Mickey Dora would think I’m a dork.
I recently read an old interview with Dora, the cranky Malibu surf legend, during which he mocked what he called “surf posers,” claiming they all headed to the beach with giddy smiles and ukuleles.
Well, I hate to disappoint the spirit of Dora, but I’m headed for a surf trip this summer . . . and I plan on taking my ukulele. What can I say — I’ve got uke fever.
It started when I heard George Harrison’s uke version of “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.” (The ex-Beatle was a big uke fan, though he rarely recorded with the uke.) Then I interviewed Los Osos resident Jody Mulgrew of the band The Johnny Starlings. Mulgrew, another uke fan,let me strum his 4-string, and I was hooked.
I got my own ukulele for Christmas, and I upgraded this past weekend. Now I need to learn a handful of songs before the trip in July. My first song? You guessed it: “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.” There are 17 chords in this song, so it’s not easy, but I’m getting along.
Can’t brag too much about my singing abilities, though.
Now I’m working on “Such a Night,” the Dr. John classic, and I figure I’ll have to learn Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” plus some Beatles and Jack Johnson.
Dork? Maybe. But, you know what? Who cares about Dora. The guy was a convicted crook who, according to friend and former surfer Terry “Tubesteak” Tracey, once stole an Academy Award from the host of a party he attended. Heck, maybe I’ll go to Malibu and dedicate “Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” to him.
In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy some photos by local photographer/surfer Chris Burkard. He and surfing bud Eric Soderquist went on a surf trip of their own, visiting sites all along Highway 1, and chronicled their journey.
Some of the photos, including many from San Luis Obispo County, are currently featured on Surfline (The photo above, by the way, is a Burkard shot of Soderquist.) And there are talks with Chronicle Books about a book deal. When the book is published, you can read about their travels in The Tribune.
–Pat P.
Posted on April 4th, 2007 by Pat
Filed under: Surf stuff
Leave a Reply