GARAGE ROCK. Buck Orsmby of the Wailers, left, and Don Wilson of the Ventures with the model who will grace their album cover at a recent photo shoot. (Photo by John Larson)
Two legendary Tacoma rock ‘n roll bands have joined forces on a special project to commemorate their respective 50-year anniversaries.
The Ventures and the Fabulous Wailers both formed within six months of each other in 1959.
“The Wailers were a big influence on me,” said Ventures’ guitarist Don Wilson. “I wore out their first album trying to learn their songs.”
A few years ago members of both groups ran into each other at Meeker Days in Puyallup. That conversation led them to collaborate on “Two-Car Garage,” an album that will be released in April.
Each band recorded some songs separately. Some have them doing new versions of classics such as the Ventures’ “Surf Rider,” which was used in the film “Pulp Fiction,” and the Wailers’ version of “Louie, Louie.”
“Everything has new arrangements,” said Buck Orsmby, bass player for the Wailers. “It will be real fresh.”
On others both bands perform. They recorded tracks in several studios, from Fife to Los Angeles.
The title refers to their status as seminal garage bands. “We are the pioneers of rock ‘n roll in the Northwest,” Wilson commented.
Both groups have stayed active. Orsmby noted young people still come out to see the Wailers play. “This is the foundation of rock,” he remarked.
Both bands will play a CD release show at Moore Theater in Seattle at 8 p.m. on April 10.
