http://app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060526/ENT/605260314&SearchID=73245733614831*************
Wish they all could be California guys
The Beach Boys get a headstart on summer in New Jersey
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/26/06
BY ED CONDRAN
CORRESPONDENT
You can be sure the Beach Boys will be playing "Good Vibrations" this morning when they kick off the unofficial start of summer 2006 at Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant Beach.
Couldn't get up in time to catch the 6 a.m. show? (It's Scott & Todd's Summer Blast Off for radio station WPLJ.) Don't worry, baby: The Beach Boys also are scheduled to perform their feel-good hits tonight at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City.
Unfortunately, the vibes haven't been so good between Mike Love, who still fronts the Beach Boys, and ex-bandmate Brian Wilson.
Last year, Love filed lawsuit No. 3 against his celebrated cousin; Love accused Wilson of promoting his 2004 album, "Smile," in a manner that "shamelessly misappropriates Mike Love's songs, likeness and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the "Smile' album itself."
It was a curious move from a performer who named his subsequent solo-album project "Mike Love, Not War."
Don't expect Love and Wilson, who performs these days as a solo artist, to get together any time soon.
"It's a shame," Love said in an interview conducted late last year prior to the group's engagement at the Ritacco Center in Toms River. "Brian has . . . problems. He's been controlled his whole life. His father controlled him and then Dr. (Eugene) Landy controlled him. And now the people surrounding him are controlling his life. I would welcome the opportunity for Brian to be in this band, but I can't imagine him ever having control and him getting over his paranoia."
So, the Beach Boys continue to crank out their classics such as "California Girls," "Surfin' U.S.A.," "Help Me, Rhonda" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" — even though the acrimony between Love and Wilson remains.
"We can't let the people down who love this band," Love said. "Our fans love our music, and we love having the opportunity to perform."
Don't expect to hear obscure album tracks in Point Pleasant Beach and Atlantic City this weekend. It is Memorial Day weekend at the Jersey Shore, after all.
"Some songs are just a little too esoteric to do at shows," Love said. "They're great songs, but we can't play them all. We recorded so many great songs from the early years. I have great memories of those times."
Despite his situation with Wilson, Love is more than happy to reflect on their early years.
"What Brian and I had was really special," Love said. "We started singing together at an early age. We're a year apart. We were 11, 12 years old. We had a great relationship, but it didn't take long for things to get weird."
In 1964, Wilson quit touring with the Beach Boys. Love later was demonized as the cancerous Beach Boy, which he says is erroneous.
"I'm known as the bad one in this band, but it's not true," Love said. "I was just different from the Wilsons (Brian, Dennis and Carl). . . . It's a shame how that all went down.
"But fortunately, the Beach Boys are still here and we're valid."
Author
