What did we learn at the Q&A?

[Mikie]

It was a 30 minute Q&A right?  Quick questions, quick answers.  

If you feel you were deprived of an in-depth interview, you should probably put a lot of effort into getting one, and that takes some serious strategy.  If you look at the best interviews, they were done by knowledgeable people who earned the artists' trust through their study of his/her life and work, earned some credentials and offered a level of integrity proven through time with the artist.  The "experts" here can surely get their own interviews, right?

In the mean time, do you really NOT want Brian to do Q&A's?  He's probably just as happy not doing them, but wants to interact with his fans.  He was doing a nice thing, I thought...

Debbie, I'm sure you saw what Brian's answer was to the question, "What is your favorite song on Beach Boys Love You"?  

[MrRobinsonsFather]

It was a 30 minute Q&A right?  Quick questions, quick answers.  

If you feel you were deprived of an in-depth interview, you should probably put a lot of effort into getting one, and that takes some serious strategy.  If you look at the best interviews, they were done by knowledgeable people who earned the artists' trust through their study of his/her life and work, earned some credentials and offered a level of integrity proven through time with the artist.  The "experts" here can surely get their own interviews, right?

In the mean time, do you really NOT want Brian to do Q&A's?  He's probably just as happy not doing them, but wants to interact with his fans.  He was doing a nice thing, I thought...

Totally agree with Debbie.
We should all be happy Brian took the time to post here, I mean that in itself is a thrill.

[bringahorseinhere?]

I too liked the pizza question!

those simple questions are better than asking the big fella the same questions
people keep asking him year after year...

and now we know he likes Cheese Pizza.....

he is human after all, I like to know of his life outside of the usual music question's..

RickB

[Heysaboda]

The most interesting answer was the love you tour question. They have "talked" about doing one.

Not sure that one would sell a lot of tickets...

Do it in small venues, clubs even.

Just Brian with a snare drum... That'd be artistic courage! 

No hi-hats though!  He HATES hi-hats!!! 

[Mikie]

So he's taking "No Pier Pressure" on the road.  So he'll have to do the songs without the guest artists parts or somebody will have to do the guest artist's parts as I don't think all those guest artists will appear with him at every gig!

Also, regarding "Cheese Pizza".  I can't imagine eating ANY pizza without cheese on it.   And cheese pizza by itself?? Nahhhhhh!  

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Very pleased with my answer, he seemed to go a little more in depth than I expected, I know he's saidd "Just do it...""...Write the song in one go" before... but this time I really feel it!

[Cyncie]

Geez people! It would serve this board right if he never came back! How ungrateful we are.  Seriously, these events are the equivalent of chit chat at a party. Yes, you get the occasional insight, but you also get talk about pizza and other fluff.

It's a fun fan Q and A, not an interrogation.

[SamMcK]

Cheese Pizza has now reached the higher echelons of Brian Wilson comprehension:

Phil Spector, Norbit, Shortenin' Bread, Steak, Pleasure Island, Birthday Cake and now, Cheese Pizza.

Personally i'm crushed he's not a pepperoni man. HOW COULD YOU BRIAN? How could you? 

[Howie Edelson]

Debbie, I wasn't deprived of anything.

I've easily interviewed Brian a dozen times, in depth, over the past decade. I've never not started and ended hardcore with him.

I simply believe that the posters of the board -- especially the ones that bemoan the fact that they have no access to Brian (the main culprits actually stayed away -- unless they used other make believe "handles" for their questions) finally had the chance to get the answers to the questions they think some of us have denied them and they pulled a punch by not doing so.

I just think the whole "We've only got him for 30 minutes -- better keep it light" line goes against the very nature of this board, which is unlike any other.

For instance, Bubbly Waves wasted the all important 1623th post on a graphic in response to someone else's response, rather than asking Brian something he must've wanted to know.
That post could've been used to pose a great question regarding how Brian felt about Stephen Moffitt's mic-ing at Brother in comparison to Desper's at Bellagio -- y'know?
It so easily could've been THAT instead of silly-gooseness.

