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Not sure if this is just was cherry picked from earlier statements to the press but in a recent (7-31) piece promoting a M&B show in Oakland, Mike Love had the following to say about the end of the C50 and the potential for more C50 type activities.  My apologies in advance if this has been posted before elsewhere:

Mike Love on the C50, the length and duration of the the tour:

“It was always to be (just for) the 50th anniversary,” explains Love, 72. “We started off with the agreement to do 50 shows in honor of the 50 years, but then it expanded into about 73, I believe, and I have talked to various promoters who’ve said ‘Hey, this is really great. You guys sold out, and it would be good to have you back in a couple of years.’

Mike Love on problems encountered on the C50 tour

“The amount of production and the amount of band members on stage and everything was just not the kind of thing that can continue on ad infinitum. There are many, many venues that can’t even afford the cost of the band and the production and all that kind of stuff. So by doing that kind of tour, with that many people and that expensive, it kind of precludes you from doing a lot of these places we’ve always enjoyed doing.

“So those are a couple of the reasons why — in addition to the fact we agreed to do X amount of dates — we’re back to doing how we do things or how we’ve done things for a decade and a half.”

Mike Love on the possibility of future C50 type activities

“Only if I can do it with people who I trust and like and are honorable,” Love says. “It was great to be in the studio again and listen to those harmonies coming back, but I had serious issues with the people who were running everything. I have no problem with just Brian and I in a room together with a piano, writing music, but unfortunately it’s not that uncomplicated, so I can’t promise anything right now other than doing this show that we know people love and come out to see every summer.”

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2013/07/31/entertainment/doc51f82da0e9133216293773.txt#photo1

So can this shut up everybody that makes it seem like Mike wants things to continue??

And also, seems like he's either taking shots at Melinda or Joe Thomas. And if it is Joe Thomas, that makes it especially amusing. Since ya know, he's the guy that brought him into The Beach Boys camp in the first place.

How did Mike come to be associated with Joe Thomas in the first place btw?

I think a lot of people have had issues with Brian's Melanagement. Mike is not alone. No reading between the lines is necessary here. Yet again its a battle for who controls Brian. Poor guy.

Melandyment? :P

Me likey.

Huh. I had speculated a lot of this was the case for some time. It feels odd to say considering things like this, from him, are usually a mixed bag of spot-on and not-so-spot-on, but what he says totally makes sense here and I agree with him 100% how it's stupid/really sad that cousins can't get together around a piano and just have fun writing music like they used to. It should be simpler than that, y'know?

Valid point runners, but isn't it quite possible that Brian says to Melinda, "...hey I really like being in The Beach Boys again, but I don't know if I wanna be alone with Mike. He still kinda scares me."

So then you have Melinda and Joe running interference because that's what Brian wants. Let's not forget that this is a guy who really doesn't do confrontation too well.

But yeah, at the end of the day I can't imagine that it would be impossible to get Brian and Mike together once in a while to write a few tunes together, and therefore continue the real Beach Boys. Obviously Beach Boys studio work is more likely to sell a bit more than Brian Wilson solo studio work, and they would obviously get more press if they continue putting out more material with Brian.

However, the touring band thing also seems to stick in Mike's craw. Which I can understand to an extent. But at the same time, they are The Beach Boys. They're not The Coasters. They're not Jan & Dean. Shoot, their not even Three Dog Night. They are undisputedly at the top-tier of rock 'n roll groups, with groups like The Beatles and the Stones. Therefore, I think if the group's music calls for a bigger band, then they should have a bigger band. The music deserves it. If that means they can't play the Bumfuck County Fair, so be it. And if Mike Love still wants to play the Bumfuck County Fair, he can bring his Endless Summer Maharishi Beach Band there and they could play all the hits there.

So yeah, Mike obviously would once again have to give some things up if he reunited with the group, which I doubt. And obviously so would Brian. Maybe Mike would have to get a few more co-writes. Or maybe they'd have to lose a few band members. Overall, all of this makes it painfully obvious that putting C50 together wasn't as easy as it seemed.

