biography
Long ago Arnold Smits and Jeroen den Hengst, both guitarists of the legendary Hardrock Karaoke, played a repertoire of finger-breaking Surf- and Mexicana instrumentals for the Lowlands festival in 2014. In a venue called ‘Titty Twister’, both disguised as the living dead they performed the music we all know from the movie cult hit From Dusk Till Dawn by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.
It took them years before they decided to play that stuff again, so at the end of 2019 the new band Garageslurf had formed for a gig at the Slaughterhouse in Haarlem.
Maarten Dekker played the bass and Niels Klooster drums. The band had such impact that within weeks invitations to play in the region started pouring in.
Unfortunately all the Garageslurf plans were stymied by the Corona years. As those unique lockdowns continued, Arnold en Jeroen started writing their own repertoire and after some time Bart van Hasselt, in-house producer of the Haarlem Slaughterhouse invited them to record an album in his studio.
In 2023 the album Flat Earth Surfers was recorded. The band was renamed Flat Earth Surfers too. The 9 originals on the album are influenced first and foremost by the characteristic surf sound, but many of the tracks got spiced up with punk, cinema themes and rock.
The band members all tend to use the abbreviation F.E.S., since pronouncing Flat Earth Surfers gets complicated with a thick tongue. Just try saying it after a couple of drinks and you’ll understand… However, F.E.S. are ready to storm the scene, playing a mix of their exciting material and a fistful of gems from the surf legacy.
On September ‘23 Johnny, Dismember Me was the first single to be released on Spotify and it is expected that after a few more singles the album Flat Earth Surfers will be officially presented this year in spring.
Follow F.E.S. on Instagram: flat_earth_surfers
F.E.S. are:
Arnold Smits - guitar Jeroen den Hengst - guitar,
Maarten Dekker - bass, vocals Niels Klooster - drums
Info, bookings and promo pics: +31626562034 (Jeroen)
