New Mike interview in HuffPost

[Sam_BFC]

But I'm not sure I would want to be involved in a Joe Thomas-dominated scene either, so there ya go.

Donny, if you ever get a call for such a gig make sure you load the car with a Yamaha DX7 and plenty of bad late 80's Korg and Roland synths with all of those FM string/choir "pads" loaded into the soundbank. Any presets that have the name "David Foster" would nail it. And if it's a guitar gig, make sure to bring a Roland Jazz Chorus amp, a digital delay, and any model PRS guitar should work, the ones with the bird inlays on the fretboard.   

stop it, you're gonna give me nightmares !!!

Haha! A frightening situation to consider but it is Halloween, after all...

There is a positive, though. If the Joe Thomas gig falls through, you can take all that gear with you for the Jefferson Starship tribute band auditions. Just make sure you put on one of those piano-keyboard neckties and a black overcoat before you hit the rehearsal room.

semi-related question ... what was the situation with guitar amps during the C50 shows? It almost looked like they had a couple of those little Fender 15W tube amps onstage and not much else.

I don't know for sure what they used on tour, but I'm guessing those amps were only a small part of the sound if any part at all, and that they went into the board through some kind of an "amp farm" type of plug-in program where the engineer could call up any amp simulation and have the guitar signals go through the house and into their monitors. Or if the small stage amps were mic'ed and the main source for the guitarists, maybe they also split the signal and went into the board and through the amps too. I've never read a description of how they were set up and mixed for the 50th tour shows.

I say this too because in my own experience playing a musical this year, neither I nor the bass player had an amp. We went direct, and the house engineer set up the sound the audience would hear, as well as our cue mixes. That also included programming the house board to switch to a live mic when I was playing the banjo (acoustic) for a few cues in the show, and switched back to guitar on the same cue. I actually showed up for the first rehearsal with an amp, and didn't even need it.

Cool info.  Mildly surprising for me that an amp sim were used for a gig of that nature, I guess it makes sense...although In my experience hardware amp sims yield far greater results than software based or plug-in equivalents.

It would be very cool to know how things were done for the C50 tour (and Beach Boys/BW tours in general), maybe Scott T will chime in...however if memory is correct, he himself did have a bit of a pedalboard at his feet, which one would guess to be hooked up to a real amp.

--

Great pizza talk also.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Thanks Goodness the tone of the thread has turned back to "make fun of Mike" - I was afraid the pizza tangent would derail us but thanks to Kokomo Pizza we are back on track.  

Dennis Wilson Memorial Patio!!

With special rooms available upstairs for a "Recreate the fade on All I Wanna Do special offer" .... CD or MP3 included"

[SMiLE Brian]

The establishment should have a house band called "carl and the passions".

The C50 BBs play once a month on Saturday night as well.

[guitarfool2002]

Ham and cheese.

[CenturyDeprived]

I just mean AGD going on and on about how Mike did everything right on the C50 and its a good thing M&B are back with their shows.

Take a straw poll and I think you'll find most folk here, and elsewhere, are glad Brian's away from Mike. Which rather contradicts the desire for the C50 to reconvene. Can't have it both ways. Summer 2012 was an extended moment that will never happen again. I was as amazed as anyone that it worked as well as it did.

One interesting thing to think about, is that at the Grammy Museum performance for California Saga (on July 10, 2012), which happened a few months before the full Beach Boys performance there, Mike was in the audience and joined the band onstage for California Girls. There's a video of part of Mike's onstage appearance, which Justin filmed, on YouTube.

Anyway, during Mike's onstage appearance (at 2:35 in the Youtube video), he mentioned that California Saga would be joining the Beach Boys *next* summer on tour.  His words were "I  look forward to them [Cal Saga] being an opening act for the Beach Boys next summer [2013]". It seemed as though that was an actual plan of sorts that was to have taken fruition, from the way Mike proudly mentioned it.  Even if a Cal Saga/BBs tour was not booked "officially" yet (it was probably just "talk" that they were all collectively discussing as a possibility), it seemed like ML was totally serious about it happening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe5y7G8RQQ8

I'm trying to wrap my head around it. Because at that point (based on the nature of his comments), it seemed like Mike had anything but a "set end date" in mind. The California Saga-touring-with-the-Beach-Boys talk certainly gave me the impression (obviously I was wrong) that he was thinking about long-term reunion stuff happening (in some capacity), and that the kids would be joining them for a proper tour, which surely would've been wonderful.

