Great articles, great photos, great album, one of my favorites and hanging over my piano with all the other early BB albums.  Thanks for posting all of this.

Great interview. I never knew Al had spent his first few California years in San Francisco. Saw my first Broadway musical, and still my favorite, The Music Man, at the Curran Theater on Geary across from my grandmother's apartment in 1959, and our first Giants baseball game that same year at Seals Stadium. Life has never been the same. My mom and aunt used to go to the Orpheum - where Al saw King Kong - in the 1930's when my mom was going to UC Berkeley.

Rode over to see it in Tomball (TX) with a friend to whom I had introduced both Brian and the Beach Boys a dozen years ago (not actually introduced in person, you understand).  We enjoyed it quite a bit.  I provided a whispered brief commentary here and there to explain things to him as it went along, or identify a character, etc., which helped him out. Seemed fairly accurate to me.  Well acted, told the story well and I enjoyed the way it was constructed back and forth from one era to another.  That worked well for me. Elizabeth Banks was superb, along with Giamatti and the actor playing Murry, sorry, name escapes me. It did seem like time was kind of squashed together from one key scene to another, without a tying connection or bridge, but I guess that would only be evident to someone who really knew the timeline and nothing was lost in the process. I'm not a movie or pop culture guy, and see about one movie every couple of years or so, last one was Monuments Men, I think, and this one was well worth it.

50 years ago I decided I would try to write some words for Summer Means New Love.  After all, it was a beautiful instrumental, and music and English were two of my best subjects, so why not?  How hard could it be. Well, I never wrote any words for it.  But no problem, I just needed to be patient and wait for Brian. Half a century later - - - - what a great song Somewhere Quiet is.

I honestly believe that Mike Love is a vicious asshole. I wish he hadn't ever been in the band. His singing (especially in the bass register) is the most out of tune of the members (bar Brian post 1975). Rieley should have booted his ass out of the band along with Bruce back in '71. Brainless jock idiots. Soul sucking jerks.

However, I will try to say a couple of nice things about Mike fucking asshat Love:

01) His put down on Mick Jagger was great. Anus to anus.

02) Um, that's actually all I can think of for now. The dude is a giant tumor. When he dies, there will be a long line of people waiting to piss on his grave.

 

P.S. Try googling the words "mike love asshole" and you will come across pages and pages about why he is such a disgrace:

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=mike+love+asshole

And then there is the chapter in the Stebbins FAQ book.

It is this kind of c**p, along with the earlier d-bag comment, that keeps me away from this board for weeks or months at a time.

Half a century later, can't think of one. Some low points, yes. A challenge to being a fan?  Never.

Wow.  Amazing how much Bruce sounded like Carl on God Only Knows. Good job of lip syncing by Carl when performing it live all those years, too. Talented bunch, those Beach Boys!

Great Just. Like. It. Is.  One of their best. No Little Deuce Coupe album would mean I have one less Beach Boys album.  Two, actually, since I have two copies of it, one framed, one on the shelf. And who needs two less Beach Boys albums?

Target donates huge sums of $ to exclusively right-wing political campaigns, which is the main thing that makes them awful IMO (your results may vary).

Didn't know that.  I guess I need to start shopping there more often. Thanks for the tip.

I remember as a teen-ager figuring out that Carl Wilson was 19 whole years old, four years older than me, and even older than my sister, who was 18 and heading to college, for cryin' out loud.  Man, Carl was OLD! And he was the YOUNGEST! Of course, I'll be 65 in June, so . . . . . . . . . . .

Surfer Girl, Surfin' USA, Surfin Safari, Shut Down, 409, Don't Worry Baby, Darlin', I Can Hear Music (maybe my favorite of all and it's not even a Beach Boys song, go figure), Add Some Music To Your Day, All Summer Long, Girls On The Beach, I don't know, pick any of those. Or two.  Or three. Or . . . . I could listen to any one of them repeatedly at any time.

