Surf’s up for The Intoxicators! with Music Under the Oaks concert

The final concert of the Levitt AMP Tallahassee: Music Under the Oaks series is coming up this week. And it will close out with an exciting bang with the energetic sounds of The Intoxicators!

The band performs at festivals, clubs, and events across the United States and internationally, continuing to build a loyal following among fans of instrumental rock and classic surf revival. And the band’s drummer, Brian Crum, can’t wait to see you on Thursday, July 23, at Lewis Park downtown.

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Pots, pans and starting a band

Brian Crum was introduced to the percussion family of instruments, thanks to a member of his own family: his brother. “[He’d] beat on pots and pans when I was a kid… I absolutely hated that,” he says with a smile. “I have no idea how I became a drummer.”

Crum does have other artistic interests: photography, drawing, painting, and writing. Yet, it was in college that he realized he wanted to be a musician.

“My best friend was a drummer in a band,” he explains, reminiscing on how Crum, his best friend’s girlfriend, and roommate were hanging out one day. “We were waiting for [my best friend] to come back from rehearsal… Someone said, ‘We should start our own band and make him wait on us!'” And it was two days after that fateful day that they did.”The roommate had a bass, another day later, the girlfriend had a guitar, and I went to the flea market and bought my first drum kit from Ben Wentworth. That’s how I became a drummer.”

Since then, Crum has been involved in the music scene in many ways. Whether going to shows, helping friends load, set up, and break down their shows, or even attending concerts to dance and clap.

Yet, there’s something he truly loves about the art of music. “I love how you can turn your brain off to everything negative in the world and lose yourself in the moment of a song,” Crum describes. “Seeing someone in the crowd moving and dancing and sharing the experience is amazing. It’s a feeling that can’t be beat.”

The intoxicating start

Crum has performed with many different bands and styles of music throughout the years, including now.

“I play in The Manakooras (exotica band made up all stars from several surf bands), Frankenfinger (Tallahassee Punk band from the ’90s now in New York City), The Disasternauts (All-Star astronaut Chimpanzee surf band), echolocator (Tallahassee surf combo with Professor Paddy League, Gary Evans, and Jose Dreyes), and The High Spirits Jug Band (Scott Buchanan, Kim Thomas, the late Dave Leporati, Brent Kittrell, Micah Holmbeck, JB, Seep, and Danny Goddard.)”

He is currently the drummer of The Intoxicators!, an instrumental band that specializes in the surf rock guitar style popularized in the 1960s.

This genre of rock and roll was closely linked to surf culture, especially in Southern California. In that era, surf music was primarily divided into two main types: instrumental surf and vocal surf. Instrumental surf is characterized by reverb-heavy electric guitars that suggest the sound of crashing waves. It was popularized largely by Dick Dale and His Del-Tones, The Ventures, The Belairs, and later by Los Straitjackets, Jon and the Nightriders, and others.

The Intoxicators! consists of Adam Watson on bass, Gary Evans and George Dyal on guitar, and Crum on drums. When asked how the band began, Crum explains that he recorded with Lewis Bailey, a California-based musician who was in a surf rock band in Tallahassee called Stingray International.

“I recorded [with him] for a Japanese compilation called Takuroku Surf Party,” he says. “We started playing together after that. We played a couple of shows as ‘The Intoxicators Show and Review.’ Had a few lineup changes, then settled on The Intoxicators! The band in its current form has been playing together since 2002.”

Surfin’ Under the Oaks

On Thursday, July 23, Crum and The Intoxicators! will close out this year’s “Levitt AMP Tallahassee: Music Under the Oaks” in Lewis Park. Besides the music, Crum says that people can expect dancing, toe-tapping, or nodding to the beat. “Bring your lawn chairs and come hang out in the park with us!” Crum says. “We would love to see you. Also we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that makes these events happen.”

Brought to you by the Council on Culture & Arts (COCA) and the Tallahassee Downtown Improvement Authority (DIA), this series is supported in part by the Levitt Family Foundation, a social impact funder at the intersection of music, public space, and community building. When asked to describe how important this particular concert is to the band, Crum spoke about how beautiful and amazing the series has been for Tallahassee’s music scene.

“This is such a great way to celebrate a hidden gem of a park… Every single band that has played this series has been top-notch,” Crum says, talking about the wonderful spot in Lewis Park the series has taken place at. “What is not to love about friends and neighbors getting together under the oak trees to see amazing musicians for free?”

And what is not to love about the retro tones, driving rhythms, and cinematic flair of one of the standout surf bands, The Intoxicators!

If you go

What: The Intoxicators! at Levitt AMP Tallahassee: Music Under the Oaks; presented by the Council on Culture & Arts, the Downtown Improvement Authority, and the Levitt Family Foundation

When: 7-9 p.m. Thursday, July 23

Where: Lewis Park, 316 E Park Ave.

Cost: Free

Details: tallahasseearts.org/levittamp; Band Website: www.intoxicators.com/

Samantha Sumler is the Marketing & Communications Manager for the Council on Culture & Arts. COCA is the capital area’s umbrella agency for arts and culture (tallahasseearts.org).

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Surf’s up for The Intoxicators! with Music Under the Oaks concert