Not meaning to bash Mike, who I like and who I think is a talented guy, but :

The Beach Boys have never been about Brian and Mike sitting in a room around a piano writing songs. Mike has always been just one of Brian's many lyricists. In fact, in arguably the band's 2 greatest albums (Pet Sounds and Smile), Mike makes only minimal creative contributions.

From all of Mike's recent comments, I get the sense that in his mind Wilson/Love = Lennon/McCartney or Jagger/Richards, songwriting duos made up of 2 equal partners, and for the Beach Boys to continue as a recording act Mike needs to have an equal voice and equal input into the making of the album -- something he's never had historically.

And why is Mike insisting on only he and Brian writing together? Al wrote a lot of songs with Brian, and wrote a lot of songs with Mike too for that matter.

TWGMTR will be the last Beach Boys lp. Maybe that's as it should be, going out on a high.

I just don't know how that goes togetehr with all the offers they already had, like the Madison Square Garden (on new year's eve iirc).







I basically agree with this. Mike has done a lot for the band and was a very important factor for the succes it had. But it never was that much of a real songwriting team as Leiber/Stoller etc.

Plus yeah, what if Brian just doesn't want to write with Mike? I asked this before. It's not like Mike pitched himsef as a great candidate on TWGMTR.
On the other hand he worked with David on one of his songs so why not work on on that? And "Daybreak" shows that there might also be some cool Mike solo songs hidden.

All in all I'd say his ego is still as big as it's been since at least the 70s when he started thinking he was the Beach Boys.

Classic.

If Brian needs interference run to deal with Mike on tour, then I have no problem with the tour ending. To me, that is no way to have a good band dynamic. The thing that gets me though, is why if the issue is just Brian, then what is the issue with Al and David? There has always been more here than meets the eye. While all put aside their grudges for the C50 Tour, I think that is all that happened; they were just put aside, not ended. The writing issue is just one of probably many that went down during the reunion. JMHO!

"Endless Summer Maharishi Beach Band"??? Sweetdude, that's a classic!! :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

I believe you brought this up before and your answer could lie in a few different possibilities for lack of a better word.  The first being quite simple and that is Al Jardine and David Marks are more willing to acquiesce to the needs/requests/demands of Brian's management in a way that Mike Love isn't.  Mike Love is like anybody else really, he has different things that no doubt push his buttons and maybe there is something about Brian's management that goes against his grain.  Whatever this issue is it could only pertain to Mike Love and not affect Al Jardine or David Marks at all.

A second theory could be that Al Jardine and David Marks don't exactly have the "fallback plan" (if you want to look at it that way) that Mike Love has from a career path standpoint.  Mike Love has the rights to tour as "The Beach Boys" and has proven himself capable of drawing an audience to his shows.  Therefore he has a legitimate "Plan B" to enact if Cousin Brian and his management don't want to play ball with him.  Al Jardine and David Marks don't have those options.  As someone else has stated when it comes to "The Beach Boys" they are closer to being employees than employers and while they do add much to whatever presentation they choose to be a part of, neither would be able to draw without Wilson or Love at least not at appreciable numbers.

agreed.... :lol :lol :lol

When the 1995 Wilson/Was Beach Boys sessions stopped, it was Mike Love who came up with the entire "Stars and Stripes" concept and album and got the deal with River North Records in Chicago, which was Joe Thomas' label.  Thomas ran the production, produced the album with Brian, etc.,  Love is the guy who introduced Joe Thomas to Brian Wilson in the first place with the entire S&S debacle.

