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Post by Mikie on Apr 23, 2023 19:48:59 GMT -5
Well, if this is the same Jon Bolton that's selected as the short or long-term replacement for Cowsill, he's a crazy "Keith Moon meets Jim Carrey" multi-talented drummer/singer from Seattle: jonbolton.net/about
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Post by #JusticeForDonGoldberg on Apr 23, 2023 21:20:37 GMT -5
A couple years ago, Mike made it very clear in an interview that he’d like the Beach boys name to continue touring after his and the others deaths. Makes me wonder if this is the beginning of him building a newer band he could reasonably sea performing without him for several years going forward, even after he’s gone. If Jon Bolton is the new drummer, he’s definitely different from Cowcill… and a lot younger too. Appears to be under 54, and ike is in his 40s.
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Post by ian on Apr 23, 2023 21:53:40 GMT -5
I know there are bands from the 50s that no longer have any original members and still play county fairs but it is hard to imagine that a bbs without Mike would really be a big draw. Personally it was hard for me to accept a BBs with no Wilson in it…
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Post by Rick Bartlett on Apr 23, 2023 21:55:59 GMT -5
A couple years ago, Mike made it very clear in an interview that he’d like the Beach boys name to continue touring after his and the others deaths.Makes me wonder if this is the beginning of him building a newer band he could reasonably sea performing without him for several years going forward, even after he’s gone. If Jon Bolton is the new drummer, he’s definitely different from Cowcill… and a lot younger too. Appears to be under 54, and ike is in his 40s. Wow... That's one thing I've never considered, an ongoing touring 'Beach Boys' without Mike Love. I would not think it's possible, but I'm sure it's not going to stop crowds from coming to see a group perform the 'golden oldies'. 'Maybe' Mike is 'setting up' the future for the group, but I guess I just don't like change that much. Change in inevitable, just the same.
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nater
Kahuna
Posts: 191
Likes: 358
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Post by nater on Apr 23, 2023 22:13:08 GMT -5
Wow, so Ike is MD now!! I trust his musical sensibilities, as sad with the current state as I am. I have faith in Mike and the band overall. As Mike always says, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"
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Post by Sam_BFC on Apr 23, 2023 23:19:34 GMT -5
Wonderful musicians and of a few treasured memories, my fondest memories of both will be the magic they added to the 2012 tour.
Scott on Betsy was a particular personal favourite and a more than worthy lead spot outside of the “original” members (alongside Darian on Darlin).
John is a simply outstanding drummer and performer.
A famous Bob Dylan title sadly does come to mind, but the music and those that have delivered it have been good to us.
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Post by AGD on Apr 24, 2023 1:27:36 GMT -5
This may be purely coincidental, but this coming weekend both Mike and David will be guests at the annual spring Chiller Theatre convention. Chiller Theater 2023
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Post by Rick Bartlett on Apr 24, 2023 1:48:32 GMT -5
This may be purely coincidental, but this coming weekend both Mike and David will be guests at the annual spring Chiller Theatre convention. Chiller Theater 2023....And if you scroll about a quarter of the way down this page, Carnie Wilson will also be there on Friday and Saturday only. www.chillertheatre.com/gt/gtc4.htm
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Post by AGD on Apr 24, 2023 4:57:31 GMT -5
Also... Richard Dreyfuss, Melanie, Tim Matheson.
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Post by andrewhickey on Apr 24, 2023 5:11:08 GMT -5
A couple years ago, Mike made it very clear in an interview that he’d like the Beach boys name to continue touring after his and the others deaths.Makes me wonder if this is the beginning of him building a newer band he could reasonably sea performing without him for several years going forward, even after he’s gone. If Jon Bolton is the new drummer, he’s definitely different from Cowcill… and a lot younger too. Appears to be under 54, and ike is in his 40s. Wow... That's one thing I've never considered, an ongoing touring 'Beach Boys' without Mike Love. I would not think it's possible, but I'm sure it's not going to stop crowds from coming to see a group perform the 'golden oldies'. 'Maybe' Mike is 'setting up' the future for the group, but I guess I just don't like change that much. Change in inevitable, just the same. I know there was talk when Foskett was in the band that one of the reasons he'd been lured over from Brian's band was that he was promised he could have the name when/if Mike retired or died (though obviously that's not going to happen now, with his illness). And similarly I've heard from a few people who've talked to Christian over the years that the same was suggested to him when he returned when Jeff got sick -- that he will inherit the right to use the band name from his father. No idea if either of those are true or not but they've been rumours I've heard from multiple sources, usually people who've known the band members. And obviously even less idea if any of Mike's plans, whether those or others, will hold with the Iconic acquisition as it'd be them who made any ultimate decision. Personally, I would probably have gone to see a "Beach Boys" without Mike if Scott and John were still in it, even though I'd think it better to retire the name, because I'd know they'd put on a good show. I'm honestly not sure if I'm going to want to see Mike's band *without* Scott and John, because so much of what made the band a decent live act was them. I almost certainly will, of course, but I'm much more cautious than I was. I remember what the touring band was like when they were the new boys, before Cowsill moved to drums and Scott took over as MD, and I'd hate to see something like that again.
