Excellent interview w/Darian

[Andrew G. Doe]

http://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/darian-sahanaja-on-playing-with-brian-wilson/Content?oid=3105483

[urbanite]

I don't agree that Mike Love's name was not on a lot of the credits before the lawsuit, it was.

[Rocky Raccoon]

Not a lot of them but it was there, looking at my dad's old copy of Endless Summer.  Mike is credited as a co-writer on Surfin' Safari, Warmth of the Sun, and Fun Fun Fun.

[nakostopoulos]

We were in the dressing room at this fundraiser in New York, and Don Henley and Timothy Schmidt from The Eagles walked in. And Timothy was very nice, but Don was just kind of aloof and walking around the room. And finally, after a few minutes of chatting, Don pulls out a copy of Pet Sounds on CD that he wants Brian to sign.

So Brian grabs it and he signs, "To Don, thanks for all the great music." And he's handing it back to Don, but before Don can take it, he grabs it back and he crosses out "great" and puts "good music." [Laughs.] And the thing is, there's no irony there. He's not being funny. He's really thinking, "I wrote 'great,' but I don't think it's great. But it's good. It's good music." And he handed it back to Don, and it was perfect.

Just when I thought it wasn't possible to love Brian Wilson anymore than I already did...

[Cabinessenceking]

We were in the dressing room at this fundraiser in New York, and Don Henley and Timothy Schmidt from The Eagles walked in. And Timothy was very nice, but Don was just kind of aloof and walking around the room. And finally, after a few minutes of chatting, Don pulls out a copy of Pet Sounds on CD that he wants Brian to sign.

So Brian grabs it and he signs, "To Don, thanks for all the great music." And he's handing it back to Don, but before Don can take it, he grabs it back and he crosses out "great" and puts "good music." [Laughs.] And the thing is, there's no irony there. He's not being funny. He's really thinking, "I wrote 'great,' but I don't think it's great. But it's good. It's good music." And he handed it back to Don, and it was perfect.

Just when I thought it was possible to not love Brian Wilson anymore than I already did...

God bless Brian Wilson.

[Mr. Verlander]

I'm surprised that this hasn't devolved into a 'Mike Love is a dick/No he's not' thread yet.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Give it time... 

[The Shift]

I'm surprised that this hasn't devolved into a 'Mike Love is a dick/No he's not' thread yet.

Because Andrew has mischievously posted after their bed time!

[drbeachboy]

My Brianista side- "What a dick!"

My Kokomoaist side- "No he's not!"

Group hug's myself.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I thought it was cool when Mike was apologetic just before Brian asked him to write lyrics for Good Vibrations (in the movie). Showed a sensitive side to Mike, which I think is there. Everyone's personality is more complex than the limitations people can put on them. There are two interviews with Mike tearing up talking about his relationship with Brian. One was talking about how he hated Eugene Landy, and wanted to kill him. The other was about 7 or 8 years ago. When asked if he missed working with Brian, Mike touched his heart and said, "He's right here. The Brian I know is right here." When I watched these, I teared up as well, and saw a sensitivity in Mike you don't usually see. That doesn't mean I like the direction he took the Beach Boys over the last 30 years, or that I am a Kokomoist, or what ever they are called. Everyone has a jerk side. Except Carl Wilson.

[feelsflow]

I'm surprised that this hasn't devolved into a 'Mike Love is a dick/No he's not' thread yet.

Because Andrew has mischievously posted after their bed time!

Good one, John.

[GhostyTMRS]

Once again, we have someone who's very close to the situation saying the same thing. It's the two camps, not Brian and Mike who have a problem. With all the lawyers and advisors surrounding the individual members since the 70's it's a wonder we get anything from the corporate entity that used to be a rock band called "The Beach Boys".

[urbanite]

One of the members posted on another thread that he was in the Capitol Records building in 2012-2013 and that two guys there told him that they've never worked with guys that hated each other so much.  That's hated, not disliked, and probably spot on.  I'm curious to know from someone on the inside, like Howie Edelson, if that is true.

[sea of tunes]

Once again, we have someone who's very close to the situation saying the same thing. It's the two camps, not Brian and Mike who have a problem. With all the lawyers and advisors surrounding the individual members since the 70's it's a wonder we get anything from the corporate entity that used to be a rock band called "The Beach Boys".

