The Smiley Smile Message Board

If this is a topic already brought up, sorry. I searched before I ask this, but who is the guy that is sing Jeff's part? In the soundstage video's it Matt Jardine and ???

Well I do know that Matt was announced to have joined (rejoined?) a few days ago.

So I am guessing it will be him doing the super high parts! As far as that other guy (Ike or something?), I am not sure where he stands.

Brian "Ike" Eichenberger.

It's complicated. Matt J. came in after Jeff left to work on the record (he sang backgrounds and some placeholder leaders). He was then supposed to join the band -- he did a couple of shows but then announced that he wasn't going to be with the band full-time.

They had to fill the gap again, so they went with Brian "Ike" Eichenberger, who was with the touring version of the Four Freshmen. When the band did the December Vegas show, bot Ike and Matt showed up. When the band did Kimmel, it was just Ike.

Now that the full tour is set up, Matt is joining them again. So it's tough to say what becomes of Ike (who subsequently left the touring Freshmen, IIRC).

Yes, definitely gone from the FF

Between Matt leaving and Ike joining however, there was one show where Chad Odhner of the Fendertones provided falsetto.

JEFF FOSKETT AND HIS INIMITABLE FLASETTO IS IRREPLACEABLE. A TRUE LOSS TO THE BRAIN WILSON BAND!!!










Real talk though, as time wore on dude's voice was entering Adrian Baker levels of grating, so it's really no loss at all he went and joined Mike Love's traveling jukebox. Thank you, Jeff Beck, you vest wearing wank maestro, for helping to set in motion this transfer.



The addition of Matt Jardine (and his father) to an already stellar band has elevated their sound to a whole other level, with a vocal blend better than anything we've heard since The Beach Boys' "Holland" album. Ike's no slouch either, but that Jardine boy is something else. You can really tell he's family.

Chad Ohdner did a gig, maybe two, between Matt and Ike.

Ah, poo, someone else posted that.  :)

I find this interesting, from Mike Loves Facebook page...

I would like to thank Randell Kirsch for the last 11 years as a Beach Boys band member. He will always be near and dear to us and a part of our Beach Boy family. His contribution as singer and bass player with the band has been much appreciated, and I wish him all success going forward with his own musical endeavors. Thank you Randell.
Separately I would like to welcome Brian Eichenberger to the band. His incredible musical background could not be more impressive. Thank you for lending your immense talent to the Beach Boys Live. Peace and Love, Mike Love

Lo, for he has reached his set end date. Let us bow our heads.

Remarkable. Can it be confirmed if "Ike" sings on NPP?
Maybe Jeff will stick to middle parts in the harmony stack, while Ike sings the highest. In any case, Randell was a darn good falsettist also.

I don't think Ike is on NPP. I don't recall that he appears in the credits. Most of the falsetto parts are presumably Matt J. and Foskett.

No Ike on NPP. He came along after work on the record had finished.

Is Mike paying transfer fees for these players he gets from Brian's team?

Guess it was meant to be ...

(http://i60.tinypic.com/28vgfmw.jpg)

:lol

Or maybe someone wished for Mike and Brian to tour together again, but didn't specify which Brian they wanted.

 :woot :woot :woot :woot :woot

Hmmm, from his post above, it appears that OSD is attempting to read some type of commentary on Beach Boys politics on my part when I posted an image of a box of Mike & Ike candies.  Just to be clear, my post was not intended to imply any type of commentary on band politics and/or the members of the BBs and/or the touring band.  Last night, when thinking about Brian "Ike" Eichenberger joining Mike's touring Beach Boys, the image of a box of Mike & Ike candies simply flashed into view.

Nah, not at all. Just thought it was clever but now that you mention it, Mike and Ike does have a more tonal ring than Mike and Bruce.  :smokin

This is exciting for Mike and his band.  I will certainly go see them this summer and also hope "Ike" handles more falsettos while Jeff can drop down and sing some of Carl and Al's parts.  Also excited that Matt J is in BW band.

I was unaware that Randell had left the band going into seeing them this past weekend.  Ike playing bass but no lead vocals and seemed like he sang backing vocals very sparingly also.  Foskett sang most non-Mike leads with the exception of Bruce doing Wendy and Totten doing Ballad of Ol' Betsy and Cowsill on HMR. 

Foskett leaving Brian was definitely a shocker, but since he and Brian have both said there's no animosity there, I accept that as just a guy in need of a change. And Ike wasn't even really established in Brian's band any way, as far as I can tell. Was Ike ever actually announced as a member of Brian's group? I remember Matt being announced as Jeff's replacement. Then, Matt announced he wouldn't be going on Brian's fall tour, but we could look for him in a lot of other projects, including Brian's. That's when Ike was brought it, but I don't remember him being announced as a permanent member or replacement for Matt.

I don't see this as someone else jumping ship on Brian. I just see it as a guy who got a job, perhaps because he was working with Brian earlier and they knew he could do it.  There seems to be more fluidity between the band members than there is with Mike and Brian themselves. Matt has played with both groups and so does David. And, to a jobbing musician, Mike's group is definitely going to appeal because they play so many dates.

Spot on, Cyncie.

Something went on with Foskett, no doubt, but he was there for such a long time -- and was so visible -- that a change was probably good for everyone.

But Ike played, at most, a dozen shows with them. And given Al's allegience to the BW camp, it only makes sense that Matt would be the choice for any serious touring.

It's all a bit of a mess, but I'm sure there's some suspicion that BW's touring days are winding down. Backing band members will carry the legacy forward, of course, but the BB name will become even more critical in that case.

I'd be interested to see if Brian does decide to retire from touring after this year if the members of Brian's touring band would tour with Brian's music. 

Once Brian is no longer on the road, there will still be a demand for Beach Boys music.  Brian and Mike aren't going to be out there with their groups forever. 

I would love to get in on that gig!

I don't recall where but one story from 5 years or so ago said something like all Brians band were paid to tour but one member (I assume Jeff) was paid a retainer. As Brian cut down his touring of late, it makes business sense to review that arrangement. It would not surprise if this was the reason Jeff left.

As long as Brian is alive and healthy, I would guess until or if he announces a "Farewell Tour", we're not going to see him stop touring. He may do what he has done in past years (2014, a few others) and just do scattered dates. As it is, 2015 isn't super heavy on dates (around 26 or so including North America and UK so far).

Even if he did announce a "farewell tour", I wouldn't be surprised to see him do a one-off shows after that. I recall the 2006/2007 "Pet Sounds" shows were kind of implied to be the "final" PS shows, yet he pulled it out a few times after that.

As for Brian's guys, I would tend to doubt we'd see them all stick together and do some sort of "tribute" tour. The market for anything other than the band called "The Beach Boys" (or to some degree "Brian Wilson") isn't too great, outside of club gigs. Even Al has trouble booking gigs it seems. Probyn and Matt Jardine do gigs with the various off-shoot bands (Hinsche, Carter, Figueroa, etc.), and even those seem sporadic (and/or they go the Papa Doo Run Run route and are doing a bunch of corporate gigs we don't hear about).

The potential political machinations involved in guys leaving Brian's band and joining Mike's band aside, it certainly would be far more lucrative to tour with Mike's band, even if it one was paid less per gig.

While making more money (and having more fun playing more gigs) in Mike's band would surely be a factor, I would tend to believe Jeff leaving Brian's band and joining Mike's involves other factors as well. Some of which we don't know.

For sure. I was thinking pure financial reasoning with my post. Jeff's story a few months back giving his reasons ie acting as Brian's right hand man during tours etc surely paid a large part IMO.