The band became known with their stint on the
talent show television program Ebisu-Onsen, a show very similar in concept to the
American program,
Star Search on which the winning band would receive a
recording contract. Although the Surf Coasters did not win the competition, their success on the show led to a loyal fan following. They succeeded to make it into the final round of the competition, where they finished in second place; however, they still received a record deal, which led to the release of their debut CD, ''Surf Panic '95'', which, despite being an
instrumental album, sold well. The band also played that year with surf music legend and "King of the Surf Guitar",
Dick Dale, who was on his first tour of Japan. Reportedly, after the tour Dale referred to Naka as the "Prince of the Surf Guitar.". Since then, the band has released upwards of twenty records, for the
Columbia,
Victor and
BMG record labels, and have become the number one instrumental band across Japan. Their sound has varied since 1995, including
dancehall,
acoustic arrangements,
blues, and
heavy metal. Naka has also gone on to record, with and without the rest of the band, on other musical projects, including
soundtracks for film and
video games. Shigeo Naka was a guest guitarist playing the song "Test Driver" and Naka's own composition, "The Clash", with
Takeshi Terauchi & Blue Jeans on their 1996 album,
Catch a Wave. Kurita has been playing bass with his band Chill. ==Other band members==