{"id":983038,"date":"2026-08-05T20:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/983038\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T20:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:37:14","slug":"the-tourmaliners-lift-spirits-through-surf-music-but-needed-a-boost-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/983038\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tourmaliners lift spirits through surf music, but needed a boost first"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Four<\/a>The Tourmaliners perform Friday at Tiki Oasis. (Photo by John Gianini)<\/p>\n

Deven Berryhill, founder\u00a0and\u00a0guitarist of Pacific Beach-based surf rock band\u00a0The Tourmaliners, can probably thank a photographer and the owner\u00a0of a\u00a0Linda Vista bar\u00a0not only for his group\u2019s name but perhaps\u00a0even\u00a0for launching its career.<\/p>\n

As one might expect, the quartet<\/a>,\u00a0performing Friday night at\u00a0Tiki Oasis<\/a>, took its\u00a0name from PB\u2019s popular Tourmaline Surfing Park.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0the story behind the name has a few more twists and turns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eight years ago, photographer Howard Fincher could often be\u00a0found\u00a0hovering over Tourmaline with his long-lens camera,\u00a0filming surfers for\u00a0his DVD series,\u00a0\u201cTourmo Blasters.\u201d\u00a0When he met Berryhill,\u00a0then\u00a0recording surf tunes in his home studio,\u00a0Fincher\u00a0asked if he could use the instrumental music on soundtracks\u00a0for\u00a0his films.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople started loving the songs. They were like, \u2018Great video, Howard, but who\u2019s the music?\u2019\u201d Berryhill\u00a0recalled. \u201cHoward came back to me and said, \u2018Man, people are digging your songs. You should put together a band.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, Berryhill was playing in his dad\u2019s band,\u00a0The Surfaris<\/a>, revered for the 1963 surf-guitar classic \u201cWipe Out.\u201d\u00a0After a gig at Tio Leo\u2019s on\u00a0Napa Street, bar owner Frank\u00a0Sciuto\u00a0asked if Berryhill would be interested in\u00a0putting together something of\u00a0his own for\u00a0a regular Tuesday night spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018It\u2019s interesting you say that because I have this\u00a0surf band.\u2019\u00a0And he goes,\u00a0\u2018Cool, what\u2019s it called?\u2019\u00a0And I\u2019m like,\u00a0\u2018The\u00a0Tourmo Blasters!\u2019\u00a0Just off the top of my head, kind of stealing the name from the video.\u00a0He said, \u2018Let me think about that.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The name, however, didn\u2019t make it to opening night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get a call about two weeks before the show, and he\u2019s like,\u00a0\u2018Dude, we can\u2019t do that name. Our clientele\u00a0is\u00a0a little\u00a0jazzier, more mature. Can we call it something else, like\u00a0The\u00a0Tourmalines or\u00a0The\u00a0Tourmaliners?\u2019\u00a0And I\u2019m like,\u00a0\u2018Sure, whatever, pick something.\u2019\u00a0He picked the\u00a0Tourmaliners, and it just kind of stuck.\u2019<\/p>\n

The band \u2014 which currently includes guitarist\u00a0Joe Dameron, bassist\u00a0Matt Clowmintzer and drummer John MacElwee\u00a0\u2014 went on to play more than 100 shows at Tio Leo\u2019s. They even recorded\u00a0last year\u2019s \u201cLive & Alive\u201d at the popular lounge.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Tourmaliners\u00a0expect to play many of those original songs when returning\u00a0to Tiki Oasis, in Mission Valley, for the third time on Friday. They\u00a0began with\u00a0an acoustic set on the grass following the pandemic before graduating\u00a0to the pool stage in\u00a02024. This year, they\u2019ll\u00a0move to the main stage,\u00a0opening for\u00a0\u201980s icon Josie Cotton.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re stoked!\u201d Berryhill\u00a0exclaimed.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re coming guns blazing. Straight out of the chute, we\u2019re gonna be bringing the energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also excited to debut their\u00a0new single, \u201cEl Gato<\/a>,\u201d which dropped on all digital platforms July 19.\u00a0Showcasing a jazzier, more Latin-inspired sound,\u00a0the song\u00a0draws inspiration from\u00a0Miki Dora, the legendary surfer\u00a0known as\u00a0\u201cDa Cat\u201d\u00a0in\u00a0\u201cEndless Summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was considered the greatest to ever surf Malibu,\u201d Berryhill said.<\/p>\n