I was there, a few feet away from the Lovester when he said these words captured on the video, and I guess witnessing those words in person made it all the more disappointing when the sh*t hit the fan so soon afterwards.

I was wondering if this possibly throws a monkey wrench into the whole idea that the reunion was in fact going to end as a planned thing. Or if something really messed up happened (post July 10, 2012) to interfere with the BBs relationships at some point after that initial Grammy Museum appearance.  I can't possibly think that Mike would believe that California Saga would tour with the Mike & Bruce show. Could that have been what he was actually thinking about? That's more than a little nutty of an idea. I wish some interviewer would ask him.

Were any post C50 Mike & Bruce shows booked already by this point? Was ML thinking that the Mike & Bruce band would play *some* shows post C50, and that the full BBs (with BAD in tow) would rejoin the lineup in summer 2013, and Cal Saga would then happily tour with them then? To me, that seems to be the most logical theory which would’ve been Mike’s thought process at the time… but Brian/Al not being happy about those plans (to have the M&B show continue at that point) caused the plans to derail. Maybe Mike always ideally wanted to have BAD rejoin the “BBs” touring group in summer 2013, but the  Brian/Al feeling hurt and then starting a press sh*tstorm made that an impossibility.

This is all so confusing, but one really has to wonder what ML's intentions were at the time. Trying to figure this out is like trying to get inside the head of a crazy person, and figure out why they do the things they do.

Either way, this segment in the video tells me there's more to the whole C50 implosion story than meets the eye.

Not sure if anyone had any initial thoughts my above post (since nobody replied to it), but just wanted to ask the board again - does the fact that Mike mentioned in July 2012 that Cal Saga would be touring with the BBs in summer 2013 seem to hint to anyone else that as of July 2012, Mike thought the summer 2013 BBs would include the BAD lineup too?

[Pretty Funky]

I don't think it was ever going to fly myself. That would have made what, 20 onstage singers/ musicians to haul around on tour? The numbers would not have worked IMO.

[CenturyDeprived]

I don't think it was ever going to fly myself. That would have made what, 20 onstage singers/ musicians to haul around on tour? The numbers would not have worked IMO.

Maybe it wouldn't have worked.

But regardless, I guess what I'm wondering, is that if ML had even been in the planning stages of attempting to make it happen (as it seems from the video), that would have implications (which we'd have to speculate on) that he was at that point considering for the BB reunion to either go on until the next summer, or at least "pick up" at next summer. Unless of course he was thinking Cal Saga would tour with M&B, which doesn't compute in my head.

We of course can't know for sure, but we can speculate. With the still missing pieces (that AGD has hinted at) regarding the unknown factors which messed up the reunion in the last few months of C50, ML's July 2012 intentions (as he stated on the video) for a Cal Saga/BBs 2013 summer tour seems to be a piece of the puzzle that I think could be important.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I just mean AGD going on and on about how Mike did everything right on the C50 and its a good thing M&B are back with their shows.

Take a straw poll and I think you'll find most folk here, and elsewhere, are glad Brian's away from Mike. Which rather contradicts the desire for the C50 to reconvene. Can't have it both ways. Summer 2012 was an extended moment that will never happen again. I was as amazed as anyone that it worked as well as it did.

One interesting thing to think about, is that at the Grammy Museum performance for California Saga (on July 10, 2012), which happened a few months before the full Beach Boys performance there, Mike was in the audience and joined the band onstage for California Girls. There's a video of part of Mike's onstage appearance, which Justin filmed, on YouTube.

Anyway, during Mike's onstage appearance (at 2:35 in the Youtube video), he mentioned that California Saga would be joining the Beach Boys *next* summer on tour.  His words were "I  look forward to them [Cal Saga] being an opening act for the Beach Boys next summer [2013]". It seemed as though that was an actual plan of sorts that was to have taken fruition, from the way Mike proudly mentioned it.  Even if a Cal Saga/BBs tour was not booked "officially" yet (it was probably just "talk" that they were all collectively discussing as a possibility), it seemed like ML was totally serious about it happening.Fdddd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe5y7G8RQQ8

I'm trying to wrap my head around it. Because at that point (based on the nature of his comments), it seemed like Mike had anything but a "set end date" in mind. The California Saga-touring-with-the-Beach-Boys talk certainly gave me the impression (obviously I was wrong) that he was thinking about long-term reunion stuff happening (in some capacity), and that the kids would be joining them for a proper tour, which surely would've been wonderful.

