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Bikini Beach Band

February 21st, 2008 by rui

The world’s most-loved fez-wearing surf-noirists, the Bikini Beach Band are coming to the Big Chill House on Sunday, 30th March. Here, beach bander Miguel talks rehab, battered sausages, and Moroccan headwear…

Who are ya?
We are the Escovido brothers otherwise known as The Bikini Beach Band, purveyors of Surf-Noir to discerning music fans everywhere. I am Miguel Escovido.

What’s your night called?
We have a special umbrella, which we take with us everywhere and it’s called The Beach Hut

What have you been up to, before this?
This year so far we have played at The Royal Festival Hall, lots of parties and clubs like Mahiki but mostly we’ve been sleeping. It’s too cold for us to stay awake for too long at this time of year so we follow the example of the English hedgehog and sleep away the winter. Juan had a spell in rehab in January but he’s still drinking coffee so it didn’t work.

What’s the music policy for your event?
Smart but casual, strictly no trainers. Oh! Sorry MUSIC policy is Surf-Noir live with DJ’s who play rock and roll, swing and exotica.

If money was no object, and you could book any line-up of DJs and bands living or dead, who would play?
Dick Dale with the Ventures and The Shadows plus Jimi Hendrix backing Elvis.

What are your current top 5 tunes?
Miserlou – Dick Dale and The Deltones, Toxic – Britney Spears, Surfin Bird – The Trashmen, Stars fell on Stockton – the Shadows, Tequila Rockingbird – the Bikini Beach Band.

What three things would your ideal bar have to have?
Beers, wines and spirits! We drink tequila so a nice selection of good tequilas is nice and a plate of nachos goes down well too but most important is bullet-proof windows. You can’t be too careful in the Surf-Noir game these days, there’s a lot of heavy people…

I’m just on my way to the bar – what I get you?
Triple tequila, salt and lime please.

Ideal evening chilling at home?
Maybe a glass of tequila, a few rounds of poker, pistol practice shooting at some birds/rats/cans in the garden.

Ideal evening chilling out?
Maybe a glass of tequila, a few rounds of poker, pistol practice shooting at… anything really.

Favourite places?
Bikini Beach of course, also Mexico City. We’ve also grown fond of Wales as our manager Spanish Tony is from Blaneavon and runs a chip shop called ‘The Battered Sausage’ there.

What are you reading these days?
100 years of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez – we’ve been reading this for 20 years now but keep loosing our place when referring to the family tree.

What are you working on at present?
We have to get the sleeve design and notes together for the new Sour Cream for the Soul album we recorded last year so we can release it this spring.

What would most like to achieve over the next five years?
Juan would like to cure all known diseases and Esteban would bring about world peace, Ricardo aims to get 105 brake horse power from his white Fiesta GTi convertible and I would like to pass the UK citizenship exam.

Highlight of your life?
Seeing Our Lady in the clouds over the pacific off Bikini Beach while on a Mexican mushroom trip.

At a festival – tent, B&B, or hotel for you, and why?
5 star luxury or face down in the mud unconscious – there are no in-betweens.

What was your Top Big Chill moment?
John Peel playing ‘Down Down’ by Status Quo – fantastically inappropriate and the only heads down, no nonsense mindless boogie all day! That and the tequila-fuelled sex of course.

Describe the essence of The Big Chill in a few words…
Errr..Big…and Chilled! Really it’s an easy, comfortable and friendly festival without the challenges presented by some of the older and bigger ones such as Glastonbury.

Where can i find you online? website? myspace? facebook? etc?
www.myspace.com/bikinibeach has up to date gig listings etc.
www.bikinibeach.co.uk is less up to date but has more videos and free downloads.

What’s the best reaction you’ve ever had to a song?
I think the time we did Wipe Out and several young women jumped on stage to do a topless cheerleading routine. Doesn’t get much better than that really…

Have you added any covers to your repertoire recently?
We have some Britney Spears – Juan suggested it as he sympathises with her current spate of problems , Arctic Monkeys…

Where’s a good place to get a fez?
We get ours especially made as Turkey is too far and our style is slightly taller than the Ottoman example.

Do you surf?
Of course! Our father was All-Mexico Surfing Champion in 1956 so it is in our blood. Unfortunately that blood runs a little cold off Cornwall but we do what we can.