Official thread for Brian & Al's Official Response to Mike/Bruce Band Tour in the LA Times

[Micha]

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-brian-wilson-al-jardine-respond-to-mike-love-on-beach-boys-flap-20121008,0,6270223.story?page=1&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=95857&utm_source=dlvr.it&track=rss

Something that confuses me...

"After Mike booked a couple of shows with Bruce, Al and I were, of course, disappointed. Then there was confusion in some markets when photos of me, Al and David and the 50th reunion band appeared on websites advertising his shows.

At that point my attorney merely suggested to Mike's attorney that a possible press release in those markets might be appropriate to stop the confusion, which was in no one's best interest. That's it, plain and simple, and a strategy was open for discussion, which never happened.
That’s why I was completely blindsided by his press release. I had no idea that it was coming out, since it was crafted by Mike's personal PR firm without my knowledge or approval. No one in my camp would have approved it or the timing."

OK, so far so good. But...

"I'm disappointed that Mike would now say that the release was done at the request of my representative"

Errr... but it was, as stated just a few lines earlier. Brian's attorney made a suggestion and Mike's people acted upon it, slightly more so than was possibly expected (shades of Becket)... but fact is, according to what "Brian" has said, Mike issued his statement at the request/suggestion of Brian's representative.

BTW, according to Rolling Stone, Brian was aware of the October M&B shows back in late June, so I'm struggling to see exactly how that constitutes being "blindsided".

Confussed.  

Well, looks like Brian's management "merely suggested" such a press release, but Mike claimes they "requested" it...

[Wirestone]

I'm nabbing Howie's post from another thread, because I think he sums it up better than anyone. He's really knocking it out of the park these days.

Doesn't it suck that we're even having this conversation? This tour was unbelievable. Finally it was The Beach Boys. It was arguably the best they've been since '75. Brian's band with Totten and Cowsill -- this thing was an embarrassment of riches. Everybody was there nailing it. And it's over before it even began. It's heartbreaking is that it has to go back to what it was before April. Mike and Bruce's show is tight and professional, but Mike's voice is shot from never taking a break over the years and the show includes a FULL HOUR of someone else singing the tunes while Mike points at his temple and waves. Al's show has never gained enough traction to ever evolve past rehearsal/soundcheck levels, and Brian's gigs have devolved at times into "Weekend At Bernie's" territory. But somehow when they all get together -- and together with David, who's happy, healthy, and batting .1000 -- it amazingly all fits. The carry each other and reach incredible heights together. It was masterful.

The "timing" of the announcement is a moot point. I think a week into this tour everybody kinda looked at each other and thought, "Wow -- not only is this happening, but this is actually ART. This thing is what it was always SUPPOSED to be and always fell flat. It's not cheap, it's not lame." That this thing is running the risk of being a one-off is a sin. And I sincerely believe that despite a tour wrap set for England, the fact that this was the best live show running made everyone believe -- ESPECIALLY due to the fact that Mike Love has been pining to finally get Brian "back" for 15 years -- that this would be how it will play out (e.g. with panache and class and Brian Wilson for once wanting to be a Beach Boy.) Instead it's like a kid getting adopted by a rich family and being sent back to the orphanage after a year. Pointing out that that was always the plan doesn't mean anything in the grand scope of things. A choice was made and it was a poor choice. It was the wrong choice.

[Lonely Summer]

I'm convinced Brian's representatives want the reunion to continue - because, as we all know, Brian is incapable of making his own decisions...and the tour was very lucrative, so of course Melinda and the gang want it to go on. If Brian bothered to speak up for himself, he would be more likely to prefer staying at home, laying in bed, and walking downstairs to the piano as the mood strikes him to plonk out a few melodies on the piano.

[Wirestone]

I'm convinced Brian's representatives want the reunion to continue - because, as we all know, Brian is incapable of making his own decisions...and the tour was very lucrative, so of course Melinda and the gang want it to go on. If Brian bothered to speak up for himself, he would be more likely to prefer staying at home, laying in bed, and walking downstairs to the piano as the mood strikes him to plonk out a few melodies on the piano.

