1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:13,399 Speaker 1: Podcast playground. Taking a Walk was n author David Leaves, 2 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: how a first class writer, producer, director, continues to celebrate 3 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: the genius of Brian Wilson. On this episode of Taking 4 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: a Walk, we welcome Peabody in Writer's Guild Award writer director, author, 5 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: UCLA professor, and author of the new book God Only 6 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: Knows the Story of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys 7 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: and the California Myth. Hello, David, welcome to Take on 8 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: a Walk. Hey, budd, It's great to be with you, 9 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 1: and I sure wish I was out there right now 10 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: with you. I can see the foliage and everything. It 11 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 1: looks pretty terrific. Well, it's so nice having you on. 12 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: What is it like being the authority on someone considered 13 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: a genius by fans and a massive music community. You know, 14 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: I think Brian Wilson is the authority on Brian Wilson 15 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 1: through his music. I believe that everything we really need 16 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: to know and feel about Brian Wilson we can get 17 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 1: from listening to his enormous body of work. And I'm 18 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: really just an obsessive fan who wanted to know more, 19 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: who wanted to kind of know everything there was to 20 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: know about him so I could share those insights with 21 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: similarly obsessed fans what we're often referred to as Brian Easters. 22 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: You've spent a vast amount of your life being close 23 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: to this amazing man and his music, and then your 24 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: approach with this new project and with the new work 25 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: associated with the past work is really quite intriguing, and 26 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: it's filled with so much love and passion. What drove 27 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: you to take on this chapter if you will, Well, 28 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: you know when I wrote the original book, and thank 29 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: you for what you said about the new edition. The 30 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,359 Speaker 1: original book was written by a twenty five year old 31 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: journalist who was obsessed at both getting at the truth 32 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: and kind of grabbing the world by the collar and saying, Hey, 33 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,679 Speaker 1: would you pay attention to this guy, Brian Wilson. He's 34 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:36,960 Speaker 1: really important because I felt that the beach Boy's image 35 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: had subsumed him. He had been caught up in this 36 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: kind of fun in THESS sun Car Girls and the 37 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,919 Speaker 1: Beach and it had nothing to do with really why 38 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: he mattered to the world of music and why he 39 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: matters to the world in general. This new edition came about, 40 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: in a sense, almost by accident, because I wasn't planning 41 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:03,399 Speaker 1: on writing it. I wanted to really do an anthology 42 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: of everything I had written on the subject, including the 43 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: original book, but the publisher wasn't interested in that. They said, 44 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: we'd love to bring out your original book if you'll 45 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 1: do what they referred to as a massive update, so 46 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: that people would feel who had the book from nineteen 47 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: seventy eight would feel they were getting something worth buying it. 48 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: In a sense, two books for the price of one. 49 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: And what I was able to do, I think in 50 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: the new edition is look back as an elder statesman 51 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: on the journey I had gone on with Brian since 52 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: the book had come out, and give the reader a 53 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: sense of what it's like to be inside his world, 54 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: to not just be the fly on the wall, but 55 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:52,839 Speaker 1: a participant in a lot of it from the point 56 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: of view of both a friend and sometimes a collaborator. 57 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: Talk about the friendship aspect of it, which is so 58 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: significant and so beautiful that you that you write about 59 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: and obviously as part of your life, and you obviously 60 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: had some some business sort of relationships in that regard 61 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: with Brian as well, But can you talk about the 62 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: difficult balance around the friendship and the fact that when 63 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: writing this you certainly have to be careful about now 64 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: not betraying that friendship. Uh. The the friendship was, like 65 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: Brian's life, a roller coaster. He went through some extraordinarily 66 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: difficult times during during the first decade or so that 67 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: I knew him. He was under the control of a 68 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,919 Speaker 1: so called doctor. When that when that period ended, Brian 69 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: refers to it like as if I was in prison 70 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: for nine years. So in a friend of yours is 71 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: in prison, it's it's pretty difficult to maintain the friend 72 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: and at the same time try to help promote who 73 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: he is in the real world. You know. It's a 74 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: little Stockholm syndrome, a little bit of a very difficult 75 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: maneuvering to to to put the friendship first and foremost. 