More press stuff from Mike Love. Same story here from Mike about the end of the 50th tour (
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2013/07/31/entertainment/doc51f82da0e9133216293773.txt), but with a much more direct version of how he felt about those who were "running everything":
“It was always to be (just for) the 50th anniversary,” explains Love, 72. “We
started off with the agreement to do 50 shows in honor of the 50 years, but then
it expanded into about 73, I believe, and I have talked to various promoters
who’ve said ‘Hey, this is really great. You guys sold out, and it would be good
to have you back in a couple of years.’
“The amount of production and the
amount of band members on stage and everything was just not the kind of thing
that can continue on ad infinitum. There are many, many venues that can’t even
afford the cost of the band and the production and all that kind of stuff. So by
doing that kind of tour, with that many people and that expensive, it kind of
precludes you from doing a lot of these places we’ve always enjoyed
doing.
“So those are a couple of the reasons why — in addition to the
fact we agreed to do X amount of dates — we’re back to doing how we do things or
how we’ve done things for a decade and a half.”
Love helped to curate the upcoming Beach Boys box set “Made in California
1962-2012, which comes out on Aug. 27. And he sounds potentially amenable to
another reunion tour, although after last year’s go-round he says there will be
some conditions before he gets involved again.
“Only if I can do it with
people who I trust and like and are honorable,” Love says. “It was great to be
in the studio again and listen to those harmonies coming back, but I had serious
issues with the people who were running everything. I have no problem with just
Brian and I in a room together with a piano, writing music, but unfortunately
it’s not that uncomplicated, so I can’t promise anything right now other than
doing this show that we know people love and come out to see every summer.”
It is interesting to see the return of the claim of unnamed "promoters" telling Love that the reunion should stop and build up demand and come back in a couple years. This is interesting because it seems highly unlikley at this stage that we'll see a reunion in 2014. Mike's reasoning about the size and cost of the reunion band also rings hollow, as it presupposes that the band has to play a lot of small markets every year, and also presupposes that there's no way at all to even slightly cut costs on the reunion band. The 50th tour was highly successful financially, so this business that the show is too expensive is ridiculous. Perhaps Love is simply unwilling to say that the reunion format is simply too expensive for his liking, and that he may simply make a bit less money. I'm particularly annoyed by the straw man argument about playing smaller markets. Not only is it simply not true; even if it was true, it insults the quality of the 50th tour to suggest playing smaller markets is more important keeping the entire band together. The 50th tour played 73 shows, they did not simply play huge metropolitan areas. If the reunion tour had done five shows in the US in 2012 in simply New York and Los Angeles or something, this argument would hold more water.
Love’s reference to people “running everything” still seems a bit ambiguous, but most fans have deduced that the reference is either to Joe Thomas or various persons or person in the Brian Wilson camp. The reference to Thomas seems a bit less likely. While Love previously referenced someone who presumably had to be Thomas when citing the lack of ability to write from scratch with Brian, these newer comments don’t seem to be specifically about the album only. But was Thomas “running everything”? Thomas was heavily involved in the album, and Thomas did form the “50 Big Ones” production company with Brian and Mike to run the 50th tour. But was Thomas “running” this? It seems Brian and Mike’s respective camps were running things as much as anybody. Obviously, Mike is not likely referring to his “camp.” Love was also heard to praise Joe Thomas during the tour, pointing out how nobody else could have put the whole thing together and made it work.
Did something sour during this tour? Was something more than the expected awkwardness and power struggles between Brian and Mike’s camps going on?
Ultimately, Love’s comments about having issues with those “running everything” also ring somewhat hollow. Love was an “Executive Producer” on the album, and was a full partner in the production company running the tour, not to mention of course an equal shareholder in BRI. He maintained control of the tour’s setlist. This doesn’t seem like a guy who is subservient to anybody running things. It sounds less like he has an issue with people “running everything”, and more of an issue with compromise or having to do anything by committee.
