gfxgfx
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
logo
 
gfx gfx
gfx
680597 Posts in 27600 Topics by 4068 Members - Latest Member: Dae Lims March 28, 2024, 12:28:24 PM
*
gfx*HomeHelpSearchCalendarLoginRegistergfx
gfxgfx
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.       « previous next »
Pages: 1 2 [3] Go Down Print
Author Topic: Mike November 1982 Jamaica Music Fest Interview Crashed by Dennis (and Gage)  (Read 10912 times)
CenturyDeprived
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 5749



View Profile
« Reply #50 on: December 23, 2020, 06:53:17 PM »

Dennis does a similar “interview crash” around 7:55 here:

https://youtu.be/dbQZkKzV4O0

Being of the opinion that Dennis’ PRIMARY motivation is simply to show off his son doesn’t mean one is ignoring subtext or being willfully ignorant to the tensions around the band.

It just means that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. I think Mike is definitely thinking, “here comes Dennis, carrying a baby, hope he doesn’t do anything weird”. But that doesn’t mean Dennis is trying to use his son to bait Mike and make an uncomfortable scene and that Mike is afraid of being “exposed” on camera.

But I'm sure you can imagine that Mike had to know that it was not just "a baby", but Dennis' newborn son who also happened to be Mike's grandson. And if Mike did not know that, and merely assumed it was just a random baby, he'd have to be pretty dense, plus he would find out literally seconds later when Dennis introduced Gage as his son.

I do agree that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but I don't think this is one of those times.

Also, I don't think Dennis was trying to "bait" Mike into anything. It's more just to make Mike squirm a bit deep down. I don't think Dennis is trying to get Mike to step away awkwardly or do anything weird. All it is, IMO, is spur of the moment not-so-subtle passive aggression at its finest. A sneak attack subliminal uppercut to Cassius Love by Sonny Wilson's brother.
« Last Edit: December 23, 2020, 08:16:51 PM by CenturyDeprived » Logged
c-man
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 4941


View Profile WWW
« Reply #51 on: December 23, 2020, 08:24:06 PM »

Shame they didn't let us hear what Dennis had to say there, Donny! Also a shame they felt the need to dub in the studio recordings over the live concert footage on most of this, instead of letting us hear the band for real.
Logged
DonnyL
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 1990



View Profile WWW
« Reply #52 on: December 24, 2020, 12:57:35 PM »

Shame they didn't let us hear what Dennis had to say there, Donny! Also a shame they felt the need to dub in the studio recordings over the live concert footage on most of this, instead of letting us hear the band for real.

Yes, it's a weird clip ha. But to me, Dennis walks up to Al in a similar way as he did to Mike in the other clip ... IMO suggesting Dennis was just kinda being himself.
Logged

DonnyL
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 1990



View Profile WWW
« Reply #53 on: December 24, 2020, 01:14:48 PM »

Dennis does a similar “interview crash” around 7:55 here:

https://youtu.be/dbQZkKzV4O0

Being of the opinion that Dennis’ PRIMARY motivation is simply to show off his son doesn’t mean one is ignoring subtext or being willfully ignorant to the tensions around the band.

It just means that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. I think Mike is definitely thinking, “here comes Dennis, carrying a baby, hope he doesn’t do anything weird”. But that doesn’t mean Dennis is trying to use his son to bait Mike and make an uncomfortable scene and that Mike is afraid of being “exposed” on camera.

But I'm sure you can imagine that Mike had to know that it was not just "a baby", but Dennis' newborn son who also happened to be Mike's grandson. And if Mike did not know that, and merely assumed it was just a random baby, he'd have to be pretty dense, plus he would find out literally seconds later when Dennis introduced Gage as his son.

I do agree that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but I don't think this is one of those times.

Also, I don't think Dennis was trying to "bait" Mike into anything. It's more just to make Mike squirm a bit deep down. I don't think Dennis is trying to get Mike to step away awkwardly or do anything weird. All it is, IMO, is spur of the moment not-so-subtle passive aggression at its finest. A sneak attack subliminal uppercut to Cassius Love by Sonny Wilson's brother.

