Meeting the band

[BJL]

Hi all -

Over the years I've read lots of stories on this board about fans meeting the Beach Boys in all sorts of contexts, and was wondering if people have any suggestions for getting to see or meet either the principle Beach Boys, or members of the backing band.  I'm not particularly interested in autographs or pictures (though I wouldn't turn either down!!), all I really want is to say hi and shake hands.  I got to meet Al and Dave after an Al Jardine show last summer and it was really a thrill, but obviously this tour is a much bigger deal.
I have tickets for three upcoming Beach Boys shows (Beacon, Mohegan, and Westchester), but the Beacon show I'm going by myself on the 9th so I can go as early or stay as late as I want. 
Obviously the VIP package would have done the trick, but they're quite pricy. Does the existence of VIP packages totally preclude the possibility of just showing up really early and getting lucky?  Tips?  Suggestions?

[Waspinators]

I would imagine if by some lucky chance you did catch one of them walking in or out of the venue, they'd be accompanied by security guards making sure you stay 4 feet away.

[Zach95]

I remember one person saying they managed to sneak into a venue before the concert and caught them eating.

[SG7]

After the show is your best bet. Especially around tourbusses! Not sure if this will work for you, but for others it has.

[AndrewHickey]

I would imagine if by some lucky chance you did catch one of them walking in or out of the venue, they'd be accompanied by security guards making sure you stay 4 feet away.

When I've been to shows, Mike, Bruce and David have all been perfectly accessible walking to and from the tour bus to the stage door, and Mike and David have both been more than willing to chat to fans and sign autographs (Bruce varies in my experience, sometimes very friendly and sometimes much less so). Brian, on the other hand, is bustled through the crowds by a group of people making sure nobody bothers him.

The backing band are all completely approachable (except when Foskett is guarding Brian, then he's not), and Cowsill and Probyn especially are incredibly nice people.

Whether this will be different given that they've got people paying to meet them (and they won't want to devalue that experience, and probably will have had more than their fill of meeting fans already) I don't know. But the only one with anything like security guards is Brian.

[jeffh]

Is there a good quality hotel near the venue? If so, get over there right after the concert. Sit quietly in the lobby. You may be surprised. In ' 96 I did that and first I saw Al walk in. I spoke to him briefly. Next Bruce came in. He walked directly into the bar/ lounge area, sat down out of the way, and watched Letterman for half hour or so. Both made it back to the hotel within half an hour of the end of the concert. Of course there is a chance that you pick the wrong hotel too and no one shows up!!

[Iron Horse-Apples]

What you want to do is sit outside the hotel with a copy of Catcher In The Rye, and a twitchy look.

[onkster]

I met most of them in '85, right after BB'85 came out (of course!) This was in Des Moines, Iowa, at the Savery Hotel. We had a little gig shooting raw footage for TV spots for their upcoming concert in, IIRC, Washington.

I have a long journal entry about it, but just quickly from memory, here are my impressions of the guys from that day:

1. Bruce: wonderful. Super-friendly, put us at ease. Very upbeat and nice to talk to.
2. Al: cranky. Not a bad guy, but he didn't seem to be having a good day--didn't like his room: "crummy". Complained a lot about everything. Made a couple cute bloopers which I kept.
3. Mike: I was nervous about meeting Mike, given his rep at the time. But he was quite simply, quiet and professional. Very laid back.
4. Carl: sadly, I have no impressions of Carl, as he was still asleep upstairs. At 2 in the afternoon.

Somewhere, I still have a 3/4" tape copy of the entire footage, which I really need to convert before all the 3/4" decks disappear!

My only other story is the one I've told before, of running into Brian in the KROQ building elevator in '88--I think he was visiting Bingenheimer, whose show he had been on the day before. He was so handsome and trim, I almost didn't recognize him until his mouth twitched. And Surf Nazi was there with him, lookin' cranky.

-onkster

[adamghost]

I've never met Mike myself, but I've heard numerous stories of people meeting him and being very pleasantly surprised.  He's apparently a very personable fellow.

[egon spengler]

I met Brian before night 3 of his Hollywood Bowl run in 2008.  Got to the venue way early (around 3:30 for a 8-ish o'clock show, if memory serves) and just hung out by the artist entrance door. The rest of the band was already there, hanging out and presumably waiting for him to arrive. Other than them, I was the only one there. When Brian's tour bus pulled up, Jeff came over to me, brought me over to the bus, and introduced me to Brian. Got to shake his hand and gush for a few moments, and he offered to sign my Per Sounds lp (which I had forgotten I was even holding at the time). An awesome one-on-one experience, thanks in no small part to the man so many here loathe.

On the other hand, I tried to track down Mike and Bruce both before and after their show at a county fair last summer and couldn't even get close to them.

[hypehat]

I met Scott & Nelson last year after the BW show at the Festival Hall, and both were charming gents. Scott especially, we nattered a little bit about the show and TLOS.

Now this has nothing on VDP, who just walked straight from the stage to the merch table and started signing things and talking to folks 

[Andrew G. Doe]

I've never met Mike myself, but I've heard numerous stories of people meeting him and being very pleasantly surprised.  He's apparently a very personable fellow.

He is indeed, and possessed of a very dry - and self-deprecating - sense of humor.

[Emdeeh]

I met Dennis Wilson once in the late '60s, when he came out into the audience area to work/play with the soundboard for one of the BB's opening acts. I was in art school then and had a sketchbook with me. I did a quick sketch of DW and showed it to him. He signed it and drew a cartoon of a woman's face to go with the autograph. So I'm now the proud owner of a Dennis Wilson original.

[southbay]

I have always found Al to be very pleasant.  Really opens up if you complimnet him on something only a diehard would know, something obscure.  MIke is friendly, but typically much quieter than  his stage persona. Bruce is almost a split personality. He has been both the absolute most friendly, outspoken, most engagaing person in the group and other times  a very unpleasant fellow. Both on multiple occasions. I suspect, like everyone else in life, he has good days and bad days. Imagine that. I have had more positive experiences with him than negative. BRian is just what you would imagine. On 2 seperate occasions I  have personally seen him walk right by another fan flatly turning him down for a picture ("not right now"), and then just seconds later say "sure" to my same request.  Why, I have absolutely no idea. IT could just have easily been the other way around. I felt terrible for the other fan, but I took my chance anyway and it paid off.  Brian is Brian, he does things without any rhyme or reason.  Carl was always my absolute favorite.  Always ran late. Always behind the other guys. Despite that, NEVER failed to stop, never failed to give a smile or take a picture. Never failed to say "you're welcome" when a fan said "thank You". Always acted with class toward the fans.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I met Dennis Wilson once in the late '60s, when he came out into the audience area to work/play with the soundboard for one of the BB's opening acts. I was in art school then and had a sketchbook with me. I did a quick sketch of DW and showed it to him. He signed it and drew a cartoon of a woman's face to go with the autograph. So I'm now the proud owner of a Dennis Wilson original.

How lucky! could you please post a picture of this?!