I'll just leave this here... https://entertainment.theonion.com/symphony-orchestra-simply-cannot-wait-for-collaboration-1819576839

I actually like Bruce getting more leads. Even though his voice isn't what it once was, it's nice to have more leads by real Beach Boys.

Totally agree. Obviously some parts pretty much need someone else to fill in the Carl and/or Brian parts but I always felt like Bruce could/ should (and probably still could in most cases) have handled the leads on Don't Worry Baby, Good Vibrations, Wouldn't It Be Nice, and a few others with the right key/ arrangement adjustments. It would have made the touring infinitely more appealing to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIkBfg7QiwQ

These videos are labelled as being shot in New Hampshire in 2007, I don't think I saw them on the list. The 2007 touring band isn't the best lineup but it's a very interesting record of the Christian Love/ Randell Kirsch/ more Bruce leads era of the band. Lots of videos from the show are on the same youtube channel along with a lot of other concert clips from various classic rock acts.

Random thing, but a good friend of mine is livestreaming himself writing and recording dozens of songs today. His stage name is Johnny Unicorn (currently based in Seaatle) and he's a very talented musician and a fellow Brian/ Beach Boys enthusiast. I've been casually popping onto his youtube and watching for a few minutes here and there throughout the day and it's been humorous and compelling. His music should appeal to at least a certain segment of Beach Boys fans as well as fans of bands like They Might Be Giants and Guided By Voices. Anyway, here's the stream for any Smiley Smilers just hanging around the house on this New Year's Eve! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARBRpqkFCaE

I have no interest in perpetuating any negativity regarding relations between any of the touring Beach Boys camps, however the Beach Boys backing band and the various musical collaborators is an area that I've always been particularly fascinated by. I'm interested in the world of touring musicians in general but the Beach Boy world is full of so many twists and turns as we all know and the way in which some touring members have at times essentially been full band members in all but name (Hinsche, Foskett, Carter, Daryl Dragon, etc) is something that, while not unique to the Beach Boys, is an interesting aspect to the Beach Boys world. Once the 90s came around and the Beach Boys essentially ceased to be a recording act and split into the different factions, the 'capital T' Touring Band changed obviously, but the threads connecting all of the various touring lineups is very interesting. I've haphazardly attempted to make "family trees" of Beach Boys band lineups and I feel like there's a story to be told and with the right nudge I'd almost like to write a book about it - interview the various members and get their stories, completely avoid the topic of "dirty laundry" regarding the principals, just profile the backgrounds of the various people that have been in and out of the live show world of the Beach Boys and tell their stories while they're still around (and preserve the legacy of those that aren't). The book "When We Get To Surf City" by Bob Greene kind of cements this idea, and I was astounded when I randomly came upon the book in a library in 2009 that someone had written a book that told the stories of Randell Kirsch, Chris Farmer, and Gary Griffin among others. "Really? Someone outside of the 500-odd Beach Boy fanatics even knows who these guys are?"

Greene's book made me like Kirsch's personality (or at least the way he's portrayed), and I remember the first time I saw him perform live in the summer of 2004 and how much more I enjoyed the touring band show with him and Baker swapped out. I remember seeing Randell walking around the fair that the Beach Boys were performing at after the show was over and I talked myself out of approaching him as I don't like to bother people just trying to do their job but by all accounts he's a kind and humble man. I hope he's doing well with whatever project he's involved with.

Just stumbled on this thread. Would definitely be interesting to see this have an official release.
Anyway, I looked around the board and the internet at large to see if the session dates for the Unleash the Love material were available anywhere and couldn't find them. Some of the studio info is out there but I'm mostly interested in the chronology of when these things were recorded. Knowing how lots of Beach Boys projects work I wouldn't be surprised if some of the sessions dated back many years. There is a bit of an air of mystery around the Mike Love solo recordings (why has he recorded so much and released so little? Personal pleasure? Perfectionism?) and I'm curious to learn more.

Mike said in that recent interview that they're doing "50 Years of Good Vibrations" next year, which seems silly on multiple levels. I could muse on the missed opportunity (that old Beach Boys chestnut) and also how or if I suspect the Boys may be pulling the wool over our eyes again.... but more importantly, this got me thinking, what the hell is Mike going to do a "50th anniversary of" following 1966? As cool as "50 years of Wild Honey" would be, is he really going to do that? I guess in 2018 we could get (50 years of Doin' It Again"... except that already was basically the theme of C50. The mind boggles!

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!

Whoa, I live in Lansing too! There's more than one of us here, haha?

By the way, when did Carl take over "Wouldn't It Be Nice" from Al in the 80s?

Warmest California sun of welcomes. So glad to be a part of this board.

I just want to know who Mike and Bruce's Friend that appeared with them was.

Thanks to Barnyard2, I could update the list with the date (and link!!) for a show in Spain on Oct. 7th 1990. Check out the Killer after the Beach Boys (without Carl)

That video is crazy! They actually sound pretty good but the guy filling in for Carl is so distracting. Who is that guy? I feel like he's mentioned in the Stebbins/ Rusten book but I'm out of town this weekend and don't have the book on hand.

