Rolling Stone - Beach Boys Play Tour - Jeff replaces Christian Love

[Andrew G. Doe]

Most folk here seem to be missing the salient point: the article says Jeff is permanently joining Mike & Bruce. He's not playing with Brian any more.

[Andrew G. Doe]

So, Brian is taking a little break, Jeff will be touring with BBs for a while,   Dave and Al are playing one show with the Mike led Band. 
What's so gawrsh darn exciting about that?   

In the English language - and possibly in 'Murrican too - "permanently" means longer than "for a while".

[Andrew G. Doe]

Where is AGD?    

Working ? Contrary to popular belief, I do have both a life and a job !

As for this, well, with 20/20 hindsight it's easy to call. I must hie me to The Bloo and see how many heads have exploded.  

No, really? I'm still under the impression you're out touring countrysides now. perhaps you've come into some $$ and will be a country lord the rest of your time....

My humble abode, "Bellagio Towers":



Somewhere to lay the head at the end of the day.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Most folk here seem to be missing the salient point: the article says Jeff is permanently joining Mike & Bruce. He's not playing with Brian any more.

Yes, that is the main point. But that are also two very important issues that are no doubt going to be hard to get clarification on.

First, Jeff Foskett was more than Brian's on-stage guitar player. He was Brian's adviser, confidant, bodyguard, and friend. For several years. Other than Melinda, was there an individual closer to Brian Wilson than Jeff Foskett? So, Jeff decides to leave Brian to become a PERMANENT member of The Beach Boys - with Mike Love - and Brian isn't even aware of it? Brian's reaction is "Really?"

Second, Mike Love's son leaves the band. So now Mike needs a rhythm guitar player, somebody to sing a few lead vocals, some Beach Boys' harmoniess, somebody who will be accepted by the fans, and that replacement is not Al Jardine, but Jeff Foskett.

Huh?

[The Shift]

I suspect Jeff will come cheaper than Al, no offence intended to any parties.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Sad. I really expected any "turncoat" cracks to be on the Bloo.

Here's a question. We know the who, and the when. The bigger query is, the why ?

[Sheriff John Stone]

I Jeff will come cheaper than Al, no offence intended to any parties.

I'm not disagreeing with you but we don't know what Jeff will cost, and, we don't know how much Al would settle for to be in The Beach Boys' band permanently.

[wantsomecorn]

So now we have Al, Jeff, and Dave playing with Mike and Bruce? This is crazy.

[The Shift]

I Jeff will come cheaper than Al, no offence intended to any parties.

I'm not disagreeing with you but we don't know what Jeff will cost, and, we don't know how much Al would settle for to be in The Beach Boys' band permanently.

Very true. I wonder which is the more versatile musician … I'd, whether Mike reckons he'll get more twang for his buck?

[SMiLE Brian]

I wonder how the BW camp is reacting to these changes?

[bgas]

So, Brian is taking a little break, Jeff will be touring with BBs for a while,   Dave and Al are playing one show with the Mike led Band. 
What's so gawrsh darn exciting about that?   

In the English language - and possibly in 'Murrican too - "permanently" means longer than "for a while".

And that would be a good point, if it wasn't the BBs we're referencing.
Jeff is permanently ( Forever and Ever? )  in the touring BBs, or at least til he and/or Mike get their fill of each other; or something else comes out of left field to change the landscape

[bringahorseinhere?]

lets not forget Jeff played with the Beach Boys many many years in the band before joining up with Brian....

and muso's are doing it hard these days, don't matter how good they are.......

it could be as simple as Jeff is a muso, he has to go where the work is, and Brian's probably not going to do much more

excessive in the tour front as 'The Beach Boys'........

and Brian has sent in recent times, he is probably gonna retire touring soon........ so I don't really see any 'bad blood' there yet

on what we have been given......

remember also, The Beach Boys make a lot of money for the brand, and we know who gets the money behind that brand....

so Brian shouldn't be that upset....

