The Smiley Smile Message Board

I have a question for the esteemed members of this forum, whom have seen the Beach Boys live before.

I am going to the Oslo show (July 31) with some mates, and we are wondering; should we expect a possibility to get photos and/or autographes from and with the band?

It's very possible, if you're lucky enough to run into them

I once got Brians autograph by asking a roadie if he would mind (very nicely) seeing if Brian might sign something for me during the break ( I had a bass player magazine with him on the cover), later that night, I was lucky to get most of his bands on that same cover. Naturally I have it framed now. ;D

There's a brief window after the concert where you could try and head them off before they hop in the bus or whatever. I still doubt they'd sign anything though. After the Berkeley show, Brian was the first on the bus to leave with Mike falling behind him. I shook Mike's hand before he boarded and waved to Brian in the bus and then decided to leave. Somebody else tried to get Mike to sign something, but he just motioned "nah" with his hand. But he was kind enough to say hi and shake some fans' hands for free which is a surprise given how much they charge for the damn meet and greet's...

Brian's meet & greets were terrific… free of charge, done for fans, handshakes, autographs, and chilling with band members.

I recall those esp after the UK RFH SMiLE shows especially – I got all the band's autographs on a prog, along with Brian and Van Dyke Parks, and Nicky Wonder wrote out the (new-to-us) lyrics to Holidays on it for me. It's currently in a bank vault in Langcliffe's bullion store (along with Bruce Johnston's Heroes acetate).

Every time I think of the meet & greets being offered now, I think of those in 2004 and I think about the two kids I have to feed and I reconsider the cheap seats!

So I tried something a bit different with autographs for this tour... and it actually paid off!

I did the VIP for their Boston show and made 5 copies of the meet & greet picture on photo paper. I then sent the photo to five venues that they'd be playing later on the tour. Many venues do not pass on mail to artists, so I decided to send a few to be safe. Today I received this in the mail:

(http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5192/beachboys2.jpg)

Brian's signature is one of the worst I've seen, but I'm just shocked I received anything back! The envelope did not have a return address, so I don't know which one was the lucky venue. Part of me now wonders if I'll receive additional copies, haha.

Wow! What a fantastic idea! That's brilliant! You deserve that.

Bruce needs to wear pants!  ::)

You might want to check the merchandise stand to see if they have autographed programs. All five autographs on the cover of the program was $100 U.S. dollars. They were available at some of the shows and not at others. David Marks and Al Jardine had autographed copies of their CDs available for purchase, too.

I attended the Pittsburgh, PA show and didn't leave the theater until the crowd moved out. I talked with a few fans and then left the theater and passed the stage door on Liberty Avenue. There was a shuttle bus waiting for the band. Brian was already on the bus in the front seat next to the door which has been reported in other threads here on the board. I was able to stand next to the shuttle bus door and see Brian up close. He looked a bit tired but OK. I think Jeff was sitting a few seats back. Al was apparently already on the bus.

There was a fairly large crowd assembled, waiting for autographs. Someone called for David and he came off the bus to sign some autographs. I had a Japan mini-lp of Pet Sounds that I had David sign. I smiled and he kind of smiled and I said 'You weren't there then (with Pet Sounds) but you're here now'. Had I known I would see David I would have brought a copy of his book 'The Lost Beach Boy'!! Shamelessly I asked David if Brian could sign the Pet Sounds CD but He politely said "I don't think he's signing' or something. (Once in a lifetime chance, I had to ask!) David was very kind. Again, I wish I brought his book along!

Mike and Bruce came out of the stage door next. They got a nice response from the crowd. Security backed off as Mike and Bruce began signing and talking to the fans. I was able to get both of their autographs on my Pet Sounds CD. My impression was that they were really enjoying themselves. A small group of us waived goodbye at the shuttle bus at they drove away. The band, including Mike, waived back.

If I never see the entire band live in concert again I guess that's alright. The concert was great in Pittsburgh and I feel fortunate I was able to meet Mike, Bruce, and David and get their autographs. I'll never forget that night.

I think you should try to meet them if you can. If they weren't signing later in the tour it could be that they were tired. Good luck and enjoy the show!