The Surf Punks were a pop punk band formed in 1976 by Malibu residents Dennis Dragon (1947–2017) and Drew Steele. Dragon was the son of symphony conductor Carmen Dragon and the brother of Captain & Tennille's Daryl Dragon, who had previously drummed with the Byrds and the Beach Boys. Steele's stepfather was Gavin MacLeod of McHale's Navy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Love Boat fame. Dragon recruited the additional talents of Malibu residents Tony Creed AKA the "Hulk", for lead guitar and blues harp, fellow bodysurfer/frisbeeist John Hunt on the bass, and South Bay resident John Heussenstamm for lead guitar. This was the original core group, produced and engineered by Dragon in his garage studio across the street from Zuma Beach, his favorite body surfing spot. Mark Miller joined them on "Locals Only." Jeff "Ray Ban" Eyrich joined the Surf Punks on bass when John Hunt left the group.