumentals." (Davy Peckett) PIPELINE INSTRUMENTAL REVUE (UK) - "These are clean 'n' clear sounds, all with definite attitude rooted in the '60's. This is Susan at her original best, she takes charge of the guitars and bass to create a well-integrated and balanced sound." (John Holmes) REVERB CENTRAL (USA) - "There's a lot of lovely music here. The whole album floats on a lush cushion of guitar perfectly supported by bass and drums, and augmented in an almost Country Joe and The Fish organ. This is a fine set of mid tempo to slow surf! Consistent, emotional, fluid, and very cool." (Phil Dirt) LANCE MONTHLY (USA) -"Established in the early nineties, Susan and The Surftones have since acquired universal accolades for their insistently inviting instrumentals. Cemented by guitarist and bassist Susan L. Yasinski, organist Marky A. Kelly and drummer Avory A. Gray, the Portland, Oregon based trio's most recent album, "Untitled #10," flawlessly channels the soul and spirit of traditional surf rock. No fat, no frills and no fuss." (Beverly Paterson)
Reviews of "Fluid Drive"... LEICESTER BANGS (UK) - "Surfaris, Chantays, Dick Dale and all the rest they had some great surf bands out there in the West, and still do! These instrumentals (with a little bit of Susan’s great voice to introduce the live numbers) get me, as a Brit, thinking of The Shadows, Tornadoes and Jud Proctor (who deserves a mention). Diddle diddle diddle dee and off we go, never mind Tom Jones’ version or Shirley Bassey’s, the Moontrekkers (first instrumental I ever bought) come to mind on track 2, “I (Who Have Nothing)”, with cool organ stabs. Some lounge exotica to sit nicely next to Don Tiki. A brilliant cover of The Beatles’ ‘Come Together’. Some Duane Eddy / Piltdown Men bass and Mysterians organ and I also like the drumming. I’d love to see this band live, especially on a bill with The Cramps - this is good and they cover a Velvets number too! The closing ‘Blue Moon’ is my favourite version next to The Marcels’, and you can pogo to it." (Terry W) NEW GANDY DANCER (UK) - "Their eighth album is the best yet with a handful of excellent modern-tinged originals and some useful and fresh covers." (Davey Peckett) LANCE MONTHLY - (USA) "Armed with the ability to make instrumental music interesting and diverse, Susan & The SurfTones are a great band... The band obviously has an acute knowledge and understanding of music in general and they posess the gift to execute such awareness with taste and confidence." (Beverly Paterson)
REVERB CENTRAL - (USA) (Phil reviews song-by song so we'll tell you what he says about a few of them): REAL ART - (Russia) "Susan's manner of playing is very non-standard for surf... and she plays solo so unusually, that I watch the flight of a melody as hypnotized and I see a great amount of emotions and moods in it." (Pavel Baleevsky) PIPELINE INSTRUMENTAL REVIEW (UK) - "The latest from Susan Yasinski and friends is a mix of self-penned compositions and standards, plus a stand-out track by organist Marky Kelly. The quality of the material and the musicianship is, as always, excellent and has a solid and polished feel to it at all times." (John Holmes) Selected as Headliner for "The Jeans Generation" show #127, Radio Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Reviews of "Night In Old Town"... COSMIK DEBRIS (USA) - "...there's something to be said for a song that's built the old fashioned way, woven of strummed guitar chords, solid bass and drums, a garagey organ cutting across the top and a well-played guitar melody in the cross-hairs. Susan has a very cool, instantly recognizable guitar tone that's at once smooth, rich and gritty, a marriage of surf and garage, much like her overall outlook on music." (D.J. Johnson) INK 19, OUTSIGHT (USA) - "Susan & The Surftones is a bright and shining star of a surf revival band... The guitar instrumentals here shine with organ-fueled and fuzz guitar energy." (Tom "Tearaway" Schulte) REVERB CENTRAL (USA) - "This is the new album from Portland, Oregon's Susan and The SurfTones. Ten nicely arranged instrumentals, a few of which are reinvented non-surf, originally non-instro covers. Susan Yasinski continues to impress me with her writing and ever-improving sense of production." (Phil Dirt)
