The Smiley Smile Message Board

Was Stamos the actual main drummer for some occasional shows in the '90s and beyond?

And has he ever played an entire set of songs with the band on drums, or did he just learn some specific songs to guest on?  I'm curious what the "deepest" cuts are that he learned to play on.

So very much. His musical contributions can only be compared to the cultural shift brought on by "Student Demonstration Time." It's that level of magnitude and don't you ever forget it! The way he bashes along while the real drummer gives him a dirty look? That's just sheer jealousy from those guys. They know if he wanted their job, he could have it like THAT.

(http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/2013/05/Mike/John-Stamos-on-the-drums.jpg)

Is that the worst example of sweatstains on an onstage BB bandmember? Yikes, Uncle Jesse - how rude!

From what I can tell, he's more of a fan than an actual band member.
He sang lead of the 1992 version of "Forever". It's not as good as Dennis singing lead, but it's not bad.
He drums along with the BB main drummer usually when he shows up at concerts.
He also will play guitar and sing, but I doubt his guitar is audible, and for old time's sake, he'll play percussion on Kokomo.

Sometimes looking a bit like Leisure Suit Larry, even.

(http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2011/startracks/110425/john-stamos-435.jpg)

Here's to you, Stamos!

By every objective musicianship-based account I’ve heard, Stamos is an amateur musician. This isn’t a pejorative term in this case. He’s literally an amateur in that, while he has appeared on “professional” recordings and tours, he takes on playing drums or guitar as a hobby.

I wish I could find it, but there was an interview with David Marks from the very early 2000’s, some time not too long after he departed Mike’s band in 1999, and he was asked about Stamos, and he said something along the lines that Stamos would be a better musician if he took time to practice. Similar to my comment above, I took his comments as being very direct and literal. He was kind of indicating Stamos may well have the aptitude and ability to be a good musician, but because he was/is an actor by profession, he never went to great lengths to hone his musicianship.

Every time I’ve heard/seen him, he sounds like just that. He can do passable guitar and drums; he clearly is not bad for a “hobbyist” musician. But his drumming especially is sloppy. It’s the sort of thing that might sound good when he just sits on a drum kit by himself and noodles for a few moments. But it drags down an actual professional band. He’s relatively innocuous if he just plays some inaudible bongos on “Kokomo” or something.

All of this is in reference to his actual musicianship. His *stage presence* is a whole other ball of wax of course. 

Stamos is a true fan of the band, of that I’m sure. Judging by the C50 Rolling Stone profile, Stamos liked Brian’s album-ending suite more than even Mike did. I wish Stamos would have or could have done more over the years to be the world’s biggest fan and spearhead something from that point of view (convince Mike to bring up releasing archival material or something) rather than hamboning it up on stage. I also give him a tiny bit of props for at least alluding in a couple of interviews over the years to the fact that his 2000 TV miniseries was a mistake.

 Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Didnt he save the day at one of the C50 shows and sang Forever, to the delight of millions of fans worldwide?

He's contributed the everyman status of "luckiest fan in the world." Whether that's musical or otherwise is conjecture.

Don't get me started about that...

Who could forget... THE STAMOS INCIDENT.

(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5567/14788103452_aea035d27c_b.jpg)

Here's a question... what would have happened if Stamos, and not Taylor Hawkins, had been the one to sing Holy Man on the POB 2008 reissue?

And what if a young Taylor Hawkins had sang Forever on the '92 SIP instead of Stamos... would it be better regarded?

 ;D

Wasn't Stamos supposed to be the executive producer of some Mamma Mia / Rock of Ages musical movie, most likely featuring some half a$$ed story set to extremely mediocre versions of classic Beach Boys songs? 

I think this thing, which we can only hope gets stuck in production Hell, was supposed to be called All Summer Long.  As in, if you buy a ticket to this movie, you'll regret it all summer long, and probably well into fall and winter. 

Seriously, that is the main problem. Rarely does Beach Boys music sound great other than by the Beach Boys. If it ever gets off the ground, maybe he'll hire Brian's band to play the music. The bigger issue is finding actors who can capture some of that vocal blend that creates much of the magic in their songs.

