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Author Topic: Are there people here who still believe the David Leaf version of the story?  (Read 26552 times)
Autotune
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« Reply #50 on: March 29, 2014, 09:25:08 AM »

I think Leaf had a certain thesis-- or, better put, preconceptions, and he wrote the book to support them. His preconceived ideas remained unchanged through it or so it seems. In the process, he disrespected Brian's wife and family; he pictured BW as a circus beast being paraded by his band, and so on...

A good writer, brilliant advocate, a compelling and often times illuminating read, but deeply failed and harmful.
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« Reply #51 on: March 29, 2014, 10:58:53 AM »

So again, I wonder what happened with David Leaf. How come he suddenly fell out of touch with Brian's inner circle? Was there some kind of falling out between he and the Wilson's? Leaf did so much for Brian and his career up until around 2005, then he was gone. Anybody with inside knowledge?
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« Reply #52 on: March 29, 2014, 11:07:23 AM »

After BWPS and Beautiful Dreamer maybe he thought he had achieved his goal with Brian.
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« Reply #53 on: March 29, 2014, 11:10:05 AM »

So again, I wonder what happened with David Leaf. How come he suddenly fell out of touch with Brian's inner circle? Was there some kind of falling out between he and the Wilson's? Leaf did so much for Brian and his career up until around 2005, then he was gone. Anybody with inside knowledge?

I'm very curious too. I suspect he's a very career-orientated guy (that promo video on his website is almost a self-documentary) but I'd be gobsmacked if he didn't tune in here occasionally, though probably very rarely.
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« Reply #54 on: March 29, 2014, 11:16:04 AM »

I think Jeff Foskett came to fill so many roles in Brian's life - including some of David Leaf's - and with Jeff advising/briefing Melinda, David wasn't AS necessary anymore. And that's not to demean David Leaf, who, other than Jeff Foskett, might've been the best friend that Brian Wilson ever had.
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« Reply #55 on: March 29, 2014, 12:16:22 PM »

They usually come back into the game:



 LOL
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« Reply #56 on: March 29, 2014, 12:25:21 PM »

That piece on Dennis alone makes him all good in my book.

Besides, what the hell would most of us do all day if there had been no David Leaf?  Evil

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« Reply #57 on: March 29, 2014, 12:26:35 PM »

So again, I wonder what happened with David Leaf. How come he suddenly fell out of touch with Brian's inner circle? Was there some kind of falling out between he and the Wilson's? Leaf did so much for Brian and his career up until around 2005, then he was gone. Anybody with inside knowledge?

I'm very curious too. I suspect he's a very career-orientated guy (that promo video on his website is almost a self-documentary) but I'd be gobsmacked if he didn't tune in here occasionally, though probably very rarely.

He's pumping gas with Andy Paley.
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« Reply #58 on: March 29, 2014, 12:32:32 PM »

Andy did quite well with the Spongebob movie soundtrack, which is actually a really cool album if you can accept the idea of a cartoon character voice singing over Beach Boys Today!-inspired backing tracks.
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"All of us have the privilege of making music that helps and heals - to make music that makes people happier, stronger, and kinder. Don't forget: Music is God's voice." - Brian Wilson
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« Reply #59 on: March 29, 2014, 12:36:37 PM »

So again, I wonder what happened with David Leaf. How come he suddenly fell out of touch with Brian's inner circle? Was there some kind of falling out between he and the Wilson's? Leaf did so much for Brian and his career up until around 2005, then he was gone. Anybody with inside knowledge?

I'm very curious too. I suspect he's a very career-orientated guy (that promo video on his website is almost a self-documentary) but I'd be gobsmacked if he didn't tune in here occasionally, though probably very rarely.]

He's pumping gas with Andy Paley.

