Mike and Bruce Tour 2014

[Andrew G. Doe]

Was he contracted by Capitol? If so he was in effect Capitol I guess.

Thomas wasn't contracted by Capitol. The only people Capitol "contracted" were The Beach Boys in the sense of "here's the contract, here's the stipulations, here's the money, now give us some product".

[The Cincinnati Kid]

Looks like I've accidentally reopened a can of worms.  Pardon me while I exit the room.   

[halblaineisgood]

.

[CenturyDeprived]

Looks like I've accidentally reopened a can of worms.  Pardon me while I exit the room.   

Good thinking. The only people allowed in The Room are Mike and Brian.

[Rocker]

This whole people keeping and control BW is more in the view of how Mike sees things. Hell, Mike thinks BW's important and needed medications are used for control.

I had to look this up.....you weren't kidding....

"Have you spoken with Brian since the end of the tour?

No. Brian is controlled and still medicated. It used to be the indiscriminate use of street drugs, but now it’s prescribed drugs. He speaks very highly of me and I have no issues. If just he and I could speak alone it would be great, but Brian is controlled."

http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/08/the_beach_boys_to_turn_tanglew.html

I said it before a while ago. Mike has probably no clue about Brian's decease(s). Those kind of issues weren't treated as real deceases in the days they grew up. I think it took Al also a while touring with Brian to understand that Brian needs the medication to live a somewhat normal life. Mike doesn't know this. I don't know if someone explaining it to him would make a big difference. After so many decades that he saw the people around him decaying by drugs, he's probably very sensible about everything that has the form of a pill.

[Andrew G. Doe]

What on earth would Joe Thomas's motivation be to keep Mike from writing with Brian? And didn't he facilitate, oh, I don't know, some three Mike co-writes and one solo tune on the album?

How many co-writes does Thomas have on the album ? Eleven. Thus:

Think About The Days (B. Wilson/Thomas)
That's Why God Made The Radio  (B. Wilson/Peterik/Millas/Thomas)
Isn't It Time (B. Wilson/Love/Peterik/Millas/Thomas)
Spring Vacation (B. Wilson/Love/Thomas)
The Private Life Of Bill And Sue (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Shelter (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Daybreak Over The Ocean (Love)
Beaches In Mind (B. Wilson/Love/Thomas)
Strange World (B. Wilson/Thomas)
From There To Back Again (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Pacific Coast Highway (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Summer’s Gone (B. Wilson/Bon Jovi/Thomas)

Motivation ? $$$$$$$$$$$...

[Andrew G. Doe]

I said it before a while ago. Mike has probably no clue about Brian's decease(s). Those kind of issues weren't treated as real deceases in the days they grew up. I think it took Al also a while touring with Brian to understand that Brian needs the medication to live a somewhat normal life. Mike doesn't know this. I don't know if someone explaining it to him would make a big difference. After so many decades that he saw the people around him decaying by drugs, he's probably very sensible about everything that has the form of a pill.

Your spelling is as poor as it is, in this context, confusing. I'm assuming you mean "diseases". "Deceases" means "deaths". In any case, Brian doesn't have any "diseases" in that sense. Schitzo-affective isn't a disease, it's a condition, or disorder.

As for this - "I think it took Al also a while touring with Brian to understand that Brian needs the medication to live a somewhat normal life. Mike doesn't know this" - are you not aware that Mike toured (granted increasingly intermittently) with Brian from 1976 until Brian stopped in 1996 ? Like anyone else in the band, Mike is well aware of Brian's condition and required meds.

[Cam Mott]

A petty, short sighted, self centered, insecure, conniving little dipshit of a man.

That should go on Mike's tombstone, what a summary of his actions over the years.

Didn't he mean Al?

[CenturyDeprived]

What on earth would Joe Thomas's motivation be to keep Mike from writing with Brian? And didn't he facilitate, oh, I don't know, some three Mike co-writes and one solo tune on the album?

It's difficult to imagine him being someone preventing Mike from doing anything with Brian, given that the entire reunion depended on the two guys getting along. On the other hand, I could easily see him running interference for a Brian who didn't want to collaborate with Mike in any serious way. Then, if Mike ever tried to raise it with Brian (which I somehow doubt), the latter could just blame Joe.

If this were true, and if very well may be, I can imagine hell freezing over before Mike would admit this could even be conceivably possible.

Given Brian's history, Mike (and others over the years, of course) has granted himself the ability and license to not ever take Brian's feelings/desires seriously, and to always spin things to make it seem like someone else put words in Brian's mouth. Has Brian ever worked with a collaborator as difficult and with as many demands (that increasingly grew opposing) as Mike? Perhaps VDP to a degree, but I'd say Mike would by far be the most difficult collaborator in BW's eyes, particularly as the years went by. I think that on the whole, Brian grew out of truly wanting and desiring to collaborate with Mike , but Mike has been in extreme denial of this for decades.

