Everyone back together for a Beach Boys Q&A for Sirius XM?

[HeyJude]

Just caught around the second half of the Q&A. About what I expected. Nice to hear them together, but mostly the same questions they've been asked a thousand times.

[CenturyDeprived]

Just caught around the second half of the Q&A. About what I expected. Nice to hear them together, but mostly the same questions they've been asked a thousand times.

Is there any band who've been asked the same questions as many times as these guys (with the same stock answers as replies)? I guess there are hardly any bands who've been around this long, but still...

[feelintheflows]

Reiner seems like an ass clown

[NOLA BB Fan]

I enjoyed the Town Hall. Had low expectations, didn't expect any bombshells.
Great to hear them all, sounding in good spirits.

[Rocker]

Here are some more videos from the town hall:


Beach Boys reunite for first time since 2012 for SiriusXM Town Hall

http://blog.siriusxm.com/beach-boys-reunite-for-the-first-time-since-2012-for-siriusxm-town-hall/


Good to see them!

[Tony S]

caught most of it sitting in traffic. what I expected, pretty much a waste of time, same old same old.

[nach0king]

Lots of pessimism here but I thought Brian sounded engaged and interested, which is different from many interviews, and he was actively seeking answers from Mike and Al (who is the GOAT at these interviews. Informative without rambling, biting without being mean.) Those seeking new music will be disappointed but I thought it was a fun listen. Even Rob Reiner, after a very bloviating start, settled down well into the Q&A format, and there is no denying that he knows his BB lore.

And now we "know" it was a brush stick on Surfin and not Brian's finger! this is the kind of all-important, world-changing knowledge the satellite radio format was invented for!

[Ang Jones]

If what Hey Jude and Guitarfool  (in particular) have convincingly argued is true, it seems likely that Mike wanted to curtail the C50 because he didn't like the financial consequences and also not being 'top dog' at the shows. So surely WERE (and I hope not) there to be another reunion, the same problems would arise?! I can understand why some of the original Beach Boys might want it, but I hope Brian considers what is likely to be the outcome.

[MsBecca]

Lots of pessimism here but I thought Brian sounded engaged and interested, which is different from many interviews, and he was actively seeking answers from Mike and Al (who is the GOAT at these interviews. Informative without rambling, biting without being mean.) Those seeking new music will be disappointed but I thought it was a fun listen. Even Rob Reiner, after a very bloviating start, settled down well into the Q&A format, and there is no denying that he knows his BB lore.

And now we "know" it was a brush stick on Surfin and not Brian's finger! this is the kind of all-important, world-changing knowledge the satellite radio format was invented for!

I always thought it was not his finger. For it to sound like that he would have to have hit it so hard as to have hurt his finger.

[donbrhoden]

 There is a reason Rob Reiner is known as Meathead!!!!

[HeyJude]

Finally caught the first half, so I *think* I've heard the whole thing.

It's sort of inadvertently interesting to hear the guys tell stories as if they're re-telling stories they've read/heard from others. It's bizarre but not uncommon for artists like this (e.g. McCartney), who get asked the same questions all the time and who have had sometimes probably apocryphal trivia floating around about them for years.

They pitch trivia to each other as if they recall reading it somewhere rather than actually remembering it/experiencing it. Kinda of hard to explain. That, mixed with the regular re-telling of the same stories. I like how Reiner throws Mike off of his normal "I dictated the lyrics to Good Vibrations to my wife on the way to the session" story by asking Mike if his wife actually liked the lyrics. Mike doesn't know how to tell the story when someone throws the tiniest of wrenches in it. You get the sense he has never actually thought about what his wife might have thought of the lyrics.

I'm not saying we should have expected someone to ask abut the "Drip Drop" session or something, but everybody asking the *most obvious* of obvious questions certainly didn't help.

I kept waiting for someone to ask them all what their favorite pizza topping was.

But yeah, still strange and cool to hear them all together.