How tall is Randell Kirsch? He looks like a giant overseeing the proceedings.

Yeah the "news" section is irritating. It wasn't always like that right? In my early days of Beach Boys fandom (2002/3ish) that site was my main source of information - all of the reviews, articles, and information about bootlegs was truly illuminating. I seem to recall the news section being compiled of actual news at the time. Maintaining a website can be a challenge, so I don't really blame Mr. Wheadon for automating the news function, but as the "outsider fan with no tangible stake whatsoever" it did kind of kill that site for me. Still, lots of information to be found that can be particularly helpful to people just getting into the band.

It was definitely a gradual process for me. Technically I suppose "Kokomo" being a big hit when I was a very small child was probably my first memory of the Beach Boys, but I didn't consciously know that it was "them" singing that song until I was investigating their discography in high school. I remember as a kid thinking it was an "inappropriate" song with this guy sounding all seductive and the "ooh baby, pretty mama" lyrics being something that I shouldn't let my parents hear me listening to. Funny.

Growing up in the 90s and listening to oldies radio, "Good Vibrations," "Sloop John B," "God Only Knows," and "Don't Worry Baby" were among my favorite songs but like many a casual listener I mistakenly attributed Jan and Dean songs and probably some Four Seasons to the Beach Boys. At a county fair in the summer of 1996 I remember listening to the Beach Boys play "Surfin USA" from outside the pavilion and definitely getting a jolt of excitement about it. Sadly, this would be the closest I ever came to seeing the band perform with Carl. As I became more of a serious music fan I knew that Brian was the "crazy reclusive genius" and that he was still alive but wasn't a part of the "Beach Boys" that still toured, so when he was the musical guest on Conan O'Brien in the summer of 2000 I made it a point to watch his set. He did "Our Prayer/ Heroes and Villains" and "Sloop John B" and I was totally floored. Foskett and Darian also jumped out at me as what seemed like his right hand men. From here my interest was piqued and I became more familiar with the story of the band and identifying which of the hits were their songs, but it wasn't until "Sounds of Summer" was released in 2003 and ABC re-broadcast the "American Family" movie that I was firmly hooked. I spent that summer getting their CDs from the library, becoming intimately familiar with "Pet Sounds" and especially being floored by the "Sunflower / Surf's Up" two-fer. Reading Steven Gaines' "Heroes and Villains" effectively sealed the deal and I began acquiring their whole discography and seeking all of the available literature. I made mixtapes for my girlfriend full of the Friends-Holland era and she fell madly in love with Dennis, so from there it was just one excitement after another as we went to some Mike and Bruce shows together, listened to BWPS the day it came out and went to see Brian live in Ann Arbor on the SMiLE tour. I kept getting further and further into fandom, and while my girlfriend and I eventually split up we remain good friends and went to the C50 together. Earlier this year I made the pilgrimage to the landmark in Hawthorne. So, yeah... somewhere in there.

Yeah, Kirsch was originally rhythm guitar. He did that in Jan and Dean's band too, right? Besides Randell, Baker (whom Kirsch initially replaced), Christian, Scott, and Foskett, who else has been a touring guitarist for the (non C50) touring band?

Interesting that they would bring a new person in rather than get Phil Bardowell or someone to fill-in. Of course now that I think about it there haven't been a ton of Beach Boys touring guitarists... I mean, Baker's probably available, but... *shudder.*

Besides which, since when has Mike played high school gyms? He hasn't. I've never seen Mike, BTW.

I'm definitely not looking to enter this discussion, but I did want to point out that the first time I saw the Mike and Bruce band play was in a high school gymnasium in 2004.

Man, that 2000 Jamboree in the Hills video is so strange. Something about it it just makes it seem way more "fake" than Mike and Bruce shows these days.... even with the presence of longtime sidemen like Kowalski and Meros. Of course, Kowalski and Baker being replaced was a really positive change (I first saw "the touring band" shortly before Baker's we-all-hope final exit and the next time with Mr. Kirsch was a marked improved vocally) as I think few here would disagree. Anyway, strange video, glad it's posted.

Ah, it's set to private now. Anyone here contact the poster to get the address?

Also, Scott is, and has been since my first BB show in 2004, my favorite part of the touring band. Kudos, sir.

For one of those unexplainable "fan reasons" I recently put "'85" on my iPod and listened to this song for the first time in years the other day. I was wondering who's doing the falsetto in the chorus? It almost sounds like Matt Jardine, but he didn't start doing that for a few more years. Bruce? Foskett? Looped, processed Bri? Ah, the wonders of the BBs.

Still no footage of "Isn't It Time" from any recent shows?

I hate to say it, but I don't think anyone asks Mike Love about his songwriting process.

Ha, you're probably right.

This thread is the funniest we've had in quite a while.

Happy to help!

Right, I could assume that he has at least enough knowledge of chord progressions and scale degrees on different instruments that he can write and arrange ideas. Mostly I was curious if he had specifically ever addressed his process of writing music in an interview (written, audio, or visual) at any point. Seems he wouldn't shy away from a chance to show that he doesn't need a Wilson to toss some chords off.