Rolling Stone - Beach Boys Play Tour - Jeff replaces Christian Love

[Mayoman]

Re this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Ndp9xItZg&list=UUYSLKpmPGeiyCI_qmtm8LtA&index=1

Great mix, free of board echo. Mike's backing vocals are nice and prominent in the mix.

The Beach Boys, in their usual non-C50 state, are a cooler, leaner, more straight-tone blend. On In My Room, Mike and Jeff really blended well (sep. In My Room), and anchor the harmonies. Now that Jeff's voice is all over TWGMTR and everything in the C50 tour, his voice adds authenticity and familiarity to the MB band. This is the best I've heard the MB band's vocal blend sound. Never thought I'd say that, but they sound fantastic.

Brian's band has a generally warmer vocal blend, and Brian blends much better with them than he did 10-15 years ago, because of how his voice recovery really took off after 2004. Foskett never really fit the blend at any point, valuable as he's been in many ways. Matt Jardine in Foskett's place will be the icing on the cake.  

I really think this fixes the vocal shortcomings of both bands. And personally, I would now actively seek out tickets to MB, rather than being relatively ambivalent.

Interesting that Scott has the lead on "Sloop". Bruce did it when I saw them earlier this year. They must have shuffled the vocal blend for Jeff. Also they sang "break up" like the earlier versions of "Sloop" at one point.

[southbay]

So what will Brian's band be for his few shows?
I guess it would be:
Matt Jardine - Guitar, Vocals
Scott Bennett - Keyboard, Vocals
Mike D'Amico - Drums
Nick Walusko - Lead Guitar
Bob Lizik - Bass
Nelson Bragg - Percussion
Possibly Darian?  Either way, that's still a pretty great band.

Matt doesn't play guitar that I know of, at least professionally.  He has always been on percussion, whether it be with the Beach Boys, Al's band or with Wilson Phillips

[Autotune]

After listening to some of the clips of recent shows, I must say that Jeff is a very welcome addition to the BBs band. They do sound great. Who could imagine in 1997 this touring band would keep evolving for nearly 20 years!

[drbeachboy]

So what will Brian's band be for his few shows?
I guess it would be:
Matt Jardine - Guitar, Vocals
Scott Bennett - Keyboard, Vocals
Mike D'Amico - Drums
Nick Walusko - Lead Guitar
Bob Lizik - Bass
Nelson Bragg - Percussion
Possibly Darian?  Either way, that's still a pretty great band.

Matt doesn't play guitar that I know of, at least professionally.  He has always been on percussion, whether it be with the Beach Boys, Al's band or with Wilson Phillips

I saw a Wilson Phillips show on TV last year and I thought I saw Matt playing keyboards.

[startBBtoday]

The Beach Boys have been touring without Brian Wilson since 1964.

That is incorrect.

Plus, listen to the audiences' applause on the recent live disc and tell me who gets the biggest ovation during the introductions of the band.

The Beach Boys have played a helluva lot more shows without Brian from 1964 (or 1963) to today than with him. So, while it's also correct that The Beach Boys have toured with Brian since 1964, it's not incorrect that they've toured without him.

And duh, the audience loves Brian for many, many, many reasons. Why is that significant or applicable to my post?

[Pretty Funky]

So what will Brian's band be for his few shows?
I guess it would be:
Matt Jardine - Guitar, Vocals
Scott Bennett - Keyboard, Vocals
Mike D'Amico - Drums
Nick Walusko - Lead Guitar
Bob Lizik - Bass
Nelson Bragg - Percussion
Possibly Darian?  Either way, that's still a pretty great band.

Matt doesn't play guitar that I know of, at least professionally.  He has always been on percussion, whether it be with the Beach Boys, Al's band or with Wilson Phillips

I saw a Wilson Phillips show on TV last year and I thought I saw Matt playing keyboards.

This maybe but not keyboards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YdkQWN59HY

[Mikie]

The Beach Boys have been touring without Brian Wilson since 1964.

That is incorrect.

Plus, listen to the audiences' applause on the recent live disc and tell me who gets the biggest ovation during the introductions of the band.

The Beach Boys have played a helluva lot more shows without Brian from 1964 (or 1963) to today than with him. So, while it's also correct that The Beach Boys have toured with Brian since 1964, it's not incorrect that they've toured without him.

And duh, the audience loves Brian for many, many, many reasons. Why is that significant or applicable to my post?

You make contradictory statements:

"We're extremely lucky we got the 2012 album."

