Formed by guitar prodigy Shigeo Naka, The Surf Coasters play an updated style of surf music that draws from obvious sources including The Ventures, Dick Dale and Link Wray, as well as more varied, eclectic influences. Naka got his start in music when he released the single "Let's Go Tube" on the tiny Yokosuka-based YSR label in 1993. Pitched as a band - Naka Shigeo and Sunset Inn - the record was ractually a one-off recording of Naka playing solo in his home. The song would later...

Formed by guitar prodigy Shigeo Naka, The Surf Coasters play an updated style of surf music that draws from obvious sources including The Ventures, Dick Dale and Link Wray, as well as more varied, eclectic influences. Naka got his start in music when he released the single "Let's Go Tube" on the tiny Yokosuka-based YSR label in 1993. Pitched as a band - Naka Shigeo and Sunset Inn - the record was ractually a one-off recording of Naka playing solo in his home. The song would later be re-recorded by The Surf Coasters as "Dolphins". Following the release of the record, Naka put together an actual band, again using the name Naka Shigeo and Sunset Inn, debuting it at Yokohama's Club 24 and playing an array of classic surf rock covers with several originals tossed in. Most of the members were already involved with other bands at the time, and the band would gig only sporadically for the rest of the year. In 1994 the band replaced its original guitarist, began gigging more regularly, and was renamed as The Surf Coasters, recording a demo under the new name. Copies of the tape, by the way, continue to surface periodically on auction sites, commanding a high price from collectors. After one show that year, the band was invited to perform on a Star Search-type television program called Ebisu Onsen. Even before the show actually aired, major labels began knocking at the door, prompting The Surf Coasters to get into the studio and start recording in earnest. On Ebisu Onsen, rhe band turned in a stellar performance of Dick Dale's classic "Miserlou" which instantly gained them a strong and loyal fan base. Their debut album, Surf Panic '5 dropped in March of 1995. The record sold briskly at Tower Records, HMV, and other international record stores in the Tokyo area, bucking the trend of traditionally low sales for instrumental records. In August of the same year, the band won a slot as the opening act for surf rock legend Dick Dale, who was on his first trip to Japan. Dale reportedly referred to Naka as ""The Prince of the Surf Guitar" after this trip. Since their debut, The Surf Coasters have released over 20 records for the Columbia, Victor, and BMG labels, making them number one nationwide among instrumental bands. Their sound has continued to evolve, always dictated by Naka's muse, and varies from traditional surf rock to dance hall, acoustic, and guitar virtuoso freakouts along the lines of Steve Vai or Joe Satriani. Naka is active in a variety of other musical projects, both with and without The Surf Coasters, including soundtracks for films and video games. The Surf Coasters continue to tour often in Japan and abroad, where they have acquired a sizable fan base.