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Post by AGD on Apr 24, 2023 6:07:12 GMT -5
Wow... That's one thing I've never considered, an ongoing touring 'Beach Boys' without Mike Love. I would not think it's possible, but I'm sure it's not going to stop crowds from coming to see a group perform the 'golden oldies'. 'Maybe' Mike is 'setting up' the future for the group, but I guess I just don't like change that much. Change in inevitable, just the same. I know there was talk when Foskett was in the band that one of the reasons he'd been lured over from Brian's band was that he was promised he could have the name when/if Mike retired or died (though obviously that's not going to happen now, with his illness). And similarly I've heard from a few people who've talked to Christian over the years that the same was suggested to him when he returned when Jeff got sick -- that he will inherit the right to use the band name from his father.No idea if either of those are true or not but they've been rumours I've heard from multiple sources, usually people who've known the band members. And obviously even less idea if any of Mike's plans, whether those or others, will hold with the Iconic acquisition as it'd be them who made any ultimate decision. Personally, I would probably have gone to see a "Beach Boys" without Mike if Scott and John were still in it, even though I'd think it better to retire the name, because I'd know they'd put on a good show. I'm honestly not sure if I'm going to want to see Mike's band *without* Scott and John, because so much of what made the band a decent live act was them. I almost certainly will, of course, but I'm much more cautious than I was. I remember what the touring band was like when they were the new boys, before Cowsill moved to drums and Scott took over as MD, and I'd hate to see something like that again. Not sure I believe that, given that Mike uses the BB name to tour on licence from BRI - I'm sure there'd have to be a re-vote as opposed to Mike just passing the baton. And yes, Mike's band pre-2008, with Kowalski & Baker was increasingly an embarrassment. I recall a gig where the former lost the beat on the first song... which was "Do It Again", about as simple a pattern as it gets.
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Post by andrewhickey on Apr 24, 2023 6:39:34 GMT -5
Not sure I believe that, given that Mike uses the BB name to tour on licence from BRI - I'm sure there'd have to be a re-vote as opposed to Mike just passing the baton. And yes, Mike's band pre-2008, with Kowalski & Baker was increasingly an embarrassment. I recall a gig where the former lost the beat on the first song... which was "Do It Again", about as simple a pattern as it gets. Yeah, I'm certainly not saying it's true, just that I heard it from multiple different people and so talk has been going around about that kind of possibility for at least nine years. And I have similar memories of Kowalski, including one gig where literally the *only* song where he kept a steady beat through the whole thing was "Good Vibrations" -- the one song in the set where you need to slow down and speed up at different points. And there he just kept this horrible four-on-the-floor bass drum thing going through the whole song. And I very much worry that Mike isn't as sensitive to that kind of thing as we may like, and will make a similar mistake with the new drummer -- having now seen three shows with Stamos drumming some of the time, he's not as bad as Kowalski, but he's definitely bad enough to sabotage a performance, and Mike happily lets him play on multiple songs. (I also hope that Scott and John quickly find new gigs that allow their exceptional musicianship to shine. Both men are wonderful talents and they've also both shown me great personal kindness over the years. I've no idea at all what has led to this sudden departure, but I hope it's as mutual as these things can ever be and that they haven't been treated too shabbily.)
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Post by #JusticeForDonGoldberg on Apr 24, 2023 6:59:41 GMT -5
I know there are bands from the 50s that no longer have any original members and still play county fairs but it is hard to imagine that a bbs without Mike would really be a big draw. Personally it was hard for me to accept a BBs with no Wilson in it… really? I’m convinced that at least 90% of the people who go to Beach Boys shows couldn’t name a single member.
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Post by andrewhickey on Apr 24, 2023 7:05:26 GMT -5
I know there are bands from the 50s that no longer have any original members and still play county fairs but it is hard to imagine that a bbs without Mike would really be a big draw. Personally it was hard for me to accept a BBs with no Wilson in it… really? I’m convinced that at least 90% of the people who go to Beach Boys shows couldn’t name a single member. That's probably true. But they *do* know the sound of Mike's voice.
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Post by filledeplage on Apr 24, 2023 7:18:54 GMT -5
I know there are bands from the 50s that no longer have any original members and still play county fairs but it is hard to imagine that a bbs without Mike would really be a big draw. Personally it was hard for me to accept a BBs with no Wilson in it… really? I’m convinced that at least 90% of the people who go to Beach Boys shows couldn’t name a single member. Well I know a couple of 4 year olds who can.
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Post by Sam_BFC on Apr 24, 2023 7:38:25 GMT -5
Kowalski has an impressive CV going back to the 1960s that predates his involvement with The Beach Boys and is way beyond John Stamos’ achievements as a drummer. What happened with him?
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Post by monolithic on Apr 24, 2023 7:45:18 GMT -5
I agree with all of the comments saying that it was right that Mike Kowalski left the band when he did.