Haven't you ever had weird situations or tensions within your family in the past? I certainly have. While the subtext is usually somewhere lurking in the background, you can still have normal interactions. If you had a situation where a sibling or cousin had stolen money from you, and you were together with family for Thanksgiving and asked them, "can I borrow your salt shaker?" ... and someone were filming- is there hidden meaning in the comment? Or are you simply asking for salt?

I'm not saying I know everything that is going on in the video. And yes it's interesting. But from everything I know about Dennis, I think he just wanted to show off his son and was behaving as he normally seemed to. Which was yes, a bit erratic. And Mike was uncomfortable because Dennis was erratic on camera with a child. That is all, IMO.

Here is the dialog from when Dennis entered the shot:

Dennis: "How you guys doin'?"

Interviewer: "Hello, Dennis."

Mike: "Hi Dennis."

Dennis: "Hi. What's goin' on?"

Mike: "A little interview with Entertainment Tonight."

Dennis: "Good. Here we go. [holds up Gage, who is sleeping]. Sweet baby Gage."

Interviewer: "What's his name?"

Dennis: "Sweet Baby Gage."

Mike: "Gage."

Dennis: "Gage Dennis Wilson. [touches Mike's shoulder] I just wanted to show him on TV."

Mike: "Good."

Interviewer: "Hey, hold him up. Hold him up for the camera."

Dennis: "No that's fine, that's fine" [remember Gage is sleeping].

Yes, the situation surrounding the two is weird, and clearly there is tension. But to me, this seems like an innocent event. I think it's the Steven Gaines book that is the only place that suggests all this kind of stuff about Dennis getting back at Mike, etc.

... but I'm not sure all of that stuff is really as legit as Dennis being a proud father here. Just one man's opinion. When a child is born, all of those types of things melt by the wayside. I see Dennis as a proud father in this clip. I don't see anything else that is weird.
« Last Edit: December 25, 2020, 05:08:06 PM by DonnyL » Logged

Lonely Summer
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 3932


View Profile
« Reply #54 on: December 25, 2020, 11:07:56 PM »

Dennis does a similar “interview crash” around 7:55 here:

https://youtu.be/dbQZkKzV4O0

Being of the opinion that Dennis’ PRIMARY motivation is simply to show off his son doesn’t mean one is ignoring subtext or being willfully ignorant to the tensions around the band.

It just means that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. I think Mike is definitely thinking, “here comes Dennis, carrying a baby, hope he doesn’t do anything weird”. But that doesn’t mean Dennis is trying to use his son to bait Mike and make an uncomfortable scene and that Mike is afraid of being “exposed” on camera.

But I'm sure you can imagine that Mike had to know that it was not just "a baby", but Dennis' newborn son who also happened to be Mike's grandson. And if Mike did not know that, and merely assumed it was just a random baby, he'd have to be pretty dense, plus he would find out literally seconds later when Dennis introduced Gage as his son.

I do agree that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but I don't think this is one of those times.

Also, I don't think Dennis was trying to "bait" Mike into anything. It's more just to make Mike squirm a bit deep down. I don't think Dennis is trying to get Mike to step away awkwardly or do anything weird. All it is, IMO, is spur of the moment not-so-subtle passive aggression at its finest. A sneak attack subliminal uppercut to Cassius Love by Sonny Wilson's brother.

Haven't you ever had weird situations or tensions within your family in the past? I certainly have. While the subtext is usually somewhere lurking in the background, you can still have normal interactions. If you had a situation where a sibling or cousin had stolen money from you, and you were together with family for Thanksgiving and asked them, "can I borrow your salt shaker?" ... and someone were filming- is there hidden meaning in the comment? Or are you simply asking for salt?

I'm not saying I know everything that is going on in the video. And yes it's interesting. But from everything I know about Dennis, I think he just wanted to show off his son and was behaving as he normally seemed to. Which was yes, a bit erratic. And Mike was uncomfortable because Dennis was erratic on camera with a child. That is all, IMO.

Here is the dialog from when Dennis entered the shot:

Dennis: "How you guys doin'?"

Interviewer: "Hello, Dennis."

Mike: "Hi Dennis."

Dennis: "Hi. What's goin' on?"

Mike: "A little interview with Entertainment Tonight."

