As the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea and crowds gathered in Livorno, Italy, Professor of Economics Ivan Pongracic took the stage at the Surfer Joe music festival on July 25. Pongracic wasn’t thinking about inflation, fiscal years, or supply and demand. Instead, he was playing with his surf-rock group, Lords of Atlantis. And although...
What is one music genre you think is underrated? I’ve spent the past 25 years playing instrumental surf music, which was born in the early ‘60s in Southern California. Most acts from that scene were primarily instrumental, without much singing, with the electric guitar playing the melodies. My two bands, the Madeira and the Space...
February 19th will mark the 35th anniversary of my family’s arrival to the U.S. I was 14-years-old and have vivid memories of that day. Growing up in former Yugoslavia, I had been raised to love America and the ideals for which it stood. My dad often took me to see American movies, in particular Westerns...
Some know him for his libertarian rants in economics classes, others know him by his surf band, the Madeira, which has toured the U.S. and Italy and released six CDs since 2004. Ivan Pongracic was born in 1969 in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, a country run by communist dictator Marshal Tito at the time. Pongracic’s parents worked...
In its latest album, “Ancient Winds,” The Madeira takes listeners on a journey around the Mediterranean and shows that surf rock appeals to more than beach bums. With plenty of reverb in the guitars and dynamic contrasts by the drums, “Ancient Winds” is an excellent example of contemporary surf rock. The Madeira released its fourth...