Jardine challenges Love to battle of the bands in explosive interview...

[Sheriff John Stone]

The reunion could have “replaced” Mike’s stripped-down tour. It could have happened for another year, or for the foreseeable future. The reunion tour increased the band’s prestige, it’s “cred” or whatever you want to call it, among the press, which was especially impressive considering, as either Stebbins or Edelson pointed out some time back, the band has next to zero presence on classic rock radio.  The band were playing larger venues (and some of the same size and type), and getting offers for even larger venues (indoor arenas). It could have been stepped down back to Mike’s format at any time. The public and concert promoters are not going to forget about the Beach Boys because the five-piece reunion lineup replaces the two-man lineup.

I don't think it could realistically. Mike wants to play 100 concerts a year. Brian might have been able to do that for one year but for 2013 as well? Nah.

I also don't think it could have happened because...it didn't happen. The C50 tour was all about Brian and Mike and them being able to compromise for a certain amount of time. That was never going to happen indefinitely though. They both want different things from life...

Yeah, I just read this quote from Brian Wilson last week, "I loved being back with the boys, but things got a little rough at the end. It took everything out of me. I'm just really into doing my own stuff."

It took everything out of him. Without the C50 tour being extended for a second time? He's really into doing his own stuff. So soon? Does that sound like a guy who REALLY wanted the C50 situation to continue (i.e. more touring, a new BB album with Mike)? Does that sound like Mike was the ONLY one who realized that it was best to end the reunion when it did?

[HeyJude]

Mike, in keeping the music alive, has also in a business sense diluted the band’s trademark. He didn’t do it alone (Carl and Al joined the incessant touring pre-1998), but he’s the main person behind it presently.

He also kept the coffers of BRI topped up very nicely thank you, something the other voting members seem to have no problem with these fifteen-odd years since Carl's passing.

I’m sure none of the BRI members take issue with the extra income (though, once again for those unaware, BRI collects a licensing fee from Mike’s tour for use of the name, they do not get an “equal” cut or anything along those lines). I’m not so sure they have no problem with anything Mike does with his use of the name and his tour. They just don’t have enough of a problem to do anything about it. I could totally envision Brian and Al (or their camps/agents/attorneys) throwing around whether they should do anything about Mike’s ongoing use of the BB trademark, and being informed that they would have a huge uphill battle, would need Carl’s estate’s support, and would likely be tangled up in the courtroom for the next decade.

It absolutely is a put-up-or-shut-up situation as far as letting Mike use the name. But I don’t see Al or Brian saying Mike should have the name taken away. We simply have Brian and Al, or now pretty much just Al, pointing out what could have been and what Mike turned down to go back to his own thing.

[HeyJude]

Yeah, I just read this quote from Brian Wilson last week, "I loved being back with the boys, but things got a little rough at the end. It took everything out of me. I'm just really into doing my own stuff."

It took everything out of him. Without the C50 tour being extended for a second time? He's really into doing his own stuff. So soon? Does that sound like a guy who REALLY wanted the C50 situation to continue (i.e. more touring, a new BB album with Mike)? Does that sound like Mike was the ONLY one who realized that it was best to end the reunion when it did?

I suppose it depends on what took everything out of Brian on the tour. Was it the act of touring? Or was he talking about the debacle at the end with dueling press releases and some acrimony? Sounds like Brian was into continuing the reunion until Mike but the brakes on, and at that point understandably lost enthusiasm for it.

[Nicko1234]

I think the idea is that there would be compromise, which might include shifting a touring schedule more along the lines of C50, perhaps even a bit more scaled back. Not what Mike wants, but if we’re just talking about what he wants, then we’re already not talking about anything realistic pertaining to the reunion lineup, as that should be some sort of compromise.

I think that is essentially why it wasn't realistic. The C50 tour in itself was already a compromise and one that Mike grew tired of seemingly. So the idea that he would be willing to compromise even more wasn't realistic (which is obviously how it proved).

[filledeplage]

Not for retribution but, as a barometer of how fickle they've been and often unkind.  

