While only about a third of their music lacked vocals during their DC incarnations, after Arnson relocated to Los Angeles the band shifted focus to perform primarily instrumental tunes.
Drummer Dan Buccino, who was just graduating from Walt Whitman High School, was found through a classified ad in the free Washington, DC newspaper Unicorn Times.
Their mutual friend Dan Collins, graduating BCC High School that year,[7] wanted to put together a musical performance for his public speaking class.
[8][self-published source] Although Collins did not continue in the group, the rest of the band carried on to play their first gig as Insect Surfers at Fort Reno Park in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Northwest DC.
At one of their several Madam's Organ gigs,[9] Insect Surfers met Bill Asp, who agreed to release the band's first single on his Arlington, VA-based label, WASP Records.
WASP released the Insects’ single "Into the Action" b/w "Pod Life" in 1980, followed by their 12" record "Wavelength," which reached #25 on the national college radio charts.
[11] This success saw the Insect Surfers playing frequently; over the next four years they performed with the likes of Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, The Stranglers, Psychedelic Furs, Echo & the Bunnymen, Destroy All Monsters, The Ventures, The Raybeats, Snakefinger, and The Waitresses.
The final DC lineup consisted of David Arnson (guitar), Tom Tomlinson (keyboards), Jim Colby (bass), and Todd Bernhardt (drums).
A move to Los Angeles in April 1985 found Arnson trying out musicians for the band's new Southern California lineup, which made their debut in June 1986 at KXLU's "Surf Day," where they performed with local favorites The Halibuts.
Death Valley Coastline included a guest appearance (on the cut "Volcano Juice") by instrumental fuzz guitar pioneer Davie Allan, whom Arnson credits as a major musical influence.
[28][29] In January 2002, Insect Surfers shared a two-day bill with Peter Case, John Doe, George Sarah’s string trio, and other musicians at the Grand Opening Fiesta for Rhino Records’ new store near Westwood Village in Los Angeles.
Mojave Reef found the band's sound expanding to feature field recording samples, extended feedback, and psychedelic segments.
The lineup on 2013's Infra Green CD and LP featured David Arnson and Michael Abraham on guitars, Jonpaul Balak on bass, and drums by Jeff Utterback.
[42] In 2019 the band celebrated their milestone 40th anniversary by touring Europe (Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and The Netherlands) and the USA, performing at six of the major surf music-centric festivals around the world—Surfer Joe Summer Festival,[43] Tiki-Kon, an August 3 headliner appearance at the Los Angeles Surf Guitar 101 Convention,[44] an appearance at San Diego's Tiki Oasis, and as part of an East Coast tour they appeared at Atlanta's Southern Surf Stompfest,[45] at Ashby Park, NJ's Hi-Tide Summer Holiday,[46] and they performed at a 40th reunion gig in Washington DC, which included performing with all of the original members of the band.