Didn't the Beach Boys play at least one, if not more, Republican conventions?  Brian was with them for at least one of them, and landed in county jail for some infraction or other. 

I'm also now remembering that Bruce has some kind of organized crime connection via his adopted family.  He even alluded to it himself at one point.  Does anyone have details on that?  Not that it has anything to do with his political leanings, at least not for certain.   

I'm pretty sure Bruce polished off a few shots before meeting those fans

You may be right.  I can't see Bruce saying anything controversial unless he's drunk or high, he's always reported to be such a people-pleaser when interacting with fans.  I'm not even sure Mike is like that unless he's had a few.  I doubt Mike was completely sober when he did the Rock Hall of Fame rant.

I'm pretty sure Mike is a Republican, and Brian has leaned that way at times.  The band was a personal friend of the Reagans.  So, no surprise there.  But I'm pretty sure Al Jardine at least leans left, between his environmentalism and his expression of compassion for people of lesser means.  So, there's always Al for those of us who are, as some on this board call us, "libtards."  (Thanks, Rethuglicans.)

The Beach Boys put those balls out in the audience.  Security pretends to be upset and take them away, but it's Brian Wilson's job at the end to release the "confiscated" (pre-planted by the band) beach balls back into the audience for the encore. 

Seriously, do you think audience members bring beach balls?  I don't.  It's a band gimmick.  I don't think it's a spontaneous thing the way people used to bring and fling paper plates at the Kinks.

John Stamos looks like he learned everything he knows about drumming from watching Ringo Starr in early Beatles' clips.

uh no.  Ringo is a musician's drummer.  Not a wannabe fanboy.

I'm talking about the way Stamos looks drumming, not how he sounds drumming. 

John Stamos looks like he learned everything he knows about drumming from watching Ringo Starr in early Beatles' clips.

Haha man this Stamos debate is hilarious. I personally don't care for the guy much & would prefer to not see him join in as much at shows, but bottom line is Stamos sells tickets. And after the music, that's what this tour is about. Selling tickets, selling meet & greet, selling soundtrack, selling merch, etc....if they have a celebrity fan/quasi-member who is willing to come play when he can (likely for free, or less than the rest of the guys are getting) it seems like simple business sense. Yeah this undermines the artistic integrity a bit, but I think if it was a heavy artistic trip we'd be seeing a few deeper cuts in the setlist, no? And to the naysayers who believe Stamos doesn't actually sell tickets.....well the Beach Boys recently announced a date in Calgary (my hometown) and I'd say 50% of the people I saw posting about the show on Facebook mentioned that they were "super excited Uncle Jesse was playing with them" or something to that effect. Yeah, they aren't hardcore fans, but they are a part of the audience at these shows. And good entertainers will put together an act that caters to all aspects of their audience

But . . . Stamos isn't touring with them.  He's appearing sporadically when the mood strikes him. Though anyone who buys a ticket expecting to get Stamos and doesn't get Stamos is getting exactly what they deserve. 

Stamos = heir apparent to Dennis Wilson.  Hey, if people can say Foskett is the new Carl . . .

It also reminds me of "Surfer Moon" (rhythm/tempo) and "Girls on the Beach" (chord progression "feel" more than similarity).

People are paying good ticket prices and don't want the show messed up with bad playing by John Stamos.  They already have two drummers.  I'm sure Coswill and Bragg get steamed having to relinquish the throne to that character.  If they want him to intro the band or sing back-up on an encore, that's okay, but he shouldn't be playing any instruments. His fans can go to a John Stamos concert at some county fair if they want to support his musical career.

I'd like to see them invite Van Dyke Parks onstage sometime and play keyboards for a song or two if they want to get into people somehow connected to the Beach Boys' career.  I know he doesn't approve of the reunion, but it would be cool.  At least the man can actually play an instrument. 

