Paul Revere of the Raiders used to play a piano keyboard shaped like an automobile for years and years when they played the Branson Missouri circuit. It's kind of cheezy but that's entertainment.

Much love, much peace and Happy Birthday goodtimes!

May you enjoy at least a smidgeon of the joy and happiness you've given us all over the years! So much music and so much life affirming spirit. Rock on brother.

If anyone believes that the Mike vs. Brian angle is a uniquely complicated knot, step into the world of the Kinks!

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/dave-davies-kinks-mick-avory/

The bulk of the problem resides with those who don't know how much they don't know.

Somewhere in the bizarro world, where up is down and dogs sleep with cats, there is a Kink-centric Andrew G. Doe type. A man who has devoted decades of his life to investigating Kinksonian miutiae. This man is privy to insider information, and he will guard it...with his honor, with his life. And he will lord over you with said information. Yay verily.

That is a dynamite question. A Dy-no-MITE!

Cam Mott - the Baghdad Bob of the Beach Boys community.

Of course, the M&B Beach Boys have changed since 2004 - not a lot though since 2014, when I last saw them.

So, in your cosmos, it's acceptable to consider a 90 minute outdoor meat & spuds GH show as broadly equivalent to a three hours plus indoor show that delved deep into the catalog when considering whether or not to attend the latter . 33-odd songs as opposed to nearly twice that number. What a strange world yours is.

Out of curiousity, when did Mike and Co. last perform a comparable set list in the states? I would love to see one of those wide ranging euro shows, but Mike seems not to do them over here.

Check out the slate of US shows this summer for Mike and Bruce. Wonder which venue will be the lucky recipient of the UK setlist?  http://www.thebeachboys.com/#go_page_2607

Hang on...August 2nd, Fort Wayne, Indiana. My sources tell me that they will perform SMILE in its' entirety.

I thought about the mention c/o the covers Album, and the first thing that came to mind was something along the lines of the NASCAR tribute release. Anything else would certainly be in violation of the license.

The other thing that got me at the end was the sheer enthusiasm about how 'we're gonna do THIS, and we're gonna do THAT...' He thinks it's 1992 all over again, and the world is waiting for the next Mike Love release. It's a little odd, to say the least.

Oh come on now...that would take 5, maybe 7 minutes  of his time to hear some tracks. Time best devoted to a scintillating response from Evan Landy in the bloody Mail.

HEY KIDS! It's FUN! It's VIRAL! It's WHAT'S HAPPENING! Twitter goes BANANAS!

#probably

[does]

When Mike visits the Lower East Side Film Festival, will he take the time to view and/or comment upon Love and Mercy?

Probably. 

Funny how such a busy, busy guy who is so engrossed in bringing fun, fun, fun to all the fans doesn't always have time to post online - although he does have time to read a rambling article on the Daily Mail. That he DOES make time for. Will he sense the blowback and attempt to clarify his stance in a future interview (and only succeeding in digging himself deeper into the mud)?

Probably. 

I plead guilty to occasionally getting visceral about Mike's antics. I'll still say it - anyone who agrees to write the preface for his autobiography is going to get pulled down in the mud with Mike. If you don't care, so be it...but don't say we didn't warn ya, because sure as Christmas, he's going to sharpen the axe and fling some mighty BS when it comes time for the book. Guaranteed.

Some said we should temper our remarks in case Mike is reading this thread. I won't. I kind of wish a journalist on one of his numerous "Dinky Town Gazette" interviews would go Mike Wallace on his ass and ask some tough questions. And follow up for god sakes...don't accept the spin. The revisionist history from this two faced egomaniac.

My self righteousness has to be tempered somewhat, because hey...'he's already lost the fight'. Back in the halcyon days of Kokomo as well as the 90's, Brian was treated as almost a spirit - he's out there, but he's not with us tonight. Another poster mentioned this some posts back; he's very much  with us these days, and has been since Imagination. Common perception is that both bands encouraged each other to go further, to push the envelope in a matter that was never the case in the 80's/90's (with the exception of the acoustic set in '93). C50 saw Brian get a well deserved spotlight from the audience, and he responded...which must have killed his selfish, self absorbed cousin. Since BWPS, TLOS, and now NPP and L&M, he continues to occupy front-and-center in the public consciousness. Is he fully engaged all the time and capable of embracing this scrutiny? No...he's not McCartney. But he does just fine, thank you, with the support of his loving wife and extended musical family.

Meanwhile, we've got this snarling jackal pining for the 'old day's' and fun, fun, fun. No one takes you seriously, Mike Love. No one, except a small, battered fan club, officiated by Cam.

