What if there were no Stamos?

[CenturyDeprived]

If John Stamos never existed (or was never a BB fan), how would BB history be any different? Obviously, they wouldn't have wound up on Full House, and most likely their appearances on Home Improvement and Baywatch wouldn't have happened either in their current form (though they probably would still have done the occasional 1980s guest spot on the popular TV shows of the day, since that was already happening pre-Stamos).

As much as people rag on Stamos, and say that he's a blight on the band's legacy, what would have happened if he was never in any way part of it? I have to think that the M&B show has probably benefited from the Stamos connection, because I doubt they'd have gained all that much in legacy cred if Stamos had never existed, and Stamos may have helped keep them more in the news. Not saying I agree in any way with him being a regular part of the show.

What does everyone think?

All jokes aside, how would BB history be different?

[SMiLE Brian]

No American family hackjob or M&B shows with Stamos murdering the songs.

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

Theyd probably be more unknown, or still-pigeon-holed by not a laughingstock by people growing up in the 80s and 90s. Aside from that...not all that much different. Hes a fringe element. A footnote. Maybe a draw for certain people at the shows, but probably not that much to make a difference and even if he is, would it really be so bad if the Mike show pulled less numbers? They still play small venues, so its not like theyd get rejected from anyone. No one stipulates "Stamos has to be there or I wont book you."

Very minimal change, possibly for the best legacy wise, possibly for the worst short term money wise.

[the captain]

This board's obsession with Stamos is cute. Just like Stamos! Full circle.

More people are aware of the band--including exposure to a Dennis gem--because of him. Any "serious fan" who rescinded said status because of him apparently wasn't one anyway. So who cares? Let a rich, famous super-fan actor/wannabe rock star add some press, however minimal it may be.

[ontor pertawst]

Sure,  he should be welcomed and accepted into "The Beach Boys" (licensed) family. And just like family, Mike should bring up his drug abuse every single time he's interviewed to make it official! 

[CenturyDeprived]

Sure,  he should be welcomed and accepted into "The Beach Boys" (licensed) family. And just like family, Mike should bring up his drug abuse every single time he's interviewed to make it official!  

 

I thought that Mike only mentions drug use with regard to those whom he is no longer regularly working with. I don't think Mike repeatedly mentioning Stamos' drug use would be good for Stamos retention, and Stamos retention is imperative.

[Bittersweet-Sanity]

This board's obsession with Stamos is cute. Just like Stamos! Full circle.

More people are aware of the band--including exposure to a Dennis gem--because of him. Any "serious fan" who rescinded said status because of him apparently wasn't one anyway. So who cares? Let a rich, famous super-fan actor/wannabe rock star add some press, however minimal it may be.

back this up 100%

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[Douchepool]

The hatred for Stamos is something I'll never get; it's probably mere jealousy.

Of course, lamenting the board's obsession with Stamos on a board loaded with obsessives is probably self-defeating, yet I fail to see just how much he really contributed to the band's legacy that was either a net positive or a net negative. He's what all of us wish we could have been - a lucky fan who got to play with his favorite band. I sometimes think the anti-Stamos brouhaha is due to little more than rabid Full House haters. There are more notable sidemen in the band's history, sidemen who had MUCH more to do with the music than Stamos ever did.

[CenturyDeprived]

The hatred for Stamos is something I'll never get; it's probably mere jealousy.

Of course, lamenting the board's obsession with Stamos on a board loaded with obsessives is probably self-defeating, yet I fail to see just how much he really contributed to the band's legacy that was either a net positive or a net negative. He's what all of us wish we could have been - a lucky fan who got to play with his favorite band. I sometimes think the anti-Stamos brouhaha is due to little more than rabid Full House haters. There are more notable sidemen in the band's history, sidemen who had MUCH more to do with the music than Stamos ever did.

For better or worse, I'm convinced of that Stamos has in the past, and continues today to attract a perceptible amount of fans to Mike and Bruce shows.   Maybe not tons, but his association might be a tipping point in getting some people more interested in going.  I don't know any of these people myself, but I think they do exist.  If not, he would never appear in any of their promo photos, since he's not an actual member of the band! It's clearly seen by Mike as a selling point. And selling points exist to make money.

While I obviously have no way of proving this, I think he has added slightly to the M&B bottom line. Of course, there's the counter argument of whether or not a chunk of casual fans were/are turned off to the band nearly because of the repeated full house appearances. While we can joke about that, I think it's not to be dismissed as negligible. Maybe, ultimately it winds up being a positive monetary thing that cancels itself out.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

The hatred for Stamos is something I'll never get; it's probably mere jealousy.

