Who tells Brian what to do?

[egon spengler]

The "Brian, your eyes are closed" video posted recently was fairly upsetting to watch.

the what now?

[Wirestone]

It's a video from when Brian was promoting the Gershwin album. It's a raw feed that TV stations could take talking head clips from. At the beginning, he's practically asleep -- eyes closed, very soft answers. At a certain point, a person who sounds like Jean Seivers (his manager) tells him to open his eyes and start over. Brian seems a little startled and embarrassed. My feeling on this is if Brian wanted to promote the Gershwin album (which he did -- it was a project he clearly cared about) and if he pays Jean to be his manager, then she was simply doing her job. But it does press buttons in these parts to see BW being ordered around.

Besides, there are plenty of other ways for a 70 year old to keep himself busy that don't involve sitting in front of a TV all day/night or long tours crowds/planes/pressure etc.

If they were actually doing that with Brian, I would agree. But with the exception of 2004 -- when he played Smile into the ground -- he's averaged 30-40 dates each year that he's seriously toured. (He basically took 2003 and 2006 off.) That is hardly the heaviest of loads -- it means he's out and about maybe two and a half months a year.

And we also know he's not exactly in the studio 24/7. So for some nine months out of the year, Brian is indeed free to sit in front of the TV all he wants -- and watch that 60s music channel with the blank screen! And drive to his deli for lunch. I mean, yes, he's had a difficult time in his life and everything, but he's not exactly being forced through the Bataan death march here.

[runnersdialzero]

It's a video from when Brian was promoting the Gershwin album. It's a raw feed that TV stations could take talking head clips from. At the beginning, he's practically asleep -- eyes closed, very soft answers. At a certain point, a person who sounds like Jean Seivers (his manager) tells him to open his eyes and start over. Brian seems a little startled and embarrassed. My feeling on this is if Brian wanted to promote the Gershwin album (which he did -- it was a project he clearly cared about) and if he pays Jean to be his manager, then she was simply doing her job. But it does press buttons in these parts to see BW being ordered around.

T'me, it just goes beyond someone doing their job. It's nothing about him being ordered around. I definitely get the vibe of him being talked down to like he's a child by both she and Jeff. She repeats herself to him several times, Jeff fixes his collar which was sitting just fine (), and they speak to the interviewer, again, as if he were a child and as if he weren't in the room or something. You can tell Brian gets upset after it's been going on for a while, kind of forcibly saying, "Good!" and then looking off to the side. I think he was a whole lot more embarrassed by the lecture and by being talked down to as much as he was than merely by being made aware that he was looking half-asleep.

Again, I'm never gonna claim I could look after Brian or anything, but I didn't get a good vibe from this video. Just the same, people have said Jeff gets extremely weird at meet and greets over sometimes totally trivial things, not in any rational, normal way. I *know* the guy is likely scared to all hell at meeting strange people (both in that they're unfamiliar to him and in some cases that they're, uh, legit strange), but again, it went beyond that.

[lance]

My brother met Bono backstage at a U2 concerrt and U2s manager burst out of a door and yelled at Bono to "Get your ass in here, you have to be onstage in five minutes." I think that rock stars hire people to whip them into line so they don't have to worry about it. It's show business and that's why manager's are hired.

[Runaways]

I would never have predicted in 1999 that Melinda would not only consent to but encourage a Pet Sounds tour and a Smile tour.  She's probably the only person in the world who could have done that. I don't think even a still-alive Carl and Dennis could have done it.

Moreover, Brian still had those scared fecesless unable-to-blink eyes in 1999, which he no longer has. I can understand people thinking in 1999 that he was a puppet, cos that's how his eyes come across, but in 2011 there is life behind the eyes that suggests some voluntary participation.

Conversely I've no doubt that, left to himself, he would have stayed at home watching TV for the last 12 years.

Maybe he ought to be allowed to do just that.

i think he should be allowed to do whatever he feels like and as far as i know, he's enjoying touring and making music again.  i feel anyone who says otherwise just want to make villains out of jeff or melinda

[runnersdialzero]

Nobody said he outright does not enjoy touring or recording.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Besides, there are plenty of other ways for a 70 year old to keep himself busy that don't involve sitting in front of a TV all day/night or long tours crowds/planes/pressure etc.