RickB

[KittyKat]

Yes, but as pointed out, Jeff had been absent from the session for Brian's new album, as well. Union scale for sessions is pretty lucrative, so I can't see Jeff turning that down for a handful of gigs with Papa Doo Run Run. I do think there has been some type of personal falling out. Maybe something to do with the Beck tour? Al and David were on that tour, too.  Maybe no one was happy on it, in spite of some fans enjoying it. Or perhaps Jeff did something to fall out of favor with the Brian or his people. Who knows what. I was joking about them not wanting him to be at the Ella Awards, but maybe they really didn't want him at the Ella Awards. Or Jeff asked for more money and they didn't want to give it to him. Considering what he did for Brian, he should have been put on a financial retainer.

[Shady]

Sad. I really expected any "turncoat" cracks to be on the Bloo.

Here's a question. We know the who, and the when. The bigger query is, the why ?

How else to put it

At a time where there is obvious friction between brian and mike, Brian's best friend decides to join mike.

Until we hear some confirmation that brian was ok with this I see it as a stab in the back

[Mayoman]

Sad. I really expected any "turncoat" cracks to be on the Bloo.

Here's a question. We know the who, and the when. The bigger query is, the why ?

How else to put it

At a time where there is obvious friction between brian and mike, Brian's best friend decides to join mike.

Until we hear some confirmation that brian was ok with this I see it as a stab in the back

Check Ray Lawlor's post in the Jones Beach thread, Brian seemed cool with it as of a few hours ago.

[KittyKat]

Sad. I really expected any "turncoat" cracks to be on the Bloo.

Here's a question. We know the who, and the when. The bigger query is, the why ?

How else to put it

At a time where there is obvious friction between brian and mike, Brian's best friend decides to join mike.

Until we hear some confirmation that brian was ok with this I see it as a stab in the back

A stab in the back how? Brian is a multi millionaire. Jeff is a working musician who needs steady gigs. Even if there are other factors, Jeff has to do what's good for Jeff and his family.

[Shady]

I missed that.

It's good to hear Brian's ok with it, I was genuinely feeling bad for him for a while.

All the best to jeff then, he'll make a great addition to the touring beac boys

[Sheriff John Stone]

Sad. I really expected any "turncoat" cracks to be on the Bloo.

Here's a question. We know the who, and the when. The bigger query is, the why ?

How else to put it

At a time where there is obvious friction between brian and mike, Brian's best friend decides to join mike.

Until we hear some confirmation that brian was ok with this I see it as a stab in the back

Check Ray Lawlor's post in the Jones Beach thread, Brian seemed cool with it as of a few hours ago.

Yes, but Brian didn't even know that Jeff made the move. For as close as Jeff and Brian were/are, wouldn't you think that Jeff would at least tell Brian of his (Jeff''s) plans, just out of common courtesy?

[HeyJude]

So, Brian is taking a little break, Jeff will be touring with BBs for a while,   Dave and Al are playing one show with the Mike led Band. 
What's so gawrsh darn exciting about that?   

In the English language - and possibly in 'Murrican too - "permanently" means longer than "for a while".

I don't think "permanently" means forever either. I think the terminology of "permanently" would be used to make it clear that Foskett isn't filling in for one show or a few shows. He's not a "temp." It also clarifies that, by virtue of, if nothing else, Mike's tour schedule, this would be to the exclusion of playing with Brian.

[HeyJude]

Most folk here seem to be missing the salient point: the article says Jeff is permanently joining Mike & Bruce. He's not playing with Brian any more.

Yes, that is the main point. But that are also two very important issues that are no doubt going to be hard to get clarification on.

First, Jeff Foskett was more than Brian's on-stage guitar player. He was Brian's adviser, confidant, bodyguard, and friend. For several years. Other than Melinda, was there an individual closer to Brian Wilson than Jeff Foskett? So, Jeff decides to leave Brian to become a PERMANENT member of The Beach Boys - with Mike Love - and Brian isn't even aware of it? Brian's reaction is "Really?"

Second, Mike Love's son leaves the band. So now Mike needs a rhythm guitar player, somebody to sing a few lead vocals, some Beach Boys' harmoniess, somebody who will be accepted by the fans, and that replacement is not Al Jardine, but Jeff Foskett.