76 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: And that's really been what it's all about. The times 77 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: that he and I have worked together. My late wife 78 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: was very smart. She said, you can never work for 79 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: Brian Wilson. Everyone who goes to work for him eventually 80 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: no longer because as his friend, they're an employee. So 81 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: I never worked for him. It was a record company 82 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: might hire me, or I might get a television network 83 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: or a studio to finance a film or a project 84 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: about him because I for some reason, it became my 85 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 1: mission in life to promote his genius. And you're talking 86 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: about that year around doctor u Jeene Landy, which my god, 87 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: we had known about it to some degree. There was 88 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:11,159 Speaker 1: some writings about that when that emerged around that time, certainly, 89 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:15,919 Speaker 1: and it was quite shocking then, but then going deeper 90 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 1: and understanding it, certainly through your lens, what a terrible 91 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: time for him. It was a terrible time for a 92 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: lot of reasons. But I think that the now that 93 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: we can look back on it, doctor Landy did two 94 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: things that no one would have anticipated when he was 95 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: hired Brian. Brian was was in a death spiral. When 96 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: when when doctor Landy was hired the second time, something 97 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,480 Speaker 1: had to be done. I was not a family member. 98 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:50,840 Speaker 1: I was not, you know, in a place where I 99 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 1: could do anything. So the Beach Boys hired doctor Landy 100 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,480 Speaker 1: and gave him total control. The first time he had 101 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,160 Speaker 1: been hired, he didn't have total control. This time he 102 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: was given total control, and he was indeed able to 103 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: save Brian's life. Could someone else have done that? I 104 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: believe so. But that's as Brian's late brother Carl said, 105 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: when the prayer went out. Doctor Landy's the one who 106 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 1: answered it. So he saved his life. But then he 107 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,120 Speaker 1: did something that the Beach Boys were not expecting. He 108 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: took Brian into a solo career. And I don't think 109 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: that would have happened under any other circumstances, because the 110 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: Beach Boy's business up until that time depended upon Brian 111 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: Wilson being part of the Beach Boys. When they signed 112 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: a contract with the Columbia Records in the late seventies, 113 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,679 Speaker 1: it specified that a certain number of songs on each 114 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: album had to be Brian Wilson songs. So he was 115 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 1: crucial to the ongoing business. When Dennis Wilson died, they 116 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: needed a beach boy on stage, and there's Brian. You know, 117 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: they needed Wilson brothers on stage to call the Beach Boys. 118 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: So he was part of the family business. Uh, Doctor 119 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: Landy took him away from that, and you know he 120 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: did it terribly. I mean, he was just impossible to 121 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: deal with and we all did our best to get 122 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 1: past this. This He wasn't a snake in the grass. 123 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: He was a snake in plain sight. But but you know, 124 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: Brian is is is really the ultimate survivor. If you 125 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: ask him, you know, where does he get the strength 126 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: to do what he's done, Because he's now eighty, he says, 127 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: my last name is Wilson, So I guess I have 128 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 1: a lot of willpower. And you know, when you to 129 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: create great art, it doesn't come out of happiness. And 130 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: so Brian is from the time he was a child 131 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: and was abused. He's gone through this terrible emotional beating, 132 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: if you will, and he's expressed it in his music. 133 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: And you know, he created these beautiful melodies and harmonies 134 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: that we get to enjoy, and the depth that's in them, 135 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: that makes them timeless come comes out of the pain 136 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:17,839 Speaker 1: that he's experienced. You know, I was thinking of another artist, 137 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:22,960 Speaker 1: Rick Danko from the band obviously the subject of the 138 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: song Stage Fright, and thinking of Brian's difficulties obviously around that, 139 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,320 Speaker 1: and then thinking of both of their their genius really 140 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 1: in terms of just as you said, the pain coming 141 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: out in such beauty, it's just striking, really, the the 142 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: detail that you that you back up here into the storyline. 