This is the report I filed as a correspondent for Launch Radio of Dick Clark’s United Networks. I submitted those thoughts along with some interview clips that I recorded with Mike and David, and a live feed of the actual press conference. I did my best to document what I witnessed on that incredibly beautiful Los Angeles day, but truthfully, the “fan” in me was so distracted, and so moved by what took place, there is no way I could have successfully articulated those feelings under a deadline of time. Now that six weeks has passed, I will try again.
I’m the kind of fan who on a purely aesthetic level wishes the Beach Boys name had been retired when Dennis Wilson died. Of course the band has done many worthy things since that day in December 1983…sold out tours, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, number one hit, lifetime Grammy, more sold out tours, double platinum compilation…but part of me didn’t want to know about it. In short, to me the Beach Boys stopped feeling like “The Beach Boys” sometime around 1980. I’m a grumpy old fan who really wants to remember them as five stripe-shirted Californians with Fender guitars and no lawyers. I’ve spent the better part of the last two years completely immersed in the 1961 – 1963 Beach Boys period. How’s that for a pinhole of time? But when you’re writing about David Marks one tends to focus on that incredible two-year span when the Beach Boys went from nobodies to national stars. My point is… when I rode the elevator to the Capitol rooftop on June 13, 2006, the last thing I ever expected to see was…The Beach Boys.
I stepped off the elevator and mingled with the tight group of press who’d been invited there that day. Security was heavy. Only a few “civilians” were allowed to witness this. Everybody who was there had to get a clearance from Capitol, and believe me those clearances were very difficult to come by. It was organized as an intimate, semi-private, award presentation, a new product announcement for the 40th anniversary Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations releases, and a nicely hyped photo-op for the press. There were no more than 50 people on the roof. The very first things I noticed when I got up there were the handsome double platinum awards for the Sounds of Summer CD that were laid out for the various individuals. When I eyed Dennis’ and Carl’s awards it struck me as a very sad thing that they’d never see them, or hold them. So much of each man went into those songs, and because of that they are a huge part of why Beach Boys music is still selling. But they aren’t here. Looking across glorious warm L.A. from that bird’s eye Hollywood perch, I flashed on how much Dennis would have enjoyed the sun…and the moment. But his award sat there alone, staring back at me, reflecting the L.A. sunshine he loved so much. For a moment I felt very down.
And then, to my utter surprise… the Beach Boys showed up.
It wasn’t Brian Wilson, the celebrated solo artist, or Mike Love, on his endless tour, or Al Jardine, the scorned former bandmate, or Bruce Johnston, insisting the touring act is not a mirage, or David Marks, an important, yet almost entirely un-credited element of the original Beach Boys. It wasn’t five men from separate lives uncomfortably resigned to being near each other for a few minutes.
No. This time it was something else.
Instead of five individuals with entourages entering from different sides of the stage ala 1979…On June 13, 2006 they arrived as a “group”. They embraced, they laughed, they interacted, they celebrated…and they worked the press as a unit. I’m telling ya…they looked like the Beach Boys! The chemistry was there and it was good. They supported each other and they seemed…harmonious. I was standing two feet from Mike and Brian and watched in awe at just how much they were enjoying each others company. Uncomfortable? Not in the least. Brian was cracking everybody up with his funny banter. His sense of humor was the most dynamic element of the entire event. Mike smiled and told me, “Everybody is on their best behavior today, and this is the way it should always be.” With David there it seemed to alter the group dynamic and nudge it towards something closer to family. The personalities were transferred back to a time before they were famous. They were the kids in the neighborhood again, the same ones who showed up at that same Hollywood building 44 years ago in their tee shirts, cut offs and thongs. They remember recording there, and how all the adults in suits looked at them like five Pendleton clad aliens from planet Surf. There’s only so many Beach Boys… it’s an inside thing, an exclusive club. The joy they were feeling wasn’t from the awards being presented to them, or the press clamoring for them, or the announcement of more product to enrich them. The pure joy for these guys was the simple act of being together. And as skeptical as I am, I must say, it truly moved me.
As the group were posing for an endless string of photographs and answering all the questions thrown their way, I discreetly slipped something out of my bag. The night before I’d pasted a couple of old headshots of Carl and Dennis onto cardboard and brought them along…just in case. I asked David to pose with them which he was kind enough to do. And then to my amazement he strolled over to his old friend Mike and showed him the photos. Then Al came over to have a look too. Before I knew it the press was snapping away at them holding photos of the two departed Wilsons. My sadness was long gone. On a sunny L.A. day…the Beach Boys were together again.
Will it happen again? Will they reform? Will they record? Will they tour? I don’t know and in a way it doesn’t really matter. What I saw on the Capitol rooftop on June 13th, was a true reunion of spirit and of good vibrations. It was simply a beautiful thing to witness. - Jon Stebbins © 2006 (as printed in ESQ)