Like the old saying goes: "You only get ONE chance at a 1623th post."

That's all I'm saying Debbie.
 

[Mr. Cohen]

Phil Spector, Norbit, Shortenin' Bread, Steak, Pleasure Island, Birthday Cake and now, Cheese Pizza.

You don't read his Q&A on his board. He likes apple pie more than cake (!).

[SamMcK]

Howie, you have no excuse to get upset with other people for not asking the questions that YOU wanted answered. You're lucky to have been given the opportunity to interview Brian all of those times, you've been allowed to go more in depth with him. You had the chance today to ask that question about the mic-ing. But you didn't.

For a lot of fans, we just want to recieve a reply from the guy who brought us all here in the first place. We know we aren't going to get in depth answers so why can't we just have fun while we're at it? Do you really think we're going to get replys to complex questions on a fan forum like this?

As someone who's never been in a position to interview the man I can say that being given an answer to a question from Brian Wilson would be one of the greatest thrills a fan could hope for. Let's not sh*t on what questions were asked, but rejoice that they were answered by the man himself.

[Michael Edward Osbourne]

Hah! Yup, exactly...

[ppk700]

I was very torn about what to ask him, personally. I wanted to ask him a question about his collaboration with Mini Mansions, but there's already enough info about that out there. I thought about asking him a food question, too, but ultimately I decided, "Hey, this is a rare opportunity, he probably won't answer me anyways, so what the heck, I'll ask a hard question." So, I asked the man his opinion on SIP. Do I regret asking it? Kinda. I'm sure he doesn't like to reflect upon that period in his life. Yet, how much has he ever spoken about that album, if at all? And do any of us truly know if he's listened to it or even considers it part of the BB canon? So, that's what I asked. In retrospect, kinda wish I asked him about "Any Emotions," because I seriously dig that song.

If he comes back to do this again I'll certainly be asking a better question. Overall I learned a lot today, the Q&A had so many nice bits of information. Thanks to the mods for arranging all this. It was really cool and much fun.

[rab2591]

Let's not sh*t on what questions were asked, but rejoice that they were answered by the man himself.

AMEN. I think most of us are completely satisfied with the way the Q&A turned out.

I guess next time we'll barrage Brian with an onslaught of introspective SMiLE questions which he's sure to answer!

[Debbie Keil-Leavitt]

It was a 30 minute Q&A right?  Quick questions, quick answers.  

If you feel you were deprived of an in-depth interview, you should probably put a lot of effort into getting one, and that takes some serious strategy.  If you look at the best interviews, they were done by knowledgeable people who earned the artists' trust through their study of his/her life and work, earned some credentials and offered a level of integrity proven through time with the artist.  The "experts" here can surely get their own interviews, right?

In the mean time, do you really NOT want Brian to do Q&A's?  He's probably just as happy not doing them, but wants to interact with his fans.  He was doing a nice thing, I thought...

Debbie, I'm sure you saw what Brian's answer was to the question, "What is your favorite song on Beach Boys Love You"?  

I did, and I never knew if was his favorite on "Love You."  So I learned something, too.  And hey, when one of you snags that in depth interview, don't you want to know what pizza to bring?  I surely would...

[Mikie]

Gee, I didn't see Howie sh*t on anything. He just brought up a couple of valid points, which some of us just happen to share. Sam seems to be in a rough and tumble mood today. Hasn't contributed to this board in light years, but decided to come outta the woodwork today just for the Q&A session. 

