The Smiley Smile Message Board

Brian posted on his Facebook page today:  
>>Brian Wilson
      24 mins · .

I'm overwhelmed by the response to the trailer for 'Love & Mercy' and so excited to release my new album 'No Pier Pressure' on April 7th. To celebrate all the great things happening in my life, I'll be taking your questions on Thursday, March 5th at 1PM PST. Leave your questions in the comments of this post & I will respond to as many as possible. Plus, tune in for a special announcement that I'm sharing with my fans first!

Love and Mercy,
 Brian  <<

    (http://i60.tinypic.com/11wah6w.jpg)

OK...so I'm a dinosaur.  I'm good with THAT.  I don't tweet and I don't fo faceboofk.  I waste enough of my time on message boards and now watching u-tewb which I never did before this past November.

I'll get my news as to the whole 'deal' here.

Speculation regarding the special news tomrrow at 1:00?  Tour info I'm guessing.

He's goin' to announce another Beach Boys album. Only fair to share it with the "fans first" before Mike knows anything about it...   ;D

Not to be a Debby downer again, but why do such a thing on Facebook? The last one was a complete and total clusterfuck where you couldn't even tell which question he was answering. Hate to sh!t on everybody's good time again, but I'm surprised his management considered that enough of a success to warrant duplicating it. If they prefer Facebook, have the fans post their questions directly to his wall and Brian can answer in a comment. Seems simple enough.

I still think he should just do a Reddit AMA.

Huh? That's the first I've heard of it. I really enjoyed it and I bet hundreds of other fanatics and bored Facebook users thought the same. Besides, I doubt we saw the last of Brian on SmileySmile, either. ;)

Cool photo.

But Mujan...WHAT IF Brian's changed the answer to what his favourite Pizza is NOW? :o
 THAT would expand the parametres of what a 'clusterfuck' REALLY is wouldn't it?  I'm COUNTING on Y O U to keep me updated.  I'm a non believer in facebook.  Come on Man. ;)

I'm pretty sure he's just going to announce Love And Mercy 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Really? Cuz even in the comments as it was going on people were voicing their disappointment. Not at the answers or Brian's intent, but the format of Facebook itself being unsuited for a public q&a. Also, I've seen at least one other poster here say the same thing about it. I appreciate what Brian's trying to do even if he may not be the most prolific interviewee. But Facebook is probably the worst way to do it. It's no secret I was disappointed with the time and questions he chose to answer, but this forum did a great job providing a structured, orderly place to host the event. Much better than a comment section on a Facebook post.

Format-wise, maybe. I didn't mind though. I was primarily objecting to you calling it a "complete and total clusterfuck". That's far from how I (and the majority of fans, I think) perceived it. Anyway, I'm looking forward to more Q&As by Brian. It's amazing he's still around and willing to answer fanboy-questions. :)

Agreed. I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish he'd answer more hardball questions and stay more than a half-hour at a time, but I do appreciate the gesture.

This is great news! Looking forward to it.

Agreed.

Looking forward to this...I don't think it's a mystery why Brian is using FB for his Q&A.  Granted, FB formatting doesn't make it easy for chats since it's designed for revenue generation for FB itself before anything else, but it's a huge location for Brian's fans to get info and they certainly aren't all on SS or Blueboard...many, many people live on FB (like some live here).  Glad he's reaching out to everyone he can and we'll get the info we need in any case.

I'm not a facebook person but I'm glad Brian is doing this for his fans on FB. I'm just grateful that he answered my question here at SS.

Wow this is really great news. Hopefully the Facebook fans ask him some interesting questions about No Pier Pressure.

Should be very interesting to see what kinds of intriguing questions he answers on facebook.

"What's your favorite sandwich Brian?"

Brian: Grilled Cheese.

I love you Brian but I'm not joining facebook for you  ;D

Gah...it starts right when my work shift starts. Dammit lol

This...squared.

Should we ask Brian what comes with his cheese pizza order, like sodas, wings, and fries? Or should we ask how often he orders cheese pizza? I think we can all agree these are very important questions.

Isn't cheeze pizza funny guys ha ha ha let's never stop talking about cheeze pizza

I want to know if anyone ever sent in a letter to tell him the name of their favorite vegetable. I want to know *his* favorite vegetable.

Honestly, I'd love it if Brian wrote a follow up to Vega-Tables but about fruits. Fruits are sweeter, more colorful and hold the seeds of the future inside. That's a song right there. 100% serious.

"Isn't cheeze pizza funny guys ha ha ha let's never stop talking about cheeze pizza"...BW...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK.  "Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza. Cheese Pizza."

