RANTS
archive two
5/3/99
Greetings to those who are now joining this page through the Brian Wilson web ring. It's good to have you all, and I hope you'll drop by again. Work continues on the site. The complete song list is currently being checked with some other fans to make sure it really is as complete as it can be.
But the real new for me...is that I'm sitting here listening to a muddy (but still quite audible) tape of Brian Wilson's Ann Arbor show of 3/9/99. It's amazing to hear. Brian sounds excellent, the band and backing vocalists are top-notch, and the song selection is impeccable. I have a number of other BW solo performances on tape, and there are strengths and weaknesses to them all. This one stand out for one simple reason:
Brian does it for over 2 hours. That's the amazing part. Sure he misses notes here and there, but he's on top of the vast majority of songs and is an important mix in the vocal blend. He is the glue that holds the concert together. I never thought I'd see the day when he leads an excellent band through his catalogue to an adoring audience--but this is it.
Real highlights "I Get Around," with Brian growling out the lead, "South American" with energy to spare, "Back Home," with more loose energy from BW. And that's only in the first half of the concert. In the second half, "Lay Down Burden" is an absolute gem, slowed down, and almost a cappella in parts. Great.
But I'll talk about this more later, I suppose. A very nice tape, though. A very nice performance, more importantly.
4/30/99
An interesting addition to the site today... The reader writing. This is something I always wish other sites would do more of, because I think it's really what the Internet is about. That is, it's about interactivity, the ability to have instant feedback and so on.
I realize some places get this through message boards, but I've felt saddened by most of them lately. Hopefully here some interesting fan content can get through. Again, I urge anyone who wants their writing about Brian Wilson or his solo career to be put up here to email me. I'll make it happen.
It seems we're between events in BW-BB fandom. In March, it was the exciting news of Brian's solo shows that had everyone thrilled, and I'm sure that when he starts playing again in June that will be the focus again. But now, there's truly not much. Al Jardine's family and friends tour has a review at rollingstone.com, so take a look if you like.
Anyway, we'll hopefully see things warm up over the summer, with the solo shows, the A&E special on Brian, and so on. Perhaps even the long-promised re-issue of the 70s CDs by the end of the year. (I can always hope.) Of course, some of this stuff is outside the strict scope of this page. But I'll see what I can do.
4/29/99
Not much today, just a few notes.
First off, I am a college student and since I'm coming to the end of the semester here, things may be hectic as far as updating the page goes. I'm sorry if anyone is really saddened by this, but I'm doing my best to get done what I can. The complete list of songs will be a blast when it's finished, I think. I would have loved to have such a thing when I started out on the web, looking up stuff about BW.
Second, I got a tape in the mail yesterday of the Brian Wilson 1991 "Hotel Tape." It was originally a video, but I got it on audio cassette. It's a fascinating recording of Brian at the piano with Bruce Johnston, Jeff Foskett and (I think) John Stamos. It's fun to hear Brian tear through numerous variations on "Shortnin' Bread," try out "Sail on Sailor," play a heft chunk of Sweet Insanity songs, various oldies, and teach the guys to sing along with riffs he'd been working up on the piano. Definitely a must if you can find it (and you can't get it from me, so don't even ask). It shows off a main purpose of this page--that Brian is still with it, can still do wonderful things with music, and is still an entertaining performer.
4/27/99
Last year at this time, members of the Brian Wilson fan club were on a high. Lauri Koblas, blessed be her name, regularly updated the official fan club website with news about the upcoming release of Imagination. A carefully crafted and neatly-designed newsletter came out every three to four months.
That Christmas, each member of the club had received a perosnally-autographed picture of Brian. Yes, times were good and fans felt close to Mr. Wilson.
But over the summer of 1998, after a final gala four-color issue, Lauri stepped down. The stress of her two jobs was just too much. Management of "Breakway with Brian Wilson" went to a "professional" fan club service.
Ever since then, being a fan club member has--to put it frankly--sucked.
Sure, there was the 1998 Christmas letter and gift (an Imagination promo CD with a printed-on autograph), but with non of the personalization Lauri brought. The website was left to rot for weeks on end, and no newsletter was forthcoming.
A few months ago, the fan club passed on to another "professional" service. Things got better for awhile. I recieved a membership kit with some promo photos, a key ring, and a membership card. The web site was updated with merchandise from BW's tour.
I ordered a hat, printing out the order form from the net, and mailed it in. Yesterday, I got the order back from the "professional" fan organization. It was a Violent Femmes CD.
A VIOLENT FEMMES CD!!!
Not a hat, not anything remotely connected to Brian Wilson. I was annoyed and still am. And there still hasn't been a new issue of the newsletter--that makes almost a year without hard copy info on Mr. Wilson.
These people are obviously overworked and incompetent at this "professional" service. Either do the fan club right, and have someone with access to Brian who will do a newsletter and work on the fans' behalf, or DON'T DO IT AT ALL! The man deserves repect from those who work for him, not people who can't tell the difference between a BW tour hat and a Violent Femmes CD.
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