Brian Wilson For Gibson
Jan 25
Brian Wilson Brings Good Vibrations to NAMM
Brian Wilson, musical and cultural icon, of the Beach Boys appeared at the NAMM show in Anaheim, to lines of fans, eagerly waiting to meet him, get his autograph and take a picture outside the Gibson suite.
The week prior, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys played to a standing room only intimate crowd of two hundred overflowing the Gibson tent at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas .
When a legend is present, you never know who might show up – such as David James Elliott of tv’s “Close to Home.” Elliott is a musician too, rock ‘n roll, and collector of guitars who came with his bandmate Razz. Seeing Elliott, I’d realized how much I’d missed seeing him in his best known role as an attorney in JAG, now I know where to find him. The time slot, Fridays at 9 pm on CBS. And yes, he is as good looking in person as on tv. Not surprisingly, he was once one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World (1996).
Getting back to Wilson , just the thought of him, recalls memories of growing up with The Beach Boys. Upbeat music singing of “Good Vibrations” and “Fun Fun Fun”, are much like icing on the cake or the tip of the iceberg. Wilson’s rocky road could better be described by “Help Me Rhonda” or “Sail on Sailor” because “God Only Knows” when you “Ride the Wild Surf”. He has managed to “Lay Down Burden”, return, now “Wouldn’t It be Nice” just to be on a “Surfin’ Safari”?
At the height of The Beach Boys popularity, Wilson ’s writing took the Beach Boys in a different direction. With the project SMiLE, the style change to more instrumentation, and coupled with personal issues contributed to the breakup of The Beach Boys. Heavily bootlegged copies reached mythic proportions within Beach Boys fandom. Nearly 40 years later, a re-recorded version of SMiLE was released in 2004 and was an award winning two-DVD set with documentary and a live presentation of the work. Wilson was awarded with a Grammy for “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow (Fire)” for best rock instrumental.
Besides being a rock royalty and a legendary performer, Wilson is also legendary as a writer, producer, and arranger of some of the most cherished music in rock history. Wilson’s writing extended beyond The Beach Boys and co-writing many of Jan and Dean’s biggest hits to writing for The Departed and Happy Feet, both of which have been showered with nominations this award season with Golden Globes and Academy Award nominations.
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(writer: "Sail on Sailor") The Departed
(writer: "Do It Again") Happy Feet
Wilson ’s Pet Sounds, reached 2nd place on the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and has been named by various music polls as one of the greatest pop albums ever recorded. The Pet Sounds album, according to Paul McCartney, inspired the Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Wilson was a co-founder of The Beach Boys, but is no longer a part of The Beach Boys touring band, he remains a member of The Beach Boys corporations, Brother Records Incorporated. Last summer fans came from around the world to visit the birthplace of the Wilson brothers being dedicated as The Beach Boys Historic Landmark.
When Wilson performs, you can see the focused intensity expression on his face when he performs. He is a perfectionist. Previously when I’ve seen him perform, I’ve seen him stop during a song, have musicians correct it, and continue. You would never expect that he is 96% deaf in his right ear.
Al Jardine, a one time Beach Boy who initially met Brian Wilson in high school, and played occasional lead vocalist and singer, is currently on tour with Brian Wilson. Jardine credits Wilson , “It’s a great honor to be working with Brian again. I give him all the credit for the Beach success. I compare Brian to Cole Porter. His genius really shines on Pet Sounds.”
Jeff Foskett, joined the Beach Boys in 1980 as a guitarist and singer. A longtime bandmate and musical director, Foskett joins Wilson on tour playing Gibson and Epiphone and has recently released “Stars in the Sand” continuing the surf sound.
Fortunate for his fans, Pet Sounds, the 40th Anniversary Celebration still has its final performances which will be held this weekend in San Diego (Jan 26), Long Beach (Jan 27) and Oakland (Jan 28). The kickoff concert for his tour on November 1, 2006 was at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles to a sell out crowd.
If you truly want to experience a rock ‘n roll fantasy with Brian Wilson, join him in
Gibson’s Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp this President’s Day weekend. Musicians live their fantasy of jamming with greats such as Brian Wilson co-founder of The Beach Boys, Paul Stanley of KISS, and Mickey Hart of The Grateful Dead.
Close to Home & Jags David James Elliott at Namm to see Brian Wilson
(C) MBN 2007 William Hoehne & Joyce Chow
Comments
Hey Joyce, I met you at the Brian Wilson show. I shot a bunch of pix (along with half the people there) and posted them here: http://www.pbase.com/rking401/brian_wilson&page=all
Feel free to take a look and leave a comment.
Love the video that you did of California Girls.
Posted by: Richard King | January 29, 2007 03:09 PM