Girl On: Tristan Prettyman
Apr 03 2008 / Los Angeles, CA
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Meet the wildly popular musician and surfer
Tristan Prettyman is every man's dream girl. Gnarly surfer. Extremely talented musician. Uber-hot. Just loves to have a great time.
Yet the vast majority of her fan base is primarily comprised of the female gender. With a follow-up album to her smash-hit debut being released early next year, Tristan Prettyman will soon be a household name with both the ladies and the gentleman.
The past year has been a phenomenal one for Tristan. An appearance on Conan O'Brien with her good friend G Love. Signing on with a major record label (Virgin Records). A nationwide tour that included the infamous Fillmore in San Francisco, where every major act has made an appearance over the past 30 years. And now, an exclusive interview with Lat34.
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And why Lat34? Because while Tristan's fame comes from her music, her roots are tied in directly with surfing. Prettyman learned how to surf at the same time as when she picked up her guitar, and even managed to squeeze in a few contests while surfing the beautiful waves off the coastline of San Diego and the neighboring regions. In the end though, her passion for music won out.
Yet the mosaic that is Tristan Prettyman's surfing and music took a wild turn when the Malloy Brothers decided to use her music for their movie Shelter. It was then that Tristan broke out, following the likes of Jack Johnson, with whom the Malloy Brothers also helped become a major music star.
It's interesting how surfing and music coincide so beautifully. If a painting were made of the symmetry between the two, Tristan Prettyman would be the canvas for that painting. And maybe dabble in a little Jack Johnson for good measure.
Meet the talented and beautiful, Tristan Prettyman.
Lat34: You have a huge following. And you're a former Roxy girl, which is always hot.
Tristan: (Laughing) I was only a Roxy girl for about five minutes.
Lat34: Taking a step back though, let's talk about your surfing background. How did you get into surfing, and how far did you go?
Tristan: I started surfing right around Junior High School. I was 12 or 13. Just because no girls were doing it, and we had to take electives for school and I thought, “That would really be cool! No girls are doing that.” I was kind of nerdy, so I wanted to be cool. I actually asked my dad to teach me, and he ended up doing it. I've pretty much been surfing ever since.
Lat34: Where did you grow up surfing?
Tristan: I grew up in Del Mar, and now I live in Encinitas. I was always around the North County, coastal San Diego area.
Lat34: What were your favorite spots?
Tristan: I learned how to surf on 15th street, and then I would kind of go everywhere. Scripps in La Jolla, and D street. Now I pretty much surf Cardiff campgrounds.
Lat34: I love Scripps.
Tristan: Scripps is fun. I surfed there until I got my car broken into, and then I gave up on that place. I was like, “I'm outta there!” (Laughing)Lat34: You were doing surf competitions, and all of a sudden you put the surfing on hold and switched the gear entirely to music. How did the music career get started?
Tristan: I competed a little bit in high school, but that was just with the surf team. Surfing was always just a hobby for me. I picked up the guitar at the same age as when I started surfing. But I never really took either seriously. They were both outlets for me. I was just really attracted to them. I wanted to master them, and be good at both of them. But not in a competitive sort of way. They kind of go hand-in-hand in a way, because I did a song that was on Shelter, the surf movie, and that's sort of how people started finding out that I was playing and singing, and once the town found out, I started having to play shows. I had to do open mics, and I wasn't really into any of that. But the responses we got from the movie was kind of overwhelming. My parents came to a show, and they said, “We think you should drop out of college, or take a break, and go play music.” That's when I was like, “That's fantastic. I think I'm going to go do that!”
Lat34: That's some fantastic family support! As I ask of all of Lat34's Girl On interviewees, are you single?
Tristan: I'm single!
Lat34: I thought you were dating some musician guy?
Tristan: I'm not dating that dude anymore! I'm more single than a dollar bill, dude! (Laughing)
Lat34: Wow! So what's next for you?
Tristan: Well, I'm going to London in June to make my second record. And hopefully it'll be out (next) February, we're thinking. And then I'll just be touring. Visit the myspace page, because I do check it and run it. I'm a myspace freak. I love it. I change my photo every other day, and I change the layout, background and songs. My website is down too so it goes straight to my myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/tristanprettyman).
- Cyrus Saatsaz
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