So can I check the timeline because this is something I am still not clear on... Does it run as follows:

Wilson/Paley sessions
Beach Boys/Was sessions
Stars and Stripes
Discussions with Sean O`Hagan about possible V2 album
Imagination

That timeline is right. The BB's hoped that S&S would be an impetus to work with Brian on an album of new material (backward right? because that's what was shelved with Don Was in order to do S&S).  Joe Thomas and River North were viewed as a temporary vehicle to get Brian to that new album. Virgin's then new label V2 was all hot to sign them and wanted Sean O'Hagan (who was signed to Virgin with the High Llamas) to work with Brian to produce them. Apparently the group was initially in agreement to use O'Hagan, with Johnston even picking him up at the airport and coaching him on how to present himself to the group.  Right from the outset neither Mike nor Brian cared for him, to say the least.  Eventually, Brian decided he wanted to work with Joe Thomas on a solo album and Love's strategy/decision will live on in infamy.

I suppose the success or failure of the next BW solo album will affect whether the BBs work together again.

It's funny how given enough time, more and more kernels of information come out and we can get a more nuanced description of what really went down. Even though I have my confirmed biases, I don't have a problem with Mike being more specific over the 'issues' with C50.

At the end of the day, we were only talking about a few BIG shows Stateside right? (I'm thinking MSG and such), and I never heard any talk about another full scale tour. Apart from those of us lucky enough to live around NYC, we probably wouldn't have even seen those shows (ditto if international C50 shows were on the docket). The real bummer here is the whole Joe Thomas / studio thing; another series of well received BIG shows would've upped the ante on another studio album, which would have led to further big shows (after all, you have to promote the album), and you now find yourself on a moving sidewalk that you can't get off.

Happy compromise - two big end of year shows in MSG, South America or whatever international carrots were being dangled, and one more album. And that's it. But of course, it isn't easy like that. Shame that the studio dynamic is the lynchpin that holds it all together (or blows it all apart).

I think your proposed compromise  sounds about right for what a lot of us had hoped remained.  The BIG shows you allude to that I heard were left on table included MSG, Wrigley Field in Chicago and a return to the Hollywood Bowl.

Beautiful moment with autistic fan, + 1000 points.

Introducing Joe Thomas to Brian, - 1000,000,000, points[/i]

I doubt it. Brian's new LP will probably sell as 'well' as all the other ones after BWPS but it won't alter the status quo.

Shut up who? Who says Mike wants things to continue except himself? Strange how you sometimes say things that sound so - hm - how to say it - "Brianista" (can't think of a better word) although I know you really aren't one at all. You said it best yourself:


That's what I call a balanced view. On the spot IMO.

Some more quotes from Mike Love dated 7-25-13 while promoting a M&B show in New Jersey:

Mike Love on the C50 tour last year:

"It was amazing, the demand was huge. We went to Australia, Japan and Europe. It was incredibly cool. It was great to be back with cousin Brian. We sounded great.”

Mike Love on chemistry with Brian Wilson

Brian has his band and we’re doing our thing. I’m looking at the good. The chemistry I had with Brian was back last year. It was just like it was when we were kids growing up together. I’m just pleased that we had the opportunity to work with each other last year because it’s never easy with Brian. There are always obstacles.

Mike Love on working with Brian Wilson in the future

I would love to write another song or two or five with Brian.  We have that connection. We’ll have to see what happens in the future. There’s hope but for right now we’re going out without him and like we’ve done in the past, we’re making the best of things. We’re headed back to New Jersey."

Mike Love on sixties competition with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones

"I just love those songs (in reference to several classic Beach Boys hits).  They take me back to when we recorded them. The great thing is that they still stand up today. It takes me back to 1966 when we were the No. 1 group in England, ahead of The Beatles and Rolling Stones."

Mike Love on returning to New Jersey

"It always amazed me how much we loved playing the East Coast because we’re West Coast guys. But the energy back there is amazing. We’ll always come back to New Jersey. They have beaches there.”

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20130725/NJENT/307250045/Beach-Boys-play-Ocean-Grove?nclick_check=1

* This article also paints the post C50 events as if Brian Wilson left the band of his own accord.  Just some forewarning.

