NOTES FROM THE SURF NRG EAST COAST SUMMER TOUR Sponsored by Hurley, Reef, Smith and Surfer.

STOP #1, LONG BEACH ISLAND, NEW JERSEY
The kick-off venue to the SURF NRG EAST COAST SUMMER TOUR was held at the Ketch, a longtime watering hole formerly known as the Acme Bar in Beach Haven, New Jersey. After finally meeting with the guys in DonÕt Look Down, the band that would be touring with us this summer, we were anxious to get the first show in gear. The band members to DLD are a group of young, highly energetic pop-punksters from the Ocean City, NJ area. Hitting the road for a 20 stop East Coast tour is the biggest opportunity that this young band has seen and it was evident by their first performance at the Ketch that they were looking forward to kicking ass and taking names along the long road ahead.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Alberto, the first hurricane of the East Coast season, was off of Bermuda aiming swell our way. Reports from home in Florida of perfect 4 - 6 foot offshores had us hoping for at least the same. According to reports, New Smyrna was the spot to be. Unfortunately, a low that had pushed off just to the south of us was creating harsh onshore winds and flooding rains throught the state of Jersey. I hooked up with local LBI surf star Sammy ÒScrappy FooÓ Zuegner to check on the surf one morning. On Saturday the signs of long period groundswell started to show at Holyoke, the local jetty beachbreak near the south end of Long Beach Island. By lunchtime the swell picked up to overhead. Unfortunately the crowds in the water multiplied by ten fold since the word was out that the swell from Alberto had finally hit. The conditions remained poor and the rain squalls made it impossible to set up for any photo/video shoot. Back on the road.

STOP #2 - LONG BEACH, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
Before hitting our 2nd show on Long Island I headed into the jungle of New York City. What a freakinÕ rat race! ThereÕs so much energy in motion. I had to stop by B/H Photo in Manhattan to check out all the latest camera gear. I was like a kid in a candy store. Within hours I was off to Long Beach, Long Island for our 2nd show.

Every Tuesday night Club Karma hosts ÒLife Guard NightÓ. The guys at Unsound Surf Shop hooked us up with the gig where we were virtually guaranteed a crowd. And the crowd did not let us down. While the video played inside on the widescreen the band jammed outdoors under a beautiful clear evening sky on the back patio stage. The highlight of the evening was when the band jammed in the background to the coaxing of a local radio DJ who convinced 3 local girls to remove their tops for a hundred bucks each. Actually, it started off as a ÒGirls with the Nicest ThongÓ contest that erupted into a ÒSkin to WinÓ contest. The show went off as well as their tops!

STOP #3 - SKATER ISLAND, Middletown, Rhode Island
Skater Island has to be one of the best skate parks ever. Owner, Sid Ambruzzi, owner of the local surf shop Waterbrothers has this town dialed. The kids are so lucky to have someone like him with the energy to make it happen. We set up our widescreen system on the back wall of the indoor skate park while the bands jammed out nearby on the free style course. DonÕt Look Down was joined by a second band, Lefty, from Newport Beach, California who were just added to the bill on the SURF NRG Tour. These guys recently completed the Warp Tour and was at the right place at the right time with hooking up with us. While kids skated the vert ramps, bowls and freestyle courses both bands cranked out at full voume. What an energy level! Sid got roused and gave a brief speech about how PUNK ROCK RULES! It was classic.

STOP #4 = MONTAUK, LONG ISLAND
The ferry ride over from Conneticut to the north tip of Long Island was awesome. The weather was absolutely beautiful. After spending the past few months in a typical hot and humid Florida summer it was a welcoming experience to encounter the upper 60Õs chill in the air along with sunny skies. Zig zagging thru country roads in the Surf NRG motorhome and looking for proper clearances for the overpasses was a little sketchy but we made our way safely to the tip of Long Island, the Montauk Lighthouse. After a cool afternoon sight seeing tour we dropped in at The Cantina to do our show. A small crowd of stoked groms settled in for the early show. Unfortunately the hotel guests werenÕt too stoked with the sound level of the band so DLD got to bust out only 5 songs. The second showing of OCEAN ENERGY was attended by the local veteran surf populace including local town surf star Chris Harmon who is from nearby East Hampton. When HarmonÕs footage appeared on screen during a Caribbean winter time segment the crowd gave out loud hoots. Later that night a 9Õ6Ó Hanley Longboard was raffled off courtesy of local surf shop, Air and Speed.

STOP #5 - OARTLEY BEACH, NEW JERSEY
The show that didnÕt happen. After spending nearly ten hours in traffic we decided to call off the show at Joey HarrisonÕs Surf Club. HereÕs a driving tip for those traveling from Long Island thru New York City in the summertime. DonÕt do it during the day. Drive at night. Otherwise youÕll be stuck in the same congestion I was. WeÕll see Joey next year.

STOP #6 - SEA ISLE CITY, NEW JERSEY
The show was staged behind the Heritage Surf Shop in Sea Isle City during the annual Gotcha/Heritage Memorial Pro surfing event and was a great success. This is one of my favorite stops due to the fact that itÕs a true surf party. Attended by many of the pro contestants, the local groms and veteran surfers were on cloud nine being able to hang out and party with the proÕs. Both bands jammed out, prizes flowed steadily out to the stoked out crowd and the video showing was well received especially the section that featured the sounds of the local Ocean City, NJ band DonÕt Look Down. The guys in DLD were super stoked with the turnout of their local crowd and looked really pumped on traveling further down he coast.

Stay tune for more updates as we travel south along the East Coast. Please spread the word about the Surf NRG East Coast Summer Tour coming to your local town. Log onto www.surfnrg.com for the schedule of dates.

THE SURF NRG EAST COAST SUMMER TOUR SCHEDULE
August 21st--Mellow Beach, Ocean City, Maryland
August 22nd--Mad Crabber, Avon (Outer Banks), North Carolina August 24th--The Pit, Kill Devil Hills, (Outer Banks) North Carolina
August 27th--Peabody's, Virginia Beach, Virginia (East Coast Surf Championships)
August 28th, Red Dog's, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina August 29th--Sand Stones, Garden City, South Carolina
August 31st--ClubH20, Jacksonville, Florida
Sept 1st--NKF, Cocoa Beach, Florida (National Kidney Foundation Contest)
Sept 2nd--The Metro Twin Cinema, Melbourne, Florida
Sept 3rd--Hustler, Indiatlantic, Florida
Sept 6th--Sand Bar, Coconut Grove, Florida
Sept 7th--Surf Cafe, Boca Raton, Florida
Sept 9th--Saphire, Orlando, Florida