Cool Blast from the Past BW and Deanna Carter - Front Row TV Presentation

[SurfGeko61]

I was going through a family bummer thing and felt like looking for a video of Brian Wilson’s “Lay Down Burden” song online. I stumbled upon this YouTube video from a TNN episode from 1998 or 1999. The video features Brian Wilson with Deanna Carter, and there are many other cool moments beyond the “Lay Down Burden” song, which is awesome. The version presented in this episode particularly hit me with a lot of emotion.  I do recall watching this before, when it was released and being excited, even recording it on VHS. However, after numerous moves and other circumstances, I lost that VHS tape long ago, and don’t even have a VHS player to play it even it still did have the tape.  But it was truly cool to revisit this episode again after all these years.

Anyway, I’m sure many of you have watched this before, or maybe not. But it was truly captivating to see Brian Wilson on this show and at the beginning of what turned out to be a long solo career.

https://youtu.be/AvRPsJdyO8c?si=R3YV-Rwtx5K6uGVr

[Tony S]

I think this was Brian's first live performance or at least one of his first live performances in St charles. Matt Jardine was there as well as was Bruce Johnston for backup vocals. I remember the show very well though I thought he lip synced it at points or he was singing along with music and recorded vocals in the background. I could be wrong about that

[HeyJude]

Joe Thomas was definitely trying some, erm, interesting angles to get Brian out there during that time.

Around this same time he also had Brian do the "Farm Aid" gig which also included Matt Jardine (and I believe Christopher Cross, Ed Carter, and Todd Sucherman among others). This was before Brian and Joe started piecing together his eventual touring band.

I found the whole Nashville angle with the BBs and Brian to be weird and unnatural. I think the stuff Joe did for the band in 2012, meaning being the organizational guy and putting the financing together and record/touring deals together, was a much better use of Joe's skill sets than getting Brian on the Nashville Network.