Yeah, and working on a new book "Disney Boy: Bruce Johnston And The California Dream" which will usher in the age of "Bruce and the 5 assholes"
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« Reply #60 on: March 29, 2014, 12:57:17 PM »

Perhaps David withdrew from the relationship, or it was a two way thing. David was at one time named as a director of Brian's biopic. I think that was after Rob Reiner was associated with it in the early '00s. It seems that his disappearance from Brian's life happened shortly after that. David also got busier doing other projects, as noted, but I remember reading someone saying he was no longer on Brian's Christmas card list, whatever that means.
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« Reply #61 on: March 29, 2014, 09:43:00 PM »

Thanks to Uncle Andy Botwin for answering my question.   Smiley
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« Reply #62 on: March 30, 2014, 11:32:22 AM »

I think David Leaf was accurate with a very large percentage of what he wrote. Did he go a little too far with his Brian bias? Yes, but only a little. The only part of what he wrote that I really believed in at the time, but, in my opinion, never came to fruition was his belief that Brian would eventually come back and compose great things again. Leaf's book was written after Love You and right before M.I.U. Brian never equaled or exceeded the quality of Love You, again in my opinion.

I think he has. BW88 and TLOS come to mind for me. Though we can question how much was pure Brian, even with Love You being finished by Carl. Maybe not to the level of Pet Sounds, Smile or even Friends, but I appreciate his solo career for what it is. Lots of brilliance there as well as the last 3 songs of TWGMTR.
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Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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« Reply #63 on: March 30, 2014, 11:38:57 AM »

I also don't underestimate the contributions of the other Beach Boys. This idea that Mike would be pumping gas if it weren't for Brian, I think he could have been successful without Brian as well. Great singer and front man would have been an asset to any band at the time, not to mention his knack for hooks and catchy lyrics. These can not be underestimated. Perhaps Brian may have been nothing without Mike either. Or at least someone who had as strong stage presence and commercial sense to balance Brian out.
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"Over the years, I've been accused of not supporting our new music from this era (67-73) and just wanting to play our hits. That's complete b.s......I was also, as the front man, the one promoting these songs onstage and have the scars to show for it."
Mike Love autobiography (pg 242-243)
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« Reply #64 on: March 30, 2014, 12:42:46 PM »

So again, I wonder what happened with David Leaf. How come he suddenly fell out of touch with Brian's inner circle? Was there some kind of falling out between he and the Wilson's? Leaf did so much for Brian and his career up until around 2005, then he was gone. Anybody with inside knowledge?

I dunno, it kinda seems like Brian changes best friends about as frequently as hookers change partners.
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« Reply #65 on: March 30, 2014, 02:23:46 PM »

So again, I wonder what happened with David Leaf. How come he suddenly fell out of touch with Brian's inner circle? Was there some kind of falling out between he and the Wilson's? Leaf did so much for Brian and his career up until around 2005, then he was gone. Anybody with inside knowledge?

He and his wife are thanked in the liner notes in TLOS.  I don't think he is on subsequent albums.
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« Reply #66 on: March 30, 2014, 02:24:55 PM »

Perhaps David withdrew from the relationship, or it was a two way thing.

Nope. There was definitely a rift
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« Reply #67 on: March 30, 2014, 02:38:10 PM »

Perhaps David withdrew from the relationship, or it was a two way thing.

Nope. There was definitely a rift

details?

I completely understand if you have them but can't divulge.
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« Reply #68 on: March 30, 2014, 03:51:14 PM »

I wonder if the rejection of David's London Smile concert footage in favor of filming Brian on a SoCal soundstage had anything to do with straining the relationship.
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« Reply #69 on: March 30, 2014, 06:00:21 PM »