143 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: And in terms of those challenges, thank you. You know, 144 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: I really was careful not to exploit those difficulties but 145 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: only give the reader just enough so they could understand 146 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: the challenges he was facing as an artist. One could 147 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: write an entire book, and entire books have been written 148 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,400 Speaker 1: about the Beach Boys and Brian that do go into 149 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: kind of the National Inquirer's aspect of it. That was 150 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: not my interest. My interest was in providing insight into 151 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: this great artist. Can you tell the story of that 152 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:30,560 Speaker 1: famous first meeting that you had with Brian, the one 153 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: on the basketball court? Yes, so you know, I moved 154 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:39,079 Speaker 1: to California and about eight months after I'd gotten here, 155 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: I was at the YMCA with a friend from college 156 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,679 Speaker 1: shooting baskets. My friend Barry, and two guys walk onto 157 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:48,679 Speaker 1: the court. One of them is about six foot seven, 158 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: had just retired from the NBA. A guy named Stan Love, 159 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:56,120 Speaker 1: who was the brother of Beach Boys lead singer Mike 160 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:59,679 Speaker 1: Love and the father of NBA superstar Kevin Love. With 161 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: him was Brian Wilson. And to say, I was, as 162 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:09,280 Speaker 1: the Bridge would say, gobsmacked. It was like, of all 163 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,800 Speaker 1: places to meet Brian Wilson, this was the least likely 164 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: place because the legend was he you know, according to 165 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: the legend, he never left his bedroom and here he 166 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 1: is at the why shooting baskets. And you know, more 167 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:26,959 Speaker 1: than anything, I couldn't wait to tell my friends back East. 168 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: You'll never guess who I met and how I met him. 169 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:37,679 Speaker 1: There was nothing really memorable other than the fact of it, 170 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:41,280 Speaker 1: except that he really wasn't all that interested in playing 171 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: team basketball. As soon as he got the ball, he 172 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: shot it. He played no defense, he was all offense, 173 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: no d The Celtics would not have been happy with him. 174 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: But did you think that there were going to be 175 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: other times you would meet him after that? Well, I 176 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: had no idea. You know, six months or so prior 177 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,440 Speaker 1: to that, I had run into his brother Dennis on 178 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: the streets of Santa Monica and said and walked up 179 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: to Dennis with great overconfidence and said, Hi, Dennis, my 180 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:14,440 Speaker 1: name is David Leef. I moved to California to write 181 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: a book about your brother Brian. And I think I 182 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,719 Speaker 1: can still hear the echo of his laugh because it 183 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 1: was an absurd notion, and he just said good luck. 184 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:27,839 Speaker 1: He didn't offer to introduce me to Brian or take 185 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:31,080 Speaker 1: me to his house or anything like that, because Brian 186 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: is a notoriously bad interview And so how was I 187 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:38,720 Speaker 1: going to write a book about him, but through through 188 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:45,839 Speaker 1: a remarkable series of circumstances. Within three years of my 189 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: meeting Dennis on the streets of Santa Monica, I had 190 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 1: a book in the stores. Now, when you, in twenty 191 00:12:54,160 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 1: twenty one reread your original work for think the first time, 192 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: tell me how difficult that was. It's really it's really 193 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 1: difficult to reread the book. From the point of view. 194 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 1: The book is intense. It's also dense with information. It's 195 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: it's you wouldn't call it a breezy read, but it 196 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 1: told the story. I was really pleased that I didn't 197 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,199 Speaker 1: feel the need to change anything, and I wanted the 198 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,839 Speaker 1: reader of this new edition to see what I had 199 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 1: written back then when I was twenty five, and book 200 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: ended with the new material that I that I wrote 201 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: last year. The original book only there was one chapter 202 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: I wasn't thrilled with, which was a chapter called Codetta, 203 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: which was just kind of a just the facts man 204 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:54,199 Speaker 1: kind of chapter about some beach boys history in the 205 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:58,439 Speaker 1: late seventies. But otherwise I felt that I had I 206 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 1: had told the story the way I wanted to, and 207 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: that it held up. You know, there's a gigantic author's 208 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 1: note in the new edition where I look back on 209 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,920 Speaker 1: that nineteen seventy eight book and talk about things I 210 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,319 Speaker 1: might have done differently, because there is a tone of 211 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 1: kind of righteous indignation, maybe self righteous indignation in the 212 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 1: original book, and I ask myself the question, who was 213 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:28,680 Speaker 1: I to say this? Who was I to make these judgments? 214 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 1: So I think that the new material is, first of all, 215 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: the new materials more personal. I didn't have to really 216 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: interview anybody for the update because of what I lived 217 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 1: with Brian. But the original book and this is really 218 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: self righteous. I think of it as kind of my 219 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: old testament about Brian. And it has the book of 220 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: Audrey Wilson, in the book of Gary Usher, and all 221 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 1: the people I interviewed told me their Brian stories, and 222 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 1: I was kind of the faithful Rian bringing it all together. 