Son of the Beach

By Dave Good

Tom Pritchard, vocalist and guitarist with San Diego band Dynamite Walls, was indoctrinated into surf music and culture from an early age. His dad played in one of the touring incarnations of the Surfaris, the legendary surf band responsible for the 1960s hit, Wipeout. The Surfaris practiced in the backyard of the family’s Fallbrook home, right outside Pritchard’s bedroom window.

“We lived, ate and breathed that life,” says Pritchard, who surfed every chance he got, even naming his first band Waterlogged. “I can play any surf song you can think of.”

Pritchard eventually left Fallbrook for Encinitas, where he still lives. He surfed hard until turning 23, and then stopped altogether when his current band, Dynamite Walls, started eating up all his swell time.

Today, Pritchard eschews his surf-rock DNA, preferring an edgier, alternative sound inspired by bands from Van Morrison to Coldplay and The Stokes. Dynamite Walls’ new single, Keep Spinning Around, is in regular rotation on 91X FM and a smattering of other radio stations across the country. The band’s first major label release, Chemicals, is due to drop any day on the Universal Republic label.

Now that things are looking up, Pritchard says he’s about ready to kick off his shoes, grab his board and head for the water again.

“I need the exercise,” he says, laughing.

dynamitewalls.com, Twitter.com @dynamitewalls

?Dynamite Walls
Allan Bates (Bass/Vocals)
Alex Blundell (Lead Guitar)
Paul Kimmel (Keys)
Eric Pritchard (Drums)
Tom Pritchard (Vocals/Guitar)