New Al Jardine Track - "Wish"

[All Summer Long]

I don't blame Al for still being pissed about how C50 ended in 2012.  Let him jab Mike, in my opinion, since (as HeyJude states) there's no chance of any reunion at this stage (with the possible exception of revisiting TWGMTR-era studio material). 

With regards to Al touring with Brian's band, isn't it possible that Al could pay the band at the same rate Brian paid them?  After all, Al picked up a share of the Iconic money and could technically "float" the whole operation, even if it loses (some?) money in the process.

[HeyJude]

I don't blame Al for still being pissed about how C50 ended in 2012.  Let him jab Mike, in my opinion, since (as HeyJude states) there's no chance of any reunion at this stage (with the possible exception of revisiting TWGMTR-era studio material). 

With regards to Al touring with Brian's band, isn't it possible that Al could pay the band at the same rate Brian paid them?  After all, Al picked up a share of the Iconic money and could technically "float" the whole operation, even if it loses (some?) money in the process.

Yes, I suppose all of the BRI shareholders are rich enough that they could float some length of touring out of pocket, or partially out of pocket. But touring costs add up fast. I don't think Al could pay fully out of pocket for like a year-long tour.

Could he pay the band members at the same rate and just cover any shortfalls that ticket sale revenue doesn't cover, for like a 5 or 10-gig mini tour? I would assume so. Is it fair to expect that of him, or ask that of him? I have no idea.

I think Al has been breaking even or losing a bit of money on his own touring for awhile now. So I don't think he cares too much about money. But I don't know if he's interested in cutting checks for hundreds of thousands of dollars to do 6 gigs with Brian's band.

They could try to amortize the touring cost a bit by maybe doing a quickie live album or something, I dunno.

[All Summer Long]

So I was "lurking" over at the other board the other day, and I saw their thread about Al possibly going on tour with Brian's band.  I think it is very interesting that David Leaf has endorsed the idea.  Just curious, but do we know if he is still in contact with/close with Brian?

Yes, I suppose all of the BRI shareholders are rich enough that they could float some length of touring out of pocket, or partially out of pocket. But touring costs add up fast. I don't think Al could pay fully out of pocket for like a year-long tour.

Could he pay the band members at the same rate and just cover any shortfalls that ticket sale revenue doesn't cover, for like a 5 or 10-gig mini tour? I would assume so. Is it fair to expect that of him, or ask that of him? I have no idea.

I think Al has been breaking even or losing a bit of money on his own touring for awhile now. So I don't think he cares too much about money. But I don't know if he's interested in cutting checks for hundreds of thousands of dollars to do 6 gigs with Brian's band.

They could try to amortize the touring cost a bit by maybe doing a quickie live album or something, I dunno.

I guess I didn't realize how expensive touring can be, especially with a band the size of Brian's.  I'm personally guessing that, if at least a couple shows go through, that Al will use Ed Carter and Bobby Figueroa too (in place of Bob Lizik and Mike d'Amico), or maybe not use Jim Laspesa and have Bobby Figueroa on drums and Mike d'Amico on percussion (or vice-versa?). 

On a semi-related topic, how did Joe Thomas have the connections to finance something like C50 anyway?

[HeyJude]

There are others that more closely follow the players in Brian's band, but I did recently see a blurb that Probyn got a gig to tour extensively next year with Weird Al. Don't know how that would impact other tour schedules.

I think David Leaf's feelings about the nature of a tour with Al and Brian's band are shared by most fans. I think most people would dig the show. But I don't know how much Leaf is aware or, or thinking about, the financials and logistics of such a tour. 

But the financials are always going to be a big issue, if they are truly trying to keep to the idea of essentially seeing the 2022 tour band minus Brian.

As mentioned before, Al could pare the band down, and he probably could use some of the old BB backing band guys like Bobby Figeuroa and Ed Carter and save some money there. But at the point where he would be dropping 3 or 4 of Brian's backing band, it would start to look more like "AL Jardine's Endless Summer Band" with a few guys from Brian's band.

It would probably be kind of disingenuous to go out with any sort of "The Brian Wilson Band" billing if you're missing 1/3 of that band or something, even keeping in mind that Brain's band has made changes over the years.

Al clearly hasn't been able to get a ton of traction booking his own solo shows, either the "Endless Summer Band" shows, or the gigs where Carnie and Wendy are added and it's a "Family & Friends" deal. So I don't think Al just adding like Darian and Mertens and a few other Brian players would, alone, make a big difference. Al would need the "Brian Wilson Band" naming rights, and would need as full a contingent of Brian's band as possible. And even then, remember that Brian's *own* tours have often been a case of just breaking even, and the players in Brian's band have not gotten rich off that gig over all these years. Even a Brian-approved "Al Jardine and the Brian Wilson Band", even with Blondie, would have to pay the players less and book smaller venues. I don't know how that works financially. Especially if indeed they would actually plan to make it a true "Deep Cuts" tour.

Despite severe mixed feelings, if this were like 7 or 8 years ago, I would probably consider doing  some epic "Peace Accords" meetings and getting Al, Mike, Bruce, Dave, and Blondie out on a "Beach Boys" tour with Brian's backing band. It probably wouldn't have flown even back then, and in 2024 I think the voices apart from Al (and I guess probably Dave) aren't there anymore.

I think Al would probably be served best by doing a hand full of big production live shows, shooting it for video and audio releases, and then working on some good studio stuff.