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

They pitch trivia to each other as if they recall reading it somewhere rather than actually remembering it/experiencing it. Kinda of hard to explain. That, mixed with the regular re-telling of the same stories. I like how Reiner throws Mike off of his normal "I dictated the lyrics to Good Vibrations to my wife on the way to the session" story by asking Mike if his wife actually liked the lyrics. Mike doesn't know how to tell the story when someone throws the tiniest of wrenches in it. You get the sense he has never actually thought about what his wife might have thought of the lyrics.

To be fair to Mike, that was quite a few wives ago. 

[Debbie KL]

This is exhausting, but I'm glad everyone continues the discussion.

Attacking Rob Reiner? Seriously? He was obviously invited to host the event, enjoys the BBs' music and is busy with huge other things - (check his Twitter a/c). I never expected him to know every nuance of everything posted on this board. I don't think they were only aiming for hard-core fans...just a guess. Can we accept that they need the hard-cores and the casual fans?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

This is exhausting, but I'm glad everyone continues the discussion.

Attacking Rob Reiner? Seriously? He was obviously invited to host the event, enjoys the BBs' music and is busy with huge other things - (check his Twitter a/c). I never expected him to know every nuance of everything posted on this board. I don't think they were only aiming for hard-core fans...just a guess. Can we accept that they need the hard-cores and the casual fans?

Amen to that

[HeyJude]

Knowing all of the variables of putting such an event together, having Rob Reiner makes total sense. I don't have a problem with him being the guy; they certainly could have done worse (Wink Martindale, etc.). I figure they tend to go with someone who is liked by all factions, and who is able to carry such a Q&A.

So I'm not going to rip on Reiner. But I'm also not going to pretend they couldn't have possibly found someone else who, even within the confines of such an event, could have steered things a bit more substantive. I like Reiner, but while I'm firmly in the "I don't know if Brian Wilson is a genius, but if there is such a thing as a genius, then he is one" camp, it doesn't bode well when Reiner starts the Q&A off by addressing Brian as "the genius", as if he was introducing Paul McCartney as "the cute Beatle" or something. Nothing major at all, but Reiner stayed "Wikipedia" level and so did the audience throughout the event. It could have been worse, they could have gotten an actual annoying personality. Reiner is likeable. At this event, he was essentially a more energetic, dynamic version of a Larry King type. But again, I think it's fair to call the thing what it is. They could have snagged a Howie Edelson, or Alan Boyd, or heck, even Jerry Schilling, to do the event, all additional people who have good relationships with all factions, and who would also understand how to strike a balance between softball, obvious questions (e.g. "did you guys surf?", "why has your music endured all these years?") and something a bit more substantive without going into "Drip Drop/Lazy Lizzie/That Special Feeling" deep cut territory.

I think the Reiner selection was emblematic of the SiriusXM channel in general. That is, it's a nice project that has gone over well enough and certainly hasn't hurt anything, but which hasn't really lived up to its full potential.

I can only guess that this event came together pretty quickly, and getting all those guys (especially the Brian/Mike/Al segment) together in one place often leaves everyone operating on the basis of "let's just make sure we can get through this." That probably accounts for the audience being stacked with a disproportionately large amount of local young LA industry people who were, at best, casual fans of the band. They either didn't have the time, or didn't want to, try something like a contest to fly a few big BB fans out to the event to ask a question.

[“Big Daddy”]

I listened to this over the weekend. Does anybody remember what the first of the RPO tracks they played was? Sounded like a different mix. Can anyone confirm?

[Juice Brohnston]

It could have been worse, they could have gotten an actual annoying personality. Reiner is likeable. At this event, he was essentially a more energetic, dynamic version of a Larry King type. But again, I think it's fair to call the thing what it is. They could have snagged a Howie Edelson, or Alan Boyd, or heck, even Jerry Schilling, to do the event, all additional people who have good relationships with all factions, and who would also understand how to strike a balance between softball, obvious questions (e.g. "did you guys surf?", "why has your music endured all these years?") and something a bit more substantive without going into "Drip Drop/Lazy Lizzie/That Special Feeling" deep cut territory.