Yet you say that you don't mind seeing The Beach Boys without Brian, and you're "crossing your fingers that Al and Dave will be there, but will be happy if they're not there too." You "bought tickets once you found out Jeff was joining the band, but you would have gone to the concert anyway without him being there." So you're perfectly happy if you just see Mike and Bruce, the only original Beach Boys on stage? Did you see the Beach Boys reunion tour a couple of years ago to see the difference? Just askin' - don't get upset.

"The Beach Boys have been touring without Brian Wilson since 1964." You make it sound like Brian hasn't toured with the band since 1964, which he has. If you were writing an article about the history of the band, and the reader knew nothing about The Beach Boys, they would think that the band hasn't toured with Brian on stage since 1964.

Duh, eh?  Duuuuhhhh!  

[startBBtoday]

The Beach Boys have been touring without Brian Wilson since 1964.

That is incorrect.

Plus, listen to the audiences' applause on the recent live disc and tell me who gets the biggest ovation during the introductions of the band.

The Beach Boys have played a helluva lot more shows without Brian from 1964 (or 1963) to today than with him. So, while it's also correct that The Beach Boys have toured with Brian since 1964, it's not incorrect that they've toured without him.

And duh, the audience loves Brian for many, many, many reasons. Why is that significant or applicable to my post?

You make contradictory statements:

"We're extremely lucky we got the 2012 album."

Yet you say that you don't mind seeing The Beach Boys without Brian, and you're "crossing your fingers that Al, and Dave will be there, but will be happy if they're not there too". You "bought tickets once you found out Jeff was joining the band, but you would have gone to the concert anyway without him being there." So you're perfectly happy if you just see Mike and Bruce, the only original Beach Boys on stage? Did you see the Beach Boys reunion tour a couple of years ago to see the difference? Just askin' - don't get upset.

Yeah. I was happy seeing Mike and Bruce last summer. And I was happy to see the C50 tour in 2012. I'd like to see as many Beach Boys as possible at once, but that's obviously not going to happen every summer, and I'm not going to cry if I have to see them in separate camps, or if I can only see two "original" Beach Boys at once. I love the Beach Boys. All of them. And I feel lucky to still get to see them perform in 2014. It's weird that you care so much about how I like seeing The Beach Boys live.

(The way you worded "original Beach Boys" could confuse people into thinking Bruce was a founding member, by the way.  )

"The Beach Boys have been touring without Brian Wilson since 1964." You make it sound like Brian hasn't toured with the band since 1964, which he has. If you were writing an article about the history of the band, and the reader knew nothing about The Beach Boys, they would think that the band hasn't toured with Brian on stage since 1964.

Duh, eh?  Duuuuhhhh!  

You chose to read it that way. The statement "The Beach Boys have been touring without Brian Wilson since 1964 is a true one, and it's also one that no one on this board would be confused about. I guess it's a good thing I'm not writing an article about the history of the band that people who know nothing about The Beach Boys are reading.

[Mikie]

It's weird that you care so much about how I like seeing The Beach Boys live.

Nope, no weirdness at all. I really don't give a rat's posterior if you like the Beach Boys live, or in what configuration. Just addressing inconsistencies in your statements, that's all.

You chose to read it that way. The statement "The Beach Boys have been touring without Brian Wilson since 1964 is a true one, and it's also one that no one on this board would be confused about.

I was confused. I read that at its face value. It could easily be misconstrued. If I didn't know anything about the band before and read that, I'd think that Brian hasn't joined the band since 1964. And with the moniker "startBBtoday", I thought maybe you were a new fan who just got into the band.....  

[18thofMay]

So what will Brian's band be for his few shows?
I guess it would be:
Matt Jardine - Guitar, Vocals
Scott Bennett - Keyboard, Vocals
Mike D'Amico - Drums
Nick Walusko - Lead Guitar
Bob Lizik - Bass
Nelson Bragg - Percussion
Possibly Darian?  Either way, that's still a pretty great band.

Plus Probyn

[metal flake paint]

So what will Brian's band be for his few shows?
I guess it would be:
Matt Jardine - Guitar, Vocals
Scott Bennett - Keyboard, Vocals
Mike D'Amico - Drums
Nick Walusko - Lead Guitar
Bob Lizik - Bass
Nelson Bragg - Percussion
Possibly Darian?  Either way, that's still a pretty great band.