[Cam Mott]

What on earth would Joe Thomas's motivation be to keep Mike from writing with Brian? And didn't he facilitate, oh, I don't know, some three Mike co-writes and one solo tune on the album?

How many co-writes does Thomas have on the album ? Eleven. Thus:

Think About The Days (B. Wilson/Thomas)
That's Why God Made The Radio  (B. Wilson/Peterik/Millas/Thomas)
Isn't It Time (B. Wilson/Love/Peterik/Millas/Thomas)
Spring Vacation (B. Wilson/Love/Thomas)
The Private Life Of Bill And Sue (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Shelter (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Daybreak Over The Ocean (Love)
Beaches In Mind (B. Wilson/Love/Thomas)
Strange World (B. Wilson/Thomas)
From There To Back Again (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Pacific Coast Highway (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Summer’s Gone (B. Wilson/Bon Jovi/Thomas)

Motivation ? $$$$$$$$$$$...

No wonder Mike wants to get  in a room with just Brian.

[SMiLE Brian]

The interview rab2591 posted shows how clueless Mike is about BW's condition.

[Mendota Heights]

[Cam Mott]

What on earth would Joe Thomas's motivation be to keep Mike from writing with Brian? And didn't he facilitate, oh, I don't know, some three Mike co-writes and one solo tune on the album?

It's difficult to imagine him being someone preventing Mike from doing anything with Brian, given that the entire reunion depended on the two guys getting along. On the other hand, I could easily see him running interference for a Brian who didn't want to collaborate with Mike in any serious way. Then, if Mike ever tried to raise it with Brian (which I somehow doubt), the latter could just blame Joe.

If this were true, and if very well may be, I can imagine hell freezing over before Mike would admit this could even be conceivably possible.

Given Brian's history, Mike (and others over the years, of course) has granted himself the ability and license to not ever take Brian's feelings/desires seriously, and to always spin things to make it seem like someone else put words in Brian's mouth. Has Brian ever worked with a collaborator as difficult and with as many demands (that increasingly grew opposing) as Mike? Perhaps VDP to a degree, but I'd say Mike would by far be the most difficult collaborator in BW's eyes, particularly as the years went by. I think that on the whole, Brian grew out of truly wanting and desiring to collaborate with Mike , but Mike has been in extreme denial of this for decades.

Has Brian ever worked as much with anyone else over such a long span of time with as much success as he has with Mike? I doubt any of us have even an inkling of Brian and Mike's relationship, we just have a speculation of it.

[CenturyDeprived]

What on earth would Joe Thomas's motivation be to keep Mike from writing with Brian? And didn't he facilitate, oh, I don't know, some three Mike co-writes and one solo tune on the album?

How many co-writes does Thomas have on the album ? Eleven. Thus:

Think About The Days (B. Wilson/Thomas)
That's Why God Made The Radio  (B. Wilson/Peterik/Millas/Thomas)
Isn't It Time (B. Wilson/Love/Peterik/Millas/Thomas)
Spring Vacation (B. Wilson/Love/Thomas)
The Private Life Of Bill And Sue (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Shelter (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Daybreak Over The Ocean (Love)
Beaches In Mind (B. Wilson/Love/Thomas)
Strange World (B. Wilson/Thomas)
From There To Back Again (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Pacific Coast Highway (B. Wilson/Thomas)
Summer’s Gone (B. Wilson/Bon Jovi/Thomas)

Motivation ? $$$$$$$$$$$...

Well, to be fair, the mullet has a very high cost of upkeep.

[CenturyDeprived]

What on earth would Joe Thomas's motivation be to keep Mike from writing with Brian? And didn't he facilitate, oh, I don't know, some three Mike co-writes and one solo tune on the album?

It's difficult to imagine him being someone preventing Mike from doing anything with Brian, given that the entire reunion depended on the two guys getting along. On the other hand, I could easily see him running interference for a Brian who didn't want to collaborate with Mike in any serious way. Then, if Mike ever tried to raise it with Brian (which I somehow doubt), the latter could just blame Joe.

If this were true, and if very well may be, I can imagine hell freezing over before Mike would admit this could even be conceivably possible.

Given Brian's history, Mike (and others over the years, of course) has granted himself the ability and license to not ever take Brian's feelings/desires seriously, and to always spin things to make it seem like someone else put words in Brian's mouth. Has Brian ever worked with a collaborator as difficult and with as many demands (that increasingly grew opposing) as Mike? Perhaps VDP to a degree, but I'd say Mike would by far be the most difficult collaborator in BW's eyes, particularly as the years went by. I think that on the whole, Brian grew out of truly wanting and desiring to collaborate with Mike , but Mike has been in extreme denial of this for decades.