The single will appear on\u00a0The Tourmaliners\u2019\u00a0upcoming\u00a0fifth album, which\u00a0carries\u00a0the same name, due out on\u00a0Pacific Records\u00a0in September.\u00a0In addition to the live album, the group has released two studio albums \u2014 2019\u2019s \u201cTourmaline Dream\u201d and 2022\u2019s \u201cSurfidia,\u201d\u00a0winner of\u00a0a\u00a0San Diego Music Award\u00a0for Best Rock Album\u00a0\u2014 as well as\u00a0the 2020\u00a0holiday\u00a0collection \u201cSurfin\u2019 Christmas Carols.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Growing up\u00a0the son of Bob Berryhill,\u00a0co-founding member\u00a0and\u00a0guitarist of The Surfaris meant becoming a surf rock guitarist was in\u00a0the musician\u2019s\u00a0blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was born to a surf rock legend,\u201d\u00a0Berryhill\u00a0said. \u201cI really didn\u2019t have a say in the matter. I just grew up around it in Seal Beach, and my room was above the garage, where his studio was. He would have the band practicing my entire life downstairs. So, I think through osmosis it kind of went up through the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

As\u00a0a\u00a0small child, Berryhill\u00a0watched his\u00a0dad perform with such surf rock legends as Dick Dale, The Beach Boys and Jan & Dean. By the time he turned 8, he wanted his first guitar so he could follow in his father\u2019s footsteps.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we went down to Tijuana,\u201d Berryhill said. \u201cHe bought me the\u00a0crappiest guitar he could find.\u00a0He goes,\u00a0\u2018If you can learn to play this, you can play anything.\u2019\u00a0I\u2019m like,\u00a0\u2018Dad, I want a Stratocaster like you!\u2019\u00a0He\u2019s like,\u00a0\u2018No, no, no. You gotta learn on this acoustic. You gotta build up your calluses and your fingers.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually,\u00a0Berryhill\u00a0mowed enough lawns\u00a0at\u00a012 to buy\u00a0his\u00a0first Fender Mustang guitar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought it in pieces off the\u00a0\u2018Recycler\u2019\u00a0magazine,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cMy dad helped me put it back together, and we refinished it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over\u00a0the years, Berryhill honed his craft playing in alternative rock bands, but he never lost his love of surf music.\u00a0After a short-lived solo stint, he joined his father in 2002 as a guitarist in the Surfaris, which evolved into a family affair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother had learned how to play drums, and my dad brought my mom into the band as a bass player. She was a concert violinist, and he taught her how to play bass,\u201d Berryhill said. \u201cWe just started backing up my dad as a family, like the Partridge family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group toured worldwide in that incarnation for 20 years\u00a0before Berryhill\u00a0decided to carve out something of his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought it was good to have something local where I can start writing my own songs,\u201d\u00a0he explained. \u201cThis Tourmaliners thing just kind of organically happened. I really wasn\u2019t aiming to form a band. It just came out of those\u00a0\u2018Tourmo Blasters\u2019\u00a0soundtracks\u00a0and Frank asking if I had something\u00a0going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eight\u00a0years later,\u00a0The Tourmaliners\u00a0remain rooted in those\u00a0humble beginnings\u00a0and committed to delivering more than just nostalgic sounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came together\u00a0as a community of surfers,\u00a0beach people, and San Diegans egged us on to\u00a0[play music]\u00a0that\u00a0makes people\u00a0want to\u00a0dance and have a good time,\u201d Berryhill said.\u00a0\u201cTiki\u00a0Oasis is\u00a0so fun because it brings people together. There\u2019s an element of that love of community.\u00a0That\u2019s what our band has always been about. When we play somewhere, it\u2019s not just another gig for us. It\u2019s an opportunity to bring\u00a0joy, happiness\u00a0and\u00a0fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donovan Roche is a longtime music writer\u00a0and regular contributor to Times of San Diego.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tourmaliners perform Friday at Tiki Oasis. (Photo by John Gianini) Deven Berryhill, founder\u00a0and\u00a0guitarist of Pacific Beach-based surf…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":983039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,19402,975,24152,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-983038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-america","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-mission-valley","tag-music","tag-pacific-beach","tag-san-diego","tag-sandiego","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117044829971207961","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=983038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/983039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=983038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=983038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=983038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}