Brian had been seeing psychiatrists since 1964 when he had a nervous breakdown on a plane.  He also had been in and out of mental hospitals since 1968, including some prestigious mental hospitals, so he had been getting serious treatment.  As Brian's wife, Marilyn had to have been involved in getting him committed to hospitalization.  She also got him Dr. Landy the first time, though his family got him help the second time.  His family also had him committed a few times after he divorced Marilyn.  He saw other psychiatrists, including legit ones, besides Landy and decades before he met Melinda.

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Not trying to start an argument by any means, but how do you know this? You speak as though it is a fact. Is this based on something you read that may or not be true or can you elaborate?

Again, my reason for starting this tired subject is that I've never really known what the TRUTH is due to a lack of credible sources. 
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Interviews Brian has given over the years and bios. like most people posting here (and if you're asking a question on this board, that's all you're pretty much going to get).  Even in the transcript posted here from the LK Show, Brian mentions he had a breakdown in the mid'-60s and saw a doctor and was given medication.  All anyone knows is through bios and secondary sources.  Melinda Wilson isn't the only person who ever tried to get the guy help, and people only have her word, second-hand, in interviews where she implies his family members prior to her didn't do much to help him.  He was also in worse condition when he was married to Marilyn, but Marilyn no doubt tried the best she could.  Would Melinda have even been interested in him as he appeared in 1975, had he shown at her place of business, being 100 pounds overweight and looking and acting as he did then?  The fact she found him at least attractive enough to agree to see again, after selling him a car, is a testament to the fact that someone got him some help before he met her.

A conservatorship to handle his business affairs didn't mean anyone could force him to accept mental health treatment.  That was something he had to decide for himself.  It also didn't affect any other life decisions apart from his finances.  He was still in control of  his life, just not his money or business decisions. Melinda also wasn't his conservator until after they got married, so some judge or attorney or third party was in charge of all of that.  I'm not necessarily putting down Melinda, but give Brian some or most of the credit for being willing to subject himself to treatment and stick to it. If she's the one who found a good doctor for him, good for her, but he still had to go and do it.

I don't think the conservatorship was just over the business affairs. "A court appointed conservator over the person is responsible for managing the conservatee's placement, medical decisions, and mental health treatment." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatorship)

The third party was a guy named Jerome Billet.

Interestingly, Brian is no longer under a conservatorship. It ended a few years after his marriage, apparently.

I'd have to think the "mental health treatment" part would be trickier in the state of California due to the state law here.  That's a blanket definition for the entire United States.  Patient rights are strong here, which is part of why we have such an intractable homeless problem in cities here.  A few of those homeless people come from good backgrounds with families that could afford to help them, but the person has to want help.

It's because it cheapens the whole thing like the cheerleaders did. Full House was a make believe show. There is no Uncle Jessie and serious fans don't need any pretend Beach Boys. We have David Marks (a true Beach Boy) there for real this time around, and a huge fantastic backing band. That should be more than enough to please any crowd.

It cheapens it in your own mind. Many fans who attend (paying most of the money) these shows have no isuues whatsoever with Stamos on stage. Also, as much as I agree with Andrew on most things here, I do not understand his stand on Stamos. As an historian of the band, you of all people should understand the marketing & advertising reasons for including Stamos these past 25 years or so. For people who don't like him, that's fine, don't like him. As their history shows, The Beach Boys do what they want, when they want, and very rarely stray from what works in their concert setting. For most fans who attend these shows, John Stamos is an added attraction that helps keep future fannies in the seats. I know one thing hanging around this place; hardcore fans are never happy. There always has to be something to bitch about; Stamos. Autotune, holograms (stuff that never happened), Brian too far side stage, etc.. I love coming here and learning, sharing the love of the music, reading these concert reviews, but the constant bemoaning of the same topics in thread after thread, after thread really wears thin. I'm done ranting, sorry I steered off-track. I'm glad those of you who attended the show had a great time. Awaiting my turn in another week and a half.

Stamos is an added attraction for most people who attend these shows? Really MOST people.