When the BBs embarked on the C50 tour, didn't some of the guys in Mike's touring band get aced out?  I imagine there are some tough decisions on who gets to work and who doesn't when you combine the BW band and the Beach Boys band for a long tour like the C50.  Seems like Mike wants a stripped down backing band to save money and more moola.  Can't blame him.

Nothing seems to leak about what the real Melinda is like and what she did during the C50 tour.  I am interested in the dynamics of all that.

Will the Mark Lindsey song be on the BW solo album?

Just Randell Kirsch and Christian Love. Everyone else had some role in the C50 tour, and Christian showed up at a few dates as part of California Saga.

Still baffled that Christian Love and Matt Jardine were passed over for the C50 tour. Just, what the f***, guys.

Christian turned down a role in C50. Dude is a lazy enough singer with M&B.

. . and having Matt Jardine there would have been kind of redundant in that specific C50 configuration of onstage musicians.

He might not have needed to play a(nother) guitar but vocally I'd rather hear his falsetto than Jeff's.  Still, it turned out okay :D

No Jeff - no Brian. So Jeff would have been there (onstage) in any case. That alone renders Matt Jardine rather "useless" from the outset. I don't say it wouldn't have been cool to see him there, given his history with the band and everything, but there simply wasn't a place for him. The touring band was big enough to begin with (causing some principals to have an actual problem with it) - stringing along your children just for old time's sake wouldn't have made much sense. That being said, I don't really see Christian Love doing much there, either. Maybe take a couple of lead vocals - on Carl's stuff, for example.. Maybe that was before they decided to go with the video screen. Who knows..

I know nothing... but my gist of it has always been, Mike's kind of an ass, Al and David are both kind of sweethearts and they probably don't really like Mike.  I think Mike genuinely hates Al for whatever reason.  Mike CANT hate Brian because Brian's the whole fuckin' show... plus they're family.  Mike has no reason to want to work with Al or David, if they want to tag along fine but he doesn't need them to do what he does.  He doesn't need Bruce either but Bruce is the older equivalent of Stamos, he's rich, has chicks, and in Bruce's case has talent, doesn't get in the way, does whatever Mike says and just wants to be along for the ride.

David and Al actually aren't going to put up with any bullshit, if Mike does something they don't like they'd both walk.  Mike knows this and doesn't work with them, again, because he doesn't need to.  



I think the whoooooooole secret to this 50th anniversary thing is that Mike is very comfortable with his own band.  He makes good money, everybody gets along, he doesn't have to pay anybody anything over scale, he likes all of them, they're his friends.  He's probably very loyal to his bandmates, people I don't even know the names of.  Him and 5 or 6 guys tour around, have a good time, do some shows, hang out at Casinos, and this is what Mike likes to do.  When he does the big tour with Brian and co, Brian's the bigshot, Brian makes the calls, Brian's people have just as much pull as Brian does... it's just not as comfortable for Mike, and in the meanwhile... his 5 or 6 buddies in his band?  They're sitting at home worrying how they're going to pay for their kids school clothes.  


I think the secret and happy solution here would be to RECORD with Mike and Brian's band, and let they all tour seperately.  Mike wants to tour with his guys, Brian wants to tour with his guys, and I'd bet money Brian wouldn't mind working in the studio with anybody, Mike included.

So just make a Beach Boys album, but have them do the tours the way they're doing them now.  Everybody stays happy.  



I feel to understand all this, you have to think about the parties involved, namely Brian and Mike are the problem.  Mike has his faults, which I just outlined above (he wants all the money... he wants to be in charge... he wants his band to get paid, etc.).  You have to understand that this is who he is.  Nothing will change any of this.

Brian similarly has his faults.  He lets his wife run his life.... this is not a bad thing necessarily, certainly somebody needs to do it.  That's just who he is!  We all know this.  So of course he lets Melinda make big, big decisions, and thank god he has somebody that genuinely loves him to make thos decisions or he'd probably be gone by now.  Brian has an entourage.  He's not going to do sh*t unless he has about 10 people he knows and trusts on tour with him.  He's just not.

