​Busy day for us on Saturday as we roll into Huntington Beach for not one, but TWO, performances. From 1-3 pm, we will be at Bella Terra. From 7-9, find us at Pacific City. These are free, family-friendly good times. Please consider popping by! These will be out last shows stateside until Tiki Oasis in August. Whew! Let us know if you're in Spain this July! 

It's Thursday, and we've got a couple of sets at Roxanne's in Long Beach. Big Tiki Dude will be spinning Exotica, and DA of the Insect Surfers will be sharing a few waves with us. It could get buggy... Winkity-Wink. See ya there!  

After weeks across the pond in freezing Europe, it was a relief that the first show upon our return, the Surfing Sundays event at Huntington Beach, was warm and welcoming, an ideal place for thawing out and getting back into our surf groove. Next up, we have the Santa Monica Farmers Market on Main Street for a few hours, hoping to spread our sounds of sunshine as you shop, eat, and/or simply hang out. This is a family friendly  event so Bernard won't bring the stacks of amps (ha ha ha) and we might even try some of our mellower numbers; rarely heard live. Last but not least, did we mention that we have one of our fave local musicians Marty Tippens sitting in on drums for this one? It's gonna be delightful! Stop by and say hi! 

     One can never truly predict where one’s music winds up. Now, by some accounts, if one indulges in instrumental surf music or even surf-influenced music, then one really is playing a curious game of roulette. Yes! It is a really cool community of people; spanning many continents and there are gigs ranging from some regional festivals to clubs to other thematic events but where can the music be used? Oh, and do we really want it used or do we want to hold onto it and keep our music to ourselves and our community? PAR AVION wants to share it and we feel that most bands do. The more the merrier. Recently, a fun “moment” just landed in our laps. By the good graces of an ally in the So Cal community, Par Avion was recommended to Burn Ward Games to submit materials for a reboot of the cult classic, Rocket Jockey. The original game was full of energetic surf vibes courtesy of Dick Dale himself. It’s not just about us, the game’s re-boot features the king of surf guitar himself Dick Dale as well other So Cal bands: The Blackball Bandits, The ZipGuns, Tequila Worms, and The Tiki Creeps.
     There’s a fun background story too. When Bernard first moved to LA, one of his co-workers was Chris Penketh of the Tiki Creeps. They both were involved with the local music scene; Chris was a full on Sunset Strip rocker while Bernard’s band SAMBA HELL leaned hard towards quirky alternative hijinks more akin to the Minutemen meets Primus. Let over 20 years elapse and suddenly they share this moment together. Gotta love it, but we digress…..
      Rocket Jockey has a truly unique play, and we cannot deny that even we (non-gamers) might be drawn to it and cannot wait until the launch. Stand by for more news about the game and music!
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CHICHA. Peruvian cumbia. We don't even recall how we came across this glorious genre of music, but what do ya know? Those Peruvian guys of the 60s/70s cast a spell on us with their wah-wah pedals and psychedelic surf guitars on top of cumbia rhythms. A few years ago when we traveled in Lima, our cab driver all but laughed us out of the car for mentioning this "old music from the country, the mountains," but those working-class Amerindians migrating to the oft time unwelcoming city created something special in our eyes (and ears) that, also, shed a light on the experiences of exploitation and marginalization of indigenous persons.
Nevertheless, chicha, like it's namesake, the Incan corn-liquor, intoxicated us. Unable to resist its pull, we washed into the studio and recorded this song, "A Patricia," which has become standard among many of the bands we hear running with the genre. In fact, we must offer a nod to Money Chicha, Chicha Libre, and Chicha Dust to name a few. This track was recorded at Long Beach's legendary Mambo Studios and mixed by punk rock legend (and Bernard's old bandmate from Sex With Lurch) Geza X with Derek O'Brien (Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Extra Fancy) having a great time on drums and percussion. The video was shot one day before Bernard hit a BellRays rehearsal in Riverside at the amazing and artsy Tio's Tacos. We urge all who pass through Riverside, California to check this place out. A Patricia may be downloaded at: https://paravionmusic.bandcamp.com/
A Patricia written by Enrique Delgado Montes
More about chicha here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_cumbia and http://www.laweekly.com/music/an-obscure-compilation-called-the-roots-of-chichas-far-reaching-influence-in-los-angeles-8900124

Alright, so we're a month premature, but Bernard is hitting the road on a rockin' tour with The Bellrays (bit.ly/bellraysdec2017dates) on bass duty, and Rebecca is headed to Texas to finish house repairs with the family. Before you know it, Christmas and New Year's Eve will be here and BOOM! 2018! Yep, that quickly. 
While we're not smooching 2017 goodbye yet, we ARE hopeful for what 2018 is offering Par Avion, and ultimately, you all. New music is cooking, and we're gonna feed y'all as soon as it's ready. In the meantime, below's a lil sesh from last week at Lake Perris. Maybe we'll debut the full song at Pacific City on Thursday in Huntington Beach (21010 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach, California) ... But you gotta be there to know! Thanks for it all, and see ya soon.

More info at: www.gopacificcity.com/
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It actually probably won't be too freaky (unless you want us to get weird), BUT Par Avion is sharing the night with BLACKBALL BANDITS and HOLD FAST for the first time down in OC, and that's gonna be a heckin' howler (I don't even know what that means, but it sounds provocative). Shall we wear costumes??? See us there!

After Hurricane Harvey hit Houston horrifically hard, I impatiently waited for the water to subside to assess the aftermath, not only for my fellow Texans, but for my family. Yes, indeed, it hit close to home: THE home I shared essentially my entire life with my parents until I was married off. We are lucky that my parents were (and still are) safe during the entire ordeal, staying with my siblings, but their house, like many others', was not spared the floodwaters. Doing my best to remain calm as my parents, family, and I sorted out via phone and text the following days of how and what to do next was no simple task. "Are the streets finally safe to drive to the house?" "Have you applied for FEMA assistance yet?" "Does homeowner's insurance cover that?" "Do you have flood insurance?" "Is there electricity yet?" "How much damage was there?" "Did you get photos of that?" were all questions that had to be answered one at a time, and with 7 individual adult opinions (not including spouses) in a family, it's bound to become stressful. 
That's not to say we weren't working together. My siblings, nieces and nephews, did a beautiful job of helping remove damaged furniture, all major appliances, carpet and cabinets from the house. We were even more fortunate to have extended family and friends come, some of them bringing volunteers from their local parish to tear down walls and clear out rubbish to the front yard in heaping mounts. I put in a phone call to United who were kind enough to change my flight to an earlier date (free of charge - GASP!) so that I could be on the ground with my family and working side by side as soon as possible. Once in Houston, I, too, got down and dirty with the house. Masks, gloves, sweat, repeat. Physical and emotional support every day. There was still a lot to be done.
There IS a lot to be done. We are taking care of it slowly but surely. And we are hopeful. Hiring contractors for tasks my one-functioning-donated kidney dad can't do, replacing studs, accepting assistance from family for electrical work, and eventually the walls of sheetrock will go up. We are so grateful for the blessings of good people and good will, and honestly, the country's disaster assistance program. As remarkable as that's been, we've been of further fortune with the friends who went to our show at Molly Malone's and even more who bought our music at our bandcamp page, adding an additional $300 that will go to my parents' home. Thank you doesn't fully reflect the thankfulness I/we feel. YOU all ROCK.