VENTURES RIDE AN ENDLESS ‘60s WAVE

Even the best surfers can’t catch every wave.

Take the Ventures, the group that more than 25 years ago pioneered the instrumental rock style that eventually became known as surf music. The sound is currently having a revival, as evidenced by several versions of the Surfaris’ classic “Wipe Out” (including an unlikely mating of the rap group the Fat Boys with the Beach Boys), and the use of the Ventures’ own “Walk--Don’t Run” in a recent TV car commercial.

But you have to wonder if this current wave is going to pass the Ventures by.

“It seems we’re always on top of something, and then . . . ,” said drummer Mel Taylor, his deep voice trailing off.

A year and a half ago the Ventures sensed a coming surf revival when they performed at a clothing convention where surf apparel was the rage.

With that in mind, the group recorded a version of “Wipe Out” that, with a screaming metal lead by L.A. guitarist Paul Warren, energetically updated the original without losing any of its spirit. But the band was unsuccessful at getting the song released, and before they knew it the world was filled with new versions of “Wipe Out.”

“All these years nobody’s done ‘Wipe Out,’ ” bemoaned rhythm guitarist Don Wilson, who founded the group with lead guitarist (now bassist) Bob Bogle in Tacoma, Wash., in 1959.

“Now there must be seven versions out there,” said Taylor, sitting in the memorabilia-filled recreation room of Wilson’s Sherman Oaks home

But the Ventures (who play the Palomino on Friday) aren’t asking anyone to feel sorry for them. The legacy of a career that includes 85 albums released in the United States and more than 85 million sold worldwide (40 million in Japan, where, according to the members, the band enjoys superstar status) is kept alive through a heavy concert schedule (at least 150 shows a year) and the constant adulation of fans and peers.

Last year, Guitar Player magazine named the Ventures’ first album one of the 20 essential rock records, calling it “the album that launched a thousand bands” and describing the group as “the quintessential ‘60s guitar band.”

The diverse array of musicians who have personally thanked the Ventures for their inspiration includes Peter Frampton, ex-Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff Baxter, David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen.

And though Taylor and Wilson are a little dismayed that they haven’t been able to capitalize on the current interest in surf music, they’re not concerned that the band’s time has passed.

“I don’t even think about it,” said Wilson. “People will always like the music of the ‘60s.”

Over the years, the Ventures have been masters at taking on whatever trend came along. The posters and album covers on Wilson’s walls show the band’s progression from earnest young men in matching suits to pseudo-hippies in bell-bottoms and bowl haircuts to their current, more natural-looking incarnation as middle-aged rockers. (Wilson, Taylor and Bogle are all in their 50s; lead guitarist Gerry McGee, who joined several years ago, is a bit younger.)

Throughout the ‘60s the Ventures’ repertoire was constantly updated with current hits as they gave everything from folk to psychedelic numbers their distinctive treatment, even doing a disco version of “Walk--Don’t Run” in 1977.

As recently as 1981 the Ventures found themselves something of a new-wave phenomenon when introduced to L.A. youngsters by deejay Rodney Bingenheimer, which led to the recording of the single “Surfin’ and Spyin’,” written by and performed with the Go-Go’s.

“Everything that ever came out, we got onto it,” Wilson said, naming Tiny Tim’s “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” as the silliest thing they ever tackled. “That was the thing to do.”

Today, though, despite the fact that their concert audiences include a healthy number of youngsters who weren’t even born when the Ventures last made the American charts with the “Hawaii Five-O” theme in 1969, the band deals mostly in nostalgia. You won’t be hearing them try any Janet Jackson songs.

“We can’t do that,” Wilson said with a hint of regret. “Our fans wouldn’t let us. They want the ‘60s stuff.”