I turn 65 two days after Brian Wilson turns 73.  It's been quite a ride the past 53 years, with two highlights coming to mind: Les Chan in 1982 sending me Smile and Landlocked with a handful of other nuggets on a cassette tape I keep in my nightstand so I always know where it is, and C-50 at the Red Rock in Las Vegas.  Oh yeah, SMILE in Houston and Grand Prairie. The conventions Les put on in Oakland. Carl at the Old Waldorf in SF. All the stuff you kept hearing about but never thought you'd hear, much less own. Books, documentaries, internet, Smiley Smile board. Who would ever thought . . . . . . .  Nothing to complain about. (Except maybe this broken leg I incurred a four weeks ago today. Last time I even think about skipping church without a valid excuse.  Like a broken leg.) And it's baseball season. Beach Boys, baseball, I think I'll fix a hot dog and put on All Summer Long.

I'm going to start referring to events like this latest 50th Anniversary billing as a "Niekro moment", in honor of the former major league pitching brothers Phil and Joe Niekro. Every time something like this happens, I'll post for my own amusement a picture of one of the Niekro brothers as a reply.

For those who are baseball fans (I know a few of you definitely are), I'm sure you remember or have at least heard of Phil and Joe. Phil is in the Hall Of Fame, while Joe has one of the more infamous moments in baseball-blooper history that gets replayed constantly to his credit.

For those unfamiliar with baseball, here is the rundown. The Niekro brothers were knuckleballers, which meant they'd throw junk from the mound, average speed around 70 mph (while the average is around 90 in the MLB today), but their pitches would dance more than Fred Astaire as they reached the batter. So these guys pitched beyond the age limit of most pitchers because their arms didn't wear out as much as normal pitchers.

But beyond that, they were known to employ several methods of "doctoring" the ball, in fact if doctoring the ball were a profession, the Niekros would be like neurosurgeons their field. Rumors of them doing everything from hiding Vaseline in the bill of their cap to throw a spitter, hiding a swatch of sandpaper inside their glove to scuff the ball, sharpening a fingernail so they could cut into the stitching on the ball, stashing nail files and other sharp or rough tools in their pockets, etc. It ran the gamut. But if they pitched for you, it was funny and you were glad to have them. If your team couldn't hit for sh*t against one of the brothers, you'd be mad. Typical sports fan stuff.

So one game, Joe Niekro was pitching, throwing his usual knucklers, eephus pitches, and all-out junk to the batters, and something that day must have made his pitches look like the ball was dancing the Tarantella in front of the batters, because the game was stopped and the umps started coming towards Niekro on the mound.

Joe Niekro must have forgotten he was pitching in a televised game, in a stadium with at least 30,000 fans watching, and with the full umpiring crew and other players around the mound. Because in front of everyone, ol' Joe tries to reach into his back pocket and throw away a nail file which he had been hiding during the game. Then he puts up his hands in a "what did I do?" pose, and one of the people on the mound spotted the file hitting the dirt...then the umpire sees it, and immediately ejects Joe, followed by a 10-game suspension by the league.

It's the fact that Joe was so bad at trying to hide the fact that he had just thrown a nail file out of his back pocket in front of everyone, then gives the "I didn't do it" hand/arm gesture that makes it so funny. If this Gif translates to the board, here it is, the ultimate "Niekro moment" in honor of the knuckleballing, ball-doctoring Niekro brothers:

Oh, Lord, I'd forgotten all about that incident! What a pair those two were (along with my man Gaylord Perry from the Giants, etc. and his tube of Vaseline and Hall of Fame ring). Opening Day in just a couple of weeks, my Giants replica World Series trophy all polished up, and me sitting here with a broken leg.  (BTW, the Giants pitcher you and I were talking about a few months ago, Stu Miller, died in earlier this year.)

Wow.  Boz Scaggs on the bill.  That's great.

It's a fun album. Nothing to complain about.  Good songs, good playing. They were having a good time, or at least they sounded like they were having a good time. Didn't bother me in the least when I found out 20 years later it was contrived. Who cares?  I don't think they were trying to impress anyone with some sort of high artistic  achievement, which can be fairly overblown anyway. Wish I still had the baseball-type photo cards from the album cover that disappeared a few decades ago (the cards, not the album cover).

Saw a fairly decent color copy at the 1982 convention in Oakland CA that our late friend Les Chan put together at the Oakland College of Arts and Crafts.  There was some good stuff in it. Never been able to find any of it again that was watchable.

By the way: The announced date of the book's release date is my birthday as well – 9/29/50.

[Wow! The second oldest poster documented on the board! Congratulations!]


6/22/50. Wife 9/11/53. She's been a fan since we met in high school.  Comes with the territory.

