Reaching The Higher Echelon of Beach Boy Fandom

[TonyW]

I caught the bus with Al and we both arrived here at the same time ...

[Wrightfan]

Pet Sounds and SMiLE in the early 2000's.

[KittyKat]

The title of this thread sounds like a secret Beach Boys' Ponzi scheme.

[TommyPlural]

It was definitely a gradual process for me. Technically I suppose "Kokomo" being a big hit when I was a very small child was probably my first memory of the Beach Boys, but I didn't consciously know that it was "them" singing that song until I was investigating their discography in high school. I remember as a kid thinking it was an "inappropriate" song with this guy sounding all seductive and the "ooh baby, pretty mama" lyrics being something that I shouldn't let my parents hear me listening to. Funny.

Growing up in the 90s and listening to oldies radio, "Good Vibrations," "Sloop John B," "God Only Knows," and "Don't Worry Baby" were among my favorite songs but like many a casual listener I mistakenly attributed Jan and Dean songs and probably some Four Seasons to the Beach Boys. At a county fair in the summer of 1996 I remember listening to the Beach Boys play "Surfin USA" from outside the pavilion and definitely getting a jolt of excitement about it. Sadly, this would be the closest I ever came to seeing the band perform with Carl. As I became more of a serious music fan I knew that Brian was the "crazy reclusive genius" and that he was still alive but wasn't a part of the "Beach Boys" that still toured, so when he was the musical guest on Conan O'Brien in the summer of 2000 I made it a point to watch his set. He did "Our Prayer/ Heroes and Villains" and "Sloop John B" and I was totally floored. Foskett and Darian also jumped out at me as what seemed like his right hand men. From here my interest was piqued and I became more familiar with the story of the band and identifying which of the hits were their songs, but it wasn't until "Sounds of Summer" was released in 2003 and ABC re-broadcast the "American Family" movie that I was firmly hooked. I spent that summer getting their CDs from the library, becoming intimately familiar with "Pet Sounds" and especially being floored by the "Sunflower / Surf's Up" two-fer. Reading Steven Gaines' "Heroes and Villains" effectively sealed the deal and I began acquiring their whole discography and seeking all of the available literature. I made mixtapes for my girlfriend full of the Friends-Holland era and she fell madly in love with Dennis, so from there it was just one excitement after another as we went to some Mike and Bruce shows together, listened to BWPS the day it came out and went to see Brian live in Ann Arbor on the SMiLE tour. I kept getting further and further into fandom, and while my girlfriend and I eventually split up we remain good friends and went to the C50 together. Earlier this year I made the pilgrimage to the landmark in Hawthorne. So, yeah... somewhere in there.

[KittyKat]

So many people hate on "Kokomo," but it's a Beach Boys' gateway drug for many of the younger fans. It sometimes takes Pied Piper Mike Love to lead to the ocean of Brian Wilson.

[Freddie French-Pounce]

Got Pet Sounds at the bootfair. Later 'Got' Pet Sounds. I wasn't actually interested in exploring further, the album itself was enough for me, but Best Of The Beach Boys [UK LP] was good enough for me.  Looking back, I joined here simply to embrace the release of the SMiLE sessions, but what spurred me previously to say that I wanted the SMiLE box and to actually class myself as obsessive? I'm not sure. It just gradually occurred, I had been picking up Beach Boys LPs from £1 boxes for a while out of minor interest.

Whatever happened, it was in 2011, I know that. The fact I was Slaughtering back then shows I must have liked them enough. [That sounds really odd out of context].

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

I don't think I'm part of the upper echelon of Beach Boy fans, but I think the moment I realized that I was inevitably going to become an obsessive, completionist fan was when I was listening to Smiley Smile for the first time, in 2003 or so.  The Smiley Smile/Wild Honey two-fer was only the second CD by them that I had bought (after Pet Sounds), and I had gotten it because I wanted "Good Vibrations" and assumed that other songs from the same era would be better than what I would get on a greatest hits album, as I considered surfing and car songs too frivolous for my tastes at the time.  Suffice to say, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  But hearing "whispering winds send my wind chimes a-tingling" on the fade of "Wind Chimes" totally won me over, and I quickly got my hands on anything by the band I could find after that.

[bringahorseinhere?]

umm Bruce Johnston's stage presence and 'always' kind presence  

nah....

first time I heard and saw the beach boys, was on a video copy off an uncle...

it was the dick clark 'best of bandstand vol 1 & 2...

and of all songs they picked to mime to on that show, they picked 'don't worry baby'....

with an awesome Brian Wilson in the middle singing it........  one orgasmic experience  

Rb

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

I'm not ashamed to say that Sounds of Summer brought me here. I found it at a Half Price Books on clearance and bought it for the heck of it. Best decision I ever made. That comp opened up a whole new world for me, and really made me want to explore more of them (Second best decision I ever made)

[Sie W]

When my parents got a CD player in 1986 I was given a Bush portable record player and a pile of records.

In between the K-tel and Top of the Pops compilations was a mint copy of the 1966 Best of The Beach Boys, I played that album all through the six weeks holiday that summer. Also out that summer was the film Flight of the Navigator, fond memories of singing along to I Get Around in the cinema.

Still have both player and record, had the player refurbished but the vinyl has seen better times!

Sort of fell into here when I got the Internet, more a lurker than a regular poster.