I was there, a few feet away from the Lovester when he said these words captured on the video, and I guess witnessing those words in person made it all the more disappointing when the sh*t hit the fan so soon afterwards.

I was wondering if this possibly throws a monkey wrench into the whole idea that the reunion was in fact going to end as a planned thing. Or if something really messed up happened (post July 10, 2012) to interfere with the BBs relationships at some point after that initial Grammy Museum appearance.  I can't possibly think that Mike would believe that California Saga would tour with the Mike & Bruce show. Could that have been what he was actually thinking about? That's more than a little nutty of an idea. I wish some interviewer would ask him.

Were any post C50 Mike & Bruce shows booked already by this point? Was ML thinking that the Mike & Bruce band would play *some* shows post C50, and that the full BBs (with BAD in tow) would rejoin the lineup in summer 2013, and Cal Saga would then happily tour with them then? To me, that seems to be the most logical theory which would’ve been Mike’s thought process at the time… but Brian/Al not being happy about those plans (to have the M&B show continue at that point) caused the plans to derail. Maybe Mike always ideally wanted to have BAD rejoin the “BBs” touring group in summer 2013, but the  Brian/Al feeling hurt and then starting a press sh*tstorm made that an impossibility.

This is all so confusing, but one really has to wonder what ML's intentions were at the time. Trying to figure this out is like trying to get inside the head of a crazy person, and figure out why they do the things they do.

Either way, this segment in the video tells me there's more to the whole C50 implosion story than meets the eye.

Not sure if anyone had any initial thoughts my above post (since nobody replied to it), but just wanted to ask the board again - does the fact that Mike mentioned in July 2012 that Cal Saga would be touring with the BBs in summer 2013 seem to hint to anyone else that as of July 2012, Mike thought the summer 2013 BBs would include the BAD lineup too?

Maybe it means Mike is a 72 year old guy who gets things confused in his head here and there.

Let's keep in mind these are guys who were batshit insane as it was in their fighting years

[CenturyDeprived]

I just mean AGD going on and on about how Mike did everything right on the C50 and its a good thing M&B are back with their shows.

Take a straw poll and I think you'll find most folk here, and elsewhere, are glad Brian's away from Mike. Which rather contradicts the desire for the C50 to reconvene. Can't have it both ways. Summer 2012 was an extended moment that will never happen again. I was as amazed as anyone that it worked as well as it did.

One interesting thing to think about, is that at the Grammy Museum performance for California Saga (on July 10, 2012), which happened a few months before the full Beach Boys performance there, Mike was in the audience and joined the band onstage for California Girls. There's a video of part of Mike's onstage appearance, which Justin filmed, on YouTube.

Anyway, during Mike's onstage appearance (at 2:35 in the Youtube video), he mentioned that California Saga would be joining the Beach Boys *next* summer on tour.  His words were "I  look forward to them [Cal Saga] being an opening act for the Beach Boys next summer [2013]". It seemed as though that was an actual plan of sorts that was to have taken fruition, from the way Mike proudly mentioned it.  Even if a Cal Saga/BBs tour was not booked "officially" yet (it was probably just "talk" that they were all collectively discussing as a possibility), it seemed like ML was totally serious about it happening.Fdddd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe5y7G8RQQ8

I'm trying to wrap my head around it. Because at that point (based on the nature of his comments), it seemed like Mike had anything but a "set end date" in mind. The California Saga-touring-with-the-Beach-Boys talk certainly gave me the impression (obviously I was wrong) that he was thinking about long-term reunion stuff happening (in some capacity), and that the kids would be joining them for a proper tour, which surely would've been wonderful.

I was there, a few feet away from the Lovester when he said these words captured on the video, and I guess witnessing those words in person made it all the more disappointing when the sh*t hit the fan so soon afterwards.

