About Satan's Pilgrims
Iconic instrumental surf
Satan's Pilgrims formed in 1992 during a series of house
parties hosted by the members of the band, and play shows in their hometown of
Portland, Oregon by 1993. Twisting their name from the 60's AIP film Satan's Sadists and donning their now
familiar matching outfits complete with vampire capes, they became a band.
The Pilgrims are one of the most influential surf
instrumental bands around, and while much of their sound has a definite
Southern California influence, what sets them apart is the legacy of their
Pacific Northwest rock 'n' roll ancestors like the Sonics and the Wailers and
other influences, creating their own sub-genre of surf instrumental that many
fans call "Pilgrim Rock." This, along with three distinct guitarists
and a relentless rhythm section, gives their live set a dazzling variety of
dance party sounds, while maintaining their patented haunted sound. After years
of touring, taking the band all over the U.S. and Europe (including a now
legendary show in Slovenia), Satan's Pilgrims continued to develop the surf
instrumental genre.
November 2000 marked the beginning of a hiatus, as drummer
Ted Pilgrim moved from Portland to Memphis, TN to sweat, get autographs from
all of his soul and early rock n' roll heroes, and eat barbecue. Meanwhile, ten
Pilgrim offspring were birthed to various members.
After a few years of changing diapers, Musick Records
announced that they wanted to release a retrospective culled from the Pilgrims'
original five albums. With renewed interest in the band sweeping the surf
message boards on the internet, the Pilgrims decided that this occasion
deserved some new material to keep their faithful fans from the 1990s as
satisfied as possible. The band began writing songs again via the internet and
got back together to record four new songs for Plymouth Rock – The Best of Satan's Pilgrims. This double CD not
only features fan favorites, but as a bonus, the second disc contains the new
numbers mixed in with previously unreleased and rare cuts from the Pilgrims’
vault. Even more of a bonus was the fact that guitarist Bobby Pilgrim, who had
amicably dropped out of the band in 1998, was ready to play again, returning
the Pilgrims their trademark three- guitar sound. With the release of Plymouth Rock – The Best of Satan's Pilgrims
in December of 2004, it turns out that the Pilgrims haunted brand of
driving-guitar, dance-party music has endured into the 21st century. Without a
single live appearance by the band since 2000, this album has gained more
critical acclaim and worldwide notice for them than all of their original
releases did during the surf-bombardment of the 1990s.
In 2005, they reunited for the first time in their hometown
of Portland, OR. Since then, they have played many shows and in 2009, recorded Psychsploitation, a new album of
psychedelic influenced instrumentals on their own SP Records. In 2015, the
Pilgrims released Frankenstomp!, a
compilation of singles, rarities and castaways, plus they played the Surfer Joe
Festival in Livorno, Italy, followed by a European tour.
In 2016, while on a Pilgrim's Family Vacation,
the idea for a new self-recorded, self-released all surf album began to take
shape. Under a blood moon at our very own McMenamins Masonic Lodge in North
Portland, Satan's Pilgrims recorded their 9th album, Siniestro, featuring 15 all new original songs.
- Website:
- http://satanspilgrims.com
