Tuesday, February 24, 1998
ŒBrazil 2001¹ revives surf tunes with ¹90s rock
twist
MUSIC: California band to expose West Coast roots in Westwood
show
By Vanessa VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Staff
Bernard Yin saunters into the Gypsy Cafe. He removes his glasses
and pulls up a chair. It¹s time to talk shop.
³Brazil 2001, without a question, we love to wave this
flag, we¹re the bastards of the surf community,² Yin
jokes. ³We don¹t play just surfy instrumentals like early
surf bands did and we don¹t really want to be pigeon-holed as
some sort of revivalist surf band.²
Playing tonight at the Westwood Brewery, Yin¹s band, Brazil
2001, will perform their unique brand of ¹90s surf rock. The
10 p.m. show will take place upstairs from the restaurant, and,
like all Tuesday night Brewery concerts, it requires no cover. The
³all ages² environment provides a change of pace for
easy-going Yin.
³The majority of the venues that I¹ve been playing for
quite a while now have been 21 and up, and I don¹t really
think that¹s what rock ¹n¹ roll¹s about,²
Yin concedes with a laugh, his thoughtful eyes roaming the room for
the right words. ³Rock ¹n¹ roll¹s not about
waiting until you¹re 21 before you can have a good
time.²
According to Yin, the Westwood Brewery would be flooded with
calls from various upstart bands if the performance space were
better advertised amongst local musicians. Yin only heard of the
gig while ³exchanging secrets² with a fellow co-worker
who also plays with a band. Now bordering on being regulars, Yin
admits Brazil 2001¹s previous all-ages performance at the
brewery proved to be ³kind of awkward.²
³I said ŒOh my God. I¹m in a roomful of people
that for many years now, I¹ve hardly ever had a chance to play
for,¹² Yin recalls. ³It¹s very humorous for me
to play this venue because it¹s so against the norm for us.
Even if it¹s a shitty show, it¹s just a blast.²
As Brazil 2001 is Yin¹s ³like millionth band²
effort, as well as that of the bassist and drummer, he can speak
knowledgeably on the over-saturation of rock groups in Los Angeles.
Sometimes, Yin claims, even well-known L.A. acts have to put up
with small audiences.
³In my opinion, there¹s no Œbest place to
play¹ as much as whether you just happen to play well that
night and there was a sufficient quantity of receptive people to
feel some sort of response,² Yin suggests. ³L.A.¹s
West Side, I think, is going to continually grow as a cool scene
and then when we play places like Santa Barbara or San Francisco,
people really understand us and have a good time.²
In fact, the majority of Brazil 2001¹s shows take place in
California by no chance occurrence. Yin has been a native of the
state all but one year of his life, residing in Los Angeles for the
past eight. The UCSB alumni recognizes a musical relationship
between the Doors, Jane¹s Addiction and The Dead Kennedys
based on their affiliation with the same political boundaries.
³Those are three California bands that are pretty different
from one another,² Yin accepts. ³But to me, when you
listen to all three of those, there¹s this ingredient, called
ŒCalifornia,¹ that¹s somewhere hidden, and I think
that¹s something that we¹ve succeeded with with this
group. We¹re distinct to the West Coast, I think, because of
the surf.²
Already, the band has recorded a track on the Huntington Beach
Surf Museum¹s compilation album. The institution pays homage
to the evolution of surfing as a sport, recognizing the rolling,
guitar-heavy music as an integral aspect of that tradition.
Old-style graphics have become popular as skate and surfboard
artwork in recent years, revealing the current trend for surfers to
re-embrace the old genre of music.
³Right now, in the past few years, it seems that checking
out the traditions of surf culture and its origins are becoming
rather hip again,² Yin says. ³I think surf music as it
was developing in the early ¹60s in Southern California is
percolating up to the surface, not only at the mainstream, but also
with the surf industry and surf culture.
³Me, as a surfer, and also just as someone who enjoys
music, playing instrumental music, it¹s only natural to dabble
with (surf music),² Yin continues.
Citing exposure to Neil Young¹s ³simple
songwriting² during Yin¹s ³adolescent
melancholy² as a large influence on his musical style, it
seems odd that Yin would claim the surf genre for his own. Yet,
even more peculiar for a mellow, guitar-playing surfer is that he
would work both for an attorney¹s office and as a web site
programmer by day. While the other two members maintain secure jobs
with the software industry and the world of video editing, all
would prefer to rely solely on Brazil 2001 for their
livelihood.
³One of the angles we¹re interested in exploring is
applying our music to soundtracks,² Yin says in response to
commercial options. ³A lot of surf videos have used us
already, and ironically because they¹re generally not known to
do so, and some major film use. From a capitalist angle, you can
get a song placed in a movie, and even if they lowball you,
you¹re still going to get paid more than you would for half a
dozen shows.²
But how can the band lose with such a great name? Though
³Brazil 2001² was chosen for the science fiction movies
³2001: A Space Odyssey² and ³Brazil,² the band
members¹ reasons signify something deeper than mere film
fandom. The name ³looks good on a flyer.²
³Well, 2001 has, well, maybe just because we dig it,²
Yin elaborates. ³I think ³Brazil² was interesting
because it painted this weird, cynical picture of the future. Maybe
in sort of a punk tradition, we¹re cynics as well.²
Yet, despite the impact of Brazil 2001¹s social commentary
and jamming riffs, Yin, true to form, laughs, ³I¹d rather
be surfing.²
Courtesy of David Laureen
Brazil 2001 hopes to usher in the next wave of surf music.