I was wondering if this possibly throws a monkey wrench into the whole idea that the reunion was in fact going to end as a planned thing. Or if something really messed up happened (post July 10, 2012) to interfere with the BBs relationships at some point after that initial Grammy Museum appearance.  I can't possibly think that Mike would believe that California Saga would tour with the Mike & Bruce show. Could that have been what he was actually thinking about? That's more than a little nutty of an idea. I wish some interviewer would ask him.

Were any post C50 Mike & Bruce shows booked already by this point? Was ML thinking that the Mike & Bruce band would play *some* shows post C50, and that the full BBs (with BAD in tow) would rejoin the lineup in summer 2013, and Cal Saga would then happily tour with them then? To me, that seems to be the most logical theory which would’ve been Mike’s thought process at the time… but Brian/Al not being happy about those plans (to have the M&B show continue at that point) caused the plans to derail. Maybe Mike always ideally wanted to have BAD rejoin the “BBs” touring group in summer 2013, but the  Brian/Al feeling hurt and then starting a press sh*tstorm made that an impossibility.

This is all so confusing, but one really has to wonder what ML's intentions were at the time. Trying to figure this out is like trying to get inside the head of a crazy person, and figure out why they do the things they do.

Either way, this segment in the video tells me there's more to the whole C50 implosion story than meets the eye.

Not sure if anyone had any initial thoughts my above post (since nobody replied to it), but just wanted to ask the board again - does the fact that Mike mentioned in July 2012 that Cal Saga would be touring with the BBs in summer 2013 seem to hint to anyone else that as of July 2012, Mike thought the summer 2013 BBs would include the BAD lineup too?

Maybe it means Mike is a 72 year old guy who gets things confused in his head here and there.

Let's keep in mind these are guys who were batshit insane as it was in their fighting years

No doubt Mike (and all of these guys) are all a bit nuts from being rock stars for 50 years... but it seems like he really had a plan, or at least had hatched the beginnings of a plan for a summer 2013 Cal Saga/BB tour to happen.

Unless he was just ad libbing an idea that popped into his head onstage, which I think is very unlikely. It seems like, from the way he said it, that there were already some talks happening behind the scenes, to some degree.

Maybe someone needs to ask a Cal Saga member.

I think it's important and beneficial to gain a deeper understanding of why things went down the way they did with C50, because the vagueness and unknown factors only seem to make people in general more blindly and unfairly pissed at ML. I want to personally gain more of an understanding. I would think that uncovering more of the facts will probably help balance overall opinion out to a more "nuanced" ground.  

Maybe I'm wrong, but  I have a hunch that this "planned" Cal Saga/BB 2013 joint tour might have some interesting implications.

[Sheriff John Stone]

When Mike said, "I look forward to them being an opening act for the Beach Boys next summer (2013)", in my opinion, and not trying to start anything  , I think he was probably referring to the Mike & Bruce version, which, based only/specifically on touring - are The Beach Boys.

Again, in my opinion, while there might've been some preliminary talk about a follow-up album to TWGMTR, reunion-wise, I really don't think anybody (with the possible exception of Al Jardine) was looking ahead that far, to the summer of 2013.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I hope this all drags on until all that's left is a "Mike & The Marksmen" touring outfit

[guitarfool2002]

I think this came up before, that there are terms in the agreements over using the name "The Beach Boys" regarding what exactly can be offered and staged under that name, I believe going toward protecting the brand name and the reputation.

I'm reminded of some of what I've heard about Chuck Berry's later shows, where he'd book a tour as Chuck Berry and in the towns he played, he'd call the local musicians union and ask for a backup band. So there was nothing like a regular, consistent "band" backing Chuck, and you would basically pay to see Chuck Berry stumble through his hits (and I say stumble hesitantly because I love's Chuck's music but he really didn't care much about those fans in retrospect) with an under-rehearsed backing group of local musicians. Yet people were seeing Chuck Berry the legend, for better or worse, so I doubt anyone ever filed a claim or anything. 

I'm thinking if anything, you'll see "...of The Beach Boys" or "Original Beach Boy..." used to advertise rather than calling one member and band "The Beach Boys" if no other members are able to tour.