So which is worse, Mike wanting to be in charge, or Brian wanting his 10 buddies on tour with him?  Neither is worse.  They're just both big names who have the right to do things the way they want to do them.  It's understandable to me that it's hard for them to both agree on a huge tour. 

I heard what you're sayin' Ron, and them all recording as The Beach Boys still to me seems entirely sensible. However, maybe in a year like this where the don't have an album out, not touring together would be ok. But if they had a brand new album out, don't you think Capitol would went them to push it with the entire group? So they'd probably have to tour at least a little bit together, and apparently even the thought of this makes Mike shudder. So what are they to do? Seems like the answer is that Brian records and tours with Al and Dave, while Mike and Bruce do their thing, and unfortunately neither crosses the other's path.

I agree it would be very unusual, but hell they're the Beach Boys.  That's (in my opinion) the only way this is going to work in the future... Capitol may be unwilling to do that, however. 

I think what makes this situation different from other bands and their situation, is the whole 'license the name' thing that Mike is able to do. 

If the Stones fight, Keith Richards can't go use the Stones name.  So he has to kiss Mick's ass and they do a Stones tour. 

If the guys from Van Halen fight, they can't tour with the name.  If the guys from the Eagles fight, they can't tour with the name.  None of these people can make a go of it as a solo act with any where near the success they have as a group.

In Mike's case, in any other band, he would just do what Brian wants to do and grit his teeth.  Since he has the ability to tour AS the band without any of the other members, though, he doesn't have to do anything at all that he doesn't want to do.  So he has a pretty good out... to get him involved with anything, you're going to have to please him, AND please Brian or either one of them will just as soon tour on their own. 

No other major band can do that effectively; Brian doesn't make as much touring solo but he doesn't really care about the money.  Mike cares about the money but can almost match it with his stripped down show since he has the name. 

it's a unique situation and I hope that they can get together and record, even if it means touring seperately.

I wanted to bump this again because I just realized that there could be some interesting subtext going on in one of Mike Love's quotes if we allow ourselves to read between the lines:


Does anyone else take this as meaning that at some point(s) prior to the C50, Mike Love attempted to collaborate with his cousin and was rebuffed?  Could have Mike Love been making overtures towards working with Wilson for awhile now only to be rebuffed each time out?  Could this in some way equate as to why the C50 wasn't exactly an all around pleasurable experience for Mike Love, as although he was finally granted his wish of working with his cousin he just as soon discovered that there were going to be a number of obstacles and provisos put in place before any work with Brian Wilson took place?

I continue to read comments from Mike that there needs to be a gap of time before another "reunion tour" can happen so demand for tickets will be strong.  Surely I'm not the only one to pick up on this?

This has me thinking;   big reunion for a BeachBoys farewell tour sometime in the not too distant future........

That is exactly what it means. Mike was allowed , in the studio, to add lyrics to songs that JT was producing that needed some input, but he never got to compose alone freely and anew with Brian. It's BW that needs to step up, free himself of Melinda's control, embrace Mike, write another KMB and make a new BB album. Anything short of the BB being together is a form of hell for the Professor and also for each of them too, as is clear from all they say, Jeff Beck and all that forced falderal aside.

And yet, despite being so contained and controlled, M and B wrote a great tune. The BB capital screwed up in not releasing SV as a pre-summer single. Despite restrictions, they wrote a great song together that did not get promoted properly.  Anyone who does not love that song has never driven PCH with it blaring. Where is Bean Bag; he understands. Help me Bag.

KMB?

Kiss Me Baby... ;)

I don't think Mike has creativity left to approach songs like that.

Okay so I need to fly to California and drive on the Pacific Coast Highway... anything else I need to do to enjoy this song?

