Brian to Perform Pet Sounds LIVE

By Michael deMartin

Brian's playing a special concert at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus on November 1. It will be a 40th Anniversary celebration of Pet Sounds and the album will be performed live in its entirety. No question this will be a great show. When Brian turns it on, his performances can be special, so we can expect some magic. And anyone who's seen Brian live knows his band is out of this world. They're great musicians and singers and to perform this intricate work live so well is pretty astounding.

If you're anywhere near L.A., it's worth it - click on the title of this post for more information and to order tickets.

Speaking of live performances: Last night I took my family to see "The Beach Boys" at the Mohegan Theater in Conneciticut (we got tickets from their press guy who set up my interviews with Mike and Bruce for the podcast series). It was a little weird: Mike and Bruce and a bunch of young guys banging out the hits. Mike sounded pretty good but the sounds wasn't great and the band drowned him out. Bruce sounded good even though Mike made fun as he sang "I Write The Songs." They played three songs from Pet Sounds and the difference between their versions and Brian's band is big. Whereas Probyn plays a French Horn on the intro of "God Only Knows," the keyboard player plays a simulation on his synthesizer. Same with other instruments. Not that there's anything wrong with that - people were singing and dancing and having a good time. And, the place was filled to capacity and it was no small venue.

Mike and Bruce were cool afterwards - they said hi to our two 6-year olds and we chatted a little bit. Gotta give them credit - they've been doing this for over 40 years and they still sound like they're having fun, fun, fun.

Beach Boys 40th Anniversary Podcast Series

By Michael deMartin

We're just about complete with production for the Beach Boys 40th Anniversary Podcast series for Capitol Records. This is a joint production between myself and my company (Design Site) and Joe Vella and his company (Vella Interactive) and I think fans are gonna love it. For those hard-core fans, you might even learn a thing or two. Our interviews with Brian, Mike, Al and Bruce were cool and they had a good time talking about the album (separately). Each track on the album is its own podcast and the series starts off with an overview episode that is going to look totally cool on your video iPod. The others will be audio podcasts. We've also got a special bonus episode for "Good Vibrations" which is a lot of fun.

The Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary CD/DVD will be out August 29 so mark you calendar. Forget that Bob Dylan has a new album out that same day - this is the one to get. If you want to pre-order it on Amazon.com, click the Title above and you'll be taken there.

Catch A Wave: The Ultimate Brian/Beach Boys Biography?

By Michael deMartin

Yesterday I got Peter Ames Carlin's "Catch A Wave: The Rise, Fall & Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson," and I haven't been able to put it down. I have to admit I was a little hesitant at first because I've read every Brian Wilson/Beach Boys book and it's been exhausting to say the least. But the cover (nice design) got my attention and so I figured I'd extend my record.

This thing is well-researched to say the least: apparently Peter's had hundreds of interviews with those close to the story and it shows. I thought I knew everything, but this book has a lot (so far) I never knew. Peter interviewed a lot of Brian's childhood friends - and their insight into Brian's youthful quirky personality is fascinating and you can better understand him as an adult. There are some really interesting passages about the Beach Boys in the seventies that are pretty jaw-dropping. It's just amazing that these guys made it through the seventies. If this stuff was made up, you'd never believe it.

Maybe because I'm reading it now, but dare I say this may be the ultimate Brian Wilson/Beach Boys biography? It's very well written, researched and really moves - you wish it could be twice as long. And again, there's loads of new stuff you probably never knew about Brian, as well as Mike, Dennis, Carl, Al and Bruce. David Leaf pioneered the trail with his tour de force, "The Beach Boys and the California Myth," but my only complaint is that it read like Heroes and Villains, where Brian is the hero and everyone else are the villains. Timothy White's "The Nearest Faraway Place" was beautifully written but it covered the California story as well as the Boys. Steven Gaine's The Beach Boys was trash - but I have to admit it was fun. The great thing about this book is its honest take on the Beach Boys story.

This book is well worth it for new and old fans alike. Pick it up - it is highly recommended. If you want more information or to buy it, click on the Title of this post and it will take you to the Amazon.com page.

NOTE: I contacted Peter and asked him to write something for this blog, so maybe we'll get something in the next few days or so. I told him he could promote the book, so I'm sure we'll see him soon ...