223 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: This new edition is myself and a few close friends, 224 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: you know, talking about what's happened since since we all 225 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: got to know Brian and become his friend. Brian has 226 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: a quote that he gives to his friend Jerry Weiss, 227 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: I give thanks to every day of life, which is 228 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 1: so simple and so stunning and so beautiful. Can you 229 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 1: talk about things that maybe folks may not know about 230 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: Brian Wilson absolutely. I think the first thing to know 231 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 1: about him that matters is he is the sweetest, a 232 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 1: most sincere person one could ever meet. There's not even 233 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: a mean half of a bone in his body. He 234 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: is since when he says something, he means it at 235 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: that moment, and Brian lives in the moment. That's one 236 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: of the things that's that's unusual about him is his 237 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 1: his moods are mercurial. As a person. He I think 238 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: he suffered a lot so much abuse that he just 239 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 1: almost like a dog that's, you know, been rescued from 240 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:28,680 Speaker 1: a shelter. He loves kindness, and he and and and 241 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:33,280 Speaker 1: it's been very difficult for him to trust people because 242 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: from the very beginning of his career there have been 243 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: people who have worked hard to make money off of Brian. 244 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: So so he's he's he's had a lot of disappointments 245 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: in the people who he has known, some who's related to, 246 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: some who he's loved, who did not put his interests first, 247 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: put their own interests first, and and and so he's 248 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:04,359 Speaker 1: he's definitely been wounded the nine years in prison, with 249 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 1: doctor Landy being both the worst emotional wounds, but also 250 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 1: doctor Landy was was dosing him with medications that cause 251 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:21,240 Speaker 1: incalculable damage to him. But he is intact. He is 252 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,600 Speaker 1: He is still Brian Wilson. He knows how much the 253 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:31,920 Speaker 1: music has affected the world. He loves how much his 254 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:38,360 Speaker 1: his music has impacted people. He really appreciates the feeling 255 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: that he gets back from the audience. He doesn't always 256 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: show it in concert, but he but he loves that 257 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:49,479 Speaker 1: vibration and he's kind of like a tuning for what 258 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 1: is what is he tuned to. He's tuned to the 259 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:59,119 Speaker 1: station of unconditional love. So he responds to that, and 260 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:03,480 Speaker 1: so his music is filled with that for us the listener. 261 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: But when he's in front of three thousand people and 262 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 1: he feels it from them, it's just it's just it's 263 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: it's as great a feeling as he gets, perhaps with 264 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 1: the exception of a good piece of cheesecake. And there's 265 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:20,159 Speaker 1: that beautiful picture of you guys at a birthday party. 266 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 1: What's that cheesecake? Actually that was It was my seventieth 267 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 1: birthday party. He and four of his children that took 268 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 1: me and myself and my fiance out to dinner, and 269 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:35,879 Speaker 1: that was birthday cake in the picture, but he he 270 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: had his own cheesecake for dessert that night as well. 271 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 1: I love it, you know, you and I share a 272 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:46,880 Speaker 1: mutual friend, the late Pete fornatau Oh, I worked with 273 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: while I did part time at wn WFM in New York. 274 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 1: Can you tell me what you think, Brian, And certainly 275 00:18:56,520 --> 00:19:03,120 Speaker 1: the Beach Boys music meant to radio then and now. Well, 276 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: you know, in the nineteen sixties, the Beach Boys string 277 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:15,959 Speaker 1: of hits right through Good Vibrations was America's musical answer, 278 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:20,359 Speaker 1: if you will, to the British invasion, and it spread 279 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,920 Speaker 1: around the world. I'll never forget there's something in that 280 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 1: music that connects with people who don't speak English. And 281 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:33,479 Speaker 1: we were backstage at a concert in Tokyo and a 282 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:38,960 Speaker 1: man said to Brian in very very broken English, your 283 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: music makes my heart sore. And I think that's what 284 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 1: his music, the Beach Boys sound, those beautiful harmonies and 285 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:53,399 Speaker 1: melodies did for everybody. Their image, the beach Boy's image, 286 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 1: is very separate from what the music is. So the 287 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,120 Speaker 1: music was a mainstay on Rape for four or five 288 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,480 Speaker 1: years in the sixties, and then in the early seventies, 289 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,679 Speaker 1: people like Pete four in Intel were great champions on 290 