I usually don't get involved in these disparaging types of things because I try to see all sides of the situation, but I really want to say that I find the "Melinda"  and "Wifeandmanagers" labels to be insulting to Melinda, Brian, Jeff, the band, and everyone who are trying to support Brian and help him stay happy and productive. From all accounts, Melinda acts on Brain's behalf with his good in mind. She is a strong woman, yes. You would have to be, to be married to someone with Brian's issues. She is someone who has to make the tough decisions (possibly because Brian won't) and some of her decisions might make it harder for Mike to pretend it's still 1962 and write surfing songs with his cousin (which, in my mind, is just a convenient excuse).   Apparently Brian wants or needs her to run interference for him, so she does. To equate someone who genuinely cares for Brian and is taking a strong position for his good to the manipulative, grasping, self-serving and Brian damaging piece of crap that Landy was, is just a major injustice, to me.

Whatever support system Brian needs, he currently has. The evidence that it's working is his solo career, tours, a long and difficult Beach Boys reunion tour that he actually enjoyed doing, a number 3 charting album, and his current burst of creativity in the studio. If supporting him at that level means that Mike can't  churn out a hook in 5 minutes in the studio parking lot, then so be it.

Great post Cyncie, BW's support system gets a lot of crap these days.  But look at how productive he has been from 1998 onwards with it in place.

That insinuates that Brian does have an issue writing or being around Mike if Melinda, management, or Joe Thomas have/had to run interference for Brian. Having multiple management involved within one band usually does not go well, with each looking out for their client's best interests. Just look to the "Firing" fiasco as an example.

Well, that's not my insinuation.  It's the point that seems to be made by Mike and everyone else: that other people are keeping Brian from writing with Mike.  If they are, then, in some way, Brian has allowed it by giving them that control. It's just possible Brian doesn't want to write with Mike. Period.  In that case, we have what we have. But, since Brian's not been in a one on one writing situation with Mike in a very long time, I tend to see that as Mike's exercise in damage control. See, he had good reason to reject all those other opportunities. If "the others" would just get out of the way, it would all be cool.

In one of Mike's other interviews, I got the impression that the real problem was with the production company, read Joe Thomas. That's why this sudden villainization of Melinda seems unwarranted. I'm just a strong woman standing up for another strong woman.

Good post, Cyncie.  On the money, honey!   ;D

So well said.  +10 to the 10th power. :woot

Or both can happen, Brian's support and Mike's support. I agree with you on the disparaging of Melinda.

I totally agree with you about how insulting the "Melinda" and "wifeandmanagers" thing is. Yeah sure, it does seem as though Melinda plays a big role in Brian's career. But we should note I've never heard him say in an interview how he couldn't stand how she was treating him or anything like that.

Well it's unfortunate to say the least which is where I'll begin.  It's unfortunate that Brian Wilson in the sixties was unable to get the help he needed, at the time he needed it which may have prevented some of the complications that have plagued his life in comparison with others.  It's unfortunate that Melinda Wilson gets disparaged for merely acting in her husband's best interests and for all we know with his blessing.  I know that Brian Wilson has gone on record that without Melinda, he probably wouldn't have ever toured again so obviously Beach Boys and Brian Wilson fans owe Melinda Wilson a debt of gratitude on that front and probably all other fronts which encompass the professional side of Brian Wilson's life.

It's unfortunate that Mike Love can't or is unable to find a comfort zone with his cousin after all of these years where they can enjoy both working with each other professionally and enjoying the company of one another as family members.  It's obvious from almost every quote that I have ever read from Mike Love regarding Brian Wilson that he has nothing but affection for his cousin and although we can tear strips off Mike Love for a million different things, one thing I've always respected him for is his honesty.  Therefore I have no doubt that he ran into complications of some degree last year in working with Brian Wilson and that is the reason why The Beach Boys aren't together anymore.  That too is obviously unfortunate for the band and their fans.

The bright side?  Well as Mike Love himself said, Brian Wilson has his band and M&B are out doing their thing as well.  Both groups are drawing audiences, making money and carrying on the legacy of the band in their own separate way.  They also have that handsome box set that is going to be released in a few weeks time which will no doubt bring about all different types of emotions from the fanbase.  The word: bittersweet perhaps is the best way to describe the temperature of the room right now.

