The Smiley Smile Message Board

Since tonight is Grammys Night, I'm reminded of the Grammys three short years ago, when our Boys were among the performers. This was the first we'd seen all five of them together, and the first public appearance of their 50th Anniversary year. In looking back at that night a short time later, Probyn Gregory gave his observations in an interview:


Q: How was the Grammys?

A: It was kind of odd. I don't think I ever need to do that again. I know this includes the after party and stuff, but I was gone from the house for like 18 hours to do 5 minutes of music. It's kind of a drag, it's like you hurry up to get there and then you're waiting around.

What happened was The Beach Boys confirmed very late to this thing, so our manager only got scraps of what they normally offer the groups. They plan this thing months ahead of time, nothing's last minute, but we were. So we got the bare bones in terms of credentials, or even parking passes. I sat out there for like half an hour in my car waiting for my poor over-worked manager to show up while the police are there saying "Sir, you need to move your car", while everyone else is going in with their yellow parking passes they got weeks ago. I think they stuck us in the last dressing room they had, down at the end of a long hall.

There's all these celebrities, and it's like, I'm so over that. I've done a lot of charity shows and benefits over the years and, yeah, I've seen Katy Perry, I've seen Adele. I saw Diana Ross coming down the hall, and I said to her "Hey! Looking good Diana!" because she had this nice dress and huge hair, but she didn't even acknowledge that anyone had spoken. You know, that kind of sucked, I don't wanna feel like a fanboy. I'm not 21 anymore, I'm a working musician, in the same game they are. I shook Joe Walsh's hand and we had a nice chat. Paul McCartney winked at me, he remembered my name the last time we met, and I know his band pretty well so I was hanging out with them a little. Bruce Springsteen was nice, he actually stopped what he was doing and came over to our band and talked to us with his wife, we had done a show with him a few years ago.

The performance was pretty nerve-racking. They get you out there in the wings 10 minutes beforehand. There's like 1000 union stage hands rushing around connecting things, disconnecting things, rolling stages, hooking up all the mics, turning the power on, and getting everything ready. And then it's like "OK, you're on in 10... 9... 8..." and I'm still trying to jam my ear monitors in, which I hate having to use instead of the old-school floor monitor that I like, but it was the way things are done at the Grammys. Those damn things always fall out, if I even turn my head they fall out. Sure enough they fell out during the performance, and I had to just hope I was in tune. My vocal part was pretty loud during the first two songs on the TV broadcast, so I know I luckily WAS in tune because I could hear it.

What could have been a neat inter-band hang was utter mayhem. We were at the Staples Center, which is a sports center where the Lakers play and the Clippers play. Those guys make millions of dollars, so everything was like state of the art, high tech, blah blah blah. When you go out from your dressing room into the main hallway that connects you to the main stage, everyone's crammed in there. It's like being in a space ship, there's a circular walkway. It reminded me of Halloween, everyone's in costumes. parading around. People are about to go on stage, and they're completely glossed up. Everyone has make-up on, their hair's been done. And then there's the hangers on, there's the agents, friends, family, press people, plus many security guards, and they're just crowding this area, and sometimes you just have to push your way through. It's madness. That's kind of why I don't wanna do it again.

Q: Sounds like it wasn't too great. Were there any positives to it, or was it all just mayhem?

A: Well, being there for the rehearsals was nice because that was a little more relaxed. A bunch of us were out in the front watching Paul McCartney and the group do their run through of the thing they did at the very end of the show, where they had like 6 guitar players trading solos, that was fun.

The most moving thing for me was Glen Campbell. I didn't even know he was gonna come out and sing on his own tribute. I thought it was just a tribute TO Glen Campbell, and then here he comes, and he's actually singing one of the tunes. His voice is still so good, and he was kind of a big deal for me when I was growing up.

Well, that's probably true, they didn't brief any of us on what was the protocol after we were done performing . They didn't tell us like "exit stage left" or whatever. I just ran for the back and got in with the stage hands, trying not to get knocked down, I just tried to get out of the way. Then I was trying to break down my equipment, because all these stage hands don't know anything about my gear and some of it's a little fragile. Some of it has to be packed away a certain way, like my pedal board has some stuff that you can't just like throw a lid on it because it will break stuff. So I was running after my little rolling stage with my stuff on it, trying to get on it and break down my stuff, and the guy's like "Sir, you have to step aside, the fork lift's coming in 5 seconds", so I ran along side the fork lift and it went outside the building. And even then people are hassling me like "what are you doing?" and I'm all "I'm just trying to break down my gear, same thing you're doing, I'm just not a union stage hand."