I think the Reiner selection was emblematic of the SiriusXM channel in general. That is, it's a nice project that has gone over well enough and certainly hasn't hurt anything, but which hasn't really lived up to its full potential.

I wonder if they considered Stamos?

[Jay]

It could have been worse, they could have gotten an actual annoying personality. Reiner is likeable. At this event, he was essentially a more energetic, dynamic version of a Larry King type. But again, I think it's fair to call the thing what it is. They could have snagged a Howie Edelson, or Alan Boyd, or heck, even Jerry Schilling, to do the event, all additional people who have good relationships with all factions, and who would also understand how to strike a balance between softball, obvious questions (e.g. "did you guys surf?", "why has your music endured all these years?") and something a bit more substantive without going into "Drip Drop/Lazy Lizzie/That Special Feeling" deep cut territory.

I think the Reiner selection was emblematic of the SiriusXM channel in general. That is, it's a nice project that has gone over well enough and certainly hasn't hurt anything, but which hasn't really lived up to its full potential.

I wonder if they considered Stamos?

You know, as dumb as this sounds, he might be the perfect person to get the guys together for a good, more in depth interview. As much as we like to drag him with the whole Uncle Jessie/Full House cheesefest, you have to admit that the guy is truly a big fan of the group and could probably get them to talk more about the "deep cuts", and maybe the workings of specific songs, etc.

[Jim V.]

It could have been worse, they could have gotten an actual annoying personality. Reiner is likeable. At this event, he was essentially a more energetic, dynamic version of a Larry King type. But again, I think it's fair to call the thing what it is. They could have snagged a Howie Edelson, or Alan Boyd, or heck, even Jerry Schilling, to do the event, all additional people who have good relationships with all factions, and who would also understand how to strike a balance between softball, obvious questions (e.g. "did you guys surf?", "why has your music endured all these years?") and something a bit more substantive without going into "Drip Drop/Lazy Lizzie/That Special Feeling" deep cut territory.

I think the Reiner selection was emblematic of the SiriusXM channel in general. That is, it's a nice project that has gone over well enough and certainly hasn't hurt anything, but which hasn't really lived up to its full potential.

I wonder if they considered Stamos?

You know, as dumb as this sounds, he might be the perfect person to get the guys together for a good, more in depth interview. As much as we like to drag him with the whole Uncle Jessie/Full House cheesefest, you have to admit that the guy is truly a big fan of the group and could probably get them to talk more about the "deep cuts", and maybe the workings of specific songs, etc.

Would never happen because he quite obviously is to most observers a member of Club Kokomo. While I'm sure Stamos is a wonderful guy, we've heard what Brian's band think of him, and I'm sure that wouldn't be lost on Melinda (and therefore Brian as well).

[Rocker]

It could have been worse, they could have gotten an actual annoying personality. Reiner is likeable. At this event, he was essentially a more energetic, dynamic version of a Larry King type. But again, I think it's fair to call the thing what it is. They could have snagged a Howie Edelson, or Alan Boyd, or heck, even Jerry Schilling, to do the event, all additional people who have good relationships with all factions, and who would also understand how to strike a balance between softball, obvious questions (e.g. "did you guys surf?", "why has your music endured all these years?") and something a bit more substantive without going into "Drip Drop/Lazy Lizzie/That Special Feeling" deep cut territory.

I think the Reiner selection was emblematic of the SiriusXM channel in general. That is, it's a nice project that has gone over well enough and certainly hasn't hurt anything, but which hasn't really lived up to its full potential.

I wonder if they considered Stamos?

You know, as dumb as this sounds, he might be the perfect person to get the guys together for a good, more in depth interview. As much as we like to drag him with the whole Uncle Jessie/Full House cheesefest, you have to admit that the guy is truly a big fan of the group and could probably get them to talk more about the "deep cuts", and maybe the workings of specific songs, etc.