Has Brian ever worked as much with anyone else over such a long span of time with as much success as he has with Mike? I doubt any of us have even an inkling of Brian and Mike's relationship, we just have a speculation of it.

That's true, Cam. I'll certainly concede to that. But one thing to consider, is that people sometimes do simply outgrow working with certain other people. It does happen. You have to admit that it does happen, especially with artists - regardless if you do or don't think that applies to these guys. At the very least, I feel safe in saying that Brian may feel he's over the notion of a certain type of collaboration with Mike. People evolve. It's not inconceivable. It has been an excruciating evolution for Brian because of family ties.

Creative and personally differences do happen, and sometimes, much to Mike's dismay, they sometimes happen regardless of other outsiders' actions. I'm sure it isn't an easy pill to swallow.

[Mendota Heights]

The fact is ML of The Beach Boys can release his own album - he would then have 100 % writing credits. But a Mike album never materializes, despite his solid songwriting capabilities. The conclusion is: Mike knows he is a sup-par songwriter, still he demands to write with Brian. When this did not come about he pulled the plug on the reunion (this is one of the reasons at least). How mature is that?

You acknowledge you are not good enough. Others realize the same. You retaliate by dumping your friends and colleagues. The band did not elevate Mike high enough for his liking, they elevated Brian higher. Mike punished them and now Mike is yet again the pivotal figure in the touring version of The Beach Boys.

Mike could not compete with Brian. So he eliminated Brian. How. Mature. Is. That?

[rab2591]

What on earth would Joe Thomas's motivation be to keep Mike from writing with Brian? And didn't he facilitate, oh, I don't know, some three Mike co-writes and one solo tune on the album?

It's difficult to imagine him being someone preventing Mike from doing anything with Brian, given that the entire reunion depended on the two guys getting along. On the other hand, I could easily see him running interference for a Brian who didn't want to collaborate with Mike in any serious way. Then, if Mike ever tried to raise it with Brian (which I somehow doubt), the latter could just blame Joe.

If this were true, and if very well may be, I can imagine hell freezing over before Mike would admit this could even be conceivably possible.

Given Brian's history, Mike (and others over the years, of course) has granted himself the ability and license to not ever take Brian's feelings/desires seriously, and to always spin things to make it seem like someone else put words in Brian's mouth. Has Brian ever worked with a collaborator as difficult and with as many demands (that increasingly grew opposing) as Mike? Perhaps VDP to a degree, but I'd say Mike would by far be the most difficult collaborator in BW's eyes, particularly as the years went by. I think that on the whole, Brian grew out of truly wanting and desiring to collaborate with Mike , but Mike has been in extreme denial of this for decades.

Has Brian ever worked as much with anyone else over such a long span of time with as much success as he has with Mike? I doubt any of us have even an inkling of Brian and Mike's relationship, we just have a speculation of it.

That's true, Cam. I'll certainly concede to that. But one thing to consider, is that people sometimes do simply outgrow working with certain other people. It does happen. You have to admit that, regardless if you do or don't think that applies to these guys. At the very least, I feel safe in saying that Brian may feel he's over the notion of a certain type of collaboration with Mike. People evolve. It's not inconceivable.

Exactly! Also, Brian from the start has always tried to add different colors to his palette (Roger Christian, Gary Usher, Tony Asher, Van Dyke Parks, Jan Berry (Brian's first #1 hit), etc). He is picky about who he writes with, and how much he writes with them...If 'Beaches in Mind' is any indicator, topics can become stagnant and boring (there are only so many ways you can rhyme 'vibrations')...when they become stagnant, Brian moves on. It's not difficult to understand, from a creative perspective, why Brian would have no urge to write with Mike anymore.

[Andrew G. Doe]

The fact is ML of The Beach Boys can release his own album - he would then have 100 % writing credits. But a Mike album never materializes, despite his solid songwriting capabilities. The conclusion is: Mike knows he is a sup-par songwriter, still he demands to write with Brian. When this did not come about he pulled the plug on the reunion (this is one of the reasons at least). How mature is that?

You acknowledge you are not good enough. Others realize the same. You retaliate by dumping your friends and colleagues. The band did not elevate Mike high enough for his liking, they elevated Brian higher. Mike punished them and now Mike is yet again the pivotal figure in the touring version of The Beach Boys.

Mike could not compete with Brian. So he eliminated Brian. How. Mature. Is. That?

You know the really, really sad thing ? You actually believe that drivel. How mature is that ?

Time for me to take a break from being beset by mental midgets before I say something I'll regret.

[SMiLE Brian]

It's not drivel, it's the truth about a sad and insecure man you carry water for to keep him as a source.