I shouldn't make it up to be all horrible. We had a nice dressing room, everyone's mood was good, I thought we performed pretty well. The after party was crazy, it was actually at the site of the old Manson murder house. Which if you know Dennis Wilson's connection to the whole thing, it makes it very bizarre that The Beach Boys were ever invited to something like that.

Going back to the thing about how the Grammys reminded me of Halloween. So many people were in costume with their hair and make-up, and the place is so crowded. It's like being in a big city street party where everyone's trying to see and be seen while they're walking slowly down the main drag. And it starts to get claustrophobic because you're trying to take all this information in, if you can even recognize anybody, coz people are dolled up in these weird outfits that they're never in in normal life. There were a huge number of people dressed as monks and nuns, they might have been with Nicki Minaj.
Anyway, the thing that I thought was great about it was that it was a nice send off to the whole Beach Boys thing. This was the first time we went public so people could see who was in the band. Even though some of the people couldn't fit onto the stage, like Nick Walusko and Mike Damico, who are actually slated to be in The Beach Boys reunion band, but didn't make it to the Grammys.

Very interesting. Especially the part of the Manson murder house after-party. How odd.

Poor guy.

I'm glad that Joe Walsh was cool with Probyn. I've always like Joe.

Bruce Springsteen, too.

I'm honestly shocked they had the after-party event at 10050 Cielo Drive...Of all places, even if there were no Beach Boys connection which there obviously is, that is just plain bizarre on all levels.

Did someone think it would be fun or ironic to host a music event there? I don't get it.  ???

That's a crazy place to have a party, isn't it?  Didn't they tear down the original house on the property though? But still......what the hell were they thinking?

Just saw Jeff Lynne's ELO playing a little bit of "Evil Woman" and the entire "Mr. Blue Sky at the 2015 Grammys. For some reason some guy named Sheeran joined him on stage for "Mr. Blue Sky" but didn't need to. McCartney was standing up and cheerleading during the brief set. Lynn hasn't missed a beat since I last saw the original ELO back in 1978. Only original member left is Richard Tandy, playing piano next to him on stage, and his full band is very tight! Last year, he played to 50,000 people at Hyde Park and after that great reception said he'd be touring the States around the release of his new album this year. He hates touring, but if he comes to Northern Cali, I'll definitely be at that concert!

Probyn, bless his solid gold heart, caused me a fair degree of anguish with another part of that interview.

^
You asked for it: tell us more.

The interviewer asked him about future plans and he said something like "we usually find out first from the fans who seem to know before we do, like Andrew G. Doe in England". I was flattered, sure, but then the emails started arriving...

Ha i remember that. Probyn actually mentioned it to me also..

Hope such a tour goes better than the 2001 ELO reunion (with him and Tandy): following a few TV appearances, the actual tour was cancelled. Shame, since the in-concert DVD shot on a soundstage was preety good. All the best to them, I like ELO!

That tour was cancelled due to a lack of ticket sales/general interest. Since he sold out Hyde Park, I don't think that's the case anymore. I hope its an international tour! I'd go far out of my way to see Jeff Lynne - he's one of my top musical heroes, up there with Brian.

Was that the one with the women playing cellos? Always a good thing, I think.

I was boycotting the Grammys for years...as the top 40 'fare' for about a dozen years or more was just horrible hogwash as far as I was concerned.  In the last year or 2 it's started to show signs of moving on and doing something new, interesting and LISTENABLE again...at least occaisionally.  As a result I had NO idea that the 'Boys' had performed  during their year Five-Oh reunion on the 'show'.  No idea until this morning when I finally opened this thread.  So I went to u-tewb and watched/and listened.  Not bad.  [well the quality of the file was pretty piss-poor  but still... ... ...]

Who was that guy in the vest standing with Michael Edward near the end of the performance?  Nice to see Glen...caught on camera diggin' it.  Great piece there with Probyn.  Show buisiness really does seem to get in its own way.  It's amazing sometimes that they manage to 'pull it off'...especially the live stuff.

And how typical of Diane Ross.  THAT'S her name...at least the name Mary and Florence knew.  Diana WHO???  So full of 'it' even to this day.  Get over yourself 'beeyatch'.  THAT was 'then'...and this is most definitely NOW.