Brian has stated of his own accord, and of his own free will, that he wants to keep doing it. To reporters. Multiple times.

And if you tell me he's being manipulated, then I will likewise argue that there's no possible way that Mike wants to continue touring, and that Jackie is forcing him to do it.

[EthanJames]

The article is on yahoo now, they didn't have the Love statement but they had Brian's instead and the comments on the article are pretty harsh, mostly against Mike, I could imagine the comments on Mikes Facebook page now.

[hypehat]

I'm convinced Brian's representatives want the reunion to continue - because, as we all know, Brian is incapable of making his own decisions...and the tour was very lucrative, so of course Melinda and the gang want it to go on. If Brian bothered to speak up for himself, he would be more likely to prefer staying at home, laying in bed, and walking downstairs to the piano as the mood strikes him to plonk out a few melodies on the piano.

Sigh. So many things to say.

1) Brian Wilson is not a fucking vegetable being dragged out to make money for his missus. A nice way to look at his condition. He is totally capable of making his own decisions, as we have seen.

2) Do you ever ask for advice? From your wife/spouse/boss/doctor/significant other/colleagues/pets/kids/friends/the speaking clock? Well, you must be a braindead goon, manipulated by them. Not simply asking for help, guidance, or reassurance. I can imagine that you are being especially manipulated when you have an anxiety disorder and at times low self-esteem.

3) Brian's never made any money from touring in America. If anything, he would have made less money touring with The Beach Boys, just like Mike is apparently making less money.

4) Brian Wilson spent the the late 60's and 70's laying in bed, doing nothing and popping down to the piano to occasionally write a melody. He became suicidally depressed, gained weight to around 300lbs, lost his voice and huge swathes of his musical faculty and by all accounts should have died. He should definitely do that again. Yes sir.

[Aegir]

4) Brian Wilson spent the the late 60's and 70's laying in bed, doing nothing and popping down to the piano to occasionally write a melody.

myth.

[MBE]

4) Brian Wilson spent the the late 60's and 70's laying in bed, doing nothing and popping down to the piano to occasionally write a melody.

myth.

Correct. Until Brian came back from Holland he was out and about a good deal of the time. More than one person told me they noticed he changed upon return. He became more reclusive after Murry died, but never spent years in bed. Pretty productive musically through 1970-71 too.

I feel Brian enjoyed the tour, maybe he wants to be a full time Beach Boy again. Still his management, and Mike's, handled things poorly the last few weeks. In both cases the wives are very involved in said management. To be fair all involved did a great job until Mike's first press release. Brian and Mike's pieces could very well be how they feel, but the fact remains is that the people around them make things more complex than it would be if they talked it out themselves. This has been happening in one form or another ever since the mid seventies when The Beach Boys began to talk more through lawyers than in person. If they want to be a group from here I think they need to be a complete unit and combine factions in all forms of management.

[Nicko1234]

3) Brian's never made any money from touring in America. If anything, he would have made less money touring with The Beach Boys, just like Mike is apparently making less money.

What does that even mean?

[startBBtoday]

I happened upon this while searching for information on the mysterious "Brian Love." From Mike's daughter's formspring account, which is basically a site where you answer anonymous questions from people:


Q: ambha sweet girl, give the world a hand. tell your dad to stay touring with brian al and dave for us. you know they want this, the world wants this, how come dad wouldnt?

A: It's more complicated than it seems. It doesn't have to do with money greed or anyone in the band. My dad truly loves brian and everyone else. It's the shady people Brian is around that my dad can not stand working with. Maybe and hopefully something will change though. We shall see let's just hope for the best.

http://www.formspring.me/aloveeeeee3

Also, as far as both parties' statements, wouldn't it make sense to release a live DVD when everyone in the world thinks there's no way that group of people will ever reunite again? Just sayin'.

[MBE]

Well if that doesn't make my point than nothing will. They are divided at this point only because the teams need to play ball and become a real unit.

[hypehat]

3) Brian's never made any money from touring in America. If anything, he would have made less money touring with The Beach Boys, just like Mike is apparently making less money.

