Jeff Foskett speaks about leaving Brian's band and joining Mike's band

[Rich Panteluk]

http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/music/2014/09/22/beach-boys-brian-wilson-jeffrey-foskett/16070181/

Great article here addressing some questions many had regarding Jeff's departure.  I very much enjoyed the read!  I hope all participants are feeling good about moving forward.  I am excited to see both acts again soon!  I do hope Matt Jardine gets another shot with Brian's band.  No offence intended to the fella from the Fendertones but I'd prefer Matt in the vocal blend of Brian's band.  Jeff Foskett seems to be fitting in just dandy with Mike's unit.

[bgas]

http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/music/2014/09/22/beach-boys-brian-wilson-jeffrey-foskett/16070181/

Great article here addressing some questions many had regarding Jeff's departure.  I very much enjoyed the read!

Nice little story. Good to get Foskett's take on his firing 

[Pretty Funky]

Hey nice find. Thanks.

I get that Brian could be 24/7 care on the road and Mikes group he can chill a bit. Sounds reasonable to me.

With Jeff on the inner with Mike I still hope one day he and Brian could do something as Jeff hopes for.

[Cyncie]

This is basically what I figured happened. Jeff's been doing this for quite a while. Burn out was bound to happen at some point. Nice to see that the affection for Brian is still there, and that his take is that Mike and Brian have less of a problem with each other than their "camps" do.

[startBBtoday]

Interesting that Foskett is close with Jeff Beck, and that he got caught in the middle of Wilson and Beck's camps.

Not sure if the timelines add up, but Foskett's departure might help explain why the Wilson/Beck collabo dissolved.

I wonder who takes on Foskett's old role if Brian goes on tour again. That can't be an easy job, and it might be hard to convince someone already in the band to take it on if they're not used to serving it. And obviously it has to be someone who Brian trusts.

[GhostyTMRS]

I doubted we would ever get the story behind this, but that was a great and revealing interview. I have to feel for Jeff here. It seems like he made the right decision for the sake of his own peace of mind and didn't burn any bridges in the process.

[Andrew G. Doe]

http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/music/2014/09/22/beach-boys-brian-wilson-jeffrey-foskett/16070181/

Great article here addressing some questions many had regarding Jeff's departure.  I very much enjoyed the read!

Nice little story. Good to get Foskett's take on his firing 

One of your lamest attempted gags yet. Stick to collecting...

[John Manning]

Great piece. Sets a good few things straight and portrays the good Mr Foskett very well. Can't wait for his book

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[Loaf]

That was a very nice interview, I think Jeff handled it with a lot of class. Thanks for sharing!

I agree. Jeff's a good guy in my book.

[hodad]

http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/music/2014/09/22/beach-boys-brian-wilson-jeffrey-foskett/16070181/

Great article here addressing some questions many had regarding Jeff's departure.  I very much enjoyed the read!

Nice little story. Good to get Foskett's take on his firing 

One of your lamest attempted gags yet. Stick to collecting...

?

[Tony S]

Seems very truthful and understandable to me. And I agree, Jeff took the high road on this one.

[Nicko1234]

A very interesting interview and Jeff certainly comes out of it well. Seems entirely understandable that he`d take a stress free job over a stressful one.

[JohnMill]

Probably one of the more refreshingly honest interviews I've seen in years by anyone associated with the music industry.  What makes it all the more meaningful is Foskett is under the radar enough that there really wasn't a hoard of reporters kicking down his door trying to get a scoop.  He did this interview of his own volition.  Classy guy!

[HeyJude]

Interesting stuff. More info than I thought we’d ever get. It’s still a bit vague as far as what specifically was happening during the Beck tour. I would imagine a lot of off-stage stuff must have been going on (both in terms of Beck and in general), because the actual touring schedule last year wasn’t particular heavy. A few shows in July, and a little over a month of touring in September/October.

Also interesting that he mentions having to work through stuff with Mike. This would make sense in light of that interview Foskett gave in the 90’s (after leaving the touring BB’s but before joining Brian’s band) where he talked about why he departed the touring BB’s in 1990.

It’s very clear that there are pros and cons to being in either the Brian or Mike camp. If you’re willing to be a part of and enjoy the culture and style of Mike’s band, it seems to be a very streamlined, cushy gig. I think streamlined is an important way to look at it. Once you know what it is, what it entails, and who is in charge, I would imagine from a sort of HR standpoint being in Mike’s operation is more consistent and steady. In Brian’s operation, there are certain sort of conceptual, artistic, ethereal aspects that might be more enticing, but because Brian’s operation wasn’t sort of birthed from the ashes of a very streamlined system (the decades-old BB touring juggernaut) the way Mike’s was, and because there are those special circumstances surrounding Brian, and because it’s a less consistent, full touring schedule, I could see a specific sort of burn out that could take place.

