SMiLE Mystery

[Andrew G. Doe]

Well known fans from back in the day before this internetweb dofus, back when we used to communicate by phone and mail. Taber would recall the name too.

[Pretty Funky]

Thanks.

[Rocky]

Well known fans from back in the day before this internetweb dofus, back when we used to communicate by phone and mail. Taber would recall the name too.

What is this phone you speak of, you mean the thing I use to surf the web, take pictures, and listen to music? Oh and I believe you left the "e" off of e-mail

[Andrew G. Doe]

Well known fans from back in the day before this internetweb dofus, back when we used to communicate by phone and mail. Taber would recall the name too.

What is this phone you speak of, you mean the thing I use to surf the web, take pictures, and listen to music? Oh and I believe you left the "e" off of e-mail

A little respect for your elders, sonny. 

[Rocky]

A little respect for your elders, sonny. 

I looked up those terms on wikipedia, and as it turns out there was also this primative form of text messaging called "telegrams" 

[Steve Mayo]

Ya know, thinking more about it and dredging up old memories, I can't \swear about the tapes, but the storage shelves look exactly like the one Kevin and Pam Worrilow used to have in their basement, where they stored their BEach Boys collection. 

i remember them...in 1983 i had a bunch of, ah stuff, and i drove to cincinnati and had dinner with them. gave them a bunch of, ah..stuff, and they did the same. i gave them my copy of brad's book 'cause they didn't have it yet. nice people.

[DonnyL]

7" reels.  Record speed is not determined by the tape but by the recorder. 

Recording Tape. 1/4 in. 1800 feet Hi-Output, Wide Dynamic Range, Low Noise. E35-7
Maxell.

indeed

[DonnyL]

Also, as Donny mentioned, it would be unusual for someone to have a bunch of empty Scotch reel to reel boxes laying around.  Empty boxes were available for purchase, but they were usually all white.  I very much doubt that empty boxes with the Scotch logo or half inch Scotch style were available for retail purchase.  

As has been pointed out, and conceded, of all the alleged BB boxes under consideration, only one unquestionably has a Scotch logo. The others are all white. Just sayin'...

many of the Beach Boys boxes are unquestionably Scotch -- the ones to the right, labeled "CONCERT" and "SHUT DOWN VOL II" are sticking out slightly and have a visible Scotch design, the "misc beach boys material" has a scotch logo visible on top, the 1/2" boxes have the Scotch box design, and there are a bunch of Scotch boxes on the bottom shelf.  The boxes all have a uniform appearance.  There is clearly no reason to think these are not all Scotch boxes!

[DonnyL]

It makes no sense to me how this could be a fan shrine or audio hobbyist collection.  These are certainly NOT original master tapes; they are obviously safety/reference copies (source unknown) made as a group for some specific purpose, authorized or unauthorized.

[Andrew G. Doe]

It makes no sense to me how this could be a fan shrine or audio hobbyist collection.  These are certainly NOT original master tapes; they are obviously safety/reference copies (source unknown) made as a group for some specific purpose, authorized or unauthorized.

And your proof is... ?

All we have to go on is a single polaroid.  All we can say for certain is that in this picture there are 35 tape boxes bearing either the names of Beach Boys albums, songs, related projects or titles that are decidedly ambiguous. One of these boxes clearly shows a Scotch logo, two others show strogn signs of being Scotch boxes. Anything else is conjecture to a greater or lesser degree.

[DonnyL]

It makes no sense to me how this could be a fan shrine or audio hobbyist collection.  These are certainly NOT original master tapes; they are obviously safety/reference copies (source unknown) made as a group for some specific purpose, authorized or unauthorized.

And your proof is... ?