FYI, Stamos came along during the dark ages of the touring Beach Boys(IMO), when they were phoning it in and putting out crap like SIP. A time when many lifelong fans like myself became disillusioned, Denny was gone and it appeared Brian would never really be back. They had cheerleaders spoiling the songs and then Stamos. He added nothing then and he adds even less now. He is no "added attraction" of any sort and has never been a marketing help. How did his appearance in the Summer of Love video help that monstrosity? If you actually think a lot of women are going to attend a 50th year celebration of one of the greatest bands ever because a third rate actor who was cute on a show 20 years ago might show up and pound on the drums then.........................

Don't forget he was "Blackie Parrish" on "General Hospital" as well, which endeared him to boomer women more than "Full House" did. But yeah, he pretty much sucks as a musician.  He's tolerable on yogurt commercials and looks good for his age, but they might as well put Fabio on drums as Stamos.

Don't forget that John is also a star of the stage in NYC, having been in "Nine" and "Cabaret."  I'm sure they enjoyed him.

No offense John, glad you got to be a part of it but PLEASE stay in NYC  and DO NOT make the trip to Mohegan Sun this weekend...PLEASE.  Him finishing Forever is like a bad dream. Um David Marks anyone...?

I understand where you're coming from, but in the moment it was a good save. Yes, I am sure David would have loved to sing that one too; his mic wasn't loud enough to be heard at that time. Stamos walked over to Mike's mic after a few lines because that was cranked louder. He did a good job and salvaged that song.

Great show! I do hope they perform together again after this tour, even if it's a couple of shows once in a while! It really is beautiful to hear those guys harmonies along with a fantastic group of musicians backing them.

Couldn't David Marks have gone over to Mike's mike?  What, is he glued to the spot?  I bet the Uncle Jesse moment was planned. 

I may be wrong... others more knowledgeable are free to chime in.  I always heard that basically until Melinda got involved, nobody had thought to get him serious treatment, she asked around and found out that UCLA (15 miles from where he's lived and worked his whole life, basically) has one of the greatest psychiatric departments in the world, she took him by and they had him feeling much better in very short order.  

She was critical of his first wife when she talked about this in an interview on Larry King, and a usually very sedate Brian piped up quickly "She didn't know!" definding Marilyn's honor 25 years after the fact.  It was incredibly fascinating to see.  

Forever my Surfer Girl Indeed.  

Brian had been seeing psychiatrists since 1964 when he had a nervous breakdown on a plane.  He also had been in and out of mental hospitals since 1968, including some prestigious mental hospitals, so he had been getting serious treatment.  As Brian's wife, Marilyn had to have been involved in getting him committed to hospitalization.  She also got him Dr. Landy the first time, though his family got him help the second time.  His family also had him committed a few times after he divorced Marilyn.  He saw other psychiatrists, including legit ones, besides Landy and decades before he met Melinda.

His failure to adhere to treatment that his first wife and family got for him was his own choice, though not unusual for people with histories of drug abuse and psychiatric problems.  In case you don't know it, people in the state of California have the right to refuse psychiatric treatment due to a law signed in 1968 by then-Governor Ronald Reagan.  It was partly to save taxpayer money by letting people free from state mental hospitals (saved taxpayer money in the short run) and also due to some believing that mentally ill people should have a basic human right to refuse hospitalization and medication if they chose.  Due to that, Brian's family were in no legal position to get him to accept mental health treatment beyond 72 hour observation commitments.  It was always up to Brian what he would accept, and his wife and family had minimal say if he didn't want to go in for treatment. Melinda is not exactly the white knight on a horse, other people tried long before he ever met her, and it was up to Brian to decide if he was ready to accept treatment.