[CenturyDeprived]

When Mike said, "I look forward to them being an opening act for the Beach Boys next summer (2013)", in my opinion, and not trying to start anything  , I think he was probably referring to the Mike & Bruce version, which, based only/specifically on touring - are The Beach Boys.

Again, in my opinion, while there might've been some preliminary talk about a follow-up album to TWGMTR, reunion-wise, I really don't think anybody (with the possible exception of Al Jardine) was looking ahead that far, to the summer of 2013.

Well, Mike was obviously looking forward to summer 2013 based on what he said on the video. It's probably the only 2012 evidence of Mike specifically referring to plans for 2013.

So based on your assumption of Mike having meant the M&B show when he said this in July 2012... would that mean that Mike thought that BAD would be “cool” with his eventual actions to return to the M&B version?  And that the Cal Saga kids would be cool to tour with M&B? It just doesn’t quite add up to me that ML could have been thinking that way, even in the nutty world of questionable BB member decisions/thought processes.  

I think *maybe* things were going well enough in July 2012 for things to have panned out better, maybe for BAD involvement to have continued in some capacity (maybe in an on-and-off capacity), but that between that date and the end of the C50 shows, something bad happened behind the scenes to sour everything.

This hypothetical 2013 Cal Saga/BB summer tour could only have happened if the sh*t didn’t hit the fan (as it did), so was ML so completely unaware that there would be hurt feelings by holding to a “set end date”? Did he think everyone would just go their separate ways, no problemo, and that the Cal Saga kids would happily tour with M&B onstage (after having just all played together with the full BB band at Hollywood Bowl + Irvine)? If one is to assume that on this Grammy Museum video that Mike was thinking of the M&B version touring with Cal Saga in 2013, one would almost have to assume he was unaware that any repercussions to his eventual actions would occur.
 
Obviously, plans in BB-land weren’t thought out well too many steps ahead of where they were at the time, but surely ML wouldn’t have mentioned a 2013 Cal Saga/BB summer tour in front of a Grammy Museum audience of fans, unless it was something that was maybe going to happen. I speculate that, for a brief moment in time in July 2012, there were some plans for 2013 panning out in a better manner than they did (plans that even ML was negotiating at the time).  

It’s obvious that long-term plans for all parties involved weren’t really well thought out, and everyone probably took a wait-and-see approach. But this is a kernel of evidence of something that was going on behind the scenes, which could obviously have panned out in any number of ways.

I guess I’m most interested in what the intentions were at the time ML said this stuff at the Grammy Museum. Not that we can ever know for sure, but it’s interesting to speculate. I, for one, can’t quite phantom that Mike was proposing/referring to a 2013 Cal Saga/M&B tour.

[Micha]

Ham and cheese.

Drive-In Special Pizza: A big buttered popcorn, a few chili dogs and an extra large coke on top!

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

and man, I'm goin' broke!!!!!

[Cyncie]

I want the Brian Wilson Wild Mushroom pizza with radiant radishes.

[Rocky Raccoon]

Ham and cheese.

Looks like it could be their wedding picture.

[Nicko1234]

Well, Mike was obviously looking forward to summer 2013 based on what he said on the video. It's probably the only 2012 evidence of Mike specifically referring to plans for 2013.

So based on your assumption of Mike having meant the M&B show when he said this in July 2012... would that mean that Mike thought that BAD would be “cool” with his eventual actions to return to the M&B version?  And that the Cal Saga kids would be cool to tour with M&B? It just doesn’t quite add up to me that ML could have been thinking that way, even in the nutty world of questionable BB member decisions/thought processes.  

I think *maybe* things were going well enough in July 2012 for things to have panned out better, maybe for BAD involvement to have continued in some capacity (maybe in an on-and-off capacity), but that between that date and the end of the C50 shows, something bad happened behind the scenes to sour everything.

This hypothetical 2013 Cal Saga/BB summer tour could only have happened if the sh*t didn’t hit the fan (as it did), so was ML so completely unaware that there would be hurt feelings by holding to a “set end date”? Did he think everyone would just go their separate ways, no problemo, and that the Cal Saga kids would happily tour with M&B onstage (after having just all played together with the full BB band at Hollywood Bowl + Irvine)? If one is to assume that on this Grammy Museum video that Mike was thinking of the M&B version touring with Cal Saga in 2013, one would almost have to assume he was unaware that any repercussions to his eventual actions would occur.
 
