We have a total band crush on Crushed Out, our fave indie surf duo. Read our interview with the band here, and watch their brand new video above – an exclusive Performer premiere!
“Surfer Billy” is a song written from the perspective of a character in the present day territorial, macho and violent So Cal beach culture. Wealth lives next to poverty, below the surface are tensions between generations, cultures and races.
Guitarist and vocalist Franklin Hoier grew up in the South Bay of Los Angeles, amongst surfers, skaters, graffiti artists, millionaires and beach bum drifters. Surfer Billy is a bit of all of these, though not quite any one. “Surfer Billy” keeps all his fears at bay by finding any chance to show his teeth.
The final verse of the song finds him at a beach bonfire with a question in mind, “is it ego or boredom that is stoking my violent mind?”