[mikeddonn]

Barbara Ann!!!  When I was a kid in the 80s in the UK there was an advert for Caledonia Airways and I loved the song California Girls, except with different lyrics.  Then the Vauxhall Nova advert with sheep singing Barbara Ann!  Then one day I was in the library to get computer games and look for tapes (the usual chart stuff) when I noticed 20 Golden Greats.  I thought "oh, the Beach Boys, they did those songs from the adverts and Wipe Out!"  Took it home and listened to it while playing the Commodore 64.  I was hooked and life was never the same for me after that!  I then started listening obsessively and trying to track down all their music.  That was about '87/'88.

[Rich E P]

As a kid growing up, I listened to my dads records a lot.  His holy trinity of rock was The Beatles, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and to a lesser extent The Beach Boys (He had endless summer and a few other hits comps).  I liked the Beach Boys as a pre-teen but not as much as The Fabs or Valli and crew.  That changed in the summer of 1985 when I bought the Getcha Back / Male Ego 45 with my own money after hearing it on the radio a few times (I was 11).  I loved it.  I started getting the albums on cassette.  On May 2, 1987 I went to my first Beach Boys concert.  Seeing the bearded dude sing God Only Knows was THE moment for me.  I never REALLY appreciated that song (I mostly loved the up tempo hits) until then.  From there, there was no saving me.  Very quickly got the back catalogue on cassette.  Bought BW88 and Kokomo the week it came out.  Started trading bootleg cassettes, and heard some unreleased smile stuff in lo-fi quality in 1989.  Later, bought the Good Vibes box the day it came out at Costco and couldn't function for a week as disc two just kept getting played over and over and over.  Didn't get a home computer until the mid nineties but eventually stumbled on a short promo clip of Your Imagination on line a few months before the album camre out.  Started hanging out on the cabinessence website and then all other Bb/BW sites.  Have been a ridiculous completist ever since.  Hundreds and hundreds of BB/BW cds, and 41 concerts later - here I am.  I have been very fortunate to have met Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce and Dave multiple times.  The music of the Beach Boys is my sanctuary.  It has brought me immeasurable joy over the years. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Nick Kent's NME 30,000 word triple-decker in the summer of 1975 entitled "The Last beach Movie: A Story Of Brian Wilson 1942-". Hooked, even though I later found out a lot was cribbed from the Fusion article by Vosse. What a long, strange trip it's been.

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[ThyRavenAscend]

I'm just here because I wanted a place that I could talk about the Beach Boys with people who like to talk about the Beach Boys lol.  (I've had many one-sided conversations where I spew a bunch of thoughts, feelings, and factoids, and I end up being quite the bore!)

[metal flake paint]

Hearing, and paying close attention to, I Get Around transformed me into a Beach Boys obsessive in 1988. I spent that year's summer reading, and being fascinated by, Steve Gaines' book.

[SMiLE-addict]

It was hearing Smile that got me here. I though it was the most interesting music I had ever heard, and after seeing a C50 show, I was completely hooked on BB music. My headphones function like an IV line, constantly letting it stream into my body.

Smile brought me here. What brought YOU here?

Ditto me, hence the screen name.

[rab2591]

Listening to Pet Sounds. It absolutely blew my mind. I started researching the album, finding out all about the band, then somehow ended up on Smiley Smile. Lurked for a few months, then finally had a question to ask and signed up.

It's great to be around so many knowledgeable people, insiders, honored guests, people who make mixes, people with stories from the old days, etc etc.

I think The Beach Boys are that greatest thing that ever happened to music: they're the perfect combination of vocals, instruments, and melody. It's nice to be able to talk to people who feel the same way.

[Niko]

The fact that people like Stephen Desper and Scott Totten are around really is amazing

[rab2591]

The fact that people like Stephen Desper and Scott Totten are around really is amazing

I hope Stephen knows how much we appreciate his presence on this board. Amazing that he takes the time to create videos that delve into the recording/mixing process. I really think we are the most blessed music forum on the internet.

[rogerlancelot]

I came here by mistake actually. I was really in fact browsing for gay erotica when I googled boys and beach and somehow wound up here. Since then I have really come to appreciate The Bee Gees Beach Boys especially the guy who wore a sailor hat with a bow tie on a televised awards ceremony. That really takes guts.

[Tablevega]

For me, it all happened because of Davy Jones.  On 29th February 2012, the day his death was announced, I looked at some YouTube footage of him in tribute.  Then it occurred to me I’d never seen any film of the Beach Boys, despite being a mild fan for years. So I clicked on a few links, clicked ever more obsessively on a few more and bam, like falling down a well, I became all at once a total BB addict. I got the albums (oh my God – Smiley Smile!  Sunflower! Today!! Love You!), was knocked sideways by the RHS Smile performance, and have barely listened to anything else since, as I try to get a lifetime’s worth of BB music into my blood and bones. Every morning I wake up with a different song in my head.  I know I hit an insanely lucky year to become a hardcore fan and I got to see them at Wembley. Discovered Smiley Smile on some Google search and have visited it as a guest every day since (this is my first post). Thanks for all the wisdom and expert knowledge that comes flowing out - it’s been a privilege to cut in on your thoughts and experiences.

[Alex]

First heard the BBs as a 6 year old circa 1991/92 via my mom's copy of Endless Summer. Didn't become fan uber-fan until 2005, though.

[Andrew G. Doe]

... was knocked sideways by the RHS Smile performance...

Hot damn - I never knew Brian played Wisley, and it's only just a hoot an' a holler up the road from me. 

[Tablevega]

... was knocked sideways by the RHS Smile performance...

Hot damn - I never knew Brian played Wisley, and it's only just a hoot an' a holler up the road from me. 

Oops..RFH.. love the thought of Brian among the roses though.