What does that even mean?

Brian as a solo act is notorious for not making money touring.

This tour seems to be making less money for the principles than is standard fare - this is one of Mike's beefs with the whole enterprise. Seeing as the set up for the tour is Brian's, but in bigger venues, it is entirely possible there isn't a huge financial bonus (some, but not oodles of dollar) for Brian as opposed to touring solo. If Mike is making less money than usual, Brian probably is too. Hence, the accusation Brian is being touted on this tour to fill wife&managers wallet is spurious.

As is my logic, probably 

Aegir & Mike, I know it's a myth. I should have probably said 'Brian left to his own devices' or something. Soz.

[Nicko1234]

Brian as a solo act is notorious for not making money touring.

This tour seems to be making less money for the principles than is standard fare - this is one of Mike's beefs with the whole enterprise. Seeing as the set up for the tour is Brian's, but in bigger venues, it is entirely possible there isn't a huge financial bonus (some, but not oodles of dollar) for Brian as opposed to touring solo. If Mike is making less money than usual, Brian probably is too. Hence, the accusation Brian is being touted on this tour to fill wife&managers wallet is spurious.

As is my logic, probably 

How can Brian make less money than nothing? 

Mike may have made less money than he normally does because of all the expenses and because he and Bruce run a tight ship. But Brian will undoubtedly have made more than he normally does because of the much bigger crowds, the meets and greets, the merchandise etc.

Not saying that is the only reason that the band reunited but if it hadn`t made any business sense then I doubt Melinda would have been interested.

[lance]

If Brian's solo tour is an independent legal entity, then he could very well make oodles of money from it while the entity itself loses money.  Maybe the reason the solo tours don't make money is because he overpays himself, for example.

[Autotune]

The wives spoiled the reunion. As could be expected.

[hypehat]

Brian as a solo act is notorious for not making money touring.

This tour seems to be making less money for the principles than is standard fare - this is one of Mike's beefs with the whole enterprise. Seeing as the set up for the tour is Brian's, but in bigger venues, it is entirely possible there isn't a huge financial bonus (some, but not oodles of dollar) for Brian as opposed to touring solo. If Mike is making less money than usual, Brian probably is too. Hence, the accusation Brian is being touted on this tour to fill wife&managers wallet is spurious.

As is my logic, probably 

How can Brian make less money than nothing? 

I did say it was spurious  

[lance]

who are the 'shady people around Brian' and why are they shady? His wife? Foskett? Darian?

To be honest, the 'my band needs money too' argument carries a lot more weight to me than the 'Brian's camp are a bunch of jerks' argument. It's the same old thing since 1967, if you ask me. I'm not blaming or casting anyone as a villain, but it's unbelievable how similar this drama is to every other drama associated with those madmen.

[Nicko1234]

who are the 'shady people around Brian' and why are they shady? His wife? Foskett? Darian?

To be honest, the 'my band needs money too' argument carries a lot more weight to me than the 'Brian's camp are a bunch of jerks' argument. It's the same old thing since 1967, if you ask me. I'm not blaming or casting anyone as a villain, but it's unbelievable how similar this drama is to every other drama associated with those madmen.

Mike has been saying negative things about Brian`s management for years to be fair and Mike obviously had to compromise a lot for the reunion tour. I`m certainly not saying that that makes Brian`s camp jerks but from Mike`s perspective they could be seen to be very demanding and only interested in Brian (which would be sensible from their perspective).

It can`t simply be about money as M&B don`t have a packed schedule right now.

[Cam Mott]

For those who support Mike in this, I'd like to explain something. Those of us who are backing Brian and Al (and Dave) do not hate Mike. (Most of us, at least.) What's more, most of us didn't mind that Mike toured under the band's name for nearly 15 years. He earned the right and did a good job and kept the music alive.

But Mike did not create the group or the music. He was a key player, but far from the only one. When Brian and Al (and Dave) returned for the tour, things changed. And I understand that contracts might not have changed. But minds and opinions and experiences did. The full group gave so much more than anyone expected. Mike was part of that -- but so was Al, and so was Dave, and so was -- in every possible way -- Brian.