Dennis: "Good. Here we go. [holds up Gage, who is sleeping]. Sweet baby Gage."

Interviewer: "What's his name?"

Dennis: "Sweet Baby Gage."

Mike: "Gage."

Dennis: "Gage Dennis Wilson. [touches Mike's shoulder] I just wanted to show him on TV."

Mike: "Good."

Interviewer: "Hey, hold him up. Hold him up for the camera."

Dennis: "No that's fine, that's fine" [remember Gage is sleeping].

Yes, the situation surrounding the two is weird, and clearly there is tension. But to me, this seems like an innocent event. I think it's the Steven Gaines book that is the only place that suggests all this kind of stuff about Dennis getting back at Mike, etc.

... but I'm not sure all of that stuff is really as legit as Dennis being a proud father here. Just one man's opinion. When a child is born, all of those types of things melt by the wayside. I see Dennis as a proud father in this clip. I don't see anything else that is weird.

Agreed. That's how I see it, too.
Logged
kiwi surfer
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 111


View Profile
« Reply #55 on: December 27, 2020, 11:38:52 PM »

Let's make that three, me too.
Logged
Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 1080



View Profile WWW
« Reply #56 on: December 28, 2020, 03:02:25 AM »

Let's make that three, me too.

That's 3 more people suffering from cognitive dissonance then  Grin
Logged

HeyJude
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 10029



View Profile WWW
« Reply #57 on: December 28, 2020, 06:40:49 AM »

I don't think anything about the Mike/Shawn/Dennis/Gage situation vis-a-vis this video is remotely of the "a cigar is just a cigar" variety.

And we're also getting bogged down in the semantics of the heavy/awkward implications of the events in the video versus a specific, ascribable Dennis motive. That is, even if you want to choose to assume Dennis is of pure motives of nothing more than being a proud father (and I don't think the Steven Gaines book is *only* source that would imply Dennis might f**k with Mike in various ways even in those later years), the obvious intense awkwardness and unease Mike would or could or should feel in that moment would mean the footage is depicting something intense and not just happy and innocuous. As I've said previously, if Dennis had no weird motives, he absolutely *should* have known the awkward implications of doing this to Mike.

I've never been one to regularly dredge up and obsess over the Mike/Shawn/Dennis/Gage situation, and the 27 ways in which it was dysfunctional and awkward. But some fans really just want to ignore it. To *not* ignore it is not to pass final judgment on any of these people or assume anything. It's truly more of a situation where any adult with common sense and a good working knowledge of the band's history would have to willfully ignore all of that to watch this footage and not notice the clear context and subtext. Again, not only was this a tense time due to the Shawn/Dennis stuff. *NOVEMBER 1982* was one of the heaviest, stressful times in the HISTORY of the band. Dennis and his beautiful baby could be (and I think was) both a beautiful, pure, innocent thing in the midst of all of that heaviness, but ALSO *absolutely* one of the main CAUSES of the heaviness and stress.

To point this all out, to say "Wow, look at that footage. That's intense and awkward for a hundred reasons" is not to say Dennis wasn't a proud father, and it's not to say the band's dysfunctional aspects were too debilitating (they clearly *weren't*; they continued to tour incessantly through *all* of this).
Logged

THE BEACH BOYS OPINION PAGE IS ON FACEBOOK!!! http://www.facebook.com/beachboysopinion - Check out the original "BEACH BOYS OPINION PAGE" Blog - http://beachboysopinion.blogspot.com/
rab2591
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 5865


"My God. It's full of stars."


View Profile
« Reply #58 on: December 28, 2020, 09:35:51 AM »



Thanks, HeyJude.

I have no doubt that Dennis was a proud father here. But I'll be the jackass and state that this is also the guy who got into domestic disputes with the mother of this child to the point of grabbing her hair and yanking her around, destroying property, etc. This is also the guy that lit a car on fire out of anger. Point being, he was mentally (and physically) a complete disaster toward the end of his life - making very poor decisions that had a negative impact on his children, friends, and family - especially when it came to his cousin Mike. Comparing this moment to a Thanksgiving salt-shaker request is trivializing this moment to the point of absurdity. Let's look at this from Mike's perspective: this is literally Mike's cousin walking up to Mike with the child he made with Mike's daughter - to show off during a TV interview with Mike.