All we have to go on is a single polaroid.  All we can say for certain is that in this picture there are 35 tape boxes bearing either the names of Beach Boys albums, songs, related projects or titles that are decidedly ambiguous. One of these boxes clearly shows a Scotch logo, two others show strogn signs of being Scotch boxes. Anything else is conjecture to a greater or lesser degree.

i cannot prove my theories but neither can you.

you are thinking in terms of facts; i am thinking in terms probability. We are all presenting theories regarding what we think is depicted in this photograph.  i respect and appreciate your work and knowledge (i even own one of your books!) but i think the theories i have presented are more realistic than the ones you have presented.  the theories you have presented do not make sense to me and i consider them to be illogical.  Perhaps the language i am using is too strong; how about "it seems fairly obvious to ME that these are reference or safety copies".  i have no idea WHY this collection was created or by whom.  But that's where the theories and guessing comes in.  We are not going to get very far if we are thinking in terms of facts only.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Facts are where I start from, not where I stop. 

Which brings me to something I just noticed... the wording on the plaques is a bit odd, isn't it ?

"Studio & engineering by..."

"Thanks also, The Beach Boys ! (Especially Brian)"

This is just a feeling, a hunch if you like... but maybe we should be looking outside North America ?

[Curtis Leon]

Facts are where I start from, not where I stop. 

Which brings me to something I just noticed... the wording on the plaques is a bit odd, isn't it ?

"Studio & engineering by..."

"Thanks also, The Beach Boys ! (Especially Brian)"

This is just a feeling, a hunch if you like... but maybe we should be looking outside North America ?

You're saying that this tape collection/fake was made during the Beach Boys' Dutch holiday?

[bgas]

Facts are where I start from, not where I stop. 

Which brings me to something I just noticed... the wording on the plaques is a bit odd, isn't it ?

"Studio & engineering by..."

"Thanks also, The Beach Boys ! (Especially Brian)"

This is just a feeling, a hunch if you like... but maybe we should be looking outside North America ?

Perhaps someone could close in on the bolts and determine whether they are metric or standard threads; coupling that info with the year, might help define the country . 
  Myself, I now lean towards this being the Home Archive of one Daniel Rutherford of Vancouver, BC. Daniel would have known all of the BBs inside scoop being a dedicated collector/ uber-fan/ friend of Murry Wilson. ( Dan later married the Ex Mrs. Brian Wilson)  Perhaps Murry even gifted Daniel with some or all of the tapes/boxes.

[Ron]

It makes no sense to me how this could be a fan shrine or audio hobbyist collection.  These are certainly NOT original master tapes; they are obviously safety/reference copies (source unknown) made as a group for some specific purpose, authorized or unauthorized.

And your proof is... ?

All we have to go on is a single polaroid.  All we can say for certain is that in this picture there are 35 tape boxes bearing either the names of Beach Boys albums, songs, related projects or titles that are decidedly ambiguous. One of these boxes clearly shows a Scotch logo, two others show strogn signs of being Scotch boxes. Anything else is conjecture to a greater or lesser degree.

Andrew you have such a strange view on this.  I don't know why you won't even allow for the possibility that these are anything but empty boxes, lol.  It's amazing.

Earlier in the thread, you said one gentleman probably thinks the moon landings were faked.  All we have to prove the moon landings weren't faked are videotapes.  Why do you believe that, but don't believe this?  It's kind of strange that you're so hard core against this being anything interesting at all.

Andrew; have you forgotten how to dream? 

[Ron]

Facts are where I start from, not where I stop. 

Which brings me to something I just noticed... the wording on the plaques is a bit odd, isn't it ?

"Studio & engineering by..."

"Thanks also, The Beach Boys ! (Especially Brian)"

This is just a feeling, a hunch if you like... but maybe we should be looking outside North America ?

Perhaps someone could close in on the bolts and determine whether they are metric or standard threads; coupling that info with the year, might help define the country . 
  Myself, I now lean towards this being the Home Archive of one Daniel Rutherford of Vancouver, BC. Daniel would have known all of the BBs inside scoop being a dedicated collector/ uber-fan/ friend of Murry Wilson. ( Dan later married the Ex Mrs. Brian Wilson)  Perhaps Murry even gifted Daniel with some or all of the tapes/boxes.

I feel the same.  Don't know the names, but I think what we're looking at is someone remotely related to the band, who had a member of the band do him a favor and get him some copies of some stuff.  I doubt there's anything groundbreaking in there, but there may be some unreleased stuff.  I'm just pulling all of that out of thin air though, No facts to back it up.  LOL

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Occam's Razor, here?

