The Steven Gaines Thread
Aegir:
I hate being so young. I was ten when Carl died, and I didn't even know who he was until six years after that.
Carl Wilson and John Denver are two of the people I would've most liked to have met, or even seen in person, but never ever will.
Surfer Joe:
Quote from: GLarson432 on August 23, 2008, 10:30:03 PM
A friend of mine caught him on the way to the stage in Atlanta before an eighties Beach Boys/Chicago show and got him to sign something. He said "thank you" to Carl's back, as Carl walked away, and Carl turned to reply, with emphasis, "No, thank YOU." That's become my capsule image of him.
Surfer Joe -- Your capsule image of Carl is totally correct. I'm only sorry for your sake you don't have a memory or two of Carl of your own.
The last time I talked with Carl was on March 29th, 1996 at the Riviera in Las Vegas. Through a friend's connections I was lucky enough to be there. He had just been through what I thought would be a soundcheck but turned into a full-blown rehearsal due to two new members in the backing band (Chris Farmer who'd played with them before and Tim Bonhomme). It lasted 160 mins from start to finish. They had two shows to do that night but Carl still took the time to talk with me and my friend for about ten mins. Carl remembered my name from me having spoken with him on the "Big Red Boat Cruise" in May of 1995. The bulk of that conversation was about pictures of the house that Audree was born in in South Minneapolis. I gave him copies of those pics I'd taken (the info courtesy of Timothy White's book...page 62 I think) . Obviously, I lived in the Minneapolis area at the time.
How many "Rock Stars" would remember the name of just another fan from ten months earlier?
I've said this before about Carl Dean Wilson. He was both a gentleman and a gentle man! I miss him tremendously and will until the day I die.
Great story, thanks for sharing that- I'm sure we'd all like to hear more about that rehearsal. I never met Carl, but was lucky enough to see him perform a number of times. I got to see Dennis once, too...
Which brings up another question for the subject of this thread: having been at the famous '76 birthday party, did you have any interaction with Dennis? Also, how did you go about recreating those last days so vividly? It must have still been a VERY awkward topic. Finally, did you show up in any of the documentaries that include footage from that party?
Beach Boy Author:
I've got to admit my interaction with Carl was limited, and the observation that he didn't talk as much because most of the media centered on Brian or Mike or Dennis is probably closer to the truth than that he was just taciturn. I also think its true that he was a gentleman, yet he had some of the same issues as the rest of the Wilson clan.
As for my easy, direct access to the group, most of my taped conversations took place during the preparation for the New West magazine article. Also, I interviewed various members of the band over the years for my column in the Sunday News in New York.
Remember, after the New West article I wrote a book about the Beatles that was a huge international success but at the time seemed shocking. (The Beatles took drugs! The Beatles had sex with girls on the road! Cold Turkey was a song about John kicking heroin!) The Beach Boys read or knew about the book, and when it was announced that I was going to write a biography of the Beach Boys they weren't any too happy. They closed ranks.
As for the 1976 birthday party, you've got to remember that my being there was just luck. I had no idea that the party would have any significance. Maybe it didn't have any significance, maybe it was just because I wrote about it, who knows? I have very vivid memories of being there. I was nervous and an outsider. The Beach Boys were wary of journalists. I was very distracted by the presence of Paul McCartney (who I would later get to know when I wrote the book about the Beatles) and I spent a lot of my time talking to Audree about the weather.
I introduced myself to everyone, but there was a lot of big egos in the room and I could hardly breathe.
As far as I know I never showed up in any of the footage. (The first thing Lorne Michaels said to me was "Don't ask me to write for Saturday Night Live.")
I don't remember Dennis at that party, but I had a long, weird, surprising interview with Dennis later that trip, I think. Or maybe it was for a Beach Boy article I wrote for my Top of the Pop column in the Sunday News in New York. I remember really liking Dennis, but he was marked for doom, he was out of control.
When I started work on the book I contacted Karen Lamm and arranged for her to read aloud to me in person, recorded on tape, all of her diaries from the time she met Dennis until his death.
I knew that journalistically I wanted to recreate Dennis' last days, the way Bob Wooward had done about John Belushi.
It was very hard to get people to talk to me. I was a vulture, and the tragedy of Dennis' death was a raw, painful subject, and everyone cried a lot in the retelling--well, almost everyone. I'm glad now that I went through the embarrassment and uncomfortable moments to recreate his last days in such detail.
By the way, I hated the Beach Boy movie they made from my book, I had no say in it, and the producers did a lousy job.
Surfer Joe:
Fascinating reply; you've anticipated several of my next questions (though I may ask some of them anyway) and comments. One comment I had wanted to make was that some of the younger posters on this board may not realize what a big, hairy, freaking deal the Peter Brown/Beatles book was at the time, so I think we (fans) did see you coming, and knew it might not be pretty. I even had an argument with my high school girlfriend because she bought the Beatles book. I'll never forget your appearance on the infamous Morton Downey Jr. show and what they did with your book there- which I'll leave to you to tell, if you recall. You kind of laughed your way through it. (You were slumming with idiots).
I am re-reading the book (H & V) now, and am not surprised at how vivid it has remained in my memory after 22 years. It remains well-written, extremely well-researched, and extremely brutal.
Next up- and this is a no-brainer for us to ask- you mention that Carl showed signs of some of the Wilson "issues". Would it be out of bounds to ask you to expand on that?
I won't keep saying this ad nauseum, but thanks for your participation here and for for opening up. You don't owe it to us to submit to a grilling, but we're very, very interested.
Mark A. Moore:
Quote from: Surfer Joe on August 24, 2008, 08:03:25 PM
Next up- and this is a no-brainer for us to ask- you mention that Carl showed signs of some of the Wilson "issues". Would it be out of bounds to ask you to expand on that?
I would say drug abuse would be at or near the top of the list.
M.
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