This is Mike's cousin, who just three years prior punched Mike backstage, then proceeded to beat him onstage during the concert. This is Mike's cousin that had a restraining order against him from Mike not too long before this interview. This is Mike's cousin that kept knocking Mike's hat off during concerts to embarrass Mike about his bald head.

When you look at the context of all that was going on here, just simple logic tells us that this was clearly not a move that would be comfortable for Mike...and I posted the above gif for a reason: clearly Mike isn't happy with Dennis after that exchange. Not only is Dennis crashing the interview, but he's crashing it with Mike's grandson/cousin's kid to show him off on television.

TBH I have no idea what Dennis is thinking in this clip, but then neither does anyone else here. All we can do is speculate, and it is just logical to speculate with the context of the turbulent relationship that Dennis had with Mike during this time. Nothing in the Beach Boys world is black and white. They're proving this even to this very day.
Logged

Bill Tobelman's SMiLE site

God must’ve smiled the day Brian Wilson was born!

"ragegasm" - /rāj • ga-zəm/ : a logical mental response produced when your favorite band becomes remotely associated with the bro-country genre.

Ever want to hear some Beach Boys songs mashed up together like The Beatles' 'LOVE' album? Check out my mix!
c-man
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 4941


View Profile WWW
« Reply #59 on: December 28, 2020, 07:22:43 PM »

FYI, from various sources I've seen, it seems there actually was no restraining order between Mike and Dennis. The latter definitely had a restraining order filed against Stan Love (and Rocky P.) after the Super Bowl Sunday incident. I think after Dennis died, it was erroneously reported in the press that the restraining order was between Dennis and Mike, when it was actually Dennis and Stan.
Logged
CenturyDeprived
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 5749



View Profile
« Reply #60 on: December 28, 2020, 09:26:16 PM »

FYI, from various sources I've seen, it seems there actually was no restraining order between Mike and Dennis. The latter definitely had a restraining order filed against Stan Love (and Rocky P.) after the Super Bowl Sunday incident. I think after Dennis died, it was erroneously reported in the press that the restraining order was between Dennis and Mike, when it was actually Dennis and Stan.

Interesting. Well that's actually good to hear because it's very sad to think of there being a restraining order between two bandmates who are also cousins.  There's so much sadness associated with this band that it's tough to take sometimes (of course also so much wonderful joy too).

The bottom line is, certainly I'll admit nobody can really conclusively know the exact reasons and motivations on the video. We are all just making educated guesses here. It will always just be speculation. I certainly wasn't trying to be negative for the sake of being negative or for the sake of knocking Mike, I was simply stating what I believed to genuinely be happening on the video but again that's just my guess, and there's no way to conclusively prove anything.

May Dennis rest in peace.❤️
« Last Edit: December 28, 2020, 09:45:33 PM by CenturyDeprived » Logged
wild neon sins
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Female
Posts: 137



View Profile WWW
« Reply #61 on: December 31, 2020, 10:09:20 AM »


I have no doubt that Dennis was a proud father here. But I'll be the jackass and state that this is also the guy who got into domestic disputes with the mother of this child to the point of grabbing her hair and yanking her around,

The Rolling Stone feature you're referencing quotes Shawn as that happening right after she'd punched him in the face.
Logged

"And suddenly I find myself, listening to a man I've never known before,
Telling me about the sea..."

Looking for contributions for a Dennis fanzine
https://denniswilsonzine.tumblr.com
Beckgtr09
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 84


I've been in this town so long......


View Profile
« Reply #62 on: January 09, 2021, 06:36:58 PM »

I have a copy of the pictures that were taken during this interview. The photographer is one of my best friends, and he was down there covering the concert for a well-known magazine of the time. I have a written agreement with him that I would never make copies of the pictures. I was shocked when I saw the video footage of this interview.

Logged

gfx
Pages: 1 2 [3] Go Up Print 
gfx
Jump to:  
gfx
Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines Page created in 0.431 seconds with 22 queries.
Helios Multi design by Bloc
gfx
Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!