200 miles off the North African coast lies the Portuguese island Madeira. Europeans and Africans know the island for its beaches and surfing, but Professor of Economics Ivan Pongracic appreciates other aspects of this island.
Nine years ago, Pongracic and three others created a surf band called Madeira, inspired by the island’s surfing culture and blend of Mediterranean and African sounds.
“We usually play very loud with fast rhythms,” Pongracic said. “Dark, even violent at times. I mean the ocean is a dark place. You don’t want to be crumpled by a 50’ wave.”
Artists such as Dick Dale and the Shadows inspire the music that Madeira writes. Like Dick Dale and the Shadows, Madeira is a surf band that is only instrumental. After the genre died out between 1965, a revival of surf music hit the United States. But the genre is still underground.
“You can’t make instrumental music commercial,” Pongracic said. “No one is telling you want to do. So you get to use your imagination.”
The Indianapolis band and has traveled the world from destinations from San Francisco to Detroit to Boston to Italy. Madeira has released three albums over the past nine years and performs year round. This weekend, Madeira will make an appearance at the Dawn Theater at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night. But Pongracic said that this performance will be ”more mellow” compared those typical of Madeira.
Pongracic began his guitar career over 30 years ago at the age of 13. He had grown up listening to his father play the guitar in the house and in bands. Pongracic currently owns twelve guitars. None of which he has named. His favorite guitar he has had for 23 years.
Pongracic first met one of his band mates at Indiana Wesleyan University business school. His drummer was one of his MBA students. His drummer is now a middle manager at Delco. His bass player is a logistics engineer at FedEx and his rhythm guitar player works in insurance as a claims adjuster.
He and the rhythm guitarist write the majority of the band’s music. Often the music they are writing is complicated to perform at concerts.
“Playing this stuff is major physical exertion,” Pongracic said. “We’re in pain while we’re playing.”
The Madeira’s involvement in the surf band community is not only close but also quite successful.
“We know each other really well,” Pongracic said. “It’s tight knit community. And we are a big fish in a small pond. A microscopic pond.”
bpritchett@hillsdlae.edu
