I remember all those humorous Steve Desper stories about Al in the studio - about how he could never make up his mind, how he'd take forever making up his mind on a mix or a take. Maybe the same dynamic is at play here. Who knows.

Ha! Love to talk to Al. Good old Ohio country boy Al.

But seriously, I think I know how all this will play out. You will ask the 'tough' questions, Mike will spin like he's always spun, and you will report it all as FACT. The rest of us doubters will be marginalized as Brianistas, fan boys, or pick your pejorative.

For all the piling on c/o RStone, I'd love to hear a he said/she said autopsy on this crazy band - whether by Stone, or say a British publication. I'm afraid I'd only accept your opinions Andrew as being representative of the status quo, not the greater whole. Another voice would be needed to give a fair voice to Al and Brian.

[May]

May be talking with Mike at greater length - and on the record - next month. I think the topic may crop up again.

Now that you've reported one side of the story, that settles it then. Everything tidy and the issue is closed. Move along...nothing to see here.
 

This may be the article that Guitarfool is referencing. Believe I posted it here some time ago.

David Spero, former mngr for Joe Walsh and well acquainted with the inner workings of the Eagles.

http://www.cleveland.com/popmusic/index.ssf/2013/07/david_spero_artist-manager_tal.html

Managers informing managers. No wonder so many mega dinosaur acts can't create quality art (with a few exceptions) when their work environment has all the charm of a Fortune 500 boardroom.

[want me]

Something doesn't add up here. Al receives notification from Live Nation about Jones Beach. He's (apparently) miffed that the offer comes through a third party. We do know that he posts about Jones Beach on his Facebook feed - but did he EVER pick up the phone (pretty much immediately) and contact Mike to settle the issue?

Something like - 'hey Mike, it's Al...I'm excited about Jones Beach man, but WTF...do you really want me down there? Is this really happening? Is this a one shot thing? What exactly is going on?'

A conversation like that should've gone down within 48 hours after hearing from Live Nation. Right? I mean, that's what normal people would do...

I'm happy about his shows with Bri, but sheez...all of this should've hit and breezed over a long time ago.

Regarding Ambha, I'm reminded about athletes' use of twitter. It's incredible to me how many people (regardless of their age) have no self governor when posting sh*t online. When the game's on the line (or the show's about to start) get your ass off twitter et al unless you know how to ride that media tiger. Many people, most people, don't.

Right on, Al! Given a choice, I know which show I'd see.

We're...for our team, yeah
You'll never lose it, to us you're still number one!

Mike's biggest problem - in the eyes of some, at any rate - is sadly unfixable. He's not Brian. Yup, that simple, that stupid. But then, some BB fans were never overburdened with smarts.

You're being charitable with the "some BB fans were never overburdened with smarts" bit.

Nice. Class. And the beat goes on...



Hey...it's the difference between a fine steak and a quick drive through the Taco Bell. That's how I see it. Guilty of I guess, a discerning palate. Enjoy your kokomo a go go.

Some of you LA cats should visit CD Trader and investigate. If it was legitimate, whoever burned those copies is probably burning up a fresh batch. I used to know a shop in Seattle that burned DVD boots to replenish their stock whenever they moved a few archive rarities.

Regarding the VDP/Smile collaboration, total agreement with Guitarfool; when it's clicking, the lines merge. It's not like Tony Asher was singing melody lines for Pet Sounds, whereas Van Dyke obviously has his own melodic ability. I can easily see how each party may interpret the sessions slightly differently.

What puzzles me is how all these comments are dribbling out nowadays. Surely there must have been some hard feelings over the box set release. VDP got slighted somehow and the nitty gritty hasn't been fully revealed.

I think we're all reading tea leaves with regard to what Jeff's decision means in the greater scheme of things. Since I'm not an insider and I don't play one on TV, I'd suggest the following:

a) Jeff knows that while Brian may continue to perform, the live work will diminish significantly from here on.

b) The movie will beget a new album - surely one album will ride on its coat tails.

c) Bizniss being bizniss, you could probably count on a 20-30 stop tour encompassing a new release and a new movie. Anything beyond that will depend upon sales and ergo, major label relationships (why these guys are wedded to that major label dinosaur relationship is beyond me, but old habits die hard)

Christian stepping back probably provided Jeff a golden opportunity to continue regular work over the next few years. I'm not surprised he took the opportunity. He was always more of greatest hits guy than the others in Brian's band.

Brian will be fine on tour; I've heard Scottie cover for him as well on cues and such. If I had my druthers, I'd rather he be granted the opportunity to enjoy the freedom of the studio, and gut out the occasional necessary gig. As long as these gigs are events - ala TLOS, the Beck experiment, Gershwin. All of these were highly interesting, emotionally satisfying events. Please...no greatest hits shows. Just events.