How can Brian "retake" the license?  Did it ever belong exclusively to him? Did somebody "take" it away from him?

When we were living in Las Vegas a few years ago before returning to Texas, Billy moved to Henderson, which is a Vegas suburb, and gave an interview of sorts to a local paper.  In it, if I recall correctly, it mentioned he was recently divorced and was dating a local lady. Nothing was said about children. [Desi Jr. and Lucy Arnaz own (owned?) the Boulder Theater in nearby Boulder City, an historic live-theater venue, and encouraged him to come out to the Las Vegas area from southern California. Seems like Billy was doing some music teaching or something along those lines.]

Great guy, that Ray Lawlor, violating Brian's doctor/patient confidentiality issues and his privacy. Oh, but he's a well-paid aviation executive with enough time and money to go around chasing after his so-called friend. The friend who no longer apparently speaks to either David Leaf or Van Dyke Parks, for whatever reasons (wonder what happened to those relationships of Brian's). Every time Ray comes on to a thread, a chill comes over and everyone starts talking about beer. Whatever. I guess I have an agenda. He reminds me of Frank Lima, a sycophant of Ray Davies who follows Ray around on various tours and has lunch and dinner with him. Frank also participates in Kinks message boards, but at least he's nice to fans and doesn't try to be high-handed and try to set the record straight. As if he'd know, because he doesn't.

I'm waiting for Mike Love to send me a check. Because every time someone says something vaguely critical of Team Wilson or his friends (who for all anyone knows may have been sent here by Melinda, in exchange for continued access to Brian, or they did it on their own with that thinking in mind), people are accused of being closepersonafriends of Mike Love. Flame away.

Holy crap.  What?

So many times I go back to what Kris Kristofferson once said, and I'm paraphrasing..."If you want to know the truth, just ask the studio janitor; he doesn't have "a side".
[/quote]

Which is somewhat ironic since he actually WAS the studio janitor at one point in his life (after leaving West Point and the Army for Nashville).

deleted - posted in wrong thread - y mistake

I first saw The Beach Boys in 1985 as a wee lad of 14 at the National Scout Jamboree in Virginia.

OK, I'm jealous. All my great years in Scouting in the '60's, I never got to attend a national jamboree.

ALL of the 70's concerts were the best for me. Especially Beachago in 1975.

1973

Winterland, San Francisco: Beach Boys, Three Man Army (November 18, 1973). First Beach Boys concert.

Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento: Beach Boys, Three Man Army (November 21, 1973)  Still have my concert poster for this one.

1974

Day On The Green #1, Oakland: Grateful Dead, The Beach Boys, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (June 8, 1974).

Day On The Green #2 & 3, Oakland: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Band, Joe Walsh, Jesse Colin Young (July 13 & 14, 1974) (Still have my big yellow poster for this).  Ontario Motor speedway with The Boys was scheduled for August 3, 1974 - bought some drinking glasses with the BB logo on them commemorating the event that was eventually cancelled.

National Exhibition Hall, Sacramento: Beach Boys, Dec. 21, 1974

1975

Day On The Green #1, Oakland: Chicago, The Beach Boys, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Bob Seger (May 24, 1975). (Still have my poster and concert booklet for this). One of my all time favorites.

1976

Day On The Green #5, Oakland: The Beach Boys, America, Elvin Bishop, John Sebastian, Eureka. (July 2, 1976) Brian's back. Still have my concert booklet for this.

1977

Cow Palace, San Francisco: The Beach Boys, (December 28, 1977)

1978

Day On The Green #1: The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Elvin Bishop, Norton Buffalo (May 28, 1978).

1980's were a blur.

Candlestick Park, San Francisco 1983 or 1984. Sacramento State Fair and a couple of concerts at the Concord Pavilion, Concord, CA.

Old Waldorf, San Francisco CA. Carl Wilson solo show in 1981. First show, met with Carl between shows and stayed for part of the second.

1990's

Concord Pavilion - two or three Beach Boys concerts early to mid- 1990's. Concord Pavilion, Concord CA. Last time I saw the Beach Boys before Carl died.

2,000's - pretty much all of Brian's solo shows (including Paul Simon Tour, Pet Sounds (w/Al & Ricky) & Smile and TLOS) in the Bay Area up until two years ago.