This is true and not true. Part of getting Brian finally separated from Landy was having him declared incompetent to handle his own affairs, which means he was really no longer running his own life or making his own decisions after that point. (Of course, it could be argued that Landy had already made it impossible for BW to be independent anyway ... )

A conservatorship to handle his business affairs didn't mean anyone could force him to accept mental health treatment.  That was something he had to decide for himself.  It also didn't affect any other life decisions apart from his finances.  He was still in control of  his life, just not his money or business decisions. Melinda also wasn't his conservator until after they got married, so some judge or attorney or third party was in charge of all of that.  I'm not necessarily putting down Melinda, but give Brian some or most of the credit for being willing to subject himself to treatment and stick to it. If she's the one who found a good doctor for him, good for her, but he still had to go and do it.

Don't know about video, but here's the transcript: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0408/20/lkl.00.html

Thanks for the link. Interesting that Brian says the word "nepenthe". Maybe it was him who came up with that line for the early version of "Tears In The Morning".

What's this supposed to mean?


KING: So he takes the group out called the Beach Boys.

M. WILSON: He's got some Bruce with him...

B. WILSON: Bruce Johnston.

I just read that transcript and it sounds like Melinda was trying to minimize how much she knew about the Beach Boys. She says "some Bruce" like she didn't know his last name, and mentions that she doesn't know who the other members of the Beach Boys are.  I sort of have the feeling she knew exactly who the other Beach Boys were.  Otherwise, how would "we" (as she put it) know that Mike was the person who should get the Beach Boys touring license, and they should also sue Al in addition to denying him rights to use any name using the word Beach Boys in any band he toured with?  After all, there were nine lawsuits "we" were pressing when we married, according to Melinda, and they prevailed in all of them.  It must have limited their wedding guest list to be pressing nine lawsuits at the time of the wedding.

I may be wrong... others more knowledgeable are free to chime in.  I always heard that basically until Melinda got involved, nobody had thought to get him serious treatment, she asked around and found out that UCLA (15 miles from where he's lived and worked his whole life, basically) has one of the greatest psychiatric departments in the world, she took him by and they had him feeling much better in very short order. 

She was critical of his first wife when she talked about this in an interview on Larry King, and a usually very sedate Brian piped up quickly "She didn't know!" definding Marilyn's honor 25 years after the fact.  It was incredibly fascinating to see. 

Forever my Surfer Girl Indeed. 

Brian had been seeing psychiatrists since 1964 when he had a nervous breakdown on a plane.  He also had been in and out of mental hospitals since 1968, including some prestigious mental hospitals, so he had been getting serious treatment.  As Brian's wife, Marilyn had to have been involved in getting him committed to hospitalization.  She also got him Dr. Landy the first time, though his family got him help the second time.  His family also had him committed a few times after he divorced Marilyn.  He saw other psychiatrists, including legit ones, besides Landy and decades before he met Melinda.

His failure to adhere to treatment that his first wife and family got for him was his own choice, though not unusual for people with histories of drug abuse and psychiatric problems.  In case you don't know it, people in the state of California have the right to refuse psychiatric treatment due to a law signed in 1968 by then-Governor Ronald Reagan.  It was partly to save taxpayer money by letting people free from state mental hospitals (saved taxpayer money in the short run) and also due to some believing that mentally ill people should have a basic human right to refuse hospitalization and medication if they chose.  Due to that, Brian's family were in no legal position to get him to accept mental health treatment beyond 72 hour observation commitments.  It was always up to Brian what he would accept, and his wife and family had minimal say if he didn't want to go in for treatment. Melinda is not exactly the white knight on a horse, other people tried long before he ever met her, and it was up to Brian to decide if he was ready to accept treatment.

It's perverted. 

Maybe some of the singers here can talk about this. I'm not a singer, but I can usually sing along to a lot of BBs songs pretty well. When I try to sing along with TWGMTR, I find it somewhat hard to stay on key. I know the guys are professionals and used to singing difficult material, but at their ages and with the band playing behind them (along with the fact that this is a new song they haven't been singing for decades), maybe it's just that hard. I admire them for giving it their all, live.

I don't know much about music theory, but IMHO TWGMTR is pretty tricky, harmony-wise, with unusual chord changes and deceptive lines covering several half-notes... I love the slight sadness inherent in it, because of those cascades of half-notes.

