Proposed 2016 UK Tour

[rab2591]

and yet the fun aspect is the main significance, Ang, for it is just that which led us to this great place !
nobody was initiated by "Fire", and then eventually discovered FFF.  It is the other way around.
2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 55 years ago a pair of ears hear the "fun", and then a voyage begins.
Fun is the gateway drug.

Brian has probably been crowd surfing all his life; he kinda rises above the fray.

- he certainly invented bed surfing !

I'd be interested to hear from somebody who initially discovered the BB/BW world via Smile, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, Pacific Ocean Blue, etc and then later discovered the early songs about surfing, cars, and girls. 

I started with the hits, but I didn't start going through their discography until after I listened to smiley smile

I was kinda the same way. Heard like 15 of the hits, then heard Pet Sounds, Smile, then all the post Today! albums. Then I started really delving into the early stuff - Little Deuce Coupe, Surfin USA, Surfin Safari, etc.

[Ang Jones]

and yet the fun aspect is the main significance, Ang, for it is just that which led us to this great place !
nobody was initiated by "Fire", and then eventually discovered FFF.  It is the other way around.
2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 55 years ago a pair of ears hear the "fun", and then a voyage begins.
Fun is the gateway drug.

Brian has probably been crowd surfing all his life; he kinda rises above the fray.

- he certainly invented bed surfing !

Not for me. The first Beach Boys song I really loved was Heroes and Villains. I like lots of the early material but it is nowhere near as sophisticated, complex or interesting as the material Brian was creating from 1965 onwards. Listen to the a cappella version of Friends or of Breakaway for example and then compare to Little Deuce Coupe or Fun Fun Fun.

Maybe Beethoven once played Chopsticks but if he was performing today, I doubt the audience would be attending to hear that - other than as a lighthearted encore.

[lee]

I'd be interested to hear from somebody who initially discovered the BB/BW world via Smile, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, Pacific Ocean Blue, etc and then later discovered the early songs about surfing, cars, and girls. 

That's basically my story. I became good friends with a guy at work who was 59 years old and his favorite bands were The Beach Boys and The Kinks. We always talked music and when he brought up The Beach Boys, I told him I wasn't into them because I hadn't liked what I had heard at that time (FFF, Surfin' USA, Barbara Ann, etc.). He told me that they had some great music that wasn't anything like that. He then let me borrow his Friends / 20/20 twofer cd and I was hooked. From there it was the Sunflower/Surf's Up twofer and then the Carl & The Passions/Holland twofer. I loved this stuff and bought those cds along with Wild Honey/Smiley Smile and Pet Sounds. I listened to those albums and only those post '66 albums for over a year before I gradually started to appreciate the pre '66 material.

[Marty Castillo]

I'd be interested to hear from somebody who initially discovered the BB/BW world via Smile, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, Pacific Ocean Blue, etc and then later discovered the early songs about surfing, cars, and girls. 

That's basically my story. I became good friends with a guy at work who was 59 years old and his favorite bands were The Beach Boys and The Kinks. We always talked music and when he brought up The Beach Boys, I told him I wasn't into them because I hadn't liked what I had heard at that time (FFF, Surfin' USA, Barbara Ann, etc.). He told me that they had some great music that wasn't anything like that. He then let me borrow his Friends / 20/20 twofer cd and I was hooked. From there it was the Sunflower/Surf's Up twofer and then the Carl & The Passions/Holland twofer. I loved this stuff and bought those cds along with Wild Honey/Smiley Smile and Pet Sounds. I listened to those albums and only those post '66 albums for over a year before I gradually started to appreciate the pre '66 material.

I understand this completely. I think it is the difference between a casual "fan" and someone who would call them their favorite band or rank them high in the category. My smartass remark had more to do with the fact that it is nearly impossible for anyone on this planet not to hear Surfin' USA, FFF, Little Deuce Coupe, etc. Those songs are certainly the gateway to almost everything else.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

and yet the fun aspect is the main significance, Ang, for it is just that which led us to this great place !
nobody was initiated by "Fire", and then eventually discovered FFF.  It is the other way around.
2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 55 years ago a pair of ears hear the "fun", and then a voyage begins.
Fun is the gateway drug.