Well said! I think you are right on the mark, here.

I respect Mike's wish to write with Brian again. 1962-65 produced so many Wilson/Love classics, Brian and Mike are now in their 70s, time is fleeting -- I imagine Mike must feel the pull of nostalgia, the temptation of one last batch of co-written songs to add to the canon and to close the circle.

Despite Mike's rep as the crass extrovert and Brian's as the sensitive introvert, I get the impression that Mike has always been the more nostalgic one, looking back with longing to the early glory years (Do it Again). So, I understand why Mike would want to write with Brian -- really co-write, not be assigned (for reasons more political than creative) to just add some lines to an already mostly written song.

But why would Brian want to write with Mike? Why would Brian think that Mike still had anything creative to bring to the table? What evidence has Mike given him, or anyone?

I believe Brian praises Mike's lyrics and abilities, so he apparently brings something to the table as much or more as any of Brian's one/few off co-authors of the past and present have for Brian. Brian is also the one who has been telling Mike he wants them to work together. It looks to me like Mike has good reason to wonder/blame somebody for preventing what Brian tells him he wants.

I agree with much of what you say, here. I'm not trying to imply that Mike doesn't care for Brian and isn't genuine in his wishes. My main purpose was to counter some of the unwarranted negativism that Melinda seems to be subject to. I do feel that, when asked about certain types of situations, Mike is very good at finding a glib answer, especially when the subject is Cousin Brian.  Over the years, he has become very adept at skirting around the 500 pound gorilla of Brian's mental illness, time and again. When he is asked what happened to The Beach Boys after SMiLE, his standard reply is, "the Wilson's were on drugs. I wasn't."  And, while that is certainly the truth, it's a bit too convenient and simplistic to blame everything on drugs and ignore years of abuse, mental illness, band and recording company pressures and dysfunctional family relationships. When asked about the current situation, his quick response is that he loves Brian (certainly true), and would work with him again (also probably true), if "the others" would get out of the way (ignoring the gorilla, since "the others" are part of Brian's support system).  Maybe he finds it all just a bit too difficult.

As I said in another discussion, my perception is that there is a new reality for The Beach Boys. One reality is that  the music biz is more complicated than it was in 1963 and everyone has a lawyer and representation. Including Mike, I'm sure. 2013 is not 1962, no matter how much any of them would like it to be. Maybe Mike truly feels that he and Brian could turn out some new pop masterpieces, if he didn't have to deal with all the middle men. But, I'm sure Mike has set up his own legal gauntlet that Brian's people get to run. It is certainly too bad that two cousins can't just sit down and write, but business is business.

At any rate, the Brian Wilson currently recording in the studio now is not the same young cousin and band buddy Mike grew up with. Too much time and trauma have seen to that.  Mike has changed, too, and his reality is that he has to deal with Brian in a different way than he once did. At the moment, he doesn't appear to be ready to do that.

Brian also has to deal with a new reality. Mike has successfully led the band for years without his input or assistance in any way. He has kept The Beach Boys name alive and available to the public, and has worked hard touring the songs they produced together. Mike, and not Brian, has been the "leader" of the Beach Boys for a long time now. His effort, work ethic  and experience in touring deserves some consideration and respect from Brian's people. Brian's legacy is secure. He will always be the genius behind The Beach Boys.  There's nothing wrong with letting Mike hold on to the place he's carved out for himself as the leader of the touring band.

I'm actually hoping Mike will invite Brian over for Thanksgiving dinner, and over some nice tofurky, they'll realize that they need each other. After all, without Brian's music, Mike would be performing a very short program. And, without Mike's touring efforts, Brian wouldn't have had much to come back to last year.