All kidding aside to Cam, the Hollywood/music business system doesn't take Mike seriously. They DON'T. The Ella award was nice, but it's like participation award in the greater scheme of things. No one cares Mike. Develop some perspective. Develop some humilty, and maybe they will.

Seriously doubt it though.

[dogs]

Basing this opine on recent (numerous) interviews - my God, that autobiography is going to be a train wreck. Anyone in the scholarly Beach Boy journo-go-round who acquiesces to write a preface, should recall the old adage; if you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.

Interviews such as this one reflects badly upon the poor working class strummers he's got touring with his bar band. I mean, yeah I get it...you gotta eat, I know. But are you aware of the brand? Are you aware of just what you're propping up? Night after night? County fair after county fair?

The Beach Boys are dead. Long live the Beach Boys.

I'd like to echo what so many have said before - it's an emotional wallop. While we have devoted our lives into digging in the back story, and while we may know all the drama in this man's life, it's stunning to viscerally feel that turmoil on a personal level.

The studio scenes were as touching as first listening to the old SOT discs back in the day; stripped bare of Hollywood glitz, you're seeing people settling into a job, with all the heavy lifting and hours of tedium that go into great art. Watching Brian and Hal take a smoke break in a regular-Joe parking lot outside of Western (I assume), made it all tangible. Like break time at the warehouse.

Of course, I knew I'd enjoy the studio segments. As would anyone here (hopefully Joe Q. Public gets a deeper appreciation of the process). But what struck me was the juxtaposition between that halcyon time and the brooding tension of the 80's. It's the 80's sections that overwhelmed me and made me feel the claustrophobia. As I mentioned before, we've read about these dramas before, but somehow you were lifted front and center into that lion cage. Disturbing and fascinating on so many levels.

Bravo to the principals in this movie. Dano and Cusack, while physically dissimilar manage to evoke the child in Brian. The excitable, irrepressible and the frightened, withdrawn. It's all there, and you can't look away from the screen - you might miss a twitch, an insight into the enigma. And Atticus...well, what can you say. I hope there's a soundtrack at some point. It's all a part of this magnificent ride.

Leaving the theatre last night I felt as if I was in a state. The same way I felt when I (finally) saw John Frankenheimer's Seconds on TMC. We all know how that went down back in the day. You see... everything's gone full circle.  Damn Phil Spector and his Mind Gangsters!

Sheriff, It wasn't a personal attack upon anyone, other than a blunt assessment. A music review. And we all know that all of them are subjective.

Those four clips kind of summed up the paradox to me. Even on one of Brian's most difficult nights, I've never seen his touring band less than nail nuanced, fully textured tracks, such as anything from Pet Sounds. When you've got a truncated set-up such as Mike's solo band -   - I mean BEACH BOYS band, there are fewer moving parts. So what do you think is going to happen when they try to weave a tapestry such as All I Wanna Do? A-for-effort, but the result (that night) was subpar. Kinda like a bar band. It was. That and the fact that Mike's voice has taken a beating these past few years what with all the dates.

BUT...Farmers Daughter and Cottonfields fit the bill, and the touring ensemble fit into those like a well worn set of Hush Puppies. They fit nicely.

Who could forget the classic, "Dont f*ck with the formula, Bri"?

Who indeed. Certainly not the Capitol suit who said it in spring 1966. 

I thought you said it at the '85 sessions.

It's funny you bring that up, JB. Some years ago, I read a Terry Jacks interview in a book c/o Vancouver R&R in the 60's/70's. He mentioned the Seasons sessions, going into a recollection of how excited everyone was about the track yet Brian was extremely uneasy and wary of him. He went on to opine that Brian viewed him as an interloper and feared that he would become the new producer of the group. At least that's how he saw it at the time.

I'd like to think he's a big enough man to let sleeping dogs lie, but his recent commentary on C50 seems to belie a sensitivity on the Brian hype machine. We'd all like to 'let it go' (even though we love to revisit)...but hell, he CAN'T let it go! It's an obsession for him.

On an interesting side note (don't know if this has been reported) - Mike is slated to be a celebrity judge at the Lower East Side Film Festival in New York (June 11th - 21st). They play Norway on June 6th, Brooks, CA on June 20th, so who knows how long he'll be there.

http://www.lesfilmfestival.com/

Wouldn't It Be Nice if he were present for a screening of Love and Mercy? Oh to be a reporter for THAT Q&A...

An amazing guy that leaves behind quite a legacy.