LANCE MONTHLY (USA) - "Susan and the SurfTones have a definitive style and flair. The guitars are distinctive and illuminate with life, while the burr of a bustling organ flicks some flipping cool figures into the mix." (Beverly Paterson) DISCOVERIES (USA) - "The band's seventh CD adds to an impressive track record for lead guitarist Susan Yasinski... Susan and the SurfTones have successfully brought together elements of garage, surf and beat music in their approach to guitar instrumentals." (John Blair) NEW GANDY DANCER (UK) - "We reviewed Susan and the gang's last album...as being the best she'd done (Wrap Around) but we have to save the plaudits again for this one - another big step forward into mature rock guitar instrumental land." (Davy Peck) METAL MAIDENS (NETHERLANDS) - "Suan L.Yasinski's guitar playing has gotten better. When you consider how good the last CD sounded, I didn't think that was possible... There are ten songs on 'Night In Old Town.' All of them are cool." (Jack Little) REAL ART (RUSSIA) - "...practically each song contains elements of "adjacent" and not so styles (garage, blues, jazz, punk...), without any loss of her really unique style...If you search for something worthy on the modern surf-stage - this album is for you! (Pavel Baleevsky) BARIKADA (BOSNIA) - "Suan and the SurfTones are a surf act, but their approach absorb also elements of rhythm and blues and '60s beat. They are not "rough" or over "distorzed," their sound is more relaxive and pretty "cool." (Branimir Lokner) Reviews of our 2002 release, "Wrap-Around"...
MUSIC DISH, LANCE MONTHLY (USA) - "If you would like to 'Wrap Around' some of the best surf-instro music on the planet, I have just the group that can set you straight. Susan Yasinski and her group the SurfTones blaze a trail in the sand and leave a huge wake in a sea of music with their brand of sizzling instrumental surf rock." (Muzik Man) COSMIK DEBRIS (USA) - "Susan Yasinski has something most musicians spend forever and a day seeking: an instantly identifiable sound." (D.J. Johnson) REVERB CENTRAL (USA) - "Susan Yasinski's knack for writing simple songs that grab and hold without overpowering is impressive." (Phil Dirt) ROCKRGRL (USA) - "Surf music, though decidedly an underground phenomenon these days, remains alive and well with Susan & the Surftones. The band's original songs paint sonic moods. Susan Yasinski is one of the most exciting guitarists on the scene - surf or otherwise - and the Surftones breathe enough subtle freshness into the mix to escape sounding like a stale retread of a 40-year-old Ventures album." (Matthew Smith) PIPELINE INSTRUMENTAL REVIEW (UK) - "With more enjoyable originals such as the exciting rifferama of Moon Woman 42 and the energetic Blondes In Cars (I'll take two!), this is a rewarding CD for those who like their surf delivered in a thoughtful, modern way." (Dave Burke) Rated #7 in "Al's Ten from #59" DISCOVERIES (USA) - "Susan & The SurfTones have been one of the very few bands to fuse garage rock with surf music (and a pinch of '60s beat music thrown into the mix for good measure.)" (John Blair) SHREDDING PAPER (USA) - "...a worthy addition to the surf music canon." (David) ROCK-N-ROLL PURGATORY (USA) - "Susan Yasinski heads this surf instrumental group on lead guitar, and does a fine job of it. For some reason, it is very rare for a female to play lead in a surf band, so I'm glad to see someone doing it so capably. The music stands for itself: easygoing reverb guitar blowing like sea breeze over top keyboard-carved coastlines. They do good covers of the Clash and Mancini, as well as a favorite of so many surfbands: "Ghost Riders In The