Have to say however...Kittykat's (deleted) comment almost made me do a spit-take of my morning French Roast. To whit:

Exactly. The music is the thing, and the Beck/Wilson performance I saw at the EJ Thomas hall was transcendent. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, and you'll enjoy the music (which is what the damn thing is all about anyway)

Seriously Professor, the troll act is getting really tiring.

The Tony Clifton of rock and roll.

Looking at the BB UK schedule I noticed how it coincides with Brian's appearance at Cork 7/4. Hmmmm.

"ladies and gentlemen...please welcome my cousin, Mike Love"

Crowd goes wild
Smiley Smiley Message Board melts down

In which universe does July 17th coincide with July 4th ?

It doesn't, oh wise one. Since M&B were booked at the end of June and again on the 17th, I assumed they may be in the midst of an isles/continent tour. I assumed. Heaven help me to never make that assumption again.

Today. It's got a helping of the 'hits' but the amazing emotion of the 2nd half gives a great snapshot of the deep deep soul of this band. It really is a milepost in the band's career me thinks.

Piqued my interest for sure, but quite a few of the holy grails were still listed as missing in action. Which then begs the question, are we talking about a couple dozen outtakes / demos or the treasure trove originally cited in the first article?

David's actual quote:

"We're very lucky in the band in that we have two visionaries, Brian and Michael, they're like poets, like Shelley and Byron. They're two distinct types of visionaries, it's like fire and ice, basically. I feel my role in the band is to be somewhere in the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water."

So yeah, that's pretty cool.

I thought Capitol was backing Brian's latest project(s), as they would have if it were a Beach Boys' album. 

This was my understanding as well, KK but I would be (pleasantly) surprised if Capitol was on board for three subsequent albums. More than likely, it's album to album. Kind of ratchets up the need for the first one outta the box to be solid.

All of this conjecture about three albums worth of material is just that, until the contracts are signed. Perhaps there's enough in the can for an all instrumental opus with Jeff Beck, perhaps not. Ditto on Life Suite, and so on. But none of it is going to happen without a clearly detailed plan of attack, ie: major label backing.

I'd love to hear everything right now, but they're obviously sitting on their cards until release of Love and Mercy. In the meanwhile, it's a little of this and a little of that in the studio (along with a well-timed selfie around the microphone to peak some interest).

Legacy artists move like legacy cars. Slow and steady out of the parking lot.

But they are my favorite band. Mike just wants to deflect some of the 50 years ago on Sullivan media spotlight and say 'hey...both me and George studied TM in India! lemme tell ya all about it!'

I never ever doubted George's spiritual belief (and the music it created). Mike on the other hand...

Oh for Pete's sake...this is jive. EVEN though many of my pals were born late November/early December, I can't buy any mystical bond between Pisces or Virgo or et al. Commonalities perhaps, but not worthy of deep discussion.

What Pisces Brothers really is, is an attempt by Mike to gravy-train upon the whole Beatles thing. Like the guy at the party that tries too hard to fit in. Call it like I see it. Koo koo ka joob.

Teenage gamblers
Sittin' in a Rambler.

Let us turn to the guru.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6NpfllZrdg

Looking at the BB UK schedule I noticed how it coincides with Brian's appearance at Cork 7/4. Hmmmm.

"ladies and gentlemen...please welcome my cousin, Mike Love"

Crowd goes wild
Smiley Smiley Message Board melts down

Thought it was a little 'by the numbers' rawk guitar solo. Would've been a nice change of pace to feature a keyboard lead - faithful to the original, but still fresh in this day and age. But so it goes.

Cover band musicians are not usually known for a unique personal style.

"Brian...would you like to attend Mike's Ella award ceremony tonight?"

"Sure...why not?"

"Or maybe we should go to that Korean restaurant you like instead?"

"Sure! That sounds great!"

"Well, which is it then?"

"Yeah...okay. That's fine."

 

The only thing more tiring about the endless C50 finale speculations, is the insider dangling carrots out there..."One day...the whole story will be revealed." Like Cool Hand Luke showing deuce pair at the poker table. I hope one day we DO get some closure, just so we could move on. To the BEDROOM TAPES! WHAT ARE THEY? WHY AREN'T THEY RELEASED!? WHO HEARD 'EM? I HAVEN'T HEARD 'EM! LET'S HEAR 'EM!

(BRI showing pair of hearts...and now the river...)

Saw Sean sitting next to his Mom the other night at the Grammy's and he looked like the spittin' image of his old man, circa 1969.

Yeah. He looks like his dad at Live Peace in Toronto.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/flaming-lips-and-sean-lennon-visit-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-20140207