It's only a quote.  It goes something like..."Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.    Cheese Pizza.    Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.   Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza.  Cheese Pizza."

THAT should have Brian covered until at least early next December.

By then I'll bet he'll be ready to try 'it' with some bacon, onion and tomato slices.

Man, that is a fantastic photo of Brian!  I can see his 20's self in this photo :)

they always feel the need to photoshop Brian's neck and do a really bad job of it. just leave it! he's in his 70s for crying out loud. what is the point?

but the countdown to NPP is on! it's great to see Brian so 'up' and actively engaging with his fans on social media. this is a banner year for Brian Wilson, and for us as fans. bring it on!


surely Brian has been asked the vegetable question before...? i'm guessing asparagus.

For me, it's all about sweet peppers, onions, bacon and if I'm feeling particularly adventurous, I add some scrambled eggs on top. I admit, I'm disappointed. I would have thought a mind as creative as BDW's would have discovered some wild new topping combination that none of us could have ever imagined.

How dare you, Brian. Cheese pizza? Bah humbug.

You know what? I thought that too when I saw the photo. :)

It's the same person.

No, it's not. He's been through a lot of metamorphosessisses since then. If you were to make a film about Brian's whole life, you'd need 4-6 different looking actors.

Far more significant are the mental metamorphoses caused by all the drugs, time, suffering and exploitation. The Brian of 2015 is a very different man than the Brian of 1966. The Brian of 1967 is a different man than the Brian of 1966. Which is to say nothing of all the other Brian's in between and before.

I saw that photo and thought: "My, the Photoshop engines have been running hot at Wilson towers..."

Mind you, if they can make me look that good when I'm 73 even with Photoshop or whatever they'll have by then, that'll be great. It is a miracle that Brian is still here and looking as good as he does, considering what he's done to himself over the years. Even without Photoshop. He should look totally raddled, like Keith Richards. But he doesn't.

EDIT: I just realised: digital manipulation tools are the curse of Brian's life right now. Whenever he releases new music, there's a 48-page forum discussion about the Auto-Tune on it in ten minutes. When he puts out a new press pic, everyone starts calling him out for Photoshop...

Perhaps he should put his next album out on cassette, and circulate black and white film prints as press pics only... taken on a box brownie. Forget back to mono, that *would* be old-school...

I'm going to ask couple follow-ups for the pizza questions. I hope he answers! Really looking forward to this!

Actually I meant the mental metamorphoses by saying "metamorphosessisses", but then took to his physical appearence to illustrate it. I'm not the same person I was in my twenties either, though at 45 I look closer to my 25 self than Brian did at 45 to his 25 self, meaning I just look 20 years older whereas Brian looked like someone else completely. To me anyway.

Micha is onto something. Fat Brian with a beard is unrecognizable. He looked nothing like the guy in this picture.

Many did, yes...

I don't mind that he's doing a Q&A on Facebook. He wants to reach as many people as possible, so he doesn't want to limit the Q&As to message boards. I don't have FB, and I'm hoping someone who does will post a transcript.  ;D

Remember this? :)

http://dellydel.com/brianwilson/brianwilson.html

The lithography is based on this photo:

(http://i60.tinypic.com/11wah6w.jpg)
(http://media.fanfire.com/images/product/large/BWI/BWIBN006.jpg)

Reminder, one hour to go before the Facebook event. If I could think of a question I'd post it. ;D

Following the Q and A here...someone put all of the USED Qs and As into a post.  Can that be done THIS time...off of facebook for us NON facebookians?  Please and thank you?? :hat

I would have preferred the photograph to the lithograph ...

So...they used 'auto-tone' on the picture did they? ;)

I'll post a transcript as I'm able:


Hi everyone, Brian here. I’m sitting at Capitol Records and ready to answer some questions. Before I start, I want to share some cool news: I’m going on tour this summer starting in June. Both Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin will be joining me and my band and we will have the amazing Rodriguez opening the shows in the US. I’m really excited. All the dates will be on my website this afternoon, take a look!

Rodriguez, for those who may not know him, was the subject of the Searching for Sugar Man documentary.

s'pretty cool

What has been your musical inspiration over the past couple years? And what musical artist has had the greatest influence on you?

Paul McCartney has always been an inspiration because of his melody and how he sings. My family has always been an inspiration too.

Brian - what inspires you to wake up each day and do something uniquely musical? Is "Last Song" a sign of the end or a grand finale? BTW my 10 y/o surfer girl would love to see you in concert in the Midwest sometime. Love & Mercy to you!