Two Al shows - one at Great America Santa Clara and one at Big Sur. And a brief one in Berkeley.

C50 concert, Beach Boys in Berkeley, CA., June, 2012.

Mikie, I knew you were at the 83 or 84 Candlestick, and '78 Day on the Green (not their best) that I my wife and attended, but was that Sacramento show the one at Cal Expo in '83?  Seems like Pablo Cruise opened?  Sounds like we were both at the Old Waldorf the same night too on Fisherman's Wharf for Carl as well. That was a nice show. Up close and personal. Wish I had some pictures from that one (or our ticket stubs we forgot on the table). Did you see them at Shoreline in '86?  That was OK but of course no Brian.

Hi, Norm. No, I wasn't at the Cal Expo show in 1983, but I was there for one of the Beach Boys shows between 1985 and 1987. There was another show in Sacramento that I attended (in addition to the late '73 and '74 shows) at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento. I don't even remember what year that was.

As far as the Carl Wilson show at the Old Waldorf. I was sitting at a table right near the stage. When Carl talked about his new album in between playing songs, I reached over and handed him my copy of the album for him to hold up for the audience.  With a big grin he gave me back the album and told me, "Your 5 bucks is in the mail". I later caught him near his dressing room in between shows, asked him to autograph the album, and I told him I loved his solo music and the songs he wrote for the "Keepin' The Summer Alive" album (he really appreciated that). I shook his hand, and he said, "Thank you very much". Guy couldn't have been more humble and gracious.

Hah! That was you! Les Chan was there as well, although I did not know him at the time. Yeah, I guess Carl was quite a guy.

ALL of the 70's concerts were the best for me. Especially Beachago in 1975.

1973

Winterland, San Francisco: Beach Boys, Three Man Army (November 18, 1973). First Beach Boys concert.

Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento: Beach Boys, Three Man Army (November 21, 1973)  Still have my concert poster for this one.

1974

Day On The Green #1, Oakland: Grateful Dead, The Beach Boys, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (June 8, 1974).

Day On The Green #2 & 3, Oakland: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Band, Joe Walsh, Jesse Colin Young (July 13 & 14, 1974) (Still have my big yellow poster for this).  Ontario Motor speedway with The Boys was scheduled for August 3, 1974 - bought some drinking glasses with the BB logo on them commemorating the event that was eventually cancelled.

National Exhibition Hall, Sacramento: Beach Boys, Dec. 21, 1974

1975

Day On The Green #1, Oakland: Chicago, The Beach Boys, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Bob Seger (May 24, 1975). (Still have my poster and concert booklet for this). One of my all time favorites.

1976

Day On The Green #5, Oakland: The Beach Boys, America, Elvin Bishop, John Sebastian, Eureka. (July 2, 1976) Brian's back. Still have my concert booklet for this.

1977

Cow Palace, San Francisco: The Beach Boys, (December 28, 1977)

1978

Day On The Green #1: The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Elvin Bishop, Norton Buffalo (May 28, 1978).

1980's were a blur.

Candlestick Park, San Francisco 1983 or 1984. Sacramento State Fair and a couple of concerts at the Concord Pavilion, Concord, CA.

Old Waldorf, San Francisco CA. Carl Wilson solo show in 1981. First show, met with Carl between shows and stayed for part of the second.

1990's

Concord Pavilion - two or three Beach Boys concerts early to mid- 1990's. Concord Pavilion, Concord CA. Last time I saw the Beach Boys before Carl died.

2,000's - pretty much all of Brian's solo shows (including Paul Simon Tour, Pet Sounds (w/Al & Ricky) & Smile and TLOS) in the Bay Area up until two years ago.

Two Al shows - one at Great America Santa Clara and one at Big Sur. And a brief one in Berkeley.

C50 concert, Beach Boys in Berkeley, CA., June, 2012.

Mikie, I knew you were at the 83 or 84 Candlestick, and '78 Day on the Green (not their best) that I my wife and attended, but was that Sacramento show the one at Cal Expo in '83?  Seems like Pablo Cruise opened?  Sounds like we were both at the Old Waldorf the same night too on Fisherman's Wharf for Carl as well. That was a nice show. Up close and personal. Wish I had some pictures from that one (or our ticket stubs we forgot on the table). Did you see them at Shoreline in '86?  That was OK but of course no Brian.