[Rocker]

I said it before a while ago. Mike has probably no clue about Brian's decease(s). Those kind of issues weren't treated as real deceases in the days they grew up. I think it took Al also a while touring with Brian to understand that Brian needs the medication to live a somewhat normal life. Mike doesn't know this. I don't know if someone explaining it to him would make a big difference. After so many decades that he saw the people around him decaying by drugs, he's probably very sensible about everything that has the form of a pill.

Your spelling is as poor as it is, in this context, confusing. I'm assuming you mean "diseases". "Deceases" means "deaths". In any case, Brian doesn't have any "diseases" in that sense. Schitzo-affective isn't a disease, it's a condition, or disorder.

As for this - "I think it took Al also a while touring with Brian to understand that Brian needs the medication to live a somewhat normal life. Mike doesn't know this" - are you not aware that Mike toured (granted increasingly intermittently) with Brian from 1976 until Brian stopped in 1996 ? Like anyone else in the band, Mike is well aware of Brian's condition and required meds.

I'm sorry for my mis-spelling. It's a little late and I'm tired.


I'm talking about the after-Beach Boys touring. IIRC there were interviews around the mid 2000s where Al said the same stuff as Mike. "Brian is controlled. They don't let me talk with him". Whatever Brian got in the 70s and 80s was obviously not what he gets now. AFAIK back then everyone blamed it more or less on the drugs and after that on Landy. So, touring with him when he didn't get proper treatment and/or was indeed controlled was the only thing they knew before the Beach Boys tour in 2012 (Al obviously got a closer look in 2206/07). As I said, I just think Mike doesn't know everything about what Brian needs in terms of medication and treatment today and therefor - add the bad experiences he had to make over the years - probably sees some of it in a very sensible and probably partly wrong way.

Well, in german you'd call this a psychische Krankheit for example, which would be translated word for word as psychic disease. If there's a different expression in english, I don't know. Ain't no doctor.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

It's not drivel, it's the truth about a sad and insecure man you carry water for to keep him as a source.

You guys are pretty out of line here.

You act like Mike is in the same league as Gary Usher, or Tony Asher: GREAT lyricists, but basically hired guns/"new/temporary best friends" for Brian and quickly moved on from ....

Mike was THE first and ultimately most successful of Bran's collaborators, and he CO-FOUNDED THE DAMN BAND and has fronted the band for 50 years. All whatever songs he didn't co-write, he's usually there providing his wonderful lead or harmony or bass vocals.... No small potatoes and the guy has every right to fight for his stake in the music.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Exactly.

[rab2591]

It's not drivel, it's the truth about a sad and insecure man you carry water for to keep him as a source.

You guys are pretty out of line here.

You act like Mike is in the same league as Gary Usher, or Tony Asher: GREAT lyricists, but basically hired guns/"new/temporary best friends" for Brian and quickly moved on from ....

Mike was THE first and ultimately most successful of Bran's collaborators, and he CO-FOUNDED THE DAMN BAND and has fronted the band for 50 years. All whatever songs he didn't co-write, he's usually there providing his wonderful lead or harmony or bass vocals.... No small potatoes and the guy has every right to fight for his stake in the music.

Did I say Mike was in the same league as the lyricists I listed? No. My point was that Brian likes to stir the pot - try different things.

I'm not arguing with the FACT that Brian's working with Mike yielded the most success. I was merely stating that perhaps Brian isn't interested in Mike's artistic contributions anymore.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

It's not drivel, it's the truth about a sad and insecure man you carry water for to keep him as a source.

You guys are pretty out of line here.

You act like Mike is in the same league as Gary Usher, or Tony Asher: GREAT lyricists, but basically hired guns/"new/temporary best friends" for Brian and quickly moved on from ....

Mike was THE first and ultimately most successful of Bran's collaborators, and he CO-FOUNDED THE DAMN BAND and has fronted the band for 50 years. All whatever songs he didn't co-write, he's usually there providing his wonderful lead or harmony or bass vocals.... No small potatoes and the guy has every right to fight for his stake in the music.

Did I say Mike was in the same league as the lyricists I listed? No. My point was that Brian likes to stir the pot - try different things.

I'm not arguing with the FACT that Brian's working with Mike yielded the most success. I was merely stating that perhaps Brian isn't interested in Mike's artistic contributions anymore.

you might be right, but we've really no indicators to confirm that ....... Brian's all over the place when it comes to answering questions and it's not like he said NO when Joe Thomas told him Mike would be writing the lyrics to Beaches In Mind ..... I personally get the feeling that if Joe were to tell Brian "Hey, Mike Love will be writing all the lyrics to your next album" Brian would probably be fine with it...... Maybe being locked away in a room with Mike might not be what he wants, but Mike faxing in lyrics wouldn't bother him in the least.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

You act like Mike is in the same league as Gary Usher, or Tony Asher

And, of course, he's not. But then again, he's not in the same league as Brian Wilson either which makes the hypothetical call for "meeting in the middle" sound somewhat strange to me.