[Pretty Funky]

Got to admit, when you mentioned going on tour with ‘Weird Al’ I had to re-read it for the correct context. Got it now.  
I doubt the sums work for a Al (Jardine) tour with Brian’s band tbh, and ever would. Al’s found a sweet little niche for himself with his trio. Something different with a ‘Story Teller’ twist that works. I don’t think it is an insult to call it a hobby band. It is and at a minimal cost. Does he really need the stress of a bigger business/ high risk outfit at 82? Definitely not.

[All Summer Long]

Got to admit, when you mentioned going on tour with ‘Weird Al’ I had to re-read it for the correct context. Got it now.  
I doubt the sums work for a Al (Jardine) tour with Brian’s band tbh, and ever would. Al’s found a sweet little niche for himself with his trio. Something different with a ‘Story Teller’ twist that works. I don’t think it is an insult to call it a hobby band. It is and at a minimal cost. Does he really need the stress of a bigger business/ high risk outfit at 82? Definitely not.

I don't think Al does the Storyteller shows anymore.  I'd love to see him in any format; it's too bad that he has barely any name recognition and that promoters won't/aren't able to book more dates for him.

[HeyJude]

Correct, it has been awhile since Al did the 3-piece Storytellers band shows. I think he did 3 gigs in 2022 that may have been "Storytellers" gigs. Other than that, he hasn't done that format since pre-shutdown.

For the last few years, he has mostly been doing his "Endless Summer Band" shows, which is essentially variations of the same band he's been using since the 1998 "Family & Friends" days, just minus Adam Jardine and the Wilson sisters, and with other players rotating in and out. He has also revived the "Family & Friends" shows over the last few years (though still without Adam), which is just the Wilson sisters added to the "Endless Summer Band" shows.

An indicator of how infrequent Al's shows are and how low key his tour is, is that I've been maintaining the ongoing "Al Jardine Tour" thread for years here and I couldn't remember if he had any more dates scheduled as of right now. The answer is no, outside of the one-shot gig he has been teasing for awhile.

By my count he has done 8 shows this year, 3 "Family & Friends" shows and 5 with the "Endless Summer Band." In 2023 he did 12 shows.

So he doesn't seem to be able to get much traction booking shows in either of these formats. If he has trouble booking more than 20 shows over two years in venues ranging from small theaters to clubs, I'm not sure how him fronting a huge band like Brian's would work.

[HeyJude]

They're apparently trying to make a Grammy push for this dog. A zillion things are campaigned on for the Grammys, and this song has zero chance of getting any Grammy nomination, but it's so bizarre that quite possibly his worst song ever is the one being pushed. Wouldn't be surprised if Dvoskin is behind this push. I'm sure some marketing person somewhere says if you just say you're putting your thing up for consideration, it makes it look more prestigious.

[HeyJude]

Also, I'm not even sure this would qualify under the rules for "Best Pop Duo."

Which makes me wonder if there's any actual push for this thing beyond a few social media posts.

[Lonely Summer]

I still don't get the hatred for this track. If it was a new Brian or Dennis track being unleashed, people would be praising it to the skies; but alas, it's one of those lesser Beach Boys.
I've got an idea for a compilation: "The Beach Boys' Greatest $#it", featuring songs from the solo albums of Al Jardine, Mike Love, and Carl Wilson. Gems like Pisces Brothers, Bright Lights, Waves of Love, and The Grammy.

[Emdeeh]

Larry Dvoskin has to be the one behind this campaign for a Grammy nomination, because he did the same thing for one of his multiple versions of "Waves of Love."

[HeyJude]

I still don't get the hatred for this track. If it was a new Brian or Dennis track being unleashed, people would be praising it to the skies; but alas, it's one of those lesser Beach Boys.
I've got an idea for a compilation: "The Beach Boys' Greatest $#it", featuring songs from the solo albums of Al Jardine, Mike Love, and Carl Wilson. Gems like Pisces Brothers, Bright Lights, Waves of Love, and The Grammy.

If a Carl or Dennis collaborator, seemingly one who only wrote a few songs with either of them, then released a version of a song they wrote with Carl or Dennis where the lead vocal was either autotuned or otherwise processed into oblivion, mixed and arranged cheaply and poorly, if not possibly enhanced with A.I., all on the most mediocre song you could imagine, I would have no problem saying it sucks.

Indeed, the few scraps of Carl outtakes that have surfaced over the years have not been so great, such as that "This Is Elvis" song or that "You Oughta Know" demo.

[Lonely Summer]

I still don't get the hatred for this track. If it was a new Brian or Dennis track being unleashed, people would be praising it to the skies; but alas, it's one of those lesser Beach Boys.
I've got an idea for a compilation: "The Beach Boys' Greatest $#it", featuring songs from the solo albums of Al Jardine, Mike Love, and Carl Wilson. Gems like Pisces Brothers, Bright Lights, Waves of Love, and The Grammy.

If a Carl or Dennis collaborator, seemingly one who only wrote a few songs with either of them, then released a version of a song they wrote with Carl or Dennis where the lead vocal was either autotuned or otherwise processed into oblivion, mixed and arranged cheaply and poorly, if not possibly enhanced with A.I., all on the most mediocre song you could imagine, I would have no problem saying it sucks.

Indeed, the few scraps of Carl outtakes that have surfaced over the years have not been so great, such as that "This Is Elvis" song or that "You Oughta Know" demo.

"You Oughta Know"? Unfortunate title for a song.
"do you think of me when you fornicate with her" lol