The configurations have been explained by Brian and Melinda on an old Larry King interview. I can't speak to anything else.  It sounds as though you'd (or others) have the Touring Band stop, when they don't appear to have any obligation to do so.  They like it; it suits them. At 70, can't you self-determine?

I never said  the agreement was "smooth" but it appears that BRI had the final say.   Mike went back to "status quo ante" post C50.  There was no surprise in my opinion.  

The media is all of those things, fickle, etc. But it’s a good enough barometer for the moment to notice that in 2011 the touring “Beach Boys” had no mainstream media coverage, and in 2012 they had tons of it, and apart from Bruce’s weird TMZ moment and the end debacle, it was all positive coverage.

I’ve never suggested the touring band stop (well, I probably did back circa 1999/2000, but that’s a different area of discussion), and I’ve certainly never suggested they have an obligation to stop. The discussion of late has been around whether a hypothetical continuation of the reunion lineup would be preferable, and how Mike’s motives concerning his touring band have impacted the non-continuation of the reunion.

I think Al, much like many fans, takes issue at this point not so much with Mike touring with his own band, but rather Mike choosing to tour with his own band instead of the reunion lineup.

It's a question that I can't answer.   And it is all hypothetical until they change the status quo.  

And the band was fledgling in 1999-2000 and has morphed into a great band.  

I'd also add that despite marginal press, every venue I've been in, has been a full house and joyous crowd.  They are successful without all the hype and drama.  I don't know how to argue with that success.  And the smaller  venues aren't dumps.  I'll be seeing Chicago at one of them and I don't consider them a second-rate act.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Yeah, I just read this quote from Brian Wilson last week, "I loved being back with the boys, but things got a little rough at the end. It took everything out of me. I'm just really into doing my own stuff."

It took everything out of him. Without the C50 tour being extended for a second time? He's really into doing his own stuff. So soon? Does that sound like a guy who REALLY wanted the C50 situation to continue (i.e. more touring, a new BB album with Mike)? Does that sound like Mike was the ONLY one who realized that it was best to end the reunion when it did?

I suppose it depends on what took everything out of Brian on the tour. Was it the act of touring? Or was he talking about the debacle at the end with dueling press releases and some acrimony? Sounds like Brian was into continuing the reunion until Mike but the brakes on, and at that point understandably lost enthusiasm for it.

I see your point, Hey Jude, about how it depends on WHAT took everything out of Brian on the tour. When Brian says, "It took everything out of me", you took the "it" to be the devastation that Brian was feeling when Mike "put the brakes on" the reunion. Yet, I took the "it" to be the physical exhaustion that Brian was experiencing, and that he was relieved when the tour was over, regardless of the press release he made. Isn't it fascinating how two Beach Boys' fans can read the same comment and interpret it so differently.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Yeah, I just read this quote from Brian Wilson last week, "I loved being back with the boys, but things got a little rough at the end. It took everything out of me. I'm just really into doing my own stuff."

It took everything out of him. Without the C50 tour being extended for a second time? He's really into doing his own stuff. So soon? Does that sound like a guy who REALLY wanted the C50 situation to continue (i.e. more touring, a new BB album with Mike)? Does that sound like Mike was the ONLY one who realized that it was best to end the reunion when it did?

I suppose it depends on what took everything out of Brian on the tour. Was it the act of touring? Or was he talking about the debacle at the end with dueling press releases and some acrimony? Sounds like Brian was into continuing the reunion until Mike but the brakes on, and at that point understandably lost enthusiasm for it.

I see your point, Hey Jude, about how it depends on WHAT took everything out of Brian on the tour. When Brian says, "It took everything out of me", you took the "it" to be the devastation that Brian was feeling when Mike "put the brakes on" the reunion. Yet, I took the "it" to be the physical exhaustion that Brian was experiencing, and that he was relieved when the tour was over, regardless of the press release he made. Isn't it fascinating how two Beach Boys' fans can read the same comment and interpret it so differently.

Exactly.