If they were actually doing that with Brian, I would agree. But with the exception of 2004 -- when he played Smile into the ground -- he's averaged 30-40 dates each year that he's seriously toured. (He basically took 2003 and 2006 off.) That is hardly the heaviest of loads -- it means he's out and about maybe two and a half months a year.

BW's touring history:

1998 - 1
1999 - 24
2000 - 43
2001 - 31
2002 - 41
2003 - 3
2004 - 72
2005 - 45
2006 - 11
2007 - 39
2008 - 37
2009 - 38
2010 - 8
2011 - 39

[Runaways]

Nobody said he outright does not enjoy touring or recording.

oh come on, it's been said before. 

[runnersdialzero]

Nobody said he outright does not enjoy touring or recording.

oh come on, it's been said before. 

Eh, not in this thread, anyway. I certainly didn't.

[PhilSpectre]

Besides, there are plenty of other ways for a 70 year old to keep himself busy that don't involve sitting in front of a TV all day/night or long tours crowds/planes/pressure etc.

If they were actually doing that with Brian, I would agree. But with the exception of 2004 -- when he played Smile into the ground -- he's averaged 30-40 dates each year that he's seriously toured. (He basically took 2003 and 2006 off.) That is hardly the heaviest of loads -- it means he's out and about maybe two and a half months a year.

BW's touring history:

1998 - 1
1999 - 24
2000 - 43
2001 - 31
2002 - 41
2003 - 3
2004 - 72
2005 - 45
2006 - 11
2007 - 39
2008 - 37
2009 - 38
2010 - 8
2011 - 39

Interesting. So that's around 432 concerts in 13 years. Not a terrible workload, I'd have thought, hardly Elvis at Vegas levels (about 1,100 concerts in 8 years ). Still, I think BW should retire from touring soon and take it easy. If he still wants to record all well and good.

[Autotune]

It's a video from when Brian was promoting the Gershwin album. It's a raw feed that TV stations could take talking head clips from. At the beginning, he's practically asleep -- eyes closed, very soft answers. At a certain point, a person who sounds like Jean Seivers (his manager) tells him to open his eyes and start over. Brian seems a little startled and embarrassed. My feeling on this is if Brian wanted to promote the Gershwin album (which he did -- it was a project he clearly cared about) and if he pays Jean to be his manager, then she was simply doing her job. But it does press buttons in these parts to see BW being ordered around

I wonder what type of job managers do when they allow embarrassing moments like this into a PROMO VIDEO!
Why do these things appear in promo material to begin with? There's other promo videos with equally disturbing moments.

My two cents into this is that we, fans, would patronize him if we worked for him. Most of these entourage guys are fans, they idolize the guy. And that condescending tone is not foreign to forums such as this.- Just see how fans get excited when they find an interview in which he pronounces an insightful eight--word phrase: "wow!!! that's the most together he's been in years. wow!!!". Or when a passable live lead vocal surfaces: "wow! he's practically in tune thoughout the song! wow! he seems to enjoy it! look how he seems to smile at 2:47!!"

[Wirestone]

I wonder what type of job managers do when they allow embarrassing moments like this into a PROMO VIDEO!
Why do these things appear in promo material to begin with? There's other promo videos with equally disturbing moments.

It wasn't in a promo video.

It was in a raw news feed that is sent to TV station and news websites so they can edit together their own clips about current arts news.

[Wirestone]

Thanks for the breakdown, Andrew. I was going by your site, but I didn't have access to the 2010 numbers. So he basically took 2010 off, too. So in 12 years of active touring (99 on), Brian has only actively toured nine of those years. And in the nine years he toured, if you exclude the road warrior year of 2004, he averaged 37.4 shows a year.

Dylan, on the other hand, played 100 dates last year. And around 90 this year.

[runnersdialzero]

I don't know if anyone here know is 40 shows a year is or isn't too many shows for Mr.Wilson. Just sayin'.

