Entertainment/Ticket

Thursday, Aug. 07, 2008

Riding Sound Waves: Los Osos surfboard maker inspired to write music after listening to grandfather's old recordings

Shane Stoneman’s musical roots trace back to his granddad, who inspired the Los Osos artist and surfboard shaper to make his own

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Having left an Indian reservation in Oklahoma for the promise of a new life in California, John Manis decided to take a shot at songwriting.

Even though finances were tight—this was in the 1930s, after all — Manis would pay Hollywood studio musicians 60 cents a day to record songs he and his wife had written, hoping to join the Cole Porters, the Fats Wallers and the George Gershwins of the day.

Manis’ dreams never materialized, however. And those romantic tunes, plastered onto 78 rpm records, might have been forever lost in a series of boxes and storage containers had his great-grandson, Shane Stoneman, not discovered them.

“Long ago, I stole those records from my mom because it seemed like no one cared but me,” Stoneman said.

When he first discovered those old-timey jazz songs, Stoneman, then a teen, was so inspired he decided he would write music just as Manis had done half a century earlier.

“I got a guitar, and then three months later I bought one of those little four-track portable studios,” he said. “So I started writing songs the same time I was learning to play guitar.”

While Stoneman shares his great-grandfather’s love of music, he doesn’t share his ancestor’s dreams of stardom. Besides, he’s already plenty busy as a surfboard shaper, cranking out 300 boards a year.

A new CD

Like those of more well-known surfing musicians Jack Johnson and Donovan Frankenreiter, Stoneman’s songs feature whispery vocals and buttery-soft guitar chords that seem tailor-made for surf movie soundtracks. To enhance the mellow vibe, his new CD, “Days Gone By,” includes a healthy share of jazz riffs Manis would surely appreciate.

“The last song on (‘Days Gone By’) kind of reminds me of something he would do,” said Stoneman, who recorded a sweet version of his great-grandfather’s song “Starlit Rendezvous,” which can be heard on his Web site, www.shanestoneman.com. The tiny studio space Stoneman rents to shape boards offers sweeping views of rural Cayucos. Inside the dusty studio, one finds half-squeezed tubes of oil paint on an easel, a stack of National Geographics mixed in with surf magazines, two old car seats and an acoustic guitar sitting in its case on the floor.

“In between shaping, I’ll get the guitar out and start making noise and see if something sticks,” Stoneman said.

Even before he acquired a love of music, Stoneman found a love of the ocean. When he was 5 his family moved to Hawaii, where a friend’s uncle taught him how to surf.

“It was an instant addiction,” he said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to have to do this forever now.’ ”

Turning professional

When he was 10 his family relocated to Orange County, where Stoneman began to compete in surfing contests. After performing well as an amateur (he won third place in the junior division at the 1990 World Amateur Contest in Japan), he took the next step and became a pro. While he didn’t make a Kelly Slaterlevel amount of money, surfing did pay for his travel and bills.

“I think the most I ever got paid was 800 bucks a month from Ocean Pacific,” he said. “And then I’d get money from the wet suit people and whatever. This was the early ’90s, so yeah — it felt like real money.”

Surfing would take him around the world, with stops in Australia, England, South Africa, Chile, Costa Rica and Indonesia. But as surf contests became increasingly global, Stoneman found he didn’t have the instinct for competing any more.

“I just didn’t want to kill my competitors as much as they wanted to kill me,” he said.

So he moved to the Central Coast, where he attended Cuesta College and then Cal Poly, earning a bachelor’s degree in English. While he had intended to become an English teacher, upon graduation Stoneman decided to go with another passion.

Filling a niche

“I just kind of did the leap-of- faith thing and thought, ‘I’m a surfboard shaper and that’s what I’m going to do.’ ”

Stoneman had started making boards when he was in high school, and he continued to make boards in college. Luckily, he had plenty of friends who were surfers — including professionals Pat O’Connell and Mark Parsons —who were among his early customers. Gradually he built his business.

Dennis Tozlian, manager at Wavelengths in Morro Bay, said Stoneman makes boards for different styles of surfing and for various skill levels. And the boards he sells locally (many at Wavelengths) are crafted to suit local conditions.

“He understands what the board needs to be like to surf this area,” Tozlian said.

Somehow, between the shaping and family duties — Stoneman is married, with a 4-year-old daughter—the Los Osos resident also finds time to paint and record music. Recently, he sold four paintings (he does mostly plein air pieces) at an art show in Laguna Beach.

A musical vibe

Meanwhile, “Days Gone By” marks his second solo album.

Previously a member of the band the Coyotes, Stoneman now records on his own, inviting friends to record with him.

One of them, Dylan Johnson, gave Stoneman music lessons in the ’90s. Johnson, a Berklee School of Music grad who will teach at Cuesta College this fall, said he helped Stoneman work on expanding his chord vocabulary and melody.

“He just wanted more on his palette to choose from,” Johnson said.

Johnson said Stoneman’s creativity stands out from many other students, who merely want to copy others.

“They have to play like Jimi Hendrix or whatever,” he said. “I like that (Stoneman) took a lot of chances.”

Even though Stoneman has his own style, he still gets compared to Jack Johnson and Donavan Frankenreite.

“That’s always sort of bothered me,” Stoneman said. “When Jack Johnson first came on the scene, he was everywhere. And we’d play a gig and people would say, ‘You sound like Jack Johnson.’ ”

True, both men’s music conveys a mellow vibe. But there are differences in guitar rhythms and phrasings.

Though you might expect Johnson and Frankenreiter to be huge influences, you won’t find copies of their CDs at his Cayucos studio. Instead, you’ll find music by Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and other acoustic and classic rock acts.

“My influences were Neil Young, Pete Townsend and those guys,” he said.

Reach Patrick S. Pemberton at 781-7903.

MORE ONLINE

Shane Stoneman’s Web site:

www.shanestoneman.com