I've read a few personal accounts of his time with the band, and he was always a fascinating study. Wish he wrote a book about that period, but then again - he always seemed to maintain a dignified silence (unless the subject of the Lovester came up). 

RIP Jack. In that period of time, you really were Superman .

And if whether or not you like some manicured studio crap he put out at the age of 72 determines whether or not you're a true Brian Wilson fan, well that's ridiculous.

Your words, not mine. Look...there's no litmus test here, there's no secret handshake, there's no group think going on. Obviously the record sounds clean and polished (ie: compression, occasional pitch correction), but the overall result is a solid testament that ranks amongst his best solo stuff. My opinion, not yours...but calling it 'manicured studio crap' is just agenda driven. Yeah, the A-word. AGENDA.

I dig NPP. Total ear-worm, man. Total ear-worm. Like it a lot.

Thanks Howard. Not gonna take it anymore, indeed.

I don't usually come out of the woodwork to post here, but I feel the need to say something about this ridiculously hate-filled original post. Talk about an agenda. I'm certainly not anti-Brian Wilson. In fact, he is my all time musical hero. But speaking as a professional recording engineer, those who have correctly observed the heavy use of tuning software (be it Autotune or Melodyne) on the Brian Wilson/Joe Thomas productions of recent years are not pushing a political agenda. They are accurately using their ears and observing a simple sonic fact. Whether or not you like it, heavy tuning went into the making of these records. To dispute that claim only reveals your unsophisticated listening abilities and lack of knowledge about contemporary recording technology. Okay, I'm out.

What an all encompassing self-indignant statement oh wise one! But far be it from me to disagree - after all you're a recording engineer.

Oddly enough, your recording of Hop, Skip & Jump sounds like it was recorded at the bottom of a trash can. But I don't know anything. I've just recorded with Guided by Voices, Cobra Verde, Death of Samantha and many more.

Heaven forbid if a 72 year old man wants to make a contemporary sounding record that sounds with the times (as opposed to a lo-fi exercise for PBR swilling hipsters).

Reading this spirited debate on the thorny issue of tuna reminds me of the old liner notes on the back of Queen albums. Everyone assumed those Brian May leads were somehow keyboard synthesizer in origin. To which Queen would proudly exclaim - 'No Synthesizers!' (at least up to News of the World)

Maybe it's time to break out that old disclaimer and apply it to tuna. 

I don't profess to being adept at determining subtle, tasteful applications of autotuna. Obviously, the C50 live release was a primer in what not to do - but what about the Chiba, Japan television recording? My favorite live artifact from C50; wasn't there some vocal manipulation going on there? The vocals pop, they shine. Hard to believe it wasn't doctored with (however judiciously).

I dunno. Going into this, considering the 30 minute window I didn't expect any drawn out Q & A. You can't really conduct an in depth interview with a one and done question format. It's much like consulting a magic 8 ball! Such is the enigma of our good friend Brian - questions wrapped in riddles.

I didn't expect any response on my Phil Spector Vegas residency question, but I did think it would be a nice back-door method towards that rock n roll album we've all been jonsein' for. If that somewhat winded question disturbed the parameters of a proper Q & A, I apologize. I was just trying to fly a trial balloon.

Let's be easy on ourselves - the Smile historians and the pizza historians.

Brian - thank you for visiting our board! I was fortunate to catch your Re imagine Gershwin show in Toronto and it was transcendent.

Have you ever considered a special series of shows (in Vegas) featuring the Phil Spector songbook?

Cheap Trick has performed Sgt. Pepper in a series of special Vegas shows, providing tribute to their soul and inspiration, the Beatles. How great would it be if you performed a set of classic Spector in a limited run in Vegas!

River Deep, Mountain High
Be My Baby
You've Lost That Loving Feeling

Think about it - I think it would be a great rock and roll moment, and dare I say - a great live release as well!

All the best, man!

[game on]

I would hope that the whole YT issue is a one-time thing since it concerns a television product prior to broadcast. Hopefully that makes it a special case - with regard to this board. But when the band (in whatever manifestation) takes the show and album on the road, then it's game on with live show YT links. That's been the case throughout C50 and the shorty tour when Al and Dave set sail with Brian.

If that's no longer the case, then that would be sad (and typical of a dinosaur recording industry). Powers that be...whatevah.

I remember an Al interview where he recalls Carl's role in mediating conflicts in the band. At a certain point, Carl would say, 'it IS what it IS' and things would calm down and proceed.

It IS what it IS would've made a good B-side for All This is That.