The number of projects I worked on with David is now well over 50....virtually every major project between 1977 and 2006 had his involvement to a greater or lesser degree. The number of things he did for Brian directly and the group indirectly/directly is legion. Just one example, for instance...he did the interview with Paul Mc Cartney in which Paul gushes over Pet Sounds, which led to a critical reappraisal of Brian's work and Pet Sounds in particular. Now, he makes no bones about being there for Brian, and has bruised some egos in the process, but his work led to a complete reappraisal of The Beach Boys' work as well as Brian's. What most people do not understand about The Beach Boys is that first and foremost, they are a family, and family systems are far more complex than any individual component of that system  (e.g. Brian). The Beach Boys in turn, are a family business, which supported and employed nearly every member of that family. As such, unless you have been trained in family systems theory and therapy, which virtually NO journalist has been, it is hard to distinguish the forest from the individual trees.
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« Reply #70 on: March 30, 2014, 11:24:35 PM »

In the wake of Peter's customarily eloquent summary of the situation, I should pull my views on David into sharper focus: only a fool would deny that he kept the BW/BB flame burning at a time when it would have likely faded and died (not on his own to be sure, but he was by far the most vocal and visible proponent) and that on the personal front he was amongst Brian's most trusted confidants... and therein lies the basic problem. I still consider David a friend, even though we've not met since 2005, but back in the late 90s I gently offered that maybe his objectivity regarding Brian was becoming slightly compromised, and he cheerfully corrected me by saying no, it was entirely gone. That's fine, but doesn't make for a neutral standpoint or, if we're being frank, editorial integrity of the first order (I know, I know... pot/kettle/black).

That there was some kind of rift, falling out, what you will between Teams Wilson & Leaf isn't in dispute, but those who know any detail aren't talking, at least on forums such as these. Bottom line: David Leaf was an integral part of Brian's history and life from the mid/late-seventies for some 30-odd years... which may be why certain other band members and associates had so little time for him (to be polite) back in the day even though he was generating them some valuable publicity in the process. As he memorably said (I paraphrase slightly), in a band with so many skeletons, they'll get jumpy when you start rummaging in the closets, even if you're only looking for a broom.
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« Reply #71 on: March 31, 2014, 08:31:58 AM »

So again, I wonder what happened with David Leaf. How come he suddenly fell out of touch with Brian's inner circle? Was there some kind of falling out between he and the Wilson's? Leaf did so much for Brian and his career up until around 2005, then he was gone. Anybody with inside knowledge?

I'm very curious too. I suspect he's a very career-orientated guy (that promo video on his website is almost a self-documentary) but I'd be gobsmacked if he didn't tune in here occasionally, though probably very rarely.

He's pumping gas with Andy Paley.

Cheesy
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« Reply #72 on: March 31, 2014, 09:41:36 AM »

It makes me a little sad for Brian that he would form a close personal friendship with a worshipful fan. Maybe that's why he finally had to take a break from it. At the time Brian first became friends with Leaf, he was insecure and at a bad place in his life. As time went on, Brian became more secure as he made a name for himself outside the Beach Boys, and he also had a new family to support him. It's also possible that David gave Melinda the creeps and she eventually got her way. 
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« Reply #73 on: March 31, 2014, 10:57:25 AM »

It makes me a little sad for Brian that he would form a close personal friendship with a worshipful fan. Maybe that's why he finally had to take a break from it. At the time Brian first became friends with Leaf, he was insecure and at a bad place in his life. As time went on, Brian became more secure as he made a name for himself outside the Beach Boys, and he also had a new family to support him. It's also possible that David gave Melinda the creeps and she eventually got her way. 

 Since it's obvious that you know more about David and Melinda's relationship, could you please go into more detail?
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« Reply #74 on: March 31, 2014, 11:04:44 AM »

It makes me a little sad for Brian that he would form a close personal friendship with a worshipful fan. Maybe that's why he finally had to take a break from it. At the time Brian first became friends with Leaf, he was insecure and at a bad place in his life. As time went on, Brian became more secure as he made a name for himself outside the Beach Boys, and he also had a new family to support him. It's also possible that David gave Melinda the creeps and she eventually got her way. 

Interesting premise... however, also entirely spurious.  Grin
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