Things changed.

And now that Brian wants to continue, and now that Al wants to continue, our perspectives have changed. We can't accept Mike as the Beach Boys anymore, because other members of the band -- the majority of members of the band, and half of the shareholders of BRI -- want to be included. And I'm sorry that this makes some people unhappy, or that they think we're unrealistic or pie in the sky or whatever.

I don't care. The fact is, this is a band that should be together. If Mike is unwilling or unable to accept that, the name should be retired. If he is unwilling to retire the name, he should no longer be allowed to tour under it without the other guys.

I think what people object to is the opinion that Mike should suffer these consequences or is this kind of jerk because of something he hasn't said or done. This is stuff that the board needs to work on or at least discuss before people start making public statements.

Edit: by "board" I meant BRI's board

[Shady]

Did somebody say "shady"? ...

Seriously though Mike's daughter put an interesting spin on things. Maybe Mike's had enough of Brian's "people"

[Jim V.]

I happened upon this while searching for information on the mysterious "Brian Love." From Mike's daughter's formspring account, which is basically a site where you answer anonymous questions from people:


Q: ambha sweet girl, give the world a hand. tell your dad to stay touring with brian al and dave for us. you know they want this, the world wants this, how come dad wouldnt?

A: It's more complicated than it seems. It doesn't have to do with money greed or anyone in the band. My dad truly loves brian and everyone else. It's the shady people Brian is around that my dad can not stand working with. Maybe and hopefully something will change though. We shall see let's just hope for the best.

http://www.formspring.me/aloveeeeee3

Also, as far as both parties' statements, wouldn't it make sense to release a live DVD when everyone in the world thinks there's no way that group of people will ever reunite again? Just sayin'.

Ah...so now it's back to the whole "cousin Brian is being manipulated by bad people" thing. Lovely.

Just because Brian is living his life the way he wants does not mean it is "wrong". Sorry Mike. I seriously think Mike prefers the guy who was depressed out of his mind, but churning out half-assed surf tunes at MIU. I think that was probably the situation where Mike probably felt Brian was best since like 1970. He had him there to write songs for him, and he had him under control and some boring ass location where he could watch him. Sad.

Unless Mike wants to continue on with Brian and Al, the name should be retired. I'm glad he's being called to task for trying to sneak this version of the group out when there are two principal members who are ready and willing to keep the real group together.

[Nicko1234]

Just because Brian is living his life the way he wants does not mean it is "wrong". Sorry Mike. I seriously think Mike prefers the guy who was depressed out of his mind, but churning out half-assed surf tunes at MIU. I think that was probably the situation where Mike probably felt Brian was best since like 1970. He had him there to write songs for him, and he had him under control and some boring ass location where he could watch him. Sad.

What are you basing that on? Nothing at all presumably...

[I. Spaceman]

There are several people besides Mike who have left the Brian fold because of the strangeness of his current situation.

[the professor]

I am as guilty as the next for posting pure opinion and conjecture, though I try to be terse and focused positively on what might really happen, based on the exact statements and information. But the thread is degenerating into a sewing circle again. I will step away until credible intelligence appears that explain the plans for the band. No sense on continuing this series of assays between camps on the discussion board.

 Brian said "call me."  I'll wait for Mike's call and the new announcements.

[Yorick]

At that point my attorney merely suggested to Mike's attorney that a possible press release in those markets might be appropriate to stop the confusion, which was in no one's best interest. That's it, plain and simple, and a strategy was open for discussion, which never happened.

That’s why I was completely blindsided by his press release. I had no idea that it was coming out, since it was crafted by Mike's personal PR firm without my knowledge or approval. No one in my camp would have approved it or the timing."

OK, so far so good. But...

"I'm disappointed that Mike would now say that the release was done at the request of my representative"

Seems to me the key point in all of this is the phrase "press release in those markets".  Brian's attorney wanted local clarifications in those areas, he got a global open-ended statement which sounded like this was the Beach Boys from now on.

Cheers,
Jon Blum

THIS