Brian has probably been crowd surfing all his life; he kinda rises above the fray.

- he certainly invented bed surfing !

I'd be interested to hear from somebody who initially discovered the BB/BW world via Smile, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, Pacific Ocean Blue, etc and then later discovered the early songs about surfing, cars, and girls. 

I refer to that person as a liar.   

So I'd be a liar, then?

[Marty Castillo]

and yet the fun aspect is the main significance, Ang, for it is just that which led us to this great place !
nobody was initiated by "Fire", and then eventually discovered FFF.  It is the other way around.
2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 55 years ago a pair of ears hear the "fun", and then a voyage begins.
Fun is the gateway drug.

Brian has probably been crowd surfing all his life; he kinda rises above the fray.

- he certainly invented bed surfing !

I'd be interested to hear from somebody who initially discovered the BB/BW world via Smile, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, Pacific Ocean Blue, etc and then later discovered the early songs about surfing, cars, and girls. 

I refer to that person as a liar.   

So I'd be a liar, then?

See above. I have no doubt that the deep love from the band comes from PS and on, but I would find it amzing/fascinating if someone had never heard the early stuff and started with the list that cant wait produced. I would love to hear your story.

[The Shift]

Street clears, children hide behind waterbutts, a dog yelps in the scorching midday sun as tumbleweed bounces down the dusty dirt of the Main Street where two gunslingers stand facing each other 200 yards apart, wrists poised and ready to draw…

"So yer callin' me a liar, huh?" growls Billy the Kid.

"Quit callin' me Huh, Dude," snarls Mean Marty…

A single chapel bell clangs, an ocarina blows…

[SMiLE Brian]

Big Bad John Manning.

[cant wait]

good stuff JM;
could you pls add the
"rusty sheet metal Coroner sign twisting and screeching eerily in the wind"  ?

- thanks

[lee]

I understand this completely. I think it is the difference between a casual "fan" and someone who would call them their favorite band or rank them high in the category. My smartass remark had more to do with the fact that it is nearly impossible for anyone on this planet not to hear Surfin' USA, FFF, Little Deuce Coupe, etc. Those songs are certainly the gateway to almost everything else.

I understand what you're saying. The reason I posted my story was because hearing those songs you mention wasn't a gateway for me. I heard those songs though out my teens and twenties and they completely turned me off. I didn't own one BB item and only thought of them as that band you hear playing through the pa system when you visit a water park. It wasn't until I heard that later material that I fell in love with the band.

[Marty Castillo]

I guess I'm calling my self a liar, too. No lie, my first exposure to the Beach Boys was the "Surf's Up" cassette, circa 1984:



By the way, that's not a joke, I distinctly remember the songs and the crappy cover art.

[Marty Castillo]

I understand this completely. I think it is the difference between a casual "fan" and someone who would call them their favorite band or rank them high in the category. My smartass remark had more to do with the fact that it is nearly impossible for anyone on this planet not to hear Surfin' USA, FFF, Little Deuce Coupe, etc. Those songs are certainly the gateway to almost everything else.

I understand what you're saying. The reason I posted my story was because hearing those songs you mention wasn't a gateway for me. I heard those songs though out my teens and twenties and they completely turned me off. I didn't own one BB item and only thought of them as that band you hear playing through the pa system when you visit a water park. It wasn't until I heard that later material that I fell in love with the band.

+1

[Mike's Beard]

I understand this completely. I think it is the difference between a casual "fan" and someone who would call them their favorite band or rank them high in the category. My smartass remark had more to do with the fact that it is nearly impossible for anyone on this planet not to hear Surfin' USA, FFF, Little Deuce Coupe, etc. Those songs are certainly the gateway to almost everything else.

I understand what you're saying. The reason I posted my story was because hearing those songs you mention wasn't a gateway for me. I heard those songs though out my teens and twenties and they completely turned me off. I didn't own one BB item and only thought of them as that band you hear playing through the pa system when you visit a water park. It wasn't until I heard that later material that I fell in love with the band.

+1

I'd been just a Greatest Hits guy for years, it was discovering the Smiley Smile/Holland era of the band that made me want to hear/own everything they'd ever done.