[Wirestone]

Of course not. But it's useful to have perspective, and to know the actual numbers. Especially when we're talking about other people's motives.

[endofposts]

There's preparation time involved in touring, so it's not just the number of dates.  I think more to the point it's excessive touring from the standpoint Brian doesn't sell out all the shows and some years are worse than others.  He tends to revisit the exact same cities and markets over and over again, sometimes without sufficient time between.  So, he wound up selling 700 seats at the Paramount in Oakland, for example.  He played the same theater a couple of years before and sold it out.  He's in the Bay Area nearly every year or close to it.  I don't go to his shows anymore, period.  I'm burned out on it and it's the same thing over and over, even if he adds some new songs from newer projects.  The ticket prices he'd charged have also gotten a lot higher than when he first started out and I'd rather save my money to see other bands, since I can only budget so much for entertainment and I've seen Brian plenty of times since he started touring again.  I guess I'm just not a big enough fan, but I can't be the only one.  I do think he's out there to at least provide a cursory presence to represent versus the Mike Love touring outfit, who I realize play over 100 dates a year, sometimes close to 150 dates or more. 

When Brian started touring, it was a total surprise and no one thought he'd keep it up for ten years plus.  But I think he would have enhanced his value if he had some more years off in there to retain a sense of novelty, or at least toured an entirely different set of cities or markets instead of going to the same ones over and over.  His management seems to be to blame there in terms of deciding what cities he plays and how it's timed.  Although it could also be true he is only capable of selling at all in certain cities or geographic areas. 

[runnersdialzero]

forget marie, d'you appreciate anything? *cries*

[endofposts]

forget marie, d'you appreciate anything? *cries*

I don't appreciate seeing the same oldies crap over and over again.   Brian doesn't even sing all the songs anymore.  He also doesn't look happy to be up there and never has.  It's improved, but not by much.   If he can't even keep his eyes open for a TV interview, I don't think he's that engaged by what he's doing.  I'd rather go see performers who like being up there and enjoy the audience and interact with them besides some scripted comments about cigarette lighters.

[Mike's Beard]

There was a time when it seemed highly unlikely that Brian would ever perform live again. And then to everyone's delight he did. But then by and large, the novelty wore off and and the realisation that Brian is not a good live performer and is clearly uncomfortable on stage sunk in. No amount of Jeff Foskets can mask this. It makes little sense for Brian to be out performing greatest hits concerts he has zero interest in when we have the more than capable Mike & Bruce show.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

It's a video from when Brian was promoting the Gershwin album.

Where does one see this video?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Nobody said he outright does not enjoy touring or recording.

Don't know about recording, but someone who would know has said he enjoys touring except for the performing bit. Name of Wilson.

[runnersdialzero]

Nobody said he outright does not enjoy touring or recording.

Don't know about recording, but someone who would know has said he enjoys touring except for the performing bit. Name of Wilson.

Ask just about any other touring musician, and they'll tell you they love performing but hate the touring part. Interesting that Brian is the opposite. :\

[endofposts]

I don't think Brian's dislike of performing has that much to do with his so-called illness, either.  He just never seemed to like it or appear that comfortable when he was younger and healthier.  So, he begged off touring early and often when he was starting the Beach Boys.  It is good that he enjoys traveling, and in interviews he mentions that he enjoys going to places like European countries and Australia.  So, he does get something out of it, it's just not necessarily why people pay a good ticket price to see him.  However, I would recommend his show to anyone that hasn't seen it.  The band always does a good job and sometimes Brian is more on than other times.  I'm just not sure I'd recommend seeing it more than once.  I saw him way more than I should have and got burned out.  But I did enjoy things that were more novel, such as the Smile tour and also seeing him do some more unusual songs when he played the Roxy shows years ago.

[mammy blue]

Someday, someone's going to write their doctoral thesis on Brian's two wives, their differing philosophies towards Brian's daily life and the resulting effect on his creative output.

[letsmakeit31]

Could we just put this to bed and be thankful that Brian is alive and well and that most of us have seen him live over the years )