The Neptunas are an American trio playing stripped-down surf instrumental and garage-pop vocal songs with a modern twist.
Back in 1994 in Los Angeles, bassist Pamita Neptuna mailed out flyers looking for girls to join a surf. She recruited guitarist Leslita Neptuna and original drummer Toastita Neptuna. They recorded their first album “Scratch and Surf” for infamous punk rock label Sympathy for the Record Industry, and their lo-fi sound was solidified. Touring across the US commenced, and along with San Francisco’s Trashwomen and Japan’s 5-6-7-8s, they became one of the few all-female bands to attack the surf instro sound.
In 1996, drummer Laura Bethita Neptuna replaced Toastita and by 1998 they released a second album for Sympathy called “Let Them Eat Tuna.” On the cover of the album, the three Neptunas are dressed as mermaids with Marie Antoinette wigs. By 2000, the band were on a quiet hiatus as they began other musical projects but would get together for the occasional one-off show.
In 2014, after several years off, the band was approached by the Breeders asking if they would they like to open for them on a West Coast tour. They got back together, proceeded to relearn their old set, and played fairytale shows in storied venues like the Showbox in Seattle and the Fillmore in San Francisco. Buoyed by the encouraging reception they received on the Breeders tour, they were invited by their friend Danny Amis of Los Straitjackets to play the Wild-O Fest in Mexico City in 2017. Their experience with the amazing surf music scene in Mexico was so positive that they made plans to return to Mexico City to record a new album with Danny producing. The result of that recording is “Mermaid a Go Go” a brand new album with 12 tracks of pure surf and garage goodness to be released by Altered State of Reverb in 2020.