Of course, lamenting the board's obsession with Stamos on a board loaded with obsessives is probably self-defeating, yet I fail to see just how much he really contributed to the band's legacy that was either a net positive or a net negative. He's what all of us wish we could have been - a lucky fan who got to play with his favorite band. I sometimes think the anti-Stamos brouhaha is due to little more than rabid Full House haters. There are more notable sidemen in the band's history, sidemen who had MUCH more to do with the music than Stamos ever did.

For better or worse, I'm convinced of that Stamos has in the past, and continues today to attract a perceptible amount of fans to Mike and Bruce shows.   Maybe not tons, but his association might be a tipping point in getting some people more interested in going.  I don't know any of these people myself, but I think they do exist.  If not, he would never appear in any of their promo photos, since he's not an actual member of the band! It's clearly seen by Mike as a selling point. And selling points exist to make money.

While I obviously have no way of proving this, I think he has added slightly to the M&B bottom line. Of course, there's the counter argument of whether or not a chunk of casual fans were/are turned off to the band nearly because of the repeated full house appearances. While we can joke about that, I think it's not to be dismissed as negligible. Maybe, ultimately it winds up being a positive monetary thing that cancels itself out.

Since myKe and br00th are a BB tribute band, it doesn't matter who they invite on stage. The mostly casual fans they attract don't really give a sh*t who shows up.  Face it, they need all the help they can possibly get from any buffoon who shows up, staymohs included.

[Lee Marshall]

Stamos never meant anything to me.  He was just a guy who somehow was officially allowed to butcher one of Dennis' BEST EVER tunes and a true highlight from Sunflower.  I never 'got' why he was allowed to do that.  Never saw the TV shows with the Boys.  Wasn't into that kind of dip-stick-stupid TV.

The guy means diddly squat to me...except that he's a drunk driver and has tarnished the group's image not only by trying and failing to sing a BB classic but by association with his stupid choices as the fool he obviously is.

Really?  There is no Stamos.  At least not one with ANY talent.

[ontor pertawst]

According to later updates on that hugely important story and his own pained recollection to Serious Journalist Matt Lauer, Stamos was driving around wasted on GHB... which he later claimed was for bodybuilding purposes. Mmm hmm. For good measure he went to rehab AND blamed the whole thing on his mom dying a year ago.

Presumably her dying wish was to have him "lean out body mass."  Anyway...



There is no Stamos.

[Mike's Beard]

Someone else would have had to mime playing the bongos in the Kokomo video - life as we have come to know it would never be the same again.

[ChicagoAnn]

Kokomo (for better or worse) was a hit with or without John Stamos or Full House. I doubt he made any difference.  The movie Cocktail? Probably.

[Lonely Summer]

You know, I don't get the hatred for Stamos or Full House. Mike probably wishes he had John's hair; and Full House was a good family show - you know, if you don't want to expose your kids to couples jumping in the sack every 5 minutes, and bodies getting blown to bits. I guess some fans would have liked the 80s/90s Beach Boys to be hard rockers wearing leather and/or ripped jeans and t-shirts, screaming socially relevant lyrics and/or songs about a heroin habit; trying hard to be hip/alternative/indie. If they had gone that route, we'd all be mocking these old geezers for trying so hard to fit in with the trends of the day.

[ontor pertawst]

What if, what if. Questions, questions.

What if no Tom Cruise either? No handsome greasy young men, no trying hard to be hip/alternative/indie. Or faux cuddly/mainstream/sitcom. What if Kokomo came packaged in a sensible, thoroughly fact-checked package? Opening up whole new audiences and possible demographics in the UK. Without Tom Cruise's box office bankability, I doubt they would've been able to afford Michael Caine tho, so Mike could've played the mentor figure as well...



Do you see what happens when you meddle with time and space with questions like this?!?!

A ripple effect with countless repercussions!

[Niko]

That is so incredibly amazing

[CenturyDeprived]

What if, what if. Questions, questions.

What if no Tom Cruise either? No handsome greasy young men, no trying hard to be hip/alternative/indie. Or faux cuddly/mainstream/sitcom. What if Kokomo came packaged in a sensible, thoroughly fact-checked package? Opening up whole new audiences and possible demographics in the UK. Without Tom Cruise's box office bankability, I doubt they would've been able to afford Michael Caine tho, so Mike could've played the mentor figure as well...



Do you see what happens when you meddle with time and space with questions like this?!?!

A ripple effect with countless repercussions!

 

[Jay]

"Cocktail" suddenly becomes an entirely different movie. 

[KDS]

OK. 

Instead of dwelling on the negative aspects of Stamos, why not just accept the fact that Stamos did lend a hand in exposing The Beach Boys to a new generation. 

