Finding the board

[Austin]

Not really a BB-related question per se, just something I've been curious about: how did anyone here find this place? Carried over from a previous incarnation, or just through Google?

(Myself, I was looking up some detail about Sunflower and stumbled on the Desperpedia, which led me to here. I think I read Desper's entire thread in one night.)

[Newguy562]

i found this because i was looking up beach boys tattoo. I'm still trynna to find something to get that represents the beach boys but it's hard. :/

[grillo]

I think I found it when I stumbled upon the Al_Jardine-didn't-go-to-Ohio? mystery thread/report...4,5, or maybe 6, years ago.

[Justin]

Found it by looking up Beach Boys boards.  Wasn't too happy with the official one on the Beach Boys site and eventually stumbled here. 

[Aegir]

I honestly can't remember. It's been way too long since I joined.

[Mooger Fooger]

There was an invite only group called "Smile Research Laboratories" run by spomeone calling themselves April in the late 1990s. Then that dissolved and a stop gap group "Li'l Smiley Cabin" started. Around the same time "The Smile Shop" started which then evolved into this board. Can't recall when exactly, though.

[Paulos]

I think I found this board when someone posted a link on the Shut Down board to an article here.

[adam78]

I used to visit the Smile shop website all the time in about 2001. Really wish there were some archived stuff from there around but thats a different topic.

Anyway, between that, Cabinessence, Ryan's smile site, Project smile etc I learnt a lot of what i know and love, then when the Smile Sessions was announced, I was compelled, after years of just reading to sign up and join in.

[hypehat]

Like Aegir, I just can't remember. Googling probably. I know I lurked for like, 6 months before having the gall to ask stupid questions....

[SMiLE Brian]

link from wikipedia's SMiLE page.

[Mike's Beard]

I was reading Beach Boys quotes on some site and started clicking on links, this board was one of them. At first I was sceptical of some of the names posting due to their BB connections (Stebbings, Carlin, AGD, Desper etc), when I realised they were the real deal I became hooked. I'm not sure why now, but I must have lurked for six or so months before I registered. I remember my first post was asking why Brian didn't complete Smile as a solo project back in 1967 - as I recall I kinda got jumped on by several people!!! You soon learn you've got to do your homework to run with the guys on here.

[Smilin Ed H]

I used to look at the Cabinessence/Shut Down board, then the Nazis swamped the place.

[Mikie]

 

[soniclovenoize]

I can't remember...  I used to post at the old smileshop boards ten years ago, and I think I must have googled and found this place. 

[Amy B.]

Once again, my memory proves to be horrid. Was this board a direct result of a Smile board? I started at the blue board after hearing SMiLE (2004) and googling Brian. Then found this board or its predecessor while looking for more info about Brian and the BB. I've learned a lot here and am fascinated with the music and the overall story, but I don't really take a lot of interest in the minutia, so I'll probably always be fairly ignorant on many things Beach Boys.

[Bill M]

I did a Google search for "Beach Boys 1973," as that was the first year I saw the band live & to this day I'm obsessed with info about the band during that time period. I stumbled on a very interesting thread here about some of the supporting musicians who played with the band during that time. I lurk here almost daily because there's always some great stuff here posted by folks who are even more obsessed - & knowledgeable - than me

[sockittome]

I was an avid SMiLE Shop lurker back in the day, until it's demise.  Then a few years ago I was following a link (probably from the Hoffman board) and I ended up here.  I was a little put off by the name (Smiley Smile, really?) until I took a closer look and found it to be mostly about SMiLE (and other BB related things).   

[Wirestone]

I was a Cabinessence board guy back in the late '90s -- 'twas a fine place (hi Eric and Billy and Susan and other folks from those days).

Then it went down for a time and I looked at other places -- there was a green and yellow board, I seem to recall, where a lot of folks were.

Eventually I came to the Smile shop, which featured a lot of great folks. Eventually it imploded and changed into this -- I was too set in my ways to really move to another board at that point. And the change meant this board ended up dealing with a lot of other BB things ...

It has evolved too. The famous posters post less (looks like AGD might be the latest casualty), and the party line has shifted from Brianista to BBs-only. The tone is a little snarkier and simultaneously sillier. But it is still the Smiley Smile board. And that's a very good thing.

[Keri]

I started at the blue board ...

Me too, in fact I'm still there from time to time. When the Smiley Smile board went down for a while a number of people turned up on the blue board and that prompted me to check it out, the format of the blue board sometimes gets to me so I thought it was worth checking out a more conventional format message board. So this allows more in depth continuous discussion and memory, definitely more Beach Boysistas here and it seems more male dominated. It's an interesting place though.

[MyGlove]

I honestly wanted to talk about Smiley Smile with some other Beach Boys fans. So I typed in "Smiley Smile Forum" into Google, and got here.

[southbay]

That is a darn good question, but I honestly have no recollection.  Maybe through a reference in ESQ, or on the BBB board. 

[Heysaboda]

There was a "yellow board" where Bruce Johnston used to post, a lot, before people were required to register.

[Eric Aniversario]

I was a Cabinessence board guy back in the late '90s -- 'twas a fine place (hi Eric and Billy and Susan and other folks from those days).

Hey!  Yeah I started posting there...it was cool to find people who were as crazy about the BB as I was.  Then some rude things were said, and I bowed out of message boards in general for maybe 5 or 6 years.  I started visiting the Male Ego board, I really enjoyed that one, and that, along with the BBB board (where Bruce would post a lot), got me back into it.  The SS board went down briefly, then came back up here, and I followed it here.  2009 and 2010 and the first half of 2011 weren't years where I was particularly active on the board, but I still checked in now and then.  Now I'm back on here again, and enjoying it.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Turned left at Iceland.

[Alan Smith]

I remember when this board was launched around the time the Beach Boys.com finally got off the ground; I can't recall if that linked into another significant release.  I opted out at the time, but have only recently cruised back to ensure for decent info as talk of the Smile Sessions info started to unfurl.

I'd moved away from the message boards (news) - I do remember the "old geezer" as a fairly regular poster on such news boards - where I can also remember a BB's author getting relatively bludgeoned in relation to delays on an independent re-publishing of one of his books - ah, the old days.

I may have missed this board's heyday, but having contributions from AGD, Jon S and Peter Reum + the occasional cameo from Stephen Desper + all of the amazing stuff from the hardcore types make this board unique - and plugged in - I hope those mentioned can find the strength to keep it up - cheers and happy new year - A