[Pretty Funky]

The tapes on the shelve behind to the left. Anyone else see what I see?

'NIXON RECORDINGS. MISSING 18 MINUTES'

 

[Rocky]

I think the exclamation point after 'Beach Boys' on the plaque is indicative of a fans/personal collection.

[hypehat]

"Especially Brian"?

[DonnyL]

I think the exclamation point after 'Beach Boys' on the plaque is indicative of a fans/personal collection.

that makes sense but there are plenty of other possibilities.  Let's say this was a private tape storage/playback facility and the Beach Boys donated some gear or cash in exchange for duping the tapes and storing them there.  not saying i believe it, but it makes about as much sense as dismissing this as a fan collection.  could be a PRIVATE collection, but this person or group of people would likely be some type of audio industry professional who had an association with the group.

further, as i noted earlier WHY would a fan/hobbyist have 1/2" tapes for only Warner material that he also has 1/4" copies of?  1/2" 2-track machines were not in use; these would be 4-track tapes.  yes, again i am assuming the boxes are not empty!

[Ron]

Occam's Razor, here?

Occam's Razor, always

It's a picture of a bunch of tapes.  Some haven't been released.  Somebody's got a collection of tapes with some unreleased sh*t.







I love that Occam guy.   

[XY]

I start to believe that Mr. Doe doesn't want these tapes to be located.
Must be his own collection.

[Jonas]

Is this thread close to being done? Cause I wanna be the last one to post in it and say

You're still a mystery

(see what I did there?)

[Beach Head]

The way I see it, there are three unique characteristics associated with this photo:

(1) the name "Robert P. Rolle"
(2) the name "Paul Bramsem"
(3) the tape labeled "Beach Boys/Remote/St. Paul," which seems to be a tape of a show that none of us has ever heard or even heard of.

Add to that the fact that there is a person on Facebook named "Paul Bramsem Sr." who is from St. Paul, MN (as reported earlier by Bubba Ho-Tep).

Now add this:

I found a copy online of the Minnesota Daily, the newspaper of The University of Minnesota in Minneapolis (right next to St. Paul), in which "Robert P. Rolle" is referenced as a sophomore at the school. The paper is from April 24, 1957. The article is titled "Students Chosen For SLA Posts." It can be found on page 2 here: http://www.mndaily.com/sites/default/files/paper-pdfs/1957/04/24/1957-04-24.pdf

There's no way to know for sure that it's the same Robert P. Rolle, but I think we're seeing way too many connections to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area for it to be pure coincidence. I think the key to this mystery lies in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

From here on, everything I offer is pure conjecture ...

I think we're looking at the tape storage area of a local Beach Boys-connected musician or perhaps a small studio in that area.

As to the first possibility (a BB-connected musician), what immediately comes to mind is that David Sandler is from Minnesota (he currently lives in Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis). He worked with Brian on-and-off from 1971 to 1973, both in L.A. and in Iowa, and certainly would have had access to the group's tapes while working at Brian's home studio. And his connection with Brian would certainly explain the third plaque: "Thanks Also, The Beach Boys! (Especially Brian)"

Could this be a picture of Sandler's tape collection? Were Rolle and Bransem associates of his?

The second possibility is that Rolle and/or Bransem ran a small studio in Minneapolis/St. Paul that The Beach Boys enlisted to help tape a show there or perhaps just handle the sound for a show. If I had to pick from the shows AGD has referenced as being held in St. Paul, I think I'd opt for either the July 22, 1974 or November 3, 1975 concert, given the various tapes pictured.

Now, I have no idea how we get from that situation to Rolle and/or Bransem obtaining copies of various BB master tapes. Admittedly, that doesn't make a lot of sense, but stranger things have happened.

Is there any possibility that Brian was on hand for either of the 1974 and 1975 shows? Is it possible that Rolle and/or Bransem negotiated, as partial payment for their services, an introduction to Brian, and that led to their being allowed to copy some tapes? Yeah, I'm completely shooting in the dark, but the setup we see doesn't lend itself (in my opinion) to being just some fan-based tribute to the band. I think there's a lot more going on here than that.