Unfortunately, I doubt Uncle Jesse would contact Brian's band.  He'd probably do Broadway type arrangements of the songs, which won't do them justice. 

If it happens, it'll probably be a nice payday for Mike, Brian, Al, and Carl's estate, but many tweens will have terrible versions of classic songs on their MP3 devices (ie. Glee). 

Wasn't Stamos the main drummer on the entire setlist for some shows, and not just filling the role of an additional percussionist?

It's blatantly obvious that 1) Taylor is a better singer and 2) he sounds much more like Dennis

Agreed on both counts. Still, I wonder if there would still have been the same level of Forever '92 SIP backlash, or if that was in part because one of them played Uncle Jesse on a super cheesy show, and one didn't.

The main problem is that movies like Momma Mia and Across the Universe SUCK. Even if you like the songs, and even if they're done justice, the story inevitably sucks because it's just an excuse to stitch together 20~30 unrelated tracks together any way possible. Musicals should just be original and classic pop songs should just be left alone.

I agree with you, but it seems to have worked for the 4 Seasons.

What has Stamps contributed?

His hair?

Stamos catches a lot of flack on this board.  I don't think he really has pretended to be anything, other than what he has said in concert, that he considers himself to be the luckiest guy in the world each time he gets on stage with The Beach Boys.  If you had the chance to sit in on songs with BB/BW whenever your schedule allowed it, wouldn't you?

To be honest...no. Because I cant sing or play any instrument and my doing so would detract from everyone else's experience. Maybe in Stamos case he feels he's talented enough to warrant it, and Ive never seen him live so I cant say, but judging from the popular consensus that doesnt quite seem to be the case.

I used to watch reruns of Full House and Im ashamed to admit that very-young me liked it at the time. I already liked the Beach Boys but the fact that "cool" Uncle Jessie like them too legitimized my taste at the time. Now...it's just embarrassing to think that I liked the show and that the band is tied to it with lame cameo appearances. That's not Stamos' fault, but the made for tv movie and now apparently a Mamma Mia-esque movie/play are. Sure I guess he attracts some women or whatever, but overall he's done more to harm the bands image than help, which is why he gets flak.

I have to ask just for a different view point. I've been a fan since 1964. Seen "The Beach Boys" over 30 times. Why does having John Stamos on stage with them not bother me? He really doesn't sing, at least to hear him above the other vocalists. When playing guitar can barely hear what he is playing. Maybe plays on one or two songs on the drums. How does what he do tarnish the image, when most people at the show enjoy him being there? Is he tarnishing only your image or are you lumping in very fan when you say this? I read a lot of stuff regarding this band and except for a few blogs I never read a mention of how Stamos is tarnishing the band. I read more about Stamos here than anywhere else. When reading about their legacy, you rarely read more than a few sentences regarding them as a live band. The legacy talk is always in regard to their studio output. Their legacy is intact no matter who shows up on stage with them or whether any of them ever take the stage again. Their legacy is first and foremost the music.

Baba looooooooooooooooooooooooooooo....

Maybe this is the wrong place for it, but I had a terrifying dream about John Stamos last night, probably due to all the talk about him on here. In the dream, my girlfriend and I won a trip to hang out with John Stamos at his house, along with some other random dude. We all went into his indoor hot tub, and then we sat in a special room that doubled as a bathroom and as a living room, watching the NBA playoffs together. Everything in the house was white; the furniture, the walls, everything. At first, Stamos wanted nothing to do with me. He just wanted to hit on my girlfriend, squeeze her butt, and talk about the NBA with the other fellow. At one point, Dr. Love stopped by the house just to say hi - he didn't stay. Stamos and the other man began to drink - excessively. My girlfriend decided to leave and wait for me in the car, but Stamos wanted to smoke some weed with me and the other fellow, which I was all about.

So the three of us go into a back room and smoke, but next thing I know, Stamos and the other fellow were starting to get frisky with each other. Then, Stamos pulled down my pants and tried to do you-know-what! At that point, I ran out of the room. The house was now filled with guests, and it seemed a party was going on. At that point, Stamos was raging drunk and out of control. I ran outside to the car where my girlfriend was, and we tried to drive off, but we were blocked in by another guest. The police showed up, as Stamos was now outside on his tennis court, brutally beating one of his party guests. My girlfriend and I finally managed to drive off, safely into the L.A. night.