Thanks C-Man. :hat

I got to attend that ELO DVD taping in 2001 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles! I’d have to say that that show along with the BB’s C50 tour are two of the best shows I’ve ever seen. The “DVD taping” was actually initially for a PBS TV special, and then later on they released it on DVD with some extra songs.

I (hopefully) have Lynne’s ELO bit from the Grammys DVR’d. I haven’t watched it yet. His show in Hyde Park a few months ago was great. For being his first full-length show in 13 years (and only his third or fourth full-length show in 28 years), it was pretty impressive. His voice is amazingly intact. Hopefully they’ll learn from the mistakes of the doomed 2001 tour (which was mostly down to booking too many HUGE venues, like arenas, and not very elaborate promotion), and do something smaller-scale this time around. Lynne and ELO have a higher profile now than he did in 2001, so if they start with a smaller North American tour of theaters, I think that would do well. Europe is even easier if he goes that route; he could probably make more money touring Europe than North America.

Back to that Probyn interview from 2012, I recall that the thing was pulled initially since it apparently spilled the beans on some C50 stuff. I really wish we could get more interviews like this with guys from the backing bands. I’m always surprised that with all of the guys who have backed Brian and the BB’s over the years, we haven’t seen a ton of interviews with the backing band guys. I think it was discussed some time back that there is the possibility that some of the guys, especially in the 70s/80s era, may have signed some non-disclosure agreements of some sort. But that info from Probyn in that interview was really interesting. It’s interesting to hear things from a working musician’s point of view, but who also probably comes at some of the stuff like any of us would (e.g. Diana Ross ignoring everybody, etc.).

Like some of you, the only reason I *endured* any of the Grammy's was to catch Jeff Lynne. Not only did he sound great, but it was cool to see so many in the audience up on their feet dancing and singing along. Even Beyonce was caught on camera briefly with this bewildered smile on her face, like "why am I liking this so much?!" It just felt like these songs were true timeless classics now and everyone was having a blast. Well, everyone except Kanye. After all, he's a true artist.  ::)

I did notice during the "In Memoriam" segment that David Anderle was included.

Oops - I somehow missed the "In Memoriam."  So glad Anderle was included, as well he should have been.  Someone in the business who actually cared about the music and those who make it is a rarity, I fear...at least a successful person who can maintain that.

Found this article today in my newsfeed, by Al Jardine's collaborator Larry Dvoskin:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-dvoskin/my-best-grammy-moments-me_b_6643202.html

MY BEST GRAMMY MOMENTS -- MEETING THE BEATLES & BEACH BOYS!
Posted:  2/9/2015

That house has been knocked down, and a new house has been built on the lot or lots.  The property address has been changed.  The new house is owned by a friend of Mike and John Stamos.  We have performed there many times, including just last month.  There is no fun or irony involved nor intended, GF.

Scott

I've been waiting for some pro shot footage of their performance, but it never seems to show up.  I'm also curious to know, what top 40 songs do you consider more listenable than what we've had in the recent past?

Thanks for the clarification, that makes a lot more sense obviously: From the original transcript of that 2012 interview it wasn't as clear what the current situation is or was in 2012 for the Grammy after-event, I had not heard about it until it was posted here.  I also wonder if that general area still gets its share of ghost-hunter type tourists based on all the internet interest in the previous address, it's amazing what people consider worthy attractions to visit or what exactly they're looking for. There is an infamous location very close to me that for years was a macabre novelty for people to break in and explore but which has since been changed into a managed "haunted house" attraction where they charge people to walk through around Halloween. I don't get it, but I guess some do or they wouldn't buy tickets!  :)

one of the homes built on one of the lots has been featured on both ghost hunters and ghost adventures.

You loved it and you know it.

C-Kid...What I consider an improvement musically may well be songs others find to be pure crap...BUT...I come at it from an era when we were exposed to the best music...across the board.  'They' did NOT ghettoize music on the old top 50...and then the top 40 back...in the 60s...and even well into the 70s.  We got...just the 'good stuff', variety, and also some crap that would never stand the test of time...all rolled into one.  Keep in mind that I enjoy a wide range of genres...like we were exposed to back in the day.  THIS will represent my idea of what's good for 'hit' radio stations...not Rock Radio.  And for those who love dance music 24/7...walk on...there's NOTHING here to see or hear because MOST radio listeners ain't in the mood to dance.