Sky." On "Sand Dreamer" they pull off a hypnotic piece with exotic Far East flavor, which is probably my favorite track. Good listen, good band. " (BL) METAL MAIDENS (NETHERLANDS) -"Susan & The SurfTones have come out with a full length CD. There are fourteen songs on it. All featuring Susan L. Yasinski on guitar. That's reason enough to listen to them." (Jack Little) REAL ART (Russia) - "The band has a very non-standard style, basically due to unusual solo by Susan herself. In a combination to precise work of rhythm-section her intricate, bound with each other solo make fantastic, almost hypnotic impression." (Pavel Baleevsky)
...and our other releases... GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE (USA) - "Drenched with reverby twang, Susan L Yasinski's period-perfect surf primitivism conjures a San Diego senior prom circa 1962." 20th CENTURY GUITAR (USA)- "Both 'The Originals' and 'All The Beat, All The Best...Live' are fine examples of just how influential the entire surf-rock sound continues to be." (Robert Silverstein) LA WEEKLY (USA) - (7/26-8/01/02) - "This new package [The Originals] has the best Yasinski tunes from the band's several instro-surf albums - and there's no 'Wipe-Out' to be heard, just songs so rich and full and damn killer, you'd swear you grew up on them... Yasinski's an impeccable guitarist, and the songs are given a creepy menace with the spooky organ." (Libby Molyneaux) VENUS (USA) - "The beauty of this album [The Originals] is that the creamy guitar hooks and wailing instrumentation are composed and played by a woman -- guess who? Susan. She plays with her heart and her head, creating brick-solid structures, and she manages to make this vocal-less music (which may often pass as background music to a surf video) fluid and concise by speaking through her guitar. Not a lot of people do that. Not a lot of genres do it." (Kate Carolan) GIRLPUNK (USA) - "Women's subsequent strides in music aside, today's surf scene remains largely male dominated... Susan Yasinski probably doesn't care. She doesn't have to as her guitar prowess can shred, spit out and leave most guys whimpering in the corner... Fortunately, the Surftones never trade rote mimicry for a chance to cut loose and have a rave-up good time. Hip youngsters can dig the retro buzz while veterans of surf's first wave can joyously flash back." (Matthew Smith) YOURFLESH MAGAZINE (USA)- [The Originals] "...Here's a fine, if not flashily innovative addition to the ranks of the few, the proud and the twangy. While women are often enthusiastic participants in the surfing life itself, and enthusiastic connoisseurs of the music, it's surprising that this is the first modern surf band I've encountered with a female lead guitarist. Susan Yasinski has worked for the better part of the last decade in Rochester, N.Y. and Portland (neither especially celebrated for their stellar surf conditions) refining the sound of the perfect wave. Yasinski acquits herself well, relying on tight, clean picking, rolling riffs and sunny, mid-tempo rhythms. The first part of the disc, a compilation of original tunes from her other work, is a bit same-y on close listening, but color is provided by Kim 13's greasy Farfisa organ. Things pick up halfway into the disc with the addtion of a new rhythm section and 'Beat Rider,' 'Barbados Twist' and 'Space Spider' evoke images of ghost riders playing beach volleyball, go-go rumbles, and urban surfaris." (Cecile Cloutier) THE NERVE (CANADA) - "Their album is called 'The Originals' and I give it 5 outa 5 Hawaiian umbrellas. What we have here is an instro surf band with a powerful, less traditional '60's sound. It's the type of music that sparks the twang in your soul. The arrangement is classy and the band is tight." (T.V. Mama) BARFLIES (USA) - "This thoroughly satisfying collection of original tunes [The Originals] from Susan & the SurfTones features some great guitar work, particularly on “Tiki Kiki” and some very