Photo: Joseph Aguirre
In 1990, at the age of 26, Curren made his pro surfing comeback. He quickly moved from trials to the title, winning seven events en route to capturing his third world crown. By the time he officially left the world tour, he had racked up 33 event wins, a feat so impressive it has only been eclipsed by Slater.
In the early and mid-’90s, Curren began focusing more on free surfing, aided by longtime sponsor Rip Curl’s “The Search” ad/film campaign, with filmmaker Sonny Miller at the helm. ‘The Search” would redefine the surf film, sending Curren to unspoiled surf spots around the globe, scoring trips to the likes of Indo and J-Bay, pursuing endless waves. He brought along a guitar, and when he wasn’t surfing, Curren would play tunes.
“Yeah, it was just a hectic travel schedule,” Curren remembers, “and I kind of wasn’t interested in competition as much, and so I brought a guitar along as kind of a side hobby. It wasn’t really a conscious decision at any point then to switch gears and go into music or anything.”
Continuing his musical pursuits in the early ’90s, Curren toured with his band, Skipping Urchins, embarking on a month-long musical tour on both American coasts. Curren would release an Ocean Surf Aces album in 1995, yet it would not be until the next decade that Curren released his second album, Curren, in 2003, which laid the groundwork for his sunny California vocals and homegrown sound. It was later to be rediscovered on the Summerland Road EP in the fall of 2012 and In Plain View, his newest full studio release.
“It’s different,” Curren says of his current music, compared to his Skipping Urchins days. “The music and the songs now are very tight and the arrangement, it’s all sewn together really tight and that kind of thing, so it’s totally different.”
And as for Skipping Urchins? “That was kind of a mix of a lot of styles of music, and it had longer instrumentals, as well as rap and funk, and heavy bass riffs.”
I tell Curren that his songwriting and musicianship stand apart from his surfing accomplishments and ask for his approach on the craft of creating songs.
“Thanks. That’s something that I enjoy doing,” Curren admits, “but I find it pretty hard to do (songwriting). I like to play a bit more than sing, as well, so it’s just having enough material there to do something with, where music is fun. And then, the thing is, there’s always going to be some better songs and some of them are not as good, and some of them kind of suck,” he continues, laughing, “so you just go, ‘Well, this one kinda sticks,’ I guess. That’s kind of it. And then, for the album, I had kind of a lot of older songs that I was working on for just too long, and so I wanted to just, do that, and Wolfbomb (Productions) gave me that great opportunity.”
After a West Coast tour, including a Surf Rodeo event in Ventura with fellow surfer and singer-songwriter Timmy Curran, Curren embarks towards the Atlantic for several Northeast dates from Maine down to New York as part of the Rip Curl Retail Tour.
Produced by John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Jason Mraz), In Plain View shows off Curren’s timeless California sound, reminiscent of Golden State legends Jackson Browne and The Eagles. “John was great,” Curren says. “We have really similar likes as far as music. It was really good, it was relaxed.” As for a favorite track on the album, Curren says right now a couple tunes come to mind.
“I think my favorite one right now is ‘As Long As.’ That one seems to be pretty comfortable in playing live right now, and ‘Summerland Road’ is fun, too. Some of them you just have to keep practicing and getting right.”
Curren lists several fellow contemporaries in the surf-music world as musical inspirations. “I like Ben Harper a lot, and Jack (Johnson), all those guys. And Donavon (Frankenreiter) too – all those. I think they really have a lot of creativity, that goes without saying. I’ve been listening to a little bit of Pat Metheny, and another guy that I like is Marty Balin (Jefferson Airplane and Starship). Some of his songs are really nice, too.”
A testament to his influence on surfing as much to his timeless style, Curren is still “Searching,” and keeps the stoke factor high watching his kids grow up. “We’re still kind of doing the same thing after all these years, so it’s been really good. We’ve had some good travels, and my kids are coming up and they’re involved as well. And yeah, so far, so good.”
Down the family tree, all four of Curren’s children (daughter Lee-Ann, sons Nathan, Frank and Pat) grew up surfing and compete on various levels in the sport. While Curren lived in France with first wife Marie, daughter Lee-Ann and son Nathan grew up surfing the beachbreaks of Biarritz. After separating in 1993, Tom moved back to Santa Barbara, remarrying a year later to second wife Makeira, having two sons, Frank and Pat, who, with their father, surf many of the same breaks he learned on. Besides competing, Lee-Ann fronts indie rock band Betty the Shark, and Pat is also a musician.
I ask Curren what he feels is most inspiring to his surfing, his music and having one of the most important statures in the sport. “I think it’s about helping the community and being a part of something bigger, and being there to support your friends and their endeavors, and to help out.” For a moment, the understated Curren thinks of something more to add, perhaps searching for words that resonate with the next generation of surfers, yet settles with his answer, content if not slightly disappointed. “That’s not very poetic, I guess.”
As the interview draws to a close, I thank him again for his time. We say our goodbyes, and then Tom Curren, humble surfing ambassador, singer-songwriter, ever and always the style master, is off and away, as effortless and smooth as a wave slipping back out to sea.
