Surfer/musician Timmy Curran will be performing at the Santa Monica Surf Shop tonight at 9 p.m. His latest CD, “Word of Mouth” is an ethereal, melodic blend of nylon string and electric guitar (in the vein of Death Cab For Cutie meets Simon & Garfunkel) and is available for free download on his Web site, www.timmycurran.com.
Curran, known for his unique surf style and big-air trademark maneuvers, lists his musical influences as Ben Harper and Band of Horses. He started playing guitar at the age of 13 but said, “It all clicked three years ago in Japan, when I wrote by myself.”
Since then, he’s played mostly local gigs with bands who share his affinity for surfing, such as Switchfoot and Eisley, but his big break came in September 2006, when Foo Fighters’ guitarist Chris Shiflett (also a surfer) and Curran’s manager got to chatting and offered Curran a spot to open for the Foo Fighters on their “Afoostic” tour.
“I went from playing a couple of solo shows a year to opening for the Foo Fighters... at the Santa Barbara Bowl … a 4,500 seat arena.”
The pressure was on, but Curran gathered together several musicians, they practiced for a month and said they, “winged it and pulled it together.”
Parking is available behind the store or on the street. The show is open to all ages. Tickets are $10. For more information, call (310) 315-7244. Taylor Van Arsdale
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 23, 2008. Read the original PDF.