Matt doesn't play guitar that I know of, at least professionally.  He has always been on percussion, whether it be with the Beach Boys, Al's band or with Wilson Phillips

Matt is credited with having played electric, bass, and acoustic guitars, and a Boss DR-770 on a self-composed track called "Faded" featured on ESQ's exclusive Carl Wilson tribute CD from 2006.

[Rocky Raccoon]

So what will Brian's band be for his few shows?
I guess it would be:
Matt Jardine - Guitar, Vocals
Scott Bennett - Keyboard, Vocals
Mike D'Amico - Drums
Nick Walusko - Lead Guitar
Bob Lizik - Bass
Nelson Bragg - Percussion
Possibly Darian?  Either way, that's still a pretty great band.

Plus Probyn

Ah right, he would be the other guitarist, not Matt.

[ToneBender631]

Re this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Ndp9xItZg&list=UUYSLKpmPGeiyCI_qmtm8LtA&index=1

Great mix, free of board echo. Mike's backing vocals are nice and prominent in the mix.

The Beach Boys, in their usual non-C50 state, are a cooler, leaner, more straight-tone blend. On In My Room, Mike and Jeff really blended well (sep. In My Room), and anchor the harmonies. Now that Jeff's voice is all over TWGMTR and everything in the C50 tour, his voice adds authenticity and familiarity to the MB band. This is the best I've heard the MB band's vocal blend sound. Never thought I'd say that, but they sound fantastic.

Brian's band has a generally warmer vocal blend, and Brian blends much better with them than he did 10-15 years ago, because of how his voice recovery really took off after 2004. Foskett never really fit the blend at any point, valuable as he's been in many ways. Matt Jardine in Foskett's place will be the icing on the cake.  

I really think this fixes the vocal shortcomings of both bands. And personally, I would now actively seek out tickets to MB, rather than being relatively ambivalent.

While I heartily agree with how nicely Jeff's voice slots into the vocal stack with M&B, I have to say, Mike's vocals are really sounding a bit thinner than I remember over the past few years. Granted this is an isolated show, filmed from the audience...

[Autotune]

Yeah, but then he's sounded thinner in 1988. And then not. It varies, it seems. And, for whatever reason, his sound has improved in the last 5-7 years.

[ToneBender631]

Yeah, but then he's sounded thinner in 1988. And then not. It varies, it seems. And, for whatever reason, his sound has improved in the last 5-7 years.

Could be the monitoring situation, humidity, all sorts of stuff. For whatever reason, these videos really struck me more than others have for some reason.

[HeyJude]

Howie Edelson pointed out in the post in the aftermath of C50 something that seems so simple that I hadn’t thought about as much as I probably should have. Mike’s voice could well be strained, and exponentially so as he gets older, due to playing so many shows every year. As a fan and not a professional musician or singer, it’s easy for someone like myself to just think of the immediate effects of singing too much, as in blowing your voice out playing a particular show for too long. But there can also be a cumulative effect over the course of a tour, or even over years or decades, when you never take a significant break.

By most accounts, the 73 or so shows for C50 in 2012 was a “light” year for Mike in terms of touring. Granted, either at C50 or at his own shows, he hands over an hour or so of the show to other guys singing lead. But he must still be singing for an hour or more at many shows. Doing that 100 times per year give or take, even if your particular lead vocals aren’t seven-octave intricate numbers, can be a big strain. He clearly bounces back enough from show to show to continue. But I would imagine if he did even 50 shows, and perhaps did those 50 every other year or every three years, his voice could well be in better shape.

[Nicko1234]

Howie Edelson pointed out in the post in the aftermath of C50 something that seems so simple that I hadn’t thought about as much as I probably should have. Mike’s voice could well be strained, and exponentially so as he gets older, due to playing so many shows every year. As a fan and not a professional musician or singer, it’s easy for someone like myself to just think of the immediate effects of singing too much, as in blowing your voice out playing a particular show for too long. But there can also be a cumulative effect over the course of a tour, or even over years or decades, when you never take a significant break.

By most accounts, the 73 or so shows for C50 in 2012 was a “light” year for Mike in terms of touring. Granted, either at C50 or at his own shows, he hands over an hour or so of the show to other guys singing lead. But he must still be singing for an hour or more at many shows. Doing that 100 times per year give or take, even if your particular lead vocals aren’t seven-octave intricate numbers, can be a big strain. He clearly bounces back enough from show to show to continue. But I would imagine if he did even 50 shows, and perhaps did those 50 every other year or every three years, his voice could well be in better shape.

There`s one small drawback to this theory...