I answered what inspires me before, but as for "The Last Song" it's the grand finale of the album, but not of my life. You never know what it's going to be. This could be my last tour, but I know I've got more music in me.

Just want to say Thank You for the wonderful music for so many years.
You are looking wonderful. I really look forward to the release of your new album 'No Pier Pressure' what an absolutely wonderful name for an album. This question has probably been ask already, but how long has it been in the making. Also will you be doing more albums in the future. We can never have enough of the amazing work you do. Thank you again.
A fan from the beginning.


My daughter Daria came up with the title for the album. It's very clever. The album has basically been in the making since the end of The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary. I started writing songs for The Beach Boys, but ended up doing a solo album, and I'm really pleased with it. Having all these young, contemporary voices really brought the record to a different level.

I LIKE that reponse a LOT.  Appreciate you doing this GF...Lee

Hi Brian! How do you feel about modern recording practices? For example would you have liked to have had Pro Tools on hand when recording Pet Sounds, or on the other hand would you have liked to have cut No Pier Pressure on 4-track?



ProTools can be very useful. As for No Pier Pressure, I would have liked to record it on a 72-track.

Are there any uptempo songs that were meant for the follow up to That's Why God Made The Radio that will be on No Pier Pressure or a future album?



There's still some songs (like "The Suite") that didn't go on That's Why God Made The Radio, but did not end up on No Pier Pressure. I'm not sure when I'll release them.

One of my least favorite times in music coincides with the use of digital drums. I was so excited to hear a real drummer on your new song. Can you talk about drummers vs. machines? and why you've gone against the grain and used humans instead of machines on your new record?



Drummers can elaborate better. Synthesized drums don't have the mellow and live sound, and can only play down beats. Real drummers can play off beats. Always better to use real people. Imagine Pet Sounds without Hal Blaine!

He's really on his 'game' today GF. :hat

Question: In your solo albums how far do you move away from the beach boys 'Feel' of the songs, or do you ever try to recreate the beach boys sound at all when writing and composing? i'm only 16 but have been a huge fan of your for many years now and your my biggest musical inspiration




I like it to be similar to the Beach Boys sound, but not exactly. My solo stuff is a different vibe.

My question is about your creative process. Do the songs come to you in full? Or just a little snippet here and there? How does it happen? Thank you!




Little snippets here and there. I can't hear the whole song written, only little parts when I first write it.

Two parter question: Will No Pier Pressure be your final album and will the songs you recorded with Jeff Beck get released?




I want to do a rock n' roll album. A tribute to the great rock n' roll guys: Little Richard, Bill Halley and The Comets, and Chuck Berry. As far as the Jeff Beck tracks coming out, God only knows.

Hi Brian, when you write a song what comes first the lyrics or the music ? p.s. enjoyed your U.K. concert in Eastbourne a few years back, we don't get many big stars in our town.





The chord pattern, the melody, and then the lyrics. I usually write in the key of E or F.

Hi Brian, Thanks for everything you've done! I'm a huge fan! In terms of creative control of Love and Mercy, did you have alot of control creatively when the film was being made?




My wife and I met with the producers, directors, and actors. I went to the first read through and gave them notes, but that's about it.

My question is...is it weird to watch a movie on your own life?




It's a weird experience. It's different.

I really loved the moog bass on the Beach Boys Love You album. Are you still a big fan of the moog bass? This is definitely a great year for Brian Wilson fans!




Yeah, I really love Moogs. I love the tone. It's a very very low tone.

Do you play guitar and if so, did you ever play on any recording? Have you ever composed a song on guitar?




No. I don't play guitar. I play bass and piano, and compose on a piano.

Hi Brian, when you're recording a new album like No Pier Pressure, do you still like to arrange the music by yourself; string arrangements, bass parts, all of the harmonies? Looking forward to the new album!




Yeah. I start with the bass and build from there. With the harmonies I start with the bottom note and build them up from there.

What was the first record you ever bought?




 I think it was "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Halley and The Comets. I think I was 12 years old.

Do you still buy vinyl?



No, I listen to CDs and the radio.

Have any of the songs been inspired by your children? I know John Lennon wrote "Lucy in the sky with diamonds" about Julian.



All of the songs on No Pier Pressure are inspired by my children. My daughter Daria not only named the album, but she took the cover photo.

Proud Papa.  Nice. :hat

He must be taking a whiz now.

Who?  GF or Brian? :lol

Both

Wonder if Brian's a urinal guy or a stall guy.