[The Shift]

good stuff JM;
could you pls add the
"rusty sheet metal Coroner sign twisting and screeching eerily in the wind"  ?

- thanks

Meanwhile…

In the cantina Margueritta keeps the spirits high.
There I washed her laundry again and spun her smalls in front of the fire…

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[cant wait]

IGA was my 1st BB single when i was 12, along with Beatles, Dean Martin, DC5, Ricky Nelson, and Louis Armstrong...
ASL was my 1st BB LP, along with Beatles, DC5, etc

- John M pls keep going

[The Shift]

IGA was my 1st BB single when i was 12, along with Beatles, Dean Martin, DC5, Ricky Nelson, and Louis Armstrong...
ASL was my 1st BB LP, along with Beatles, DC5, etc

- John M pls keep going

"Pants, Margueritta, don't you know they'll keep the boys off you?"
"Pants?"
"And maybe a vest…"

"Whoo hoo hoo hoo!"

[Fire Wind]

In a way, it also comes down to what one actually considers the early stuff.  For me, it's Surfin' to the release of Good Vibrations.  That's one stretch of fun and youthful emotions (yearning and sadness).  I don't see a break there, even if the subject matter and lyrics deepen a touch.

[The Shift]

In a way, it also comes down to what one actually considers the early stuff.  For me, it's Surfin' to the release of Good Vibrations.  That's one stretch of fun and youthful emotions (yearning and sadness).  I don't see a break there, even if the subject matter and lyrics deepen a touch.

I also see that as be early stuff but in a way we're deluding ourselves. Over 50+ years, the early stuff ought really to be regarded as having ended with KTSA - that's less that half-way through their career but also when the creativity and the productive unit really did dry up (until, arguably, TWGMTR). There might have been peaks and troughs over those first 20 years but at least they productive (with a lull 73-75).

[cant wait]

but what a lull 73 - 75 that was, John!  Studio aside, they began to rule the stage. That exiting stage presence
continues to this day.  & you are correct about the recorded production's loss @ KTSA...

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

and yet the fun aspect is the main significance, Ang, for it is just that which led us to this great place !
nobody was initiated by "Fire", and then eventually discovered FFF.  It is the other way around.
2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 55 years ago a pair of ears hear the "fun", and then a voyage begins.
Fun is the gateway drug.

Brian has probably been crowd surfing all his life; he kinda rises above the fray.

- he certainly invented bed surfing !

I'd be interested to hear from somebody who initially discovered the BB/BW world via Smile, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, Pacific Ocean Blue, etc and then later discovered the early songs about surfing, cars, and girls. 

I refer to that person as a liar.   

So I'd be a liar, then?

See above. I have no doubt that the deep love from the band comes from PS and on, but I would find it amzing/fascinating if someone had never heard the early stuff and started with the list that cant wait produced. I would love to hear your story.

Okay, here goes....