Obviously, plans in BB-land weren’t thought out well too many steps ahead of where they were at the time, but surely ML wouldn’t have mentioned a 2013 Cal Saga/BB summer tour in front of a Grammy Museum audience of fans, unless it was something that was maybe going to happen. I speculate that, for a brief moment in time in July 2012, there were some plans for 2013 panning out in a better manner than they did (plans that even ML was negotiating at the time).  

It’s obvious that long-term plans for all parties involved weren’t really well thought out, and everyone probably took a wait-and-see approach. But this is a kernel of evidence of something that was going on behind the scenes, which could obviously have panned out in any number of ways.

I guess I’m most interested in what the intentions were at the time ML said this stuff at the Grammy Museum. Not that we can ever know for sure, but it’s interesting to speculate. I, for one, can’t quite phantom that Mike was proposing/referring to a 2013 Cal Saga/M&B tour.

To be honest, I think you're reading far too much into a throw away comment from Mike. He may have felt that hypothetically it would be nice if California Saga were supporting them but that doesn't mean he had put any thought at all into if or how that might happen.

[SMiLE Brian]

Mike is a master of fashion with the pimp collar and powder blue coat.


I am surprised Tommy Bahama doesn't have him endorse their products....  

[KittyKat]

Not to beat a dead horse (okay, I will), but was there any actual proof that the C50 Beach Boys were offered a New Year's Eve gig at Madison Square Garden? From what I've read, Phish was already scheduled to play that date at MSG. Not just New Year's Eve, but a four night stand of shows around that date.  Phish had played NYE at MSG in years past, as well. Given that fact and also the fact that such important dates as NYE are booked many months in advance, I'm doubting the veracity of the MSG NYE gig for C50. Unless, of course, they were going to open for Phish, which would be strange. I also wonder about the offer for the gig at Wrigley Field. Given that the majority of reunion shows were played at venues of 10,000 seats, or less, what would make someone offer them a baseball stadium gig? I suppose it's possible, and it's also possible that they wouldn't be able to sell out a venue that large. 

[Sheriff John Stone]

When Mike said, "I look forward to them being an opening act for the Beach Boys next summer (2013)", in my opinion, and not trying to start anything  , I think he was probably referring to the Mike & Bruce version, which, based only/specifically on touring - are The Beach Boys.

Again, in my opinion, while there might've been some preliminary talk about a follow-up album to TWGMTR, reunion-wise, I really don't think anybody (with the possible exception of Al Jardine) was looking ahead that far, to the summer of 2013.

So based on your assumption of Mike having meant the M&B show when he said this in July 2012... would that mean that Mike thought that BAD would be “cool” with his eventual actions to return to the M&B version? And that the Cal Saga kids would be cool to tour with M&B?

Yes and yes. I believe that Mike expected the C50 reunion to end sometime by the end of 2012, which it did. Again, there might've been some very preliminary talk about a new BB album. And, if a new BB was on the horizon, then that would've been a logical reason to tour again in 2013. But, we now know that Mike was soured on the recording "process" of TWGMTR, and he was gonna make sure that never happened again. So I'm not too sure a new album was going to happen without much more negotiation. Therefore, in Mike's mind anyway, the ONLY Beach Boys that seemed probable or dependable were the Beach Boys who have been touring before - and as it turned out - after the reunion.

I have stated numerous times in the past that Mike would do anything to work with Brian under any conditions. I have now been proven to be wrong. Mike now has HIS conditions. However, while it probably pained Mike to see Brian release several Beach Boyish solo albums, and tour with setlists that are more like Mike & Bruce than Mike & Bruce, Mike appeared to ultimately take it in stride. Mike knows that Brian's solo albums will come and quickly go, and his "solo" tours are short-lived. So, I have a feeling Mike is viewing this BAD thing the same way. It will come and it will go. But Mike's Beach Boys will always a present - and a future.

As far as the Cal Saga kids, I agree with what Nicko1234 said. Maybe Mike was getting carried away and not really thinking about what he was saying; we know he was emotional during his speech. But, he might've been hoping! I'm sure he would've been open to some arrangement with Cal Saga, and I don't think we've heard or seen the last of them. I hope politics didn't come into play but it probably did. This is The Beach Boys we're talking about...