It's a miracle that so much of the great material we have gotten over the years (PET SOUNDS SESSIONS, THE SMILE SESSIONS) actually came out.

On some level there is some cordiality, one would think.

[Andrew G. Doe]

One of the members posted on another thread that he was in the Capitol Records building in 2012-2013 and that two guys there told him that they've never worked with guys that hated each other so much.  That's hated, not disliked, and probably spot on.  I'm curious to know from someone on the inside, like Howie Edelson, if that is true.

I'd have to say there is a degree of dislike between certain members but that in the main - as Darian bravely and perhaps unwisely stated - the overwhelming problem is between the camps and not the individuals.

[Mr. Verlander]

One of the members posted on another thread that he was in the Capitol Records building in 2012-2013 and that two guys there told him that they've never worked with guys that hated each other so much.  That's hated, not disliked, and probably spot on.  I'm curious to know from someone on the inside, like Howie Edelson, if that is true.

I would consider Darian an insider, though.  I would think that he would know the dynamic by now, unless he was just being diplomatic in the interview!

[Matt Bielewicz]

Wow - this is a *fantastic* interview. But I'm kind of cheesed that within a few posts, this thread all about it *IS* turning into another 'Mike vs Brian' yawnfest. There's so much else that's excellent in the interview to discuss, why do we have to focus on that part, which is but a small aspect of the whole article?

So I'll try to save this thread from itself. Let's talk about something else. It sounds as though great, exacting care has gone into the presentation of the musical scenes in the 60s part of Love & Mercy, both in terms of historical accuracy and *musical* accuracy. How many music bios have we all seen where it's obvious the actors aren't singing or playing bass or piano or whatever? This sounds as though it's different. The impression I've always had is that Darian cares so much about the music as well as the people involved, so I'm not surprised the musical side is so well-represented if he was given a major say in its portrayal.

So, to anyone who's already seen the film: are those scenes as convincing as it sounds they are from what we're hearing...?

The stuff about Brian's personality is fascinating too, although it's stuff we all sort of knew, it's really on point. I think the Eagles anecdote has been told here before too recently, and it's very funny, of course, but Darian's take on WHY it happened is the most interesting part; that Brian just did it because that's what he really thinks. Most of us, in that situation, though we might think 'well, the music is OK, but it's not that amazing' would just nonetheless write 'great' and leave it at that in the interests of being smooth and having a quiet life, but the idea that Brian might think 'wait, actually... that's not quite right, I'm going to take it back and change it for just 'good', as that's more accurate'. Some of us might even think that for a fraction of a second, but social mores would prevent us from taking it back and actually changing it. But like a big kid, Brian just goes right ahead and does it. "Like a tank through wheat", as David Anderle said all those years ago...!

It's halfway endearing and it's halfway infuriating; halfway hilarious and halfway tragic. I can't imagine Don Henley was very pleased, and probably thought it was an enormous, incredibly catty slight on his talent. But you can sort of see how it wasn't, really. It was just Brian being Brian, and being honest to a point that most adults never would, or would stop themselves from being.

[Pretty Funky]

One of the members posted on another thread that he was in the Capitol Records building in 2012-2013 and that two guys there told him that they've never worked with guys that hated each other so much.  That's hated, not disliked, and probably spot on.  I'm curious to know from someone on the inside, like Howie Edelson, if that is true.

I'd have to say there is a degree of dislike between certain members but that in the main - as Darian bravely and perhaps unwisely stated - the overwhelming problem is between the camps and not the individuals.

I would say aside from camp personal changing, dislike within the Beach Boys and associates surrounding them has been there since the Murry days. Although unwise by Darian, I doubt it is a secret.

[Cliff1000uk]

One of the members posted on another thread that he was in the Capitol Records building in 2012-2013 and that two guys there told him that they've never worked with guys that hated each other so much.  That's hated, not disliked, and probably spot on.  I'm curious to know from someone on the inside, like Howie Edelson, if that is true.

I'd have to say there is a degree of dislike between certain members but that in the main - as Darian bravely and perhaps unwisely stated - the overwhelming problem is between the camps and not the individuals.

Correct me if I'm wrong (don't worry, I'll open the floodgates!) but didn't Scotty B make a comment about camps and not individuals around the time of TLOS and got a 'talking to'?

