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M ike Love bounds up the stairs inside his massive Lake Tahoe home (10 bedrooms in all, 12 bathrooms, two elevators, not to be believed) and into a large walk-in closet stuffed to overflowing with garish, multicolored shirts and a gazillion baseball caps, many of them emblazoned with the name of his band, the Beach Boys . A suitcase rests on the floor. Love nods at it, prods it with his foot. “A lot more shirts are in there,” he says, “because, if you must know, I haven’t unpacked.” And why should he unpack? For the past 54 years, he and various versions of the Beach Boys , which these days include only him as an original member, have toured almost constantly. On his current outing, he has 172 dates lined up, cramming 19 European shows into 22 days this past December, for instance, and shortly thereafter flying back stateside to give the 6,500 citizens of tiny Avon, Colorado, the chance to hear all about California girls. From there, it’s onward, evermore, venues big and small, … [Read more...] about The Ballad of Mike Love

Beach Boys Mike Love , Al Jardine , Bruce Johnston, and David Marks have come together to re-record the band’s 1970 classic “Add Some Music to Your Day.” It’s the lead-off single of the new LP California Presents Add Some Music , which arrives on April 23rd. The album is the brainchild of David Beard, the editor and publisher of the long-running Beach Boys fanzine Endless Summer Quarterly. He brought the various factions of the Beach Boys, minus Brian Wilson, back together for the new version of “Add Some Music to Your Day,” which also includes contributions from Brian Wilson’s daughters Wendy and Carnie Wilson; Al Jardine’s son Matt Jardine; and Mike Love’s children Christian, Hayleigh, and Ambha Love. It was produced by Rob Bonfiglio, who is married to Carnie Wilson and plays guitar in Brian Wilson’s touring band. A portion of the profits will benefit Feeding America. “It’s a real joy to listen to this new incarnation of the song recorded with so many family members,” … [Read more...] about Hear the Beach Boys Reunite on Charity Re-Recording of ‘Add Some Music to Your Day’

At the tail end of Time — the feature-length documentary that, since its heralded Sundance debut last year, has deservedly made its director, Garrett Bradley, one of the film world’s women of the hour — an extraordinary thing happens. The movie follows a black family living in the shadow of incarceration. At the center of that family is Sibil Richardson, known as Fox Rich, whose husband, Robert, is serving a 60-year sentence for a crime the two of them committed when they were young, newly married, and desperate. The film is a stunning, surprising mix of present-tense footage (filmed by Bradley and others) and video diaries Rich has been compiling over the course of 21 years — footage shot to show Robert all that he’s missing of his wife and kids while in prison. But then, in the end, comes the moment the two threads merge: Robert is released. And a film that has to that point been almost entirely defined by the man’s absence disarms us with his presence — and with the cosmic, … [Read more...] about A Matter of ‘Time’: Director Garrett Bradley on Making the Year’s Best Documentary

The Beach Boys ’ classic lineup – including Brian Wilson – will reunite for a special Q&A session moderated by director Rob Reiner that will air August 10th at 5 p.m. ET/PT on the band’s SiriusXM channel, Good Vibrations. The “Town Hall” event marks a rare live appearance for founding members Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and David Marks, as well as longtime Beach Boy Bruce Johnston. The event will take place at the Capitol Records Tower in Los Angeles, were the Beach Boys recorded some of their earliest material. The Q&A will feature fan questions and focus on the Beach Boys’ “SiriusXM channel, their new album, The Beach Boys with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and their celebrated career as one of the world’s most beloved and respected bands.” The SiriusXM “Town Hall” marks the first time the surviving Beach Boys will take the stage together since 2012, when they wrapped their extensive 50th anniversary tour . That year, the band’s classic lineup also released … [Read more...] about Beach Boys, Brian Wilson to Reunite for SiriusXM ‘Town Hall’

The Beach Boys ‘ 50th anniversary reunion tour will end after a two-night stand in London later this month. When they return to America, original members Brian Wilson , Al Jardine and David Marks will no longer perform with the group. At that point, the “Beach Boys” will once again consist of Mike Love , Bruce Johnston and their longtime backing band that includes Love’s son Christian, Randell Kirsch, Tim Bonhomme, John Cowsill and Scott Totten. “As we move on, Bruce and I look forward to performing live for Beach Boys fans everywhere,” Love said in a press release. It also noted, “The 50th Reunion Tour was designed to be a set tour with a beginning and an end to mark a special 50-year milestone for the band.” However, Brian Wilson seemed optimistic about continuing with the band. When asked recently what his future plans were, Wilson told Rolling Stone , “I want to continue touring with the Beach Boys indefinitely.” Still, Wilson was unsure of the possibilities of that … [Read more...] about Beach Boys to Continue Touring Without Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, David Marks