Susan and the Surftones is an American surf instrumental band. The band is considered part of the “third wave” of surf-revivalist bands that formed in the 1990s. The band was started in 1993 in Rochester, NY by lead guitarist Susan L. Yasinski, one of very few female lead guitarists in instrumental surf music. Influenced also by early Elvis and the Beatles, 1960s garage and 1970s punk music, their sound incorporates traditional surf with elements associated with these other genres, such as the use of the combo-organ. The band’s first recording deal was with Gee-Dee Records in Hamburg, Germany who released their first CD, WIthout A Word, in 1995. Subsequent releases on Gee-Dee and two other European labels, Surf Waves (Belgium) and OmOm (Italy), and four European tours, earned them a fan base in Europe as well as the US. Susan relocated to the west coast in 2000, and reformed the band in Portland, Oregon. They continued to release albums both on CD and as digital releases.
Nissan (Italy) used two of their tunes, their cover of Ghost Riders in the Sky and Moon Woman ‘42, in a promotional DVD in 2005. They performed a showcase at the ROCKRGRL Music Conference in Seattle in 2005 and have played halftime shows for the NBA Portland Trail Blazers. In 2007 two of their original tunes (Tiki Kiki and The Blue Hammer) were used in MTV’s The Real World: Sydney. In addition to thirteen full-length album releases and a vinyl EP, Susan & The SurfTones appear on compilation albums released in the US, Italy, Australia, Russia, Korea and Germany. Their recordings have received airplay on numerous radio stations in the US and abroad.
In 2011, Susan recorded her first solo album, Shore, as Susan SurfTone, with producer Steve Kravac. It was released in October, 2011. Critically acclaimed, Shore followed on critical listening and appreciation of such classic greats as The Doors.
Susan followed the success of Shore with the release of four more albums as Susan SurfTone, also produced by Steve Kravac, Too Far in 2013, a six-song EP, Reckoning, in 2014, a seven-song EP, Blue Light at Midnight in 2015 and a six-song EP The Magician in 2016. 2016 saw Susan release her first vocal track, the single Little Bit Lied To as well as other single releases, ShadowLand and Blue Moon of Kentucky (also with vocals), all from The Magician. Two more vocal singles, the original Up Down And All Around and a cover of Elvis Presley's A Mess of Blues were released in late 2016. 2017 saw the release of a seven-song EP, Making Waves Again. In 2018 she released an EP of Elvis Presley covers, 2nd To One. Her two 2019 EP releases, Dicey After Dark and the acoustic To The Crossroads And Back once again combined originals with cover songs. Early in 2020 Susan released her second acoustic EP, Outlaws Of The Mist. 2020 also saw Susan return to instrumental surf music with the release of singles Baja and Blue Hammer, soon followed by a five song all-original release called The EP. Susan, joined by LA-based drummer Nick Vincent, plays guitar and bass on these recordings. The 2020 surf instrumentals received repeated airplay on Bill Kelly's Blackhole Bandstand - Little Steven's Underground Garage, SiriusXM as well as Mike Murry's "Whole Lotta Shakin'" radio show on WRUR 88.5 FM (Rochester and Ithaca, NY.)