Mike sounded worse back in the 1980s than he does now! As it is, he is 73 and sounds as good as can reasonably be expected.

[drbeachboy]

So what will Brian's band be for his few shows?
I guess it would be:
Matt Jardine - Guitar, Vocals
Scott Bennett - Keyboard, Vocals
Mike D'Amico - Drums
Nick Walusko - Lead Guitar
Bob Lizik - Bass
Nelson Bragg - Percussion
Possibly Darian?  Either way, that's still a pretty great band.

Matt doesn't play guitar that I know of, at least professionally.  He has always been on percussion, whether it be with the Beach Boys, Al's band or with Wilson Phillips

I saw a Wilson Phillips show on TV last year and I thought I saw Matt playing keyboards.

This maybe but not keyboards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YdkQWN59HY

He is definitely the percussionist here in this video. The one I am thinking of was maybe on Good Morning America? What I remember is that Matt is stage right and right up front with the girls (near Carnie). She also introduces him to the audience, as well.

[Jim V.]

Ugh. As excited as I was about Matt joining Brian's band, I did forget that he's the guy that stands there and hits bongos. Yuck. I sure hope that's not the look in Brian's band. Honestly, it doesn't seem like it'd really fit.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Ugh. As excited as I was about Matt joining Brian's band, I did forget that he's the guy that stands there and hits bongos. Yuck. I sure hope that's not the look in Brian's band. Honestly, it doesn't seem like it'd really fit.

Flexibility. Now they can change "Barbara Ann" to "Babalu".

Ba-ba-lu! Ba-ba-lu! Ba-ba-lu-iay!

[HeyJude]

Howie Edelson pointed out in the post in the aftermath of C50 something that seems so simple that I hadn’t thought about as much as I probably should have. Mike’s voice could well be strained, and exponentially so as he gets older, due to playing so many shows every year. As a fan and not a professional musician or singer, it’s easy for someone like myself to just think of the immediate effects of singing too much, as in blowing your voice out playing a particular show for too long. But there can also be a cumulative effect over the course of a tour, or even over years or decades, when you never take a significant break.

By most accounts, the 73 or so shows for C50 in 2012 was a “light” year for Mike in terms of touring. Granted, either at C50 or at his own shows, he hands over an hour or so of the show to other guys singing lead. But he must still be singing for an hour or more at many shows. Doing that 100 times per year give or take, even if your particular lead vocals aren’t seven-octave intricate numbers, can be a big strain. He clearly bounces back enough from show to show to continue. But I would imagine if he did even 50 shows, and perhaps did those 50 every other year or every three years, his voice could well be in better shape.

There`s one small drawback to this theory...

Mike sounded worse back in the 1980s than he does now! As it is, he is 73 and sounds as good as can reasonably be expected.

I'm not sure he sounds better. A bit like Brian, he's less whiney/nasaly compared to the 80s. But there's a rasp there that *could* be from performing too much. Age is a factor without question, but I think Mike would sound better by staying active and keeping his voice in "tour shape", but doing less shows.

[Pretty Funky]

I've often felt Mike's vocals are pretty thin at the start of a summer compared to later in the year. Not unlike an athlete who gets fitter as a season progresses.

[tpesky]

Does Randall have any more leads or falsettos in the show anymore? It seems they gave all of his parts to Jeff.  If Sloop John B isn't crying out for an Al Jardine lead, then I don't know what it is.

[RubberSoul13]

Listened to the clip above, now I know this is the first time out with the "new" arrangements however...

Sloop John B
Vocals were extremely sloppy in the first minute. No one cut off together, not once. I couldn't tell who was off pitch, it sounds like Scott has the lead with Bruce on harmony now? Something wasn't right. Foskett watching the screen with his back to the crowd was distracting too. Maybe he was wondering why the publicity shot they used doesn't have him in it! Mike sounds more nasal than ever, not liking it. At one point Bruce says "Please sing this with us!" and man, did they need the help!

Wouldn't it Be Nice
Foskett sounds great on that lead, he kinda botched it on the Beck/Wilson tour last year. Al better get it at Jones Beach though, along with Sloop John B. Mike still sounds nasal as hell.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Man, Mike Love just can't get  a break. He gets  a well deserved award, brings in JF, makes happy with Al and David (even playing a gig(s), and Rolling Stone puts this up today:

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/son-of-a-beach-peter-matthew-bauer-on-kevin-loves-kokomo-problem-20140530

I am no ML lover but this really is OLD news.