[joshferrell]

okay here are my thoughts, there were simply too many questions for 30 minutes, in fact I can't see how he could possibly had a chance to look through them all, and then as he starts answering the questions people start posting NEW questions, that kind of confused me because it kept pushing the other threads down making it harder to find Brian's answers, and then people would respond to his answers with a "thank you" which pushed the threads down even more making the older questions go even further down the thread and making it even more confusing, so here an idea for the next time, have people ask questions up to an hour before Brian comes to answer them and make it so people can't ask any more questions (or respond) after that so that it is ONLY Brian answering, that way he can read the questions with out the threads moving down and that way we won't get lost reading his answers. and I guess also we should be limited to one question a person two tops (even though I asked 3 lol) next time around that way it makes it easier for him to go through the questions and for us to read what he posts without new questions popping out of nowhere ..also an hour is better than 30 minutes (hint hint)

[Howie Edelson]

No, Sam, you're missing the point: I DID ask Brian about the mic-ing.
The topic of this thread is the question: "What Did We Learn At The Q&A" 

In my opinion the answer is "cheese pizza."

[SinisterSmile]

I notice we have a 'cheesy' smiley face, any chance we could get that changed to a cheesy pizza?  

[Debbie Keil-Leavitt]

Debbie, I wasn't deprived of anything.

I've easily interviewed Brian a dozen times, in depth, over the past decade. I've never not started and ended hardcore with him.

I simply believe that the posters of the board -- especially the ones that bemoan the fact that they have no access to Brian (the main culprits actually stayed away -- unless they used other make believe "handles" for their questions) finally had the chance to get the answers to the questions they think some of us have denied them and they pulled a punch by not doing so.

I just think the whole "We've only got him for 30 minutes -- better keep it light" line goes against the very nature of this board, which is unlike any other.

For instance, Bubbly Waves wasted the all important 1623th post on a graphic in response to someone else's response, rather than asking Brian something he must've wanted to know.
That post could've been used to pose a great question regarding how Brian felt about Stephen Moffitt's mic-ing at Brother in comparison to Desper's at Bellagio -- y'know?
It so easily could've been THAT instead of silly-gooseness.

Like the old saying goes: "You only get ONE chance at a 1623th post."

That's all I'm saying Debbie.
 

Howie, what I said wasn't directed at you specifically, just the general tone of some people being kinda' bitchy about a gift from Brian, and taking it out on each other.  Not exactly a surprise, but still... and you've made it quite clear here that you've interviewed members of the Beach Boys.  So, during the next Q&A, you can post the question you feel meets your standard, right?

[Charles LePage @ ComicList]

The only way to satisfy the "too many questions/too many low-quality questions" criticisms would be, next time, submit all questions to the moderators and let them decide which ones get posted for Brian to see.   Of course, that wouldn't really stop the complaining, it would just change the focus of the complaints.

[guitarfool2002]

I love Brian Wilson and appreciate the mods here as much as anyone. But that's not to say we couldn't make improvements for next time if there is one.

I'm all ears. Let's compare notes, and I'll try to explain how and why some things were done when necessary. I was going to open up a separate thread for that, but here is as good as anywhere else.

[Gerry]

Is anybody whose been a fan for a while surprised at all by how this went?

[Autotune]

I enjyoyed it. No way we'll get our fanboy minutiae answered. Some substantial questions remained unanswered but all is fine.

I only regret he did not answer the "favorite movie" question. Had the answer been "Norbit", that would have been the best answer ever!

[Mujan, 8@$+@Rc| of a Blue Wizard]

okay here are my thoughts, there were simply too many questions for 30 minutes, in fact I can't see how he could possibly had a chance to look through them all, and then as he starts answering the questions people start posting NEW questions, that kind of confused me because it kept pushing the other threads down making it harder to find Brian's answers, and then people would respond to his answers with a "thank you" which pushed the threads down even more making the older questions go even further down the thread and making it even more confusing, so here an idea for the next time, have people ask questions up to an hour before Brian comes to answer them and make it so people can't ask any more questions (or respond) after that so that it is ONLY Brian answering, that way he can read the questions with out the threads moving down and that way we won't get lost reading his answers. and I guess also we should be limited to one question a person two tops (even though I asked 3 lol) next time around that way it makes it easier for him to go through the questions and for us to read what he posts without new questions popping out of nowhere ..also an hour is better than 30 minutes (hint hint)

Amen.