The Beach Boys and the local LA music scene

[Myk Luhv]

I think this is an interesting topic that doesn't seem to get discussed enough: Where do The Beach Boys sit in relation to the LA music scene of the '60s and '70s? They, possibly mostly Brian and Dennis, obviously partied with everyone you'd expect (Lowell George, David Crosby, etc.) and were obviously hugely successful with their music. Did they ever talk about other, local groups? I know at one point they covered "Pushin' Too Hard" in concert and that "Hawthorne Blvd." from the Hawaii concerts was a tribute to Thee Midniters, an East LA Chicano group. I find this intriguing since it suggests they were at least aware of local movers-and-shakers. Have other groups discussed The Beach Boys' place in the LA scene? Have the Wilsons or anyone else done so? If I had to guess, I'd wager that because they were so phenomenally successful, they were in some ways cut off from the local scene, maybe seen more as being nearly untouchable and sort of hovering above it? On the other hand, they played that week-long (?) residency at the Whiskey in, what, 1971/72? How was this received by their scene peers?

This thread is a jumping-off point for further discussion, and since I don't think very many books about Brian or The Beach Boys discuss this context at all, or do so only briefly to show how Brian transcended it; hopefully it'll prove worthwhile and informative.

[Bean Bag]

My assumption has always been that they were seen by the LA crowd as Hawthorne hicks.  They were not part of the "LA scene."  Especially as the drugs and the counterculture moved in by the mid-60s.  Out with the burger, shakes and drive-ins, and in with the head shops, lava lamps and other such stuff.

They weren't much a part of the surfing scene either.  No matter... the rest of the world was a bigger scene anyway.  They were just too big and commercially successful to really fit into a "local scene."

[southbay]

Most of the important LA musicians of the 60's/70's have specifically referenced Brian and the Beach Boys themselves as major influences on their work in various interviews (CSN, Frey and Henley of the Eagles, Lindsey Buckingham, Jackson Brown). A good book on the subject is "Waiting For The Sun" by Barney Hoskins, although it just touches on the Boys briefly.

[Ian]

I agree that they were too big to really be lumped in with the LA scene-but they were well respected by the big LA bands of the late 60s-the Doors, Byrds and Buffalo Springfield.  Neil Young (not from LA but part of the LA scene from 66-69), Jim Morrison and David Crosby all name-checked the group as favorites in the 60s.  Clearly though-other than Dennis-the BBs weren't hanging out much on the Strip or drinking in dive bars with Jim Morrison or hanging out in Topanga Canyon with Stills and Young,  Dennis hung out with Neil Young a lot in 67-68 (Neil met Manson through Dennis). 

[AndrewHickey]

I agree that they were too big to really be lumped in with the LA scene-but they were well respected by the big LA bands of the late 60s-the Doors, Byrds and Buffalo Springfield.  Neil Young (not from LA but part of the LA scene from 66-69), Jim Morrison and David Crosby all name-checked the group as favorites in the 60s.  Clearly though-other than Dennis-the BBs weren't hanging out much on the Strip or drinking in dive bars with Jim Morrison or hanging out in Topanga Canyon with Stills and Young,  Dennis hung out with Neil Young a lot in 67-68 (Neil met Manson through Dennis). 

Having said that, though, Brian was friendly with people like Mark Volman and David Anderle, who were very much part of the LA scene at the time. And Bruce of course had a lot of connections through people like Terry Melcher and Kim Fowley.

[bgas]

And Rodney!  Don't forget  Rodney Bingenheimer!!!!

[Jason Penick]

Dennis hung out with Neil Young a lot in 67-68 (Neil met Manson through Dennis). 

Neil hung out with Dennis and Mike, strangely enough.

[guitarfool2002]

Interesting question, great topic which I've thought over as well!

No doubt there was respect, specifically for Brian who I believe the above mentioned names sort of figured out was the one whose vision and skills in the studio was making the hit records.

I tend to think - specifically from 65-67 - Brian kind of floated in the upper echelon of the pop community in LA. Which meant he wouldn't necessarily be seen at The Whiskey or any of the hot spots regularly, but he had the reputation of holding court in his mansion and with an inner circle. If that makes sense.

At the same time, keep in mind that Terry Melcher seemed quite content if not honored in a way to be invited to take part in the Party! sessions, and was happily banging the tambourine or whatever it was he did on the sessions.

If we accept the theory that Brian's Smile era crew was among the hippest in LA at the time, remember that they were gravitating to him and wanted to be in his company, perhaps more than the other way around. And some of the top producers in LA would drop in on Brian's sessions to hear what he was creating in the studio - sometimes under the guise of just saying hello - and again it wasn't the other way around.

It's a lot easier to find people from the LA scene with high praise and respect for Brian, especially in the 60's, than it is to find negative comments.

With the other Beach Boys - tough question. Mike got thrown out of Martoni's sometime in '65 or whatever it was, and that was the hottest place for the LA DJ's, music insiders, managers, and whatnot to hang out and make under the table deals over many drinks. So I doubt that endeared him to that scene, at least at that time. The other Beach Boys - you just don't hear much about them making the usual rounds, I imagine the married members were sort of homebody domesticated types when not on tour, apart from Dennis.

Brian had plenty of friends in LA radio, both KHJ and KRLA, the top pop stations of the mid 60's. And having Derek Taylor on board doing press for him didn't hurt in the hip acceptance department.

After all that, my question would center around another of my favorite bands: Specifically in '66 and '67, did the Monkees and Brian or the Beach Boys in general ever interact socially? The Monkees did have some hip, connected, mutual friends, yet I can't recall reading accounts of them hanging out in any way, which I find odd since the LA scene in 66-67 really wasn't that big, geographically.

