The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 11, 1983, Image 16

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    South Padre
The thought of sun
by Kathy Wiesepape
Battalion Staff
Spring break is finally here,
and it's time to get away from
the books and into the sunshine.
And if your idea of a vacation
includes sand, surf, Beach Boys
music and the chance to start on
a tan, South Padre Island is the
place for you.
For the second time in two
years, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. —
brewers of Budweiser — and
Seafest, a division of the Port
Isabel/South Padre Island
Chamber of Commerce, have
planned a week-long extrava
ganza for the hordes of college
students that descend on the
beaches during spring break.
Love and Torrence will
be accompanied by the
Endless Summer Band,
which is made up of for
mer members of the
Beach Boys and the Jan
and Dean Band, two
groups that originally
started the "beach
music" craze in the
1950's.
The 1983 Beach Party Revi
sited will include beach sports,
poolside parties, moonlight
dances and a free outdoor con
cert featuring Mike Love and
Dean Torrence. Love has been
the leader of the Beach Boys
band since the early 1960's, and
Torrence became popular in the
late 1950's as half of the Jan and
Dean duo.
Love and Torrence will be
accompanied by the Endless
Summer Band, which is made
up of former members of the
Beach Boys and the Jan and
Dean Band, two groups that ori
ginally started the "beach
music" craze in the 1950's.
"We're hoping to make this
an annual event," said Torr
ence. "But of course, anything's
subject to change.
"We like to see people en
joying themselves, and as long
as they're enjoying it, we feel
compelled to keep doing it."
Love and Torrence are sche
duled for five beach concerts
this spring: four on Florida
beaches and one at Padre Island.
Torrence said he especially
enjoys the outdoor concerts be
cause they're fun for everyone
and free. He said 12,000 to
18,000 people usually attend the
informal concerts, and he likes
performing for the large groups.
"A lot of what we do comes
from spontaneity," he said. It
isn't like smaller performances
where every move the perfor
mers make is carefully planned,
and there's no freedom to in
teract with the audience.
Torrence likes what he calls
the attitude of the beach con
certs: relaxed, laid back, with
everyone there simply to enjoy
himself.
"The beach party is a total
concept," he said, "and I'm real
ly into total concepts. It's the
atmosphere of the beach that
makes it ail come together, and
our music is a part of that
feeling."
The rock-n-roll, beach-style
music is not making a comeback
in the 80's, Torrence said — it's
been popular all along.
• "Even in the radical late 60's
people were playing surfing
songs," he said. Just like any
other kind of music, it's had its
peaks and valleys, but it's never
disappeared.
"Every summer it peaks,"
Torrence said. "It goes through
minor cycles, but it's always
there."
The corporate-sponsored
beach parties have been success
ful, he said, because Anheuser-
Busch has worked especially
hard to promote them.
"They're not like a lot of peo
ple in the music business," he
said. "They work hard, and they
plan well in advance."
Torrence said he realizes that
many students will be heading
for the mountains over spring
break and putting on skis in
stead of swimsuits.
"I think a lazier bunch goes to
the beach," he said. "Personal
ly, I'm a lot more comfortable in
the sun, and I love the water."
and fun can drive you South
\