[lostbeachboy]

We were in the dressing room at this fundraiser in New York, and Don Henley and Timothy Schmidt from The Eagles walked in. And Timothy was very nice, but Don was just kind of aloof and walking around the room. And finally, after a few minutes of chatting, Don pulls out a copy of Pet Sounds on CD that he wants Brian to sign.

So Brian grabs it and he signs, "To Don, thanks for all the great music." And he's handing it back to Don, but before Don can take it, he grabs it back and he crosses out "great" and puts "good music." [Laughs.] And the thing is, there's no irony there. He's not being funny. He's really thinking, "I wrote 'great,' but I don't think it's great. But it's good. It's good music." And he handed it back to Don, and it was perfect.

Just when I thought it was possible to not love Brian Wilson anymore than I already did...

God bless Brian Wilson.

I think he already did.

[D409]

Quote of the interview from Paul Dano's Brian :

 "We're NOT surfers, we never HAVE been, and REAL surfers don't dig our music anyway !"

Really looking forward to seeing Love & Mercy now...

[HeyJude]

Another way to look at the “camps” thing is that such a comment doesn’t *always* have to be a specific veiled reference to a specific set of people. Sometimes, perhaps often, it *is*.

Sometimes, saying there are issues between the “camps” rather than Brian and Mike individually, can be another way of saying that the guys don’t start throwing furniture at each other when they’re in the same room together, but there are organizational or business issues beyond their interpersonal relationship that cause problems.

I think Darian did this interview as diplomatically as one could. He says Mike was nice to him. That’s great; though I don’t think Mike or anybody should necessarily get *extra* brownie points for that. It’s kind of a common decency thing, to say nothing of keeping a professional attitude towards what is essentially one’s employees. But I think it’s interesting that Darian also says that perhaps Mike *didn’t* see Darian as a threat. That does imply that Mike might not be as friendly with someone he *does* view as a threat. Perhaps that speaks more to why the reunion didn’t continue. But I think Darian is cutting Mike as much slack as anyone possibly could, especially considering that Mike has subsequently kind of indirectly criticized the composition/size of the C50 band (though to be clear, he hasn’t directly criticized any individual’s performance).

[GhostyTMRS]

Another way to look at the “camps” thing is that such a comment doesn’t *always* have to be a specific veiled reference to a specific set of people. Sometimes, perhaps often, it *is*.

Sometimes, saying there are issues between the “camps” rather than Brian and Mike individually, can be another way of saying that the guys don’t start throwing furniture at each other when they’re in the same room together, but there are organizational or business issues beyond their interpersonal relationship that cause problems.

I think Darian did this interview as diplomatically as one could. He says Mike was nice to him. That’s great; though I don’t think Mike or anybody should necessarily get *extra* brownie points for that. It’s kind of a common decency thing, to say nothing of keeping a professional attitude towards what is essentially one’s employees. But I think it’s interesting that Darian also says that perhaps Mike *didn’t* see Darian as a threat. That does imply that Mike might not be as friendly with someone he *does* view as a threat. Perhaps that speaks more to why the reunion didn’t continue. But I think Darian is cutting Mike as much slack as anyone possibly could, especially considering that Mike has subsequently kind of indirectly criticized the composition/size of the C50 band (though to be clear, he hasn’t directly criticized any individual’s performance).

Except in this case, it is lawyers and advisors and has been for more than 30 years. I won't go into detail here but this is not uncommon with bands that are still going from that era, with multiple labels involved, old agreements, etc. Heaven and earth have to be moved.

[petsite]

Having had interaction with Darian, I have to say, this man is close to a saint. The guy is wonderful and knows how lucky he is to be where he is. Talent keeps him there, luck got him there. Brina being there that night. etc etc. He tried to call me one time when they were in Houston and he said Brian was sitting at a piano playing all sorts of unreleased tunes. And I was out for the evening. He has been so gracious that it boggles my mind.

The memory that will always stick with me? There are two. The sound check where Scott was late and he asked if I wanted to play organ on Good Vibrations. Since it was just the guys, I started to climb up onstage. Then Brian walked in and I said NO WAY am I playing in front of Brian. NO FREAKING WAY!! I got down off stage. Leaf was there and started laughing .

I will also remember backstage at the 2013 show with Jeff Beck. I told Darian that he KILLED Darlin that night. Then I said I still miss Carl so much. I said wouldn't it have been great if Carl had been there in 2012 on tour. Darian put his hand over his heart and lowered his head. He quietly said "That would have been so so awesome!"