[Doo Dah]

After all that, my question would center around another of my favorite bands: Specifically in '66 and '67, did the Monkees and Brian or the Beach Boys in general ever interact socially? The Monkees did have some hip, connected, mutual friends, yet I can't recall reading accounts of them hanging out in any way, which I find odd since the LA scene in 66-67 really wasn't that big, geographically.

Dunno about the period around the Monkees heyday, but Brian was certainly a regular visitor at Mickey's pad in the 70's. Sometimes I wonder whether Brian watched the Monkees series earnestly, with an eye towards the songs, production, etc.

One thing I've always wondered about was the decision to move from Laurel Way. When Brian and Marilyn lived there it was obviously a destination point for late night hipster hangouts. Living in such a celebrated artistic community certainly aided the local hip quotient of Brian and by extension the band. Wonder if Marilyn was the driver towards the relatively sedate locale of Bellagio. Got tired of living in a frathouse perhaps. Women.

[Rocker]

With the other Beach Boys - tough question. Mike got thrown out of Martoni's sometime in '65 or whatever it was,

Really? What happened?

The other Beach Boys - you just don't hear much about them making the usual rounds, I imagine the married members were sort of homebody domesticated types when not on tour, apart from Dennis.

Well, sometimes I get the feeling that everybody in L.A. at that time has some kind of Dennis Wilson story. I wouldn't be surprised if he was quite well known in the scene. He once beat up Jim Morrison and Eric Burdon iirc for interrupting a singer in a club.

[guitarfool2002]

With the other Beach Boys - tough question. Mike got thrown out of Martoni's sometime in '65 or whatever it was,

Really? What happened?

I really wish I knew the details! I just know getting thrown out of Martoni's was the brief topic of conversation on one of the Party! session outtakes, unless they were joking on someone else getting thrown out. But I seem to remember hearing about that elsewhere too.

Can anyone confirm?

[LostArt]

Not much to add, but during the '90s I played in a band with a guy who had been with a very big L.A. group from '69 to '72 and then again from '74 to '79 or so.  This group had several top 40 singles in the late '60s and early'70s, and I remember listening to their records and hearing their songs on the radio back when I was in high school.  So, when I was asked to join a band with this guy in 1990, I was very excited, and sort of in awe, you know?  I mean, I was just a small town Wisconsin guitar player, and this guy had 13 gold records on his wall.  When we first rode to gigs together I would ask him all sorts of stupid fan-boy questions...did you ever meet so and so, etc...and one day, because I had brought along a tape of some deeper Beach Boys cuts, I asked him if he had ever met Brian Wilson.  He told me that one time he had been invited to dinner at Brian's house.  I anxiously waited for the rest of the story, but all he had to say was that Brian 'wasn't in very good shape', and that he (Brian) wasn't around for much of the evening.  I prodded him for more info...asked him who else was there, and what year that would've been, and where the house was, but my friend either didn't want to say anymore about it, or he didn't remember much of the evening himself, so I dropped the subject.  A few years later I asked him basically the same thing again, and got pretty much the same response.  The guy did have some really cool stories about his days as a 'rock star', though, and I got the impression that everybody knew everybody in those days. 

That's it.  I told you I didn't have much to add, I just thought I'd share the story.

[Jon Stebbins]

With the other Beach Boys - tough question. Mike got thrown out of Martoni's sometime in '65 or whatever it was,

Really? What happened?

I really wish I knew the details! I just know getting thrown out of Martoni's was the brief topic of conversation on one of the Party! session outtakes, unless they were joking on someone else getting thrown out. But I seem to remember hearing about that elsewhere too.

Can anyone confirm?

They are referring to an incident that inspired Sonny Bono to write the song Laugh At Me. Sonny was turned away from Martoni's due to his long hair and weird clothes in '65.

[guitarfool2002]

With the other Beach Boys - tough question. Mike got thrown out of Martoni's sometime in '65 or whatever it was,

Really? What happened?

I really wish I knew the details! I just know getting thrown out of Martoni's was the brief topic of conversation on one of the Party! session outtakes, unless they were joking on someone else getting thrown out. But I seem to remember hearing about that elsewhere too.

Can anyone confirm?

They are referring to an incident that inspired Sonny Bono to write the song Laugh At Me. Sonny was turned away from Martoni's due to his long hair and weird clothes in '65.

So it was the Sonny Bono story they were referring to! Holy cow, my memory must be on the fritz...I thought it was something to do with Mike, swore I heard it elsewhere too and just repeated that version.

Thanks for clearing that up and correcting it! Apologies for insinuating Mike had been bounced from Martoni's, we'll just strike those words from the record...

At least I didn't mistakenly post how Mike Love got drummed out of being Grand Marshall of the Rose Parade...

[bgas]

At least I didn't mistakenly post how Mike Love got drummed out of being Grand Marshall of the Rose Parade...

Was VDP leading the Esso Trinidad Steel Band that drove him out?

[southbay]

Interestingly, ESQ posted this Glenn Frey interview today on their FB.  He discusses the Beach Boys during the first 4 minutes of the interview.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxUPNnmk2xA&feature=share

[bgas]

Interestingly, ESQ posted this Glenn Frey interview today on their FB.  He discusses the Beach Boys during the first 4 minutes of the interview.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxUPNnmk2xA&feature=share

Good stuff! 
On an unrelated to the BBs note, gotta love the two comments by the Don Felder fans( glad he has two in the world)