memorable tunes like “Spanish Wave.” (Yvonne Cooprider) LIP MAGAZINE (USA) - "Sun-kissed, modern-day garage surf at its finest. For lazy weekend days and herb-tinged breezy summer evenings, check out the nation's only female-fronted surf-instrumental band." SURF LIFE FOR WOMEN (USA) - "This ultra-groovy release [The Originals] reverbs, twangs, growls and resonates a sound straight from the '60's. Its beach party atmosphere and tight instrumentals offer such texture and melody that 'The Originals' is on daily rotation in the SLW office." (Ann Beasley) OUTSIGHT; MODERN FIX (USA) - "Here the group delivers the pipeline goods on an album of all originals." (Tom "Tearaway" Schulte) RAZORCAKE FANZINE (USA) (Issue #10) - [The Originals] "Surf music, as the band name implies. It’s really good. Buy it. Now." (Jimmy Alvarado) RAZORCAKE FANZINE (USA) - "And to be sure, the Surftones do play some great, treble-y surf rock with equal reverence for the genre's roots and contemporary innovation...this album [The Originals] is an impressive piece of work that is as adventurous as anything from Los Straitjackets or Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet." (Eric Rife) SKRATCH MAGAZINE (USA) - "Looking for some gnarly riffs to ride the wave to? How about some cool chill-out music for your next beach-blanket bingo soiree? Well, look no further than the latest release from Susan & The SurfTones, as this pioneering, female-led surf-rock outfit takes us back to the sand on the group's latest 13-rack endeavor [The Originals]. Sans vocals but chock full of laconic melodies and some mean guitar-handling, Susan & The SurfTones successfully makes the mood '60's mod style. So wax up those boards and start dreaming California, because this troupe is ready to take it back to the beach one more time." (Mike SOS) GARAGE AND BEAT - #7 (USA) - "The sound [of The Originals] is solid surf-instrumental with a driving hypnotic beat. Susan plays clean and tasteful guitar melodies and is backed by a tight band..." COOL AND STRANGE - #27 (USA)- "My fave cut, 'Tabu' [The Originals] should be included on everyone's surf/guitar/exotica compilations. If you like surf instrumentals, take a listen! (Bob Koenig) SHREDDING PAPER #12, FEB. 2002 (EDITOR'S REVIEWS) - "Susan & The SurfTones' instro take on Del Shannon's 'Runaway' [American Graffitti Revisited] is a fabulous highlight."
MUSIC DISH(USA) - "Susan & The SurfTones are one of the better acts in the Surf genre. The original material they produce is outstanding. If this group continues to evolve and sticks to original material they will be huge."
COSMIK DEBRIS (USA) - "Their cover of The Astronauts' Baja is the best I've ever heard..The originals indicate that Susan is capable of writing outstanding surf tunes."
REVERB CENTRAL (USA) - "Susan Yasinski uses her gender to interpret the waves and the result is both feminine and powerful."
PIPELINE INSTRUMENTAL REVIEW (UK) - "Out of Limits is quite the best cover I've heard since The Ventures in Space album." ORIGINAL SIN (BELGIUM & GERMANY) - "(The Originals is) a total explosion of surf guitar music." (Didier Becu) METAL MAIDENS (NETHERLANDS) - "She is a very good guitar player. Not only does she have the technique down, she also expands on it. She captures the ambience of early 1960's music in her arranging and composing. Then she executes it flawlessly. 'The Originals' contains fourteen songs...each melody is unique." (Jack Little) REAL ART (Russia) - [The Originals] "14 high-quality compositions posessing all attributes necessary for surf, and, at the same time, having very original handwriting. Probably all case is in Susan itself and her manner of playing - she manages to compose amazing melodies, dilating with their exotic color and execute them in very original not often for similar music manner." (Pavel Baleevsky) BLUE SUEDE NEWS (USA) - "A nice mix of old and new tunes here. It's apparent that Susan is a competent writer and performer."