[JohnMill]

Here is the problem with those trying to ascribe Brian's quote that "It took everything out of me..." to being about the C50 tour itself and not the debacle that followed.  During the course of the tour Brian was quoted I believe saying something akin to that he was no longer interested in doing solo albums and it was going to be strictly Beach Boys albums from now on.  There was also a report from a forum regular (Justin perhaps can't remember) who had reported that Wilson was completely on board with being "Beach Boy Brian Wilson" again and basically rejoicing in this "new identity" the C50 tour had given him.

I'd also remind people to ascribe Brian's "It took everything out of me..." quote to the context it was stated in.  Again the full quote reads

"I loved being back with the boys, but things got a little rough at the end. It took everything out of me. I'm just really into doing my own stuff."

The key line in there falls between his reflections on his reunion with The Beach Boys and his declaration that "it took everything out of me".  That key line reads "...but things got a little rough at the end" which if my background in English Lit is correct means that what is being referred to here is the debacle that took place after the C50 tour was concluded and it was revealed that Mike would not go forward with plans to extend the tour.

To me Brian Wilson (at least over the past decade or so) has always struck me as someone who prefers to live his life in as much of drama free state as possible.  My gauge is he is not one to either start or exacerbate drama that could lead to further worries and headaches for himself.  So once it became crystal clear that Mike Love had no intention of carrying on with the C50, as disappointed as Wilson might have been he decided it was best to just forge ahead with his own projects rather than immerse himself in any further "Beach Boys drama".  There are those who will argue that he had little choice in the matter anyhow as Mike essentially just removed himself (and Bruce) from the picture leaving the others to do with themselves as the pleased but nonetheless the quote bears out that although the tour was enjoyable, once things started turning acrimonious in nature Brian Wilson chose to go do his own thing rather than engaging the drama.

[Wirestone]

Picking up on the business versus emotion thread for a moment here. It's interesting that more people haven't talked about what I posted earlier -- and what is general knowledge -- that the C50 was a joint venture of Brian, Joe Thomas and Mike. That's opposed to BRI, which is Brian, Mike, Al and Carl's estate. Now, consider the power dynamics in one of those groups versus the other. As much as we may have wanted the reunion to continue, it was part of a business venture that was explicitly driven by Brian's people. Not Al or Carl's estate -- just Brian's. Now, consider who is still working with Brian, and who isn't. And who had gotten very skillful at avoiding video appearances or still photos.

[Rocker]

During the course of the tour Brian was quoted I believe saying something akin to that he was no longer interested in doing solo albums and it was going to be strictly Beach Boys albums from now on.  

That was Al who said it

[Mr. Wilson]

I think BW really liked being a BB again. When I saw them in Indio Ca the tour was a month old. BW was very energetic And rockin back + forth in his chair and having a great time. In over 55 BB shows + 15 BW shows I have never seen him so motivated and happy on stage.! He sang Really good that nite and few bum notes.  He was on and was proud of how good they sounded..A very memorable concert for sure.. So im sure he was disappointed when the tour blew up. Oh and he actually played keyboards most of the night and could plainly be heard in the mix.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

I think BW really liked being a BB again. When I saw them in Indio Ca the tour was a month old. BW was very energetic And rockin back + forth in his chair and having a great time. In over 55 BB shows + 15 BW shows I have never seen him so motivated and happy on stage.! He sang Really good that nite and few bum notes.  He was on and was proud of how good they sounded..A very memorable concert for sure.. So im sure he was disappointed when the tour blew up. Oh and he actually played keyboards most of the night and could plainly be heard in the mix.

Hopefully we will get some insight in how the tour blew up in Brian's new autobiography "I Am Brian Wilson". But 2015 is a long way away.

ps, I understand you perfectly Mr. Wilson.  And you don't confuse BRI with BMI.

[Mikie]

I see your point, Hey Jude, about how it depends on WHAT took everything out of Brian on the tour. When Brian says, "It took everything out of me", you took the "it" to be the devastation that Brian was feeling when Mike "put the brakes on" the reunion. Yet, I took the "it" to be the physical exhaustion that Brian was experiencing, and that he was relieved when the tour was over, regardless of the press release he made. Isn't it fascinating how two Beach Boys' fans can read the same comment and interpret it so differently.

I interpreted it exactly how it was written. However which way it was meant, I think Brian's physical exaustion and he being relieved it was over was right on the money.