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 1: FM radio of the music the Beach Boys were making 291 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 1: as a group, their best albums as a group, which 292 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: included Brian, but starting with Sunflower through Holland, FM radio 293 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:28,119 Speaker 1: discovered the Beach Boys because they were making FM style music, 294 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:34,840 Speaker 1: if you will, And ironically I started working at WEWFM 295 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,679 Speaker 1: in the summer of nineteen seventy three. I was a 296 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 1: desk assistant and it was three or four days after 297 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:46,919 Speaker 1: Brian had shown up and been interviewed by Pete. And 298 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,119 Speaker 1: I remember I was driving in my car and I 299 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,440 Speaker 1: love to record stuff off the radio and television, and 300 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,640 Speaker 1: I remember Pete four Intel saying something like, and I'll 301 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 1: do a bad impression. Those of you were regular listeners 302 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:01,679 Speaker 1: to the show. What a thrill it is for me 303 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,399 Speaker 1: to say, welcome Brian Wilson. And it was like, how 304 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: could Brian Wilson be on his show? And I sped 305 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: home and I got a cassette in the in the 306 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,120 Speaker 1: in the in the recorder and tape the interview and 307 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 1: listen to it, and it was just like unbelievable that 308 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 1: Brian was there. Now, why was he there? His father 309 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,639 Speaker 1: had just died and he couldn't deal with it. So 310 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 1: he'd gotten on a plane and phone to New York. 311 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:31,919 Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's and then three days later I 312 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:34,679 Speaker 1: started the station. I mean, it was just it was. 313 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:39,960 Speaker 1: There are a lot of serendipitous moments in my story 314 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: for sure, and in my my my friendship and work 315 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:49,479 Speaker 1: with Brian that's so funny. So we were both members 316 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:55,520 Speaker 1: of the n e W staff. That's awesome. It was. 317 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,360 Speaker 1: It was a great place to work, Oh my god. 318 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 1: And you know, guys like Pete and certainly Scott Muni 319 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,679 Speaker 1: the art of the interview. Really they understood it and 320 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: appreciated it, and they created this respectful environment as you know, 321 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: you know with the artists. The artists could feel very comfortable, 322 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,400 Speaker 1: they could let their hair down. Obviously there's the famous 323 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 1: interview with John Lennon dropping in to see Dennis Elsis. 324 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: So that was part of a magical period. And Pete 325 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 1: was a sweetheart and at the foreground of that for sure. 326 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: Absolutely well, the artists understood that the people who were 327 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: playing their music, and in many cases the only people 328 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,359 Speaker 1: who were playing their music, were doing it out of 329 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:45,680 Speaker 1: genuine passion. They weren't doing it for ratings. They were 330 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,919 Speaker 1: doing it because they loved the music and wanted to 331 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,119 Speaker 1: spread the gospel of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys 332 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: or John Lennon or whoever it might be. And so 333 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: there was a response from the artists because they appreciated 334 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 1: that that their music was being heard. On a previous 335 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,639 Speaker 1: episode of Taking a Walk, gentlemen, I'm not sure if 336 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 1: you know him. You probably do, but you may not 337 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,919 Speaker 1: name Bill Portcelly. Oh I know, well, sure, yeah, Bill. 338 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:18,480 Speaker 1: Bill was on Taking a Walk and Bill described this 339 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: magical scene of observing Brian Wilson in a studio. Can 340 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: you describe your view of seeing Brian in a studio? Well, first, 341 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 1: I got to tell you that Bill Porcelly and I've 342 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: been friends since nineteen ninety and it was Bill who 343 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 1: arranged for me to interview. He wasn't yet Sir Paul McCartney, 344 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 1: but I interviewed Paul McCartney for a half hour just 345 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 1: about Brian's Pet Sounds album. So Bill and I have 346 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:52,199 Speaker 1: been else forever. Brian in the studio is he is 347 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: very calm. He's a leader, He's in control. He knows 348 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: exactly actly what sounds he wants and how to get them. 349 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 1: He knows he knows which instruments he wants to hear, 350 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,600 Speaker 1: He knows what he wants them to play. He has 351 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,160 Speaker 1: the record in his head when he walks in there, 352 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: and now he needs to extract those sounds from the 353 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:22,080 Speaker 1: musicians first and then and then through the vocals. And 354 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:27,200 Speaker 1: it's it's a fascinating thing to see because it's it's 355 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:31,159 Speaker 1: it's a secret nobody knows until he tells you what 356 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:34,600 Speaker 1: he needs. And and I was having dinner last night 357 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: with two of Brian's band members, Darien Sahanaja and Proban Gregory, 358 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:42,720 Speaker 1: and we were talking about one of those recording sessions 359 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:47,119 