Already happened somehwat in 2012. Al and Mike interviewed by Stamos for Sirius. Wasn't bad at all

[CenturyDeprived]

It could have been worse, they could have gotten an actual annoying personality. Reiner is likeable. At this event, he was essentially a more energetic, dynamic version of a Larry King type. But again, I think it's fair to call the thing what it is. They could have snagged a Howie Edelson, or Alan Boyd, or heck, even Jerry Schilling, to do the event, all additional people who have good relationships with all factions, and who would also understand how to strike a balance between softball, obvious questions (e.g. "did you guys surf?", "why has your music endured all these years?") and something a bit more substantive without going into "Drip Drop/Lazy Lizzie/That Special Feeling" deep cut territory.

I think the Reiner selection was emblematic of the SiriusXM channel in general. That is, it's a nice project that has gone over well enough and certainly hasn't hurt anything, but which hasn't really lived up to its full potential.

I wonder if they considered Stamos?

You know, as dumb as this sounds, he might be the perfect person to get the guys together for a good, more in depth interview. As much as we like to drag him with the whole Uncle Jessie/Full House cheesefest, you have to admit that the guy is truly a big fan of the group and could probably get them to talk more about the "deep cuts", and maybe the workings of specific songs, etc.

As apparently nice guy-ish and actual BBs superfan-ish as Stamos may be, he is undoubtedly too deeply associated by many*just* with the Mike Love-led mostly-nadir era of the band, for it to not have been seen as a political move to have had Stamos host.  

[Jim V.]

Honestly, I think the choice of Rob Reiner is great. He's a great actor and a great director and he brings the same type of prestige that Ron Howard brought in he directed his recent movie on The Beatles touring years.

Now surely there are the people who are butthurt over the fact that Reiner was chosen to do this and not Sean Hannity, but once we get past that, it's pretty neat.

To truly get a deep discussion with the guys I think it would have to been done long form over maybe a year with perhaps different sets of people interviewing each guy separately (perhaps Stamos for Mike, Ray Lawlor for Brian, Lou Dobbs for Bruce,  Tim Heidecker for Al ) and then a final get together with all of the guys perhaps moderated by a big celebrity fan. Maybe, say...Elton John for instance?

[HeyJude]

I'm on board for probably most if not all of Reiner's politics. Sean Hannity shouldn't be anywhere near a BB event, and never would thankfully.

But Reiner hosting this event is actually quite a bit like Ron Howard's work on the Beatles "Eight Days a Week" film: Bland, inoffensive, and someone who can get the job done without any hiccups.

[Pretty Funky]

Honestly, I think the choice of Rob Reiner is great. He's a great actor and a great director and he brings the same type of prestige that Ron Howard brought in he directed his recent movie on The Beatles touring years.

Now surely there are the people who are butthurt over the fact that Reiner was chosen to do this and not Sean Hannity, but once we get past that, it's pretty neat.

To truly get a deep discussion with the guys I think it would have to been done long form over maybe a year with perhaps different sets of people interviewing each guy separately (perhaps Stamos for Mike, Ray Lawlor for Brian, Lou Dobbs for Bruce,  Tim Heidecker for Al ) and then a final get together with all of the guys perhaps moderated by a big celebrity fan. Maybe, say...Elton John for instance?

I had to re-read this again to get it. At first glance I thought you suggested interviewing those around the Beach Boys. Now that would be very insightful. Ray Lawlor, current wives, kids, Jerry Schilling to name a few.
Let’s face it, we’ve heard it all from the band members. Much more interesting would be others in the circle.

[Rocker]

I'm on board for probably most if not all of Reiner's politics. Sean Hannity shouldn't be anywhere near a BB event, and never would thankfully.

Could you imagine that? Hannity calling none of the Boys ever playing on any of their records and Mike writing all the songs a proven fact? I can see a version of "Our cartoon president"'s Hannity having the BBs as guests, though