It seems to be over, it's been 15 minutes+ since the last post. Will stay tuned.

Thanks GF!  That was helpful to see if I missed any responses.  It really was a great Q&A...

I wish someone would ask him why it is that he always talks about wanting to make a rock and roll album, and then he doesn't make a rock and roll album.

Thanks a HUGE bunch there guitarfool.  Hope you had a good leak. :lol

Thank you very much for doing this. It was a mess trying to follow it on facebook, itself. You're a good man gf!

Yeah, he's done.  
I'm disappointed. He didn't reply to Sandy Gaynor Dinnie and he didn't answer any food questions

Nice of GF to post all he did here.

Last message from Brian:

Thanks everyone for all the questions. I answered as many as I could. I hope to see you at some shows this summer, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear the new album.

He's outta here!  ;D

That was a cool session. Kinda tough to keep track of the updates with the FB format but still a good session.

Hey thanks guitarfool! I don't have facebook so it was nice to see it here.

Thank you guitarfool! 

Surprised he didn't also announce the upcoming PBS special.

Guitarfool you are awesome for posting all those responses.

Very cool! Some good responses from Brian.

Thanks, guitarfool! Very good Q&A.

Wonderful to have him. In this and other other interview on a parallel thread today he would not budge at all about the BB future and made no mention of returning to BB work with Mike. Sole focus of all his answers to anything is his solo work, album, movie. Was NPP to be a BB album? No, I changed my mind says BW.

:thumbsup :woot  

Thanks, GF!  It was nice not having to sort through all of the responses on FB.

I hope Brian gets to do his rock'n'roll album some day.  :lol  Also good to know that he still has more music in him.  He's the only one I get excited about when he announces a new album.  It'll be a sad day when I have no more new music to look forward to.  (Aside from various top 40 singles I might like)

Brian has said he wants to make a Rock & Roll album ever since the Imagination album came out. It's getting late in the game. As the old adage says, I'll believe it when I see it.

Is this the first time he said he wanted to do a tribute album though?

I'd take another cover album from Brian if it's as good as Gershwin or Disney.

Thank you, guitarfool! Appreciate to see the Q&A here. It was more interesting than the previous on both message boards. My favorite reply is about drums & his family being inspiration.

Delete 'Disney'  & we're talking. :3d

Brian's done 'tributes' and covers since the Surfin' Safari album! I want a gawl durn Rock & Roll album with a Spectorish-like production! Am I being too greedy? If he's gotta throw a couple of covers in there, then do ones like "This Could Be The Night" or "Walking In The Rain" or "Da Do Ron Ron" or even a slow one like "Unchained Melody". Yeah, that's the ticket!

He's gotta get "Proud Mary" out of his system. Swapping verses with Blondie!

Thanks, Guitarfool!

His answers seemed more thought-out this time around.

Interesting that his daughter took the cover photo.  I love it.  Brian's best solo album cover - hands down.  

(http://wp-images.emusic.com/assets/2015/01/brian-wilson-no-pier-pressure-ws-710.jpg)

More like guitargod! :afro

Some interesting responses.

Been talking about doing a R&R album since the late 90s - wouldn't hold my breath, and I'm thinking that Brian's idea of a R&R album might not accord with what you or I might think.  ;D

I was surprised to read that the first record Brian bought was by Bill Haily and The Comets. I would have assumed it would have been a Four Freshmen record.

Death metal Brian FTW!

Indeed. It really is a cool album title too. He ought to be very proud.

I don't know what you think, I think, it would be... mellow. ;D

Thank you so much, GuitarFool (or should that be GuitarHero?!). It means a lot to non-Facebookers like me. :=)

You don't have to sign up to facebook to read public facebook posts, do you?

try this link: https://www.facebook.com/officialbrianwilson/photos/a.452661542240.241240.34250497240/10153125205392241/?type=1 (https://www.facebook.com/officialbrianwilson/photos/a.452661542240.241240.34250497240/10153125205392241/?type=1)

it just means you can't ask your own question or reply or "like" and so on.

Okay, thanks for that, ub. I guess I'm just not a fan of Facebook. This board has a friendlier look. :=)

Thanks GF for taking the time to summarize Brian's responses.  Much appreciated!

One of the best pic's I've seen of him in I don't know how many years. I saw that image on itunes when I went there to preview NPP last week but could not figure out how to cut and paste it here. I'm sure there was some "photoshop" done but still.... if you lived through the "deer in the headlights Brian", seeing a picture like that is worth a lot more than a thousand words. The photographer nailed it.

Exactly. He looks comfortable, at ease.