[the professor]

All that matters is what happens now. . . . .Mike should want to get on board and be part of one of those albums. And the price must be he's permitted to be in a room and write with his cousin. Who is the genius that is keeping the men who wrote the Warmth of the Sun and Kiss me Baby apart?

[Jay]

They just couldn't leave well enough alone, could they? Last year was an amazing time to be a Beach Boys fan. We got a new album of new material, and a reunion tour, the quality of which went well and beyond all forms of logical thinking. Seeing and hearing the boys gathered around Brian at the piano doing Add Some Music To Your Day was sheer magic, plain and simple. But then they broke out Summer's Gone for the last few shows, and really threw us all for a loop. They had finally done it right and given the group the ending they deserved.

*sigh*

[SMiLE Brian]

The whole "write in a room with Brian" is a red herring in my opinion.

[Jim V.]

All that matters is what happens now. . . . .Mike should want to get on board and be part of one of those albums. And the price must be he's permitted to be in a room and write with his cousin. Who is the genius that is keeping the men who wrote the Warmth of the Sun and Kiss me Baby apart?

Mike was right there in the room when they supposedly made up "Isn't It Time" and "Beaches In Mind" on the spot. Was that not good enough? Should Brian rent a hotel room with a piano inside and they won't come out 'til they got something?

Let's face it professor, Mike just doesn't wanna work with Brian and Al (and Dave I guess) anymore. However, the three willing Beach Boys are all working together, and I know it's not good enough for you, but maybe you should give that a try.

Also, note that they didn't put any unreleased material from the sessions for TWGMTR on Made In California. I actually take that as a positive sign that the guys wanna hold that material in their back pocket for another possible album down the road.

[ontor pertawst]

Also, note that they didn't put any unreleased material from the sessions for TWGMTR on Made In California. I actually take that as a positive sign that the guys wanna hold that material in their back pocket for another possible album down the road.

Or that since Joe Thomas and Brian own that stuff, they'll use it for solo album purposes. It would make JT a lot more money that way than tracks on disc 6 on a boxed set.

They sound hopped up and on a roll working on that stuff, so I can't wait to hear it. We'll still get to, just without Mike Love autotuned on a few tracks rhyming things with vibration and a barely audible Bruce Johnston on 2 tracks singing 3 or 4 words. I know it's not quite the same for firing up your nostalgia circuits, but let's listen to the results first. I can't wait to hear more BW band tracks with Jardine leads.

[Jim V.]

The whole "write in a room with Brian" is a red herring in my opinion.

I agree with this by the way.

Plus, let's say Mike did get Brian on his terms. What would happen? Another M.I.U. Album where Mike drags Brian around to his perfect idea of a getaway and Brian gets super depressed? Or maybe a Keepin' The Summer Alive scenario where Mike brings great ideas to the table for a song called "Goin' To The Beach"? Or perhaps, they go away to write real material about their lives and come back with something like "Baywatch Nights"?

[Mikie]

What if? What if, eh? And around and around you guys continue to go with this. And it's going nowhere. A dream. A fantasy.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

It's over now, it's over now......

[the professor]

The professor loves you guys. . . . .you're always there when I need you (sorry to be so damned sentimental). I drove over the Wilson home late last night with POB blasting. . . . . .what an album when you are lovesick (that is, my friend is lovesick).

Dude, I will listen to a 3BB album for sure!  David marks Al and Brian? Oh yeah, I will , however short it is of all my dreams.

[ontor pertawst]

LOCAL MAN DECLARES LOVE "JERK" IN MILD INSULT SHOCKER

You could always play Mike Love interviews over the instrumental tracks for touching spoken word passages. The parts where he goes on about togetherness, putting aside old conflicts, harmony, and how the whole is better than the sum of its parts. Something for all you custom mix enthusiasts creating a faux followup to RADIO!