NEW GANDY DANCER (UK) - " A really admirable rock sound right from the start." SURF MUSIC USA - "Susan has taken her Fender Stratocaster sound to new heights as she weaves in and out of different styles of instrumental music." (Bob Dalley)
DISCOVERIES (USA) - "Susan & The SurfTones is a band led by femme reverbed instro wiz Susan Yasinski." THE HERE & THERE E-ZINE - "Not too many surf bands can create hot original music like this and it shows." (Michael Sullivan)
METROLAND (Albany, NY, USA) - "The real reason Susan stands out from other surf revivalists is her virtuoso fretwork." (Ann Morrow) CITY NEWSPAPER (Rochester, NY, USA) - "Yasinski's sharpshooting guitar skills find her hitting the mark time after time." "The SurfTones sound like every hormonal urge you've ever had shot through with about a million volts of electricity." (Rob Cullivan) DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE (Rochester, NY. USA) - "Like 'Without A Word', the first CD by Susan & The SurfTones, the guitars on 'Thunderbeach' rumble as if they were strung with suspension-bridge cables." WMFO - FM, Medford, MA - "Susan's guitar work is outstanding. I'd have to say on a par with Dick Dale." (Coffee & Smokes, Alex Piandes) WITR - FM Rochester, NY - "Susan & The SurfTones latest CD, 'Bitchin'', delivers the full, vibrant sound of classic surf." (Whole Lotta Shakin', Mike Murray) FIREBIRD (THE NETHERLANDS) - "Outstanding guitar work from Susan L. Yasinski on all tracks. This is a real addition to all serious instrumental music collectors." GUITARS & DRUMS (FRANCE) - six star review of "Bitchin'" POINTBREAK (GERMANY) - "This band has got a great sense for melody, that sets them apart." (Sebastian Hartmann) ROOTED MAGAZINE (USA) - "Susan & The SurfTones have a classy, slick-backed sound. Yasinski's prowess on guitar is unique. It growls, twangs and snarls throughout Bitchin'." (Brian Parrish) SOUTHERN & ROCKING (UK) - "Pipeline is much more powerful than the original, a little contemporary and definitely more independent than the poppy Chantays original...Susan can write her own material... examples being Sunburn, a real rocker, and the great garage, beat and surf fusion of The Blue Hammer which stood tall among its preceding five covers." (Marc Fenech) THE CONTINENTAL (USA) - "Susan & The SurfTones are an ultra-cool instro-surf band that capture the sound of the early '60's...highly recommended." (Sean Berry) LIVEWIRE (CANADA) - "Susan & The SurfTones' second CD is 100% more satisfying than their first one which itself was boss."
Both "Without A Word" and "Thunderbeach" were selected by the editors of Pipeline Instrumental Review as among the ten best instrumental releases of 1996. "Point Conception" (Thunderbeach) was listed in The Continental's Festive Forty of 1996. Nominated by readers of Surf Music USA for Surf Music Awards in both 1995 and 1996. Voted Best Retro Band of 1999 by the Editors and Readers of Metroland, Albany, New York "Wrap-Around" was #8 on WITR's "Whole Lotta Shakin' " Boss 50 Countdown for 2003. "All the Beat...All the Best...Live" was #2 for 2000. (Rochester, New York) Susan Yasinski served as principal guitar instructor and guitar workshop leader for the first Rock N' Roll Camp for Girls, Portland, Oregon, August 2001. Played for Portland Trailblazers' games in the Rose Garden, 2004 and 2005 Selected and played a showcase at the 2005 Rockrgrl Festival, (Rockrgrl Magazine) Seattle
RADIO PLAY Over the years there's been a lot. Thanks to everybody around the world who has played our stuff on their shows. VIDEO: Musiksache (2001) Musik konzert & talk, Kanal S19, Kabelnetz, Nurnberg (Germany) ArtBeat (2001) Oregon Public Broadcasting, "Rock n' Roll Camp for Girls" (interview with Susan)
"The Shortboarder" by SBSURF (2002) "Vintage Vehicles" TV show - Seattle, WA Oregon Public Broadcasting, fundraiser / advertising spot (2004) Nissan "Shift Power" promotional DVD - Italy (2005) MTV "The Real World: Sydney" - episode 2, "Hittin' The Hot Tub"; episode 9, "Boys vs. Girls" (2007) TOURS:
April 1996 - Germany RELEASES: CDs : Vinyl : Compilations :
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