Can anyone with more insight than yours truly bring a bit of enlightenment here?

Can it be because the lead voice that carries the melody keeps switching?  In other words, one voice that carries the melody switches to a harmony part while handing off the melody part to another lead singer and taking a harmony part in the background, and so forth.  It's also the chord progression and the way it modulates, and the types of chords used, that make it complex overall.

As much as I enjoyed the performances and the interview...watching Brian out there, looking like he REALLY didn't want to be taking part, either during the performances or interview - kinda made me feel sad (when he closed his eyes during the interview or he looked extremely uncomfortable during the performances, especially WIBN, when he was just jamming the piano keys and looking off screen). I just hope that he's in to doing the tour and promo appearances and it's not just a thing that his handlers are making him do.

Always has to be someone to pee in the Cheerios, wot?

Well, don't mean to pee in anyone's breakfast cereal, because that would just be weird. I was only mentioning a thought that perhaps Brian wasn't up for all this publicity. But hey, if he's enjoying it and it's what he wants to do, great. IMO, it just hasn't seemed like that based on what I've seen/read over the last few weeks.

Just kidding (re cereal comment).  Brian never looks very comfortable out there, yet he's been doing solo shows and now these shows for over ten years.  I thought he looked really comfortable and relaxed, for him, the most relaxed I've seen him on TV.  Comparatively speaking.

As much as I enjoyed the performances and the interview...watching Brian out there, looking like he REALLY didn't want to be taking part, either during the performances or interview - kinda made me feel sad (when he closed his eyes during the interview or he looked extremely uncomfortable during the performances, especially WIBN, when he was just jamming the piano keys and looking off screen). I just hope that he's in to doing the tour and promo appearances and it's not just a thing that his handlers are making him do.

Always has to be someone to pee in the Cheerios, wot?

I sure would like to know the percentage of posters who never had and raised a daughter, who dislike the song, or otherwise just don't get it.

Please, please tell me that you haven't ever said to any daughter you've had "I'm going to teach you to kiss"... if that song is about a father/daughter relationship, it becomes roughly 10,000 times creepier than it already was (though still not as creepy as Lazy Lizzie).

or really, it's probably just brian writing songs as if he's still 19, which is very likely how he saw himself as he's writing them.
\Really I get so sick of people calling him to task for writing songs from a youthful perspective. That's where his head is/was at.
Of course if Brian told you personally that he was trying to write from the POV of a pervert, then I bow to your knowledge; but since he never did, you should all let it go.

This is an old topic, it's been brought up before, it's no big deal. i"m not sure why some people get so offended over things that are fair game to discuss.  It was in bad taste to write song lyrics about pubescent girls, which "Hey Little, Tomboy" and "Lazy Lizzie" are about, even from the perspective of a 19 year old.  Only one was officially released, but that means the other Beach Boys were guilty of allowing the song to be put on record. 

I sure would like to know the percentage of posters who never had and raised a daughter, who dislike the song, or otherwise just don't get it.

I think you're defending it?  I'd say in the context of being about a daughter, it might be cute, but there's an overall pattern that makes it uncomfortable, and if it's not about a non-related underage girl, it's about taking an unhealthy prurient interest in his daughter's maturation (not to mention the kiss line, ick). I know I've read people defend "I Want To Pick You Up," saying it's a sweet song about a father wanting his child to stay small her whole life.  But if you've ever read the "Rolling Stone" interview from around that time, the song is about a guy who wants a really tiny grown-up girlfriend (and wants to be able to bottlefeed her and spank her).  Those songs added to "Lazy Lizzie" are a little unsettling.

I suppose with Brian you can just put it down to naive innocence - however, when Dennis sings on Schoolgirl about picking up a youngster from school you know damn well what his intentions are, the filthy old stoat!

Brian did the schoolgirl pick-up topic with "Lazy Lizzie," though I don't think that song went beyond his own demo.