We may love to hate Love, we may hate to love Love, we may just love Love -- but boy, ultimately the man is basically a jerk. Textbook jerk. Dance around it, defend the jerkitude, wallow in your Stockholm Jerk Syndrome, justify jerkiness -- and yes, he's got lots of reasons to be spiteful with such a basket case of an extended family, hurray to him for deft legal maneuvering and being in control of the name and sitting in the catbird seat... but, yeah. Jerk. They probably needed his totally secure-in-his-jerkhood presence to succeed in the early days. Who but a jerk would pantomime little routines to California Girls without a shred of shame about it? Who but a jerk would do that Hall of Fame speech? Who but a jerk would call themselves Doctor Love? Look inside your heart. You know this to be true. Let's hear it for the great jerks of history! Where would we be without them? How could we enjoy being in an airport without a big preening jerk yelling "don't you know who I am?"

There is nothing, I mean NOTHING -- more American than a jerk. And he's a fabulous, top ten one.



Fig. 6554. The Eternal Yin-Yang of Insecurity and Jerkicity

America runs on jerks.

 This has been a message from the Jerk Council.

[Heywood]

Al keepin' it clean!

The heart, the voices ....

Some apologists on here seem to live in that Bizzaro world Ron got caught in.
I
The boys were so close to righting alot of wrongs of the last 30 odd years towards the end of C50 . A high quality Live Albert Hall  DVD, no more lawsuits, continuing with select high quality shows.

The legacy was so close to being  what it should be, not the Sea World/Stamos interpretation (rightly or wrongly, that is the perception). Just how much money do some guys want?

If the Mike and Bruce show is so good, which it often is, it could continue as a going concern - just not THE BEACH BOYS. That gets reserved for the important shows, anniversaries,  plugging a new album, a full, full line up Pet Sounds tour, anyone?

Not that hard.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

LOCAL MAN DECLARES LOVE "JERK" IN MILD INSULT SHOCKER

You could always play Mike Love interviews over the instrumental tracks for touching spoken word passages. The parts where he goes on about togetherness, putting aside old conflicts, harmony, and how the whole is better than the sum of its parts. Something for all you custom mix enthusiasts creating a faux followup to RADIO!

We may love to hate Love, we may hate to love Love, we may just love Love -- but boy, ultimately the man is basically a jerk. Textbook jerk. Dance around it, defend the jerkitude, wallow in your Stockholm Jerk Syndrome, justify jerkiness -- and yes, he's got lots of reasons to be spiteful with such a basket case of an extended family, hurray to him for deft legal maneuvering and being in control of the name and sitting in the catbird seat... but, yeah. Jerk. They probably needed his totally secure-in-his-jerkhood presence to succeed in the early days. Who but a jerk would pantomime little routines to California Girls without a shred of shame about it? Who but a jerk would do that Hall of Fame speech? Who but a jerk would call themselves Doctor Love? Look inside your heart. You know this to be true. Let's hear it for the great jerks of history! Where would we be without them? How could we enjoy being in an airport without a big preening jerk yelling "don't you know who I am?"

There is nothing, I mean NOTHING -- more American than a jerk. And he's a fabulous, top ten one.



Fig. 6554. The Eternal Yin-Yang of Insecurity and Jerkicity

America runs on jerks.

 This has been a message from the Jerk Council.

Great post! It is true indeed that it is possible to think that Mike is an enormous jerk - which vast amounts of evidence strongly imply he is - whilst still admiring what he brought to the band and still appreciating his work over the years.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Al keepin' it clean!

The heart, the voices ....

Some apologists on here seem to live in that Bizzaro world Ron got caught in.
I
The boys were so close to righting alot of wrongs of the last 30 odd years towards the end of C50 . A high quality Live Albert Hall  DVD, no more lawsuits, continuing with select high quality shows.

The legacy was so close to being  what it should be, not the Sea World/Stamos interpretation (rightly or wrongly, that is the perception). Just how much money do some guys want?

If the Mike and Bruce show is so good, which it often is, it could continue as a going concern - just not THE BEACH BOYS. That gets reserved for the important shows, anniversaries,  plugging a new album, a full, full line up Pet Sounds tour, anyone?

Not that hard.

That hard - we're talking The Beach Boys here. Give them three decision choices and they've an unerring corporate instinct for choosing the worst one, the one that combines the least satisfaction with the highest possible damage.