How much has Stamos contributed musically to the group? IDK, barely anything, but when he's showing up in my dreams like that, he's contributed too much, as far as I'm concerned.

You need professional help. I know the right guy for the job.

(http://cdn.gunaxin.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Eugen-Landy.png)

I agree. He definitely can drags down the band, when he's playing an important role. Check out this clip of the group playing Catch A Wave. Carl and Al sound great… But Stamos' drumming is slow, and poor all around, and it effects the whole performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBiiChCVl6k

Except for Moulin Rouge. That was pretty awesome...

Even if you don't like that sort of thing, it's tough to resist Jim Broadbent singing "Like a Virgin."

I doubt Stamos' project will ever get off the ground. "An American Family" was bad enough!

re that youtube clip: too many fills (see Kowalski, Mike).  Just play the song, man.

Musically?

How many times has he performed with or recorded with the Beach Boys?  Quite a few I would guess.  The guy obviously deserves some kind of recognition...I mean REALLY!!!  So let's recognize him for what he's added to the BIG picture...to the legacy. :3d

That said ... let me pull a number out of the sky.  Let's say 16.  Might be more.  Might be less.  WHATEVER the actual number is...in order to figure out HOW MUCH John has contributed...multiply it by zero.

I mean really.  'Forever'?  Are you kidding?  And on an 'official' album with the Beach Boys NAME on it...and...Carl Wilson too???  Can we use minus [negative] numbers?  What The PHUQUE were 'they' thinking?

And now...The Beatles...with the 2 Ronnies?  I don't think so. ::)

Whoever thought that THAT was a good idea is an out and out DINK.

Stamos' drumming is fine in that clip of catch a wave. It's started too slow before he comes in, so I doubt there was much he could do.

Catch a Wave is a semi-deep cut. What are the deepest cuts that Stamos has been the main drummer on?

is it? Its one of their hits, fairly well known, about the usual surfing stuff...I dont consider it a deep cut at all.

It's a fairly regular song I their set list, but it was never a hit, at least here in the U.S..

I think Catch A Wave was a song that was never a hit, but everyone knows. It was actually the first time I heard the BBs, I was listening to Oldies radio, and the DJ played Surfin USA' going straight into Catch A Wave. Hearing those two songs on the radio changed my life forever. I've been a fan ever since. Anyway about Stamos, I think he's a HUGE fan, who also happens to play drums, guitar, percussion, and sings (All averagely) and happens to have the right connections. He seems like a good guy, so I can't really say anything bad about him. 

I think Catch a Wave is a song that has grown in stature due to it's inclusion in many of the greatest hits packages (i.e. Endless Summer, Good Vibrations, Greatest Hits: Volume 1, 50 Big Ones, etc.). While it wasn't a single from Surfer Girl, in hindsight, it probably could have been the fourth single from that album. Definitely more well known than Hawaii.

Not so much a musical contribution, but besides Stamos, how many non-Beach Boys have been presented as "members" of the band in TV appearances and such? He does occupy a rare position in being featured essentially as a member when he's done TV appearances with them, despite the fact that his "official" projects with the group mostly consist of the "Forever" re-record and producing "An American Family." Aside from Stamos, I can only really think of Matt Jardine and Jeff Foskett having a similar role (as in, sometimes being interviewed alongside the band and being addressed by name and not as just a faceless backing guy). Maybe it's because of this that I think of those guys as being "almost Beach Boys" in ways that most of the other backing band members haven't (though Scott Totten and John Cowsill are probably deserving of this too, as far as the modern touring band goes). Billy Hinsche and Bobby Figueroa maybe... Mike Kowalski and Ed Carter possibly? They were all fairly prominently featured at times but how often were they introduced outside of occasional concert spotlights? Sorry, that turned into a ramble!

If Mike ever authorizes his own biopic with heavy Stamos input, it needs to be called Mike Love & Have Mercy.

Nice!

That sort of happened already with American Family.  Stamos help put it together, and makes a cameo at the end (if you blink you miss him as The Beach Boys drummer - was he supposed to be Ricky???).  And that movie heavily skews towards Mike's version of the BB story.