Speaker 1: where where Brian, you know, was telling Proben what he 360 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:51,960 Speaker 1: wanted him to play, and Proban gave him two choices 361 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,639 Speaker 1: and he said, I like the first one, and he 362 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: knew what he wanted. He's a master of sound. He 363 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,640 Speaker 1: is a master of vibration. And it it comes from 364 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,479 Speaker 1: spending his whole life obsessed with music. How was Brian 365 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:09,800 Speaker 1: today these days? Brian today is you know, he's eighty, 366 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:16,400 Speaker 1: so he's what would Frank Sinatra say, September November, he's 367 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:18,639 Speaker 1: you know, he's certainly in the autumn of his the 368 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 1: late autumn of his years. He still loves music, he 369 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:29,040 Speaker 1: still loves food, he loves Jeopardy. He loves to tour, 370 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:32,159 Speaker 1: which is the most surprising thing of all to say, 371 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: because up until he started touring as a solo artist 372 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety nine, he did not like to go 373 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,399 Speaker 1: on the road. But he loves to be with his musicians, 374 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: who are really his family. He loves hearing his music 375 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: played with the heart and feeling and perfection with which 376 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,359 Speaker 1: they play it. He loves the crowd's response, and he 377 00:25:55,400 --> 00:26:00,919 Speaker 1: loves ordering a good room service steak. That's great. You know. 378 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:06,119 Speaker 1: He has a great quote about music. Music is God's voice, 379 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:12,520 Speaker 1: and we frequently with guests on this podcast talk about 380 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:16,920 Speaker 1: why music is so special and what it means and 381 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:22,400 Speaker 1: how incredible as a gift it is to us. Talk 382 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:25,760 Speaker 1: about it from your perspective on music and obviously the 383 00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:30,199 Speaker 1: music of Brian Wilson and what it means well. For me, 384 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,679 Speaker 1: music has always been my secular religion. It's the place 385 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,919 Speaker 1: where I went as a little kid with a transistor 386 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 1: radio with an earplug in my ear, to my first 387 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:45,680 Speaker 1: record player, to my first records. Music has has has 388 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:49,920 Speaker 1: always been the thing that evoked the most emotion from me. 389 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:55,159 Speaker 1: I knew nothing about Brian Wilson until I read an 390 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:59,639 Speaker 1: article in nineteen seventy one en Rolling Stone. And you know, 391 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: I was a young journalism student. I'd been reading about 392 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: Edward Rmorrow and I was like, I'm going to make 393 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:09,199 Speaker 1: it my mission to tell his story. And the reason 394 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 1: was the music was so powerful. My first favorite Beach 395 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:19,919 Speaker 1: Boys song was in My Room. There's a melancholy to that, 396 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:24,359 Speaker 1: and so much of my favorite Beach Boys music. Now 397 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:27,920 Speaker 1: why that appeals to me? I guess we would need 398 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: a psychiatrist couch to figure all that out. But there's 399 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: something in his high high falsettle, the whine of it, 400 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: the melody, the harmonies, the way he puts them together, 401 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 1: something in all of that that touches my heart like 402 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,439 Speaker 1: nothing else does. And you know, as I've gotten to 403 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:53,439 Speaker 1: Knowbrian through the years, and he'll say things like, you know, 404 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:55,679 Speaker 1: sometimes I sit down on the piano and I feel like, 405 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 1: you know, it's God's God's placing my fingers on the 406 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:04,159 Speaker 1: keys to play certain notes in making the song. And 407 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 1: you know, when he started work on the the once 408 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 1: infamous and now famous Smile album, he said, I'm writing 409 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:17,960 Speaker 1: a teenage symphony. To God. Brian Wilson believes, as you said, 410 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 1: the music is God's voice. And if he believes it, 411 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 1: who am I not to go along with that belief. 412 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 1: I mean, he knows it's you know, I once said, 413 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: God whispers, and the great all time great songwriters they 414 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:39,200 Speaker 1: hear those whispers. Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, so 415 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: many of the people of our generation. We were lucky 416 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:46,880 Speaker 1: to come along in this amazing time of a musical renaissance. 417 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,720 Speaker 1: And Brian Wilson is right up there with with all 418 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 1: of them, and many of them admire him, you know, 419 00:28:54,800 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 1: beyond all measure. And what's the explanation for it, Well, 420 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:04,880 Speaker 1: it's a gift. Where that gift came from God only knows, 421 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: which is one of the reasons. That's the title of 422 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 1: the book. The book's are chronicle of the decades, the people, 423 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 1: the emotion, and one man's journey, followed brilliantly by David Leaf. 424 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for being on taking a walk. 425 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 1: Thank you, Buzz My pleasure, Happy to take a walk 426 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:28,480 Speaker 1: with you anytime. Taking a Walk with Buzznight is available 427 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 1: on Spotify, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.