Born in 1978. As the kid of an older father (my dad was 46 when I was born), I grew up listening to 50s -70s music, along with blues. However, my dad HATED the Beach Boys, said they were too 'white bread' and 'lacked grit', and lumped them in there with Pat Boone. Instead, whilst in the car with him, I heard stuff like BB King, Fats Domino, Eric Clapton, and such. Whenever the Beach Boys WOULD come on the oldies station, it was something like Shut Down or Surfin Safari, and Dad would immediately be like 'ahh, I hate this weak sh*t' and change the station or put a tape in. So yea, I never actually got to listen to the early stuff growing up, really. Now, one time Good Vibrations came on, and (keeping in mind I was a kid), and I was like 'whoa this is some weird stuff', and wondering why somebody did a cover of the 'Sunkist song'. (In retrospect, I notice Dad didn't change from THAT song....). As the DJ didn't say who it was, I didn't know it was the Beach Boys. Yeah, I know. So really, for the first 16 years of my life, I thought of the Beach Boys as (sigh)...' a bunch of bald fat guys with Hawaiian shirts and khaki shorts'. I guess I somehow mixed Brian, Mike, AND Bruce together.  Then, 20 years ago, I was in a really toxic relationship with a complete whackjob. Several of months of getting blood stained notes saying that if she killed herself, the world would think it was my fault really does a number on you, ya dig? Well, *I* ended up having a breakdown, not going into detail about it, but I ended up having to see a shrink on a regular basis for about a year.  During one of my sessions, I mentioned how I'd been depressed for a long time, and whenever I was alone in my room, I'd daydream about music, just writing melodies in my head (and eventually full arrangements...something that would come in handy from 2001 on, but that's a story for another time...) for solace. Well, Dr Whatever-his-name-was let me borrow a book that he said was 'inspiring' and that I would find a lot of 'life's answers' in it. Next to psychiatric journals and God (Only) Knows what else was a book that would indeed change my life...the 1991 Wouldn't it be nice book.     (Yeah, I know). So I read it...and immediately two things became apparent to me. 1) The thing with Landy felt incredibly unhealthy to me, and reminded me of my by then ex girlfriend, even though it was pro-Landy, and 2) I'd found a kindred spirit. I was rather nervous about listening to a Beach Boys album, though, because of my previous bias, and was afraid that I wouldn't like it. (Yeah, I know, pt 2). So, when I found a copy of BW 1988 for 99 cents at Blockbuster Music, I grabbed that f*cker faster than a cheetah on crystal. Rio Grande became my Be My Baby for a while, if you follow. Bought the IJWMFTT  soundtrack the following week, and then the documentary on VHS shortly there after. I was like 'oh my God, I really am not alone after all'. When I say his music saved my life, it's only partially true...his life saved mine. Gave me hope. Made me realize that I could channel my hurt and pain into a creative outlet rather than internalize it. Bought Smiley Smile next, my first Beach Boys album. Despite having never smoked weed at the time  (yes, the SS board's version of Tommy Chong once was a complete goody goody)  and listening to it completely sober...I was floored. THIS was genius, THIS was art. (Amusing aside...my dad once came in the room when She's Going Bald' came on...looked at me, shook his head, then walked out of my room and closed the door, all without saying a word ) . Never expected the Beach Boys to sound like THAT. Next week, I bought Wild Honey,  then 20/20, then Friends. By then, I was hooked. The world only knew of the oldies, but I knew better. I felt like it was my little secret. Bought Pet Sounds, and it changed my life. I realized that 'THIS is what I want to do with my life'. I finished an album's worth of music in my head (complete arrangements, mind you) shortly after.* Joined the old Mike WHeeler Cabinessence board that year, and made friends with a (sadly now passed on) really cool dude who hooked me up with cassette copies of all the albums from SUnflower through BB 1985.  Got the GV boxed set for Christmas in 1996, and THAT was my initial *real* exposure to the earlier stuff.

All of this was a long-winded explanation of why , yes, it is possible to have become a fan without being exposed to the earlier stuff. But really, I was a BW fan first, and then the Beach Boys.

* You may be wondering if I had an entire album's worth of music in my head for that many years, then why am I only now releasing my first album next month. Well, I did record that music in 2002, although I later realized some of the melodies in my head were nicked from existing songs I must've heard as a small child , and I'd get sued!

[SMiLE Brian]

Nice story Billy!

Time for a new song: "the ballad of Billy Castillo"

[Andrew G. Doe]

My initiation into the World of Wilson had similarities with Billy. Of course I knew the hits from the radio & TV (growing up in the 60s, you had to...) but after the 1975 Kent piece, first album I bought was... Pet Sounds. Start at the top. Thereafter, the canon 1967-73... then Endless Summer (oddly, I have never, ever owned 20 Golden Greats in any format from cylinder to mp3) and on to the pre-1966 stuff. As ever with me, arse about face, as my father would have it. First "new" release was 15 Big Ones (errr...), then (following a summer's sojourn in the local basket weaving academy) Love You (yay !) and POB (OMFG !!!).

Hook, line and yes, I do believe that's a sinker. 

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Oh and in case anyone asks, no my shrink was not named Landy

[Marty Castillo]

Nice story Billy!

Time for a new song: "the ballad of Billy Castillo"

Agreed, truly incredible story. Brian Wilson before later-Beach Boys must be even rarer. Again, my initial post was entirely tongue-in-cheek, but you must realize you have to be in a very small minority. What an amazing personal connection to the music.