[Mikie]

http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/music/2014/09/22/beach-boys-brian-wilson-jeffrey-foskett/16070181/

Great article here addressing some questions many had regarding Jeff's departure.  I very much enjoyed the read!

Nice little story. Good to get Foskett's take on his firing 

One of your lamest attempted gags yet. Stick to collecting...

He's really something, isn't he?

[Mr. Cohen]

Interesting that people are saying Foskett handled the situation with a lot of class. I'm not saying he was classless or anything, but he did throw some unnecessary "shade" at Brian's wife and managers. He certainly didn't need to give the public more dirt on the Beck-Wilson collab. Not that him saying all that is too big of a deal. It was just a tad gossipy, is all.

Also, interesting to learn that Brian is apparently against visiting castles. You'd think he'd like visiting castles.

[Amy B.]

Interesting stuff. More info than I thought we’d ever get. It’s still a bit vague as far as what specifically was happening during the Beck tour. I would imagine a lot of off-stage stuff must have been going on (both in terms of Beck and in general), because the actual touring schedule last year wasn’t particular heavy. A few shows in July, and a little over a month of touring in September/October.

Also interesting that he mentions having to work through stuff with Mike. This would make sense in light of that interview Foskett gave in the 90’s (after leaving the touring BB’s but before joining Brian’s band) where he talked about why he departed the touring BB’s in 1990.

It’s very clear that there are pros and cons to being in either the Brian or Mike camp. If you’re willing to be a part of and enjoy the culture and style of Mike’s band, it seems to be a very streamlined, cushy gig. I think streamlined is an important way to look at it. Once you know what it is, what it entails, and who is in charge, I would imagine from a sort of HR standpoint being in Mike’s operation is more consistent and steady. In Brian’s operation, there are certain sort of conceptual, artistic, ethereal aspects that might be more enticing, but because Brian’s operation wasn’t sort of birthed from the ashes of a very streamlined system (the decades-old BB touring juggernaut) the way Mike’s was, and because there are those special circumstances surrounding Brian, and because it’s a less consistent, full touring schedule, I could see a specific sort of burn out that could take place.

Not to mention that Brian isn't your typical touring artist. He needs to take meds regularly, needs people he can trust, apparently doesn't like to be alone in his suite, etc. And apparently to the extent that the person playing that role can't go out and do other things so much. I always thought that role would be filled by an assistant or something--not by the guitarist/singer in the band.

[HeyJude]

Interesting that people are saying Foskett handled the situation with a lot of class. I'm not saying he was classless or anything, but he did throw some unnecessary "shade" at Brian's wife and managers. He certainly didn't need to give the public more dirt on the Beck-Wilson collab. Not that him saying all that is too big of a deal. It was just a tad gossipy, is all.

Also, interesting to learn that Brian is apparently against visiting castles. You'd think he'd like visiting castles.

Well, the problem that always arises in situations like this is that feeding fans/readers only limited information as is the case with this article, it can either be read as simply having some class and self-control, or it can be viewed as casting a bit of "shade" and then backing away, actually leaving more questions than answers.

I don't think we got anywhere near the full story here. We got some additional data to work with.

But, while there are probably no doubt plenty of quirky and weird side bits to this story as there usually is in the BB universe, I do think that in part (perhaps large part) this may well have been the somewhat common occurrence of someone getting burned out on a job and moving to something else.

[Pretty Funky]

I wonder who takes on Foskett's old role if Brian goes on tour again.

Brian:  "Al.....ALLLL.  Its time for my back rub!"

[Pretty Funky]

Interesting that people are saying Foskett handled the situation with a lot of class. I'm not saying he was classless or anything, but he did throw some unnecessary "shade" at Brian's wife and managers. He certainly didn't need to give the public more dirt on the Beck-Wilson collab. Not that him saying all that is too big of a deal. It was just a tad gossipy, is all.

I'm not saying that isn't the case but I didn't read Jeff mentioning "Brian's wife" once.

[Emdeeh]

I thought he was talking about Jeff Beck's management.

[Mr. Cohen]

Foskett complained that a bunch of stuff he shouldn't have had to do was pushed on him because of his relationship with Beck. He also mentions about how he realized he couldn't handle the whole "Brian thing" himself. You can read it how you want, but it sounds to me like he felt Brian's management was leaning on him too much.

[Wirestone]

Jeff F. has now given us his account.

I'm sure there are others.

[wantsomecorn]

Foskett complained that a bunch of stuff he shouldn't have had to do was pushed on him because of his relationship with Beck. He also mentions about how he realized he couldn't handle the whole "Brian thing" himself. You can read it how you want, but it sounds to me like he felt Brian's management was leaning on him too much.

I think he was referring to all the pressure of constantly having to be around Brian on tour, supporting him, and placing him above everything else. Which isn't a knock on Brian, because he needs that kind of attention, but doing that for 15 years has to be very stressful on Jeff.