”THE ULTRAS are a mostly-instrumental rock’n’roll trio from San Francisco formed in l988 by guitarist Eric “Sludge” Lenchner. They call their sound “Surf-Pop-Sludge”.
In their early days, the Ultras played the “new lounge” supper clubs in San Francisco utilizing their diverse musical palette of Surf, Rockabilly, Salsa, Pop, Blues, Country, Jazz, and Psychedelic styles. This was a low-volume sound with the instrumentation of electric guitar, acoustic “string” bass, and brushed drums.
In the l990’s, as the Ultras began to play more and more original music (at a more electrified volume), they moved from the lounges to the original music showcase clubs of San Francisco and Northern California. The Ultras toured the West Coast several times and shared the bill numerous times with surf music legend Dick Dale.
1993 saw the release of the Ultras’ CD, SURF-POP-SLUDGE Produced by Scott Mathews, the man responsible for the Dick Dale “comeback” CD” on Hightone, “Surf-Pop-Sludge” was a college radio hit, going Top Ten on numerous stations throughout the U.S.
In 1995 the Ultras stopped playing live shows due to guitarist Lenchner’s hearing damage. They have continued to record, and their latest projects are “Rocket Jockey” (video game), “Attack of the New Killer Surf Guitars” (compilation featuring Ultras’ track “THE ULTRA FACTOR”), and “Just Write” (feature film starring Sherilyn Fenn – soundtrack features “Steel Twist” by The Ultras).”
Hey surfers! Check out this fine surfin’ instro slab I just found recently. The Ultras can be spotted on some 90’s surf revival comps as ‘Beyond The Beach’ or ‘Gnarly Reef’, but on ‘Rocket Jockey’ [game soundtrack with Dick Dale] they put some killer instros as ”Death Tube”, ”Surrounded by Assassins”, ”Magic Wand”, ”Rocket Boy”, ”Vaque Ton” which caught my ear. This package contain their sole 15 trax lp + 7 bonus cuts added for your complete listening pleasure. Don’t miss it!
SURFADELIC 