Way back...when it 'worked'...we also got SUPER HITS which lasted a maximum of 4 months on the charts and even THEY were replaced by great new material.  [and put to rest for a few months so that people could get PAST starting to HATE hearing them]  Nowadays the stuff hangs around for 8-9-10 months.  Longer.  And then immediately goes into re-current and still played seemingly to death.  Now versus then?  It almost apples to oranges.  That said I still hear it changing.  Changing SLOWLY.  'They' are starting to play RADIO music on the radio instead of TV music [ie: videos] on the radio and we are beginning to hear more variety instead of a non-stop crumbling foundation of synthetic, computer based, hip-hop and rap oriented dance music.  Disco sucked.  It still does.  Programmers forgot that...as they went exclusively for the 30-40 year old female audience at the expense of all others.  Why?  Simple.  Men don't like to shop.  Advertisers want shoppers.  Shareholders want advertisers

Most of the current music still sucks and will never stand the test of time...but here are some songs from last year which I hear as headed in a direction that makes for a variety of decent top 30 radio listening...This is ONLY 12% of the top 100 of 2014.  12% is way more than I could have come up with in 1994...let alone 2004.  It's a noticeable [at least to me] step toward better music being added to the playlists of 'hit' radio stations.  That had NOT been the case for a LONG, L O N G, time.

12.  Come With Me Now ... Kongos
11.  Blurred Lines ... Robin Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell
10.  Brave ... Sara Bareilles
09.  Counting Stars ... One Republic
08.  Sing ... Ed Sheeran
07.  Am I Wrong ... Nico and Vinz
06.  Stay With Me ... Sam Smith
05.  All About That Bass ... Meghan Trainor
04.  Rude ... Magic
03.  Love Runs Out ... One Republic
02.  All Of Me ... John Legend
01.  Happy ... Pharrell Williams

Other songs are obviously needed to mix these examples into and with.  If you only want the 18 and under or 12 ro 24 audience...THIS won't work.  BUT...those 'kids' aren't listening to the radio anyway so why would you program to them?  And if it's 30 to 40 year old women you want...like almost everybody else...just how small a sliver of that piece of the pie are you willing to settle for?

I've done my research.  the typical 'fare' on hit radio stations [including Country stations] is NOT what the HUGE MAJORITY want to hear.  'We' can all pretned we're cool and up to the split second if we want to...but deep into the recesses of our own private worlds...current music radio is a blinkin' joke...and so too is 88% of the music being programmed.  Did someone say "payola"?

And don't even get me STARTED on how it's programmed and 'presented'.  All the research I ever saw, or participated in collecting, clearly states that it's being done really BADLY.  Like it's 'tiny talent time.'

I guess the bottom line C-Kid is THIS... ... ...  It's just as much about what you DON'T play as it is about what you DO program.  Surround a rose with too much manure and the rose will be ignored.

So... Sir Paul has handlers, huh?

The way I see it is that some people always like popular music, some people like popular music from a particular time period, and some people spend their whole lives never liking popular music. And, in truth, none of it will stand the test of time but some may stick around a little longer than the others.

True really...the 'test of time' I refer to is limited exactly to the lifetime of whoever the listener happens to be.

There was a time when people would be able to finally relate to others...this accomplished while sitting on the verandah/porch and remembering cultural events, music, movies, TV shows...etc.

Now?  What will the future old-age/seniors relate to 40-50-60 years from now?  Justin Beiber?  Survivor?  Katy Perry's 'Super Bowl tiger?  Bruce Jenner?  Fragmentation?  Is it all about variety or is it more about dividing the masses?  And is that a bad thing? ???

There are more questions than answers...and the more that I find out...the less I know.

You sound like Don Henley now

I thought that would be the case! I think it was the "Ghost Hunters" or one or more other crews from similar shows that came to my area as well to film inside the location I mentioned earlier. I think that was before they started selling tickets and doing the Halloween schtick there. After hearing "Monster Mash" ad nauseum, along with prop chainsaws revving up at 5-minute intervals each night from September to November, I'm betting the actual ghosts may have said "f*** this, we're outta here" and split.  :lol

I would love to read more about the opinions and experiences of backing band members and regulars with  both Mike and Brian's bands.     My personal experience in talking to a few of these guys is that they are a bit tight lipped just maybe to cover their asses.    most of them are just  trying to make a living on boats that are easily rocked, it seems.