The Smiley Smile Message Board

Just got around to watching the whole thing the other day, and I didn't see Nicky Wonder anywhere onstage...maybe it was too early in the AM for him?  :) 

he hasn't been at a few shows.

He seems to not be on the tour anymore, period.

So, was it Nicky the -ahem- ungrateful unidentified band member reported by RS?

Actually, he's been having health issues from what I hear.

Didn't a band member recently say that not all the guitar players were even plugged in on stage?  If that is the case, perhaps it isn't a coincidence that Nicky isn't on the tour anymore.  Just my speculation.

That's a shame...first Alan Boyd, now Nicky Wonder...hope he gets well!

 :o

If that's the case, here's for a speedy recovery and may God bless him.

Why would a backing band member (a.k.a. the guys who carry much of the musical weight) not be plugged in? I doubt there's a non-BB there who's just along for the ride. All of those guys have their duties to make the BBs shows sound good. If an instrument isn't plugged in, it's 'played' by a BB. Because those 5 guys are mainly there to sing... and to be present and recognizable as BBs.

I hope he is alright but it does beg one question - with him in the line-up they have as many as six guitarists on stage.

Isn't that overkill?

Wha--?  Then what's the point of them being on stage?  That can't be true.

probably Al, Jeff, and Probyn. Al isn't very good at guitar but has to play it to look respectable. Jeff is there for his voice, and Probyn's there for his horn parts / theremin, and to play bass when D'amico is playing drums.

Probyn is heard quite often in the show.  Take a look at this clip from Bonnaroo, during "Surfin' USA"...Probyn is clearly audible.  A nice clear fill is heard at 4:53 and then right at the 4:59 mark Probyn inserts the "Help Me Rhonda" lick right in that break--hiliarious.  Look at Mickey perk his ears and let out a big laugh while they both share a chuckle.  He's also the one that ends the tune with that Chuck Berry style lick at the end.

http://youtu.be/U7sObzLfrwQ?t=4m53s

And a quick check at a "Help Me Rhonda" performance shows that Probyn is the one doing the riff throughout the song.  

http://youtu.be/U7sObzLfrwQ?t=4m53s


EDIT: Actually, after looking at the "Help Me Rhonda" video I see that Probyn seemed to have added just one too many little riffs throughout the song. Take a look at 1:37...he starts dropping the riff here and there and it catches Totten's attention (see him turn his head).  By the time we get into the sax solo, Probyn playfully drops a few more and at 1:58 Totten walks over to him, shaking his head.  Did he scold Probyn for fooling around? :lol   Now the "Surfin' USA" video makes total sense! Probyn was actually trying to (playfully?) irk Totten by adding the "Help Me Rhonda" riff into "Surfin' USA" ...oh that's hilarious.   :lol

Say what you will about Al's guitar playing, but when he joined Brian's tour in 2006, he nailed the "Dance, Dance, Dance" guitar solo.

Probyn is a SUPERB guitarist - you might recall when BW & band played in the UK at the Queen's 50th celebration back in 2002 it was Probyn that Eric Clapton sought out to compliment on his (Probyn's)  guitar playing.

Also, IIRC Nick has had some kidney stone issues in the past - he missed an Australian swing with BW a few years ago from them. If that's acting up again I guarantee he needed to get home and get treatment. That's some incredible pain!!

I suspect that when Nick was on the tour, Jeff and Al were turned down much of the time. I did notice in Bangor, without Nick, that Jeff's guitar was audible much of the time. (And he's an entirely competent rhythm guitarist.)

I asked someone in the band recently if Nick was still on the tour and he told me that he was home taking care of medical issues that he tried to address before the tour. But Nick is planning on returning soon.

Jeff plays the mandolin during the introduction to Disney Girls, as well, so he does that too.