The Surf Punks were a pop punk band formed in 1976 by Malibu residents Dennis Dragon (1947-2017) and Drew Steele. (Dragon was the son of symphony conductor Carmen Dragon, the brother of Captain & Tennille's Daryl Dragon, and he was previously the drummer of the Byrds and the Beach Boys. Steele's stepfather was Gavin MacLeod of McHale's Navy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Love Boat fame.) Dragon recruited the additional talents of Malibu residents Tony Creed AKA the "Hulk", for lead guitar and blues harp, fellow bodysurfer/frisbeeist John Hunt on the bass, and South Bay resident John Heussenstamm for lead guitar. This was the original core group, produced and engineered by Dragon in his garage studio across the street from Zuma Beach, his favorite body surfing spot. Mark Miller joined them on "Locals Only." Jeff "Ray Ban" Eyrich joined the Surf Punks on bass when John Hunt left the group.
Scott Goddard (1952–2006) later joined as lead vocalist on a few songs.