The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hi all,

I'm back again.  ;)  It was nice to see David Marks at the Grammy Salute.  Does anyone know if his health has improved after the health scare if he had a few years ago?  We haven't seen him much since around 2015 or so, and I know the pandemic and health scare had something to do with that.  I was just thinking about Al's tour and, though it's likely impossible because of Al's limited--but growing--bookings and money, how it would be great to have David and/or Blondie there with Al as well, now that Brian is most likely retired from touring.  Thanks again!!

Don't have any insight into David's health, but I would think having him and /or Blondie join Al's tour just wouldn't cut it financially. The bookings, while increasing, are at mostly smaller venues, not even sure how/if Al profits much after paying his band and Carnie and Wendy when they appear. Would be a nice thought though.

I seriously doubt Al makes much if any money doing the gigs he's doing. It wouldn't surprise me if he literally take a loss for himself. While I wish he would have been doing more of them, and had been doing them going back many many years, I have to say it's refreshing to know that he *has* to be doing these gigs now for the fun/love of it (and/or to just stay active), because I wouldn't be surprised if he takes home little to nothing after paying the other members.

I would tend to agree that the overhead for paying the members for his gigs is such that there wouldn't be much to pay a Blondie or Dave or anyone along those lines. I'd also imagine that when he does shows without Carnie and/or Wendy, those gigs pay less, so it's not like there's a bunch more money for ancillary members for just those gigs.

I think a lot of the gigs Al was doing with Dave, mostly pre-2012 reunion, were Al and Dave basically serving as "upcharge" additions when people booked that "Surf City All Stars." I don't think that band was run by Al.

I really don't care about Blondie. To me, he was just a small part of Beach Boys history, 1972-73. David, on the other hand, was a founding member; one who was nearly written out of the history of the band. I would go see him if he was playing with Al or Mike again.
I'm sure Al is doing fine with his 'solo' shows. None of these guys are going to travel and perform at 80 years old if it means losing money. Is he making Paul McCartney money? No. He's probably not even making Mike Love money. Al's always been a sensible guy, and I doubt he is throwing wild parties every night after the show. He probably goes back to the hotel to sleep.
If the talked about documentary ever happens, I would hope David will be a part of it.

 Really going out on a limb with that hypothesis.   :lol

I'd say over the last 20-ish years, Mike has certainly been in a far, far better (and more convenient) position to employ David Marks if that was ever the concern of David or fans.

As for Al, while I find it easy enough to believe that he's breaking even or making a few scraps from his current solo/Family & Friends gigs. I suspect touring at his age is more for the love of it, and to stay active. If he was losing a small amount of money, I wouldn't be surprised. I can tell you that those club gigs don't pay huge amounts, and Al also charges a pretty reasonable amount for tickets as far as I can tell. Everybody else in his band are working musicians that need to be paid, so I would imagine Al makes more money on a daily basis collecting royalties than he does with whatever is left over from those gigs after all other overhead costs are paid. By every apparently indication, he *has* to be doing it for the love of playing the music, and/or to stay active.

Let's remember that for those gigs Al played with Brian in 2006 and 2007, Al was apparently not paid at all. He paid his own way entirely. For those gigs, he *did* literally lose money. He paid out of pocket to play those gigs with Brian. That was obviously not a tenable situation for the long term, and that may well have been one of the many reasons he ended up bowing out of that 2007 European tour that was going to follow.

Interesting. I am the opposite. While I respect David Marks for his contributions to the group's music, I don't consider him a 'true' Beach Boy, because he never sang any lead vocals or  wrote any songs for the group like all the others we consider members did.

Blondie, on the other hand,  did. And I'm not the greatest fan of Blondie's contributions other than Sail on Sailor.

😅🤣😂