Huh?

It's true, whether Al takes a cut off the top (as he used to presumably, pre-1998), or is salaried, he would likely come at a higher premium than a "sideman", unless Al chose to basically work for free (as he allegedly did playing those few shows with Brian in 06/07). I can't of course see Al doing a full year touring schedule for free.

As for Jeff's role with Brian, it was by all accounts (including the other Beach Boys among others) much more than just a band member. At the same time, it appears Jeff filled this role mostly in recording and touring settings. If Brian was off for months and didn't tour or record, I don't think Jeff was there. I could be wrong, I'm just guessing. So this may not be quite as huge of a deal to Brian's *life* as some may believe, but it is certainly a huge deal when it comes to Brian performing live, and to a lesser extent, perhaps recording. (While some have noted Foskett's lack of appearance at recent Brian sessions, I don't think Jeff has *always* been at every Brian session in the past).

[the professor]

Wow, who saw that coming?

In all fairness, I knew this in advance, so my predictions were a sure thing. And I wil say again that the best possible result of all this (assuming Dave jumps in with the BB as Al may be doing) is that BW is the last man to leave the BW universe and joing the BB.

Update: I just saw that Dave is in fact in for the Jones Beach shows; but I wonder if Al and Dave will play any more shows; would love to see that in CA.  But in any case, there will be shows with "all" the surviving BB except Brian: that part I did not know in advance but predicted. Though I suppose I hoped it was a total reunion and not a special guest situation.

[HeyJude]

Yes, but as pointed out, Jeff had been absent from the session for Brian's new album, as well. Union scale for sessions is pretty lucrative, so I can't see Jeff turning that down for a handful of gigs with Papa Doo Run Run. I do think there has been some type of personal falling out. Maybe something to do with the Beck tour? Al and David were on that tour, too.  Maybe no one was happy on it, in spite of some fans enjoying it. Or perhaps Jeff did something to fall out of favor with the Brian or his people. Who knows what. I was joking about them not wanting him to be at the Ella Awards, but maybe they really didn't want him at the Ella Awards. Or Jeff asked for more money and they didn't want to give it to him. Considering what he did for Brian, he should have been put on a financial retainer.

It hasn't been super clear, but hasn't Foskett been a full member of "Papa Doo Run Run" the whole time he has been with Brian, essentially doing gigs with them whenever it didn't conflict with Brian? If he's now full-time with Mike, would Papa Doo Run Run eventually make any mention of this? Maybe some of those guys have some sort of insight.

[wantsomecorn]

Let's not forget that Mike was the first to meet Jeff- he played in Mike's first solo group back in 1981 before he joined The Beach Boys.

[HeyJude]

Sad. I really expected any "turncoat" cracks to be on the Bloo.

Here's a question. We know the who, and the when. The bigger query is, the why ?

How else to put it

At a time where there is obvious friction between brian and mike, Brian's best friend decides to join mike.

Until we hear some confirmation that brian was ok with this I see it as a stab in the back

Check Ray Lawlor's post in the Jones Beach thread, Brian seemed cool with it as of a few hours ago.

I dunno, I really don't picture many famous musicians, and certainly Brian, responding with some sort of intense rant. I don't doubt the account of that phone call where Brian said he didn't know, but I'm not necessarily believing that Brian, nor anybody in his "camp", knew about this whatsoever. If Foskett truly engineered, or let happen, a scenario where a Rolling Stone interview with Mike was what led to a phone call from a friend who informed Brian of Foskett playing with Mike, then that would certainly up the odds even further of some sort of not-amicable-on-someone's-part situation.

[HeyJude]

Let's not forget that Mike was the first to meet Jeff- he played in Mike's first solo group back in 1981 before he joined The Beach Boys.

This was/is being discussed in the other thread. I think perhaps we do need to merge. As I mentioned there, Mike also allegedly attempted to recruit Foskett again around 1998/99.

As I mentioned before, and AGD also alluded to, Foskett playing with Mike is not a surprise. But Foskett *not* playing with Brian as a result is surprising.