Wave of Bands Will Hit the Beach for Weekend Party : Among them will be the long-playing Chantays. Their 1963 ‘Pipeline’ is one of the great surf-sound hits.

The city of Ventura has moved all that unsightly driftwood near the Promenade for the 10th Annual California Beach Party this weekend.

The Beach Party celebrates the early days of surfing when Frankie and Annette were innocently dippy, parking was free and you could even build a fire on the beach. Any similarity to those days these days is purely coincidental.

As it has been for the last four years, the celebration will be a gated event: Adults will have to kick down $5.50 in order to party in the Poinsettia City. Drinking will be confined to designated areas. There will be a swimwear fashion show, classic cars and plenty of food.

Mostly, it’s sort of a swap meet-by-the-sea as countless booths hawk beach-related stuff such as jewelry, bikinis, jet skis and surfboards. The Raging Arb & the Redheads line of clothing will be on sale, but for the 10th year in a row, Ventura’s ultimate party band won’t be playing.

There will be plenty of music, however, including hot local bands Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the Convertibles and the Roadhouse Rockers.

The Chantays, who seem to have been around since Noah went surfing off the Ark, will perform Saturday afternoon. The group hit it big in 1963 with one of the all-time great surf instrumentals, “Pipeline,” and still has three original members. Drummer Bob Welch spoke by phone recently.

“The Chantays are doing great--better than they ever were,” Welch said. “It’s a little weak in the winter, but it gets stronger for us in the summer. We tour a lot and play with Jan & Dean, the Surfaris and the Beach Boys. We’ve been together over 30 years. Myself, Brian Carman on lead guitar and Bob Spickard on rhythm guitar are original members. Ricky Lewis on lead and bizarre guitar has been with us 14 or 15 years, and Brian Nestle on bass just joined.”

“Pipeline,” a song they’ve played about 40 zillion times since 1963, was obviously a hit in Southern California, where surf music began, but also in places where pointy shoes outnumber sandals and the surf is crummy.

“How many times have we played it? I have no idea,” Welch said. “It began as ‘Liberty’s Whip,’ but that was very short-lived until it became ‘Pipeline.’ My dad was an airline pilot and he heard the song in Texas where they thought it was about an oil pipeline.”

Back in the early ‘60s in Southern California, the pecking order in high school was relatively simple: jocks, soshes, gremmies, hodads and surfers. Unlike other surf bands--some not even from California--the Chantays had members who were actual finheads.

“We just got tagged as a surf band,” Welch said. “We never thought of ourselves as that although we did surf. We don’t even know what to call what we play now. It’s just high-energy, heavy instrumental guitar stuff.”

Even though flashing around a quarter at school could be hazardous to your health in the ‘90s, having folding money thirtysomething years ago as a 17-year-old kid was nothing but cool.

“I was all very exciting,” Welch said. “We were juniors at Santa Ana High School when we decided to start a band. I remember I bought a new Chevy Nomad when I was in school. Then I got a royalty check for $10,000, (cashed it) and took (the cash) to school to show around.”

All that remains of the California of legend is a bunch of sad old geezers sitting around trying to remember the words to Beach Boys songs. Sun, surf and sand have been overwhelmed by smog, crime, traffic jams and tourists. At least in 1963, people could cruise Main Street without the need of a flak jacket. Wipeout, indeed.

“The laws and the rules change because of all the new people that came to town,” Welch said. “Like now, you can’t stay out on the beach at night. It’s just getting really stupid.”

Details

* WHAT: The Chantays.

* WHEN: 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

* WHERE: California Beach Party, Ventura Promenade.

* HOW MUCH: $5.50 (adults), $3.50 (senior citizens), children under 12 free.

* CALL: 654-7830.