I was born in 1980, and my, and many other people I grew up with had their first exposure to The Beach Boys on Full House.  Sure, that show is difficult to watch now, but it was a big deal in the late 1980s.  Plus, how many people from my generation would know the song "Forever" if it hadn't been featured in the show? 

Granted, it has its faults (especially in the second half), but for what it is, I honestly don't think American Family is nearly as bad as its reputation.  It was a made for TV movie with a low budget.  And I still think the pre Pet Sounds era was handled as well as it could be. 

Maybe Stamos has worn out his welcome with concert appearances, but he's still using Beach Boys music in his TV shows. 

The way I see it, any attempt to expose people to the music of The Beach Boys is a positive. 

[rn57]

It's a regular It's A Wonderful Life situation. No Stamos means Tim Allen taking his place and the guys making cameos in all three Santa Clause movies. In one of which, there would be a song called Rudolph's Goin' To Kokomo. So count your blessings.

[Emily]

What if, what if. Questions, questions.

What if no Tom Cruise either? No handsome greasy young men, no trying hard to be hip/alternative/indie. Or faux cuddly/mainstream/sitcom. What if Kokomo came packaged in a sensible, thoroughly fact-checked package? Opening up whole new audiences and possible demographics in the UK. Without Tom Cruise's box office bankability, I doubt they would've been able to afford Michael Caine tho, so Mike could've played the mentor figure as well...



Do you see what happens when you meddle with time and space with questions like this?!?!

A ripple effect with countless repercussions!

Wait, I really want to see this movie.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Without the Beach Boys' appearances on several John Stamos-related TV shows, you would have over a million less fans of The Beach Boys music, several thousand less fans of Dennis Wilson's music, and several thousand less fans who were surprised/happy/entertained by Stamos' appearances at Beach Boys' concerts. I think that when people go to work the day after a Beach Boys' concert, after saying what a great show it was, the next sentence would be happily saying that John Stamos was there and sang, played drums, and played guitar.

[HeyJude]

To borrow another member’s turn of phrase, Stamos is a blight on the Beach Boys and their legacy. Doesn’t mean he destroyed them or even seriously hurt their legacy, also doesn’t mean he never attracted any new fans or attention to the band. Much like the disco version of “Here Comes the Night”, it’s just an annoying pockmark on the history of the band. Much like Stamos, I’m sure some fans heard the disco version of “Here Comes the Night” and became fans.

Stamos is a big fan of the band, and he should have concentrated his energies in that direction. Be a fan, not an adjunct member of the band against the wishes of a segment of the band’s fanbase and, in the case of C50, against the wishes of some of the actual band members. Help fund a good documentary on the band. Champion a release of archival material and then write some liner notes about the 80s/90s era. Stamos could have been a fan’s best friend doing stuff like that.

Stamos has even said in interviews that he realizes a lot of fans don’t like him, going so far as to say he’s be pissed if he was at a Beach Boys concert and Scott Baio jumped on stage. His explanation appears to essentially be that he’s a big fan and any big fan would never turn down the opportunity to jump on stage with them. I just fundamentally disagree with that. Even David Marks sometimes turned their offer down when asked to play on stage with the band in the when he was just visiting the guys for a night.

But I agree, the Stamos thing is old. The same group of people come out every time to claim disdain for Stamos is motivated by jealousy and mean-spiritedness (I already know one likely person who is going to respond to this very post, and I can already guess mostly what that poster is going to say). No, the disdain is motivated by, as another member of the board once put it, the idea that when Stamos gets up on stage for a “Beach Boys” concert (whether Mike’s or C50), he just does whatever he wants. He drags the music down; he’s an amateur musician.

His “Full House” connection is now largely remembered for its camp. Ironically funny. Now, I don’t think all the “Full House” stuff injured the band in any significant way. I’m happy to just laugh about it, and fondly remember the ridiculous “Forever” music video Uncle Jessie made, and the weird scene where it’s Bruce Johnston who “allows” Uncle Jessie to record “Forever.” It’s funny stuff. But if people want to take it dead seriously and ascribe more to the Stamos connection than there is, then I’m happy to call it like I see it. He’s a blight. Seems like a nice guy and I’ve never questioned that he’s a true fan and a big fan. If Rolling Stone is to be believed, Stamos liked Brian’s suite on TWGMTR more than Mike Love did! He would just be a thousand times cooler if he would have stayed one of the most famous BB fans.

I remember being fascinated seeing Tony Curtis introduce ELO for a show back in the 70s, and learning he was apparently a huge ELO fan. Awesome. If Curtis had started jumping on stage and singing with them, I would have found that intensely annoying.