[CenturyDeprived]

When Mike said, "I look forward to them being an opening act for the Beach Boys next summer (2013)", in my opinion, and not trying to start anything  , I think he was probably referring to the Mike & Bruce version, which, based only/specifically on touring - are The Beach Boys.

Again, in my opinion, while there might've been some preliminary talk about a follow-up album to TWGMTR, reunion-wise, I really don't think anybody (with the possible exception of Al Jardine) was looking ahead that far, to the summer of 2013.

So based on your assumption of Mike having meant the M&B show when he said this in July 2012... would that mean that Mike thought that BAD would be “cool” with his eventual actions to return to the M&B version? And that the Cal Saga kids would be cool to tour with M&B?

As far as the Cal Saga kids, I agree with what Nicko1234 said. Maybe Mike was getting carried away and not really thinking about what he was saying; we know he was emotional during his speech. But, he might've been hoping! I'm sure he would've been open to some arrangement with Cal Saga, and I don't think we've heard or seen the last of them. I hope politics didn't come into play but it probably did. This is The Beach Boys we're talking about...

Maybe you're right, and that ML was just thinking/wishing/hoping/praying that Cal Saga would just happily join a tour consisting of *whatever* incarnation of the BBs that would exist the following summer. And that even though the 2013 BB incarnation was at the time uncertain as of July 2012, that ML hoped this joint tour would still come to fruition.

However, since he specifically mentioned a "summer" tour, the very nature of a joint tour didn't seem to come out of thin air. It seemed like there was some previous preliminary thought/details behind the statement. Still, maybe the joint tour idea had just been hatched, if they all just had chatted about a hypothetical tour in the green room.

Maybe I am reading way too much into ML's Grammy Museum statement. Still, I guess I'm still trying to understand the un-understandable question: did ML really think that it was plausible that BAD would just happily go their separate ways with no hard feelings, and that everyone in Cal Saga wouldn't mind either? Is that a scenario  that could actually have happened in a million years? It's just one of those many baffling things in BB-land that makes zero sense to me. These guys are bonkers. There surely is no answer for this, even though I'm still searching for one.

[KittyKat]

They needed a third party manager and they failed to do that.  Someone suggested a Neil Aspinall type, but wasn't he a back-office figure, important though he was? I don't think either Brian or Mike BB management are ready for the big leagues in terms of concert promotion, either. Mike's management is good at securing gigs at a more down-market position. Brian's management is good at getting him press and getting him substantial plaudits such as the Kennedy Center Honors, which is great, but they've never managed to break him out into large venues, apart from some large gigs in his hometown of LA.  He's even had some gigs that sold poorly, and the venues weren't that large.

I'm thinking more of someone who would represent both Brian and Mike's interests equally, along with the rest of the band members, and push them to a higher level. You know, sort of an Irving Azoff type, a real big leaguer. But maybe both sides don't want to give up control to someone such as that.

[jamsvet]

They needed a third party manager and they failed to do that.  Someone suggested a Neil Aspinall type, but wasn't he a back-office figure, important though he was? I don't think either Brian or Mike BB management are ready for the big leagues in terms of concert promotion, either. Mike's management is good at securing gigs at a more down-market position. Brian's management is good at getting him press and getting him substantial plaudits such as the Kennedy Center Honors, which is great, but they've never managed to break him out into large venues, apart from some large gigs in his hometown of LA.  He's even had some gigs that sold poorly, and the venues weren't that large.

I'm thinking more of someone who would represent both Brian and Mike's interests equally, along with the rest of the band members, and push them to a higher level. You know, sort of an Irving Azoff type, a real big leaguer. But maybe both sides don't want to give up control to someone such as that.

Just wondering how much energy 70+ year old guys have to get involved in something like this. I think they are all very well off and let's face it, they have been idolized for 50 years. What else do you need?

[Pretty Funky]

At the risk of sounding pro- Mike, I can imagine Brian giving pretty vague or "we'll see" type answers in-house for most of the C50 whenever the subject of firm plans came up. As he should at his age btw. It was only towards the end he gave an indication he wanted to keep it going.

Should others have been kept in limbo waiting for Brian? Many here seem to think 'yes'.