I think Mike Love is wholly and truly aware of Brian Wilson's battles with mental illness but that being said I'm sure he's aware there isn't really anything he can do about it.  Mike Love made his attempt back during the era of "SMiLE" to get some of the dopers and hangers-on away from his cousin but Brian Wilson just couldn't be had back then and continued to exacerbate his fragile mental state with the intake of psychedelic drugs.  I don't think you can separate one from the other.  I certainly don't anyway and therefore cannot really judge Mike Love if he believes much of Brian's fragile mental state was brought on by his abuse of drugs.  I'm not saying that is 100% accurate objectively speaking but it's not so far out of the realm of possibilities where it would be ludicrous to suggest it.  

I wrote a few weeks back that one thing that Mike Love has to realize and maybe he does although his desire to write songs one on one with Brian Wilson would suggest otherwise.  The one realization Mike Love needs to come to is that he is no longer part of Brian Wilson's inner circle and probably hasn't been since oh around 1964 or so.  To me, at least it's always been patently clear that as Brian Wilson began to evolve as a songwriter he sort of outgrew the nuclear unit that was The Beach Boys.  He started spending more time with people like Tony Asher, Van Dyke Parks, The "Vosse Posse" and all the rest.  I think as was suggested in "Look Listen Vibrate SMiLE" that by 1966 certainly in Brian's world there was a "new Beach Boys" and this unit didn't include Mike Love.  Then you had the Landy years which really isolated Brian Wilson from society and the recovery from that experience which I'm sure to this day is still a day to day process.  So it does make sense now that Brian Wilson surrounds himself with people who are keenly aware of his situation and are agreeable to it.  As I read in another Brian Wilson piece not too long ago, it is no secret that Wilson surrounds himself with people who encourage and support him rather than challenge him.  So while I don't doubt that Mike Love has nothing but good intentions in wanting to renew his songwriting partnership with his cousin, the fact of the matter is Mike Love was elbowed out of Brian's inner circle decades ago.  Bandmates yes.  Family again yes.  But best friends?  Unfortunately probably not even close and that is what I perceive to be the main hurdle that Mike Love keeps hitting into every time he wants to work with his cousin.  Brian Wilson works with people who are close with him both on a personal and professional level and unfortunately Mike Love doesn't cast well in that role.

Now Mike Love from the perspective of the day to day grunt work that goes into what the M&B show is able to pull off every summer is by no doubt the leader of that operation.  But as I also mentioned a few weeks back if The Beach Boys were a law firm, Brian Wilson would be the senior partner with his name above everyone else on the company stationary.  He might not take as many cases as the rest of the firm but he gives the firm their legitimacy and I've never been all together sure and perhaps even less so after the C50 if Mike Love is comfortable about that.  It's become patently clear that Mike Love had to acquiesce to a great many demands to get the C50 up and running last year.  To secure Brian Wilson's involvement in the project, to record TWGMTR, to placate the needs of Brian Wilson during the tour itself...it's quite obvious that Mike Love had a lot more grunt work last year than what he has been dealing with as far as the M&B shows go.  Maybe he just felt the need to be in control of his own destiny again?  Maybe the end didn't suit the means in regards to the fact that whatever needs or demands he would've had to acquiesce to in order to keep The Beach Boys in tact.  Maybe it was the fact that unlike Al Jardine and David Marks, he had a legitimate money making venture he could return to in lieu of continuing the C50?  For whatever reason, Mike Love quit "The Beach Boys" last October.

I too hope that one day that Brian Wilson and Mike Love can get together and get their relationship back on track if not professionally than personally.  Compromise is truly a wonderful thing when it all works out and I guess the million dollar question in regards to this issue is which side was unwilling to compromise enough to keep the C50 alive?  Brian's people have taken their fair share of bashing but you could also turn the whole thing around on Mike Love too if you want as he obviously could've kept the C50 going if that was his intention.  Like I said whenever any of The Beach Boys speak about the band there is always a bittersweet element to their words.  Perhaps in the end it's somewhat appropriate that for guys whose songs harken back to more innocent bygone times and who love to wax nostalgic/poetic about their past, seem themselves to have no semblance of a present and perhaps a future collectively speaking.