The rest of the group weren't bad under Chris Farmer, though, and those mammoth shows of 2004 were very well-received at the time.
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Post by andrewhickey on Apr 24, 2023 8:57:36 GMT -5
I agree with all of the comments saying that it was right that Mike Kowalski left the band when he did. The rest of the group weren't bad under Chris Farmer, though, and those mammoth shows of 2004 were very well-received at the time. The 2004 shows with Randell replacing Baker were definitely an improvement, because Randell could sing. And vocally the band sounded great (other than the 2012 reunion shows, the best lineups of the group I've seen vocally were the 2004 one -- Mike/Bruce/Farmer/Randell/Scott/John -- and the 2014 one -- Mike/Bruce/Jeff/Randell/Scott/John). Kowalski was the only person on stage who actually couldn't play his instrument. I loved the shows at the time as a massive improvement (other than the drumming) on what I'd seen in 2001 and 2002. But it's notable listening back to recordings of them now how bad the instrumental arrangements are. Some of this, again, is Kowalski, whose drumming *style* as well as ability was utterly unsuited to the music -- he's all cowbell and tinking cymbals like he's playing in a lounge bar trying to sound vaguely Latin -- but everything's a wash of cheesy synth sounds and "that'll do" approximations of the chords. If you compare recordings of the 2008 tour, with very similar setlists and an almost-identical band but with Cowsill on drums and Scott as musical director while Christian took over Farmer's vocal parts, it's like night and day, there's just no comparison, even though I think Farmer was a better harmony singer than Christian. Some of this is just Mike stepping up to the competition from Brian's band (and I have to wonder if part of this change is because of Brian retiring from the road so that competitive pressure is no longer there) and taking a while to do so, with the 2004 shows being the beginning of the change. But a lot of it is because Scott and John really cared about getting the music *right*. Which is not to detract from Farmer as a musician, but I get the impression that he saw his job as "keep doing what's worked", and saw no need to fix the sloppy corner-cutting live arrangements the band had been doing since before he joined. Which is understandable -- if you go and see the current lineups of the Temptations or the Righteous Brothers or whoever you get a similar type of arrangement, and those shows are thoroughly enjoyable for what they are. And without having anything better from Mike's band to compare it to, the 2004 shows were hugely enjoyable. But there's a difference between good enough and great. The arrangements and instrumental performance under Farmer were good enough. Under Scott they were great.
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Post by andrewhickey on Apr 24, 2023 9:03:52 GMT -5
Kowalski has an impressive CV going back to the 1960s that predates his involvement with The Beach Boys and is way beyond John Stamos’ achievements as a drummer. What happened with him? Yeah. It's really weird, he played on some genuinely *great* records in the late sixties and early seventies, and he toured with Johnny Otis, who only ever hired the best musicians. I've heard stories about him having some personal problems which threw his concentration, and other people saying he had a bad back which meant playing became physically painful for him, and if either of those are true I feel very, very, sorry for the man. But he was kept on long, long after something should have been done, because his playing was poor by the early nineties and only got worse from then on.
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Post by Mikie on Apr 24, 2023 9:23:33 GMT -5
Kowalski has an impressive CV going back to the 1960s that predates his involvement with The Beach Boys and is way beyond John Stamos’ achievements as a drummer. What happened with him? I just remember fans commenting toward the end of his tenure that his timing was becoming more and more erratic. He's still around and doing gigs - he was interviewed on "Beach Boys Talk" recently.
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Post by #JusticeForDonGoldberg on Apr 24, 2023 9:29:40 GMT -5
Say what you Will about Adrian, but at least the music him and Mike made together is fun and actually worth a listen… I can’t really say the same thing about unleash the love or 12 sides of summer or any of the other stuff Mike made in the last 20 years.
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Post by #JusticeForDonGoldberg on Apr 24, 2023 9:33:08 GMT -5
Kowalski has an impressive CV going back to the 1960s that predates his involvement with The Beach Boys and is way beyond John Stamos’ achievements as a drummer. What happened with him? Yeah. It's really weird, he played on some genuinely *great* records in the late sixties and early seventies, and he toured with Johnny Otis, who only ever hired the best musicians. I've heard stories about him having some personal problems which threw his concentration, and other people saying he had a bad back which meant playing became physically painful for him, and if either of those are true I feel very, very, sorry for the man. But he was kept on long, long after something should have been done, because his playing was poor by the early nineties and only got worse from then on. he loved the “Sweet Sunday” drum pattern so much, he was just trying to see if he could get away with playing it on everything.
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Post by boogieboarder on Apr 24, 2023 9:35:58 GMT -5
When big band leaders like Glenn Miller died, and the bands went on performing the same material, they called them “ghost bands.” In the case of a rock band, I think a band that plays Beach Boys songs without any of the original members would be nothing but a tribute band, indistinguishable from any band of musicians that did that, in spite of whether or not Mike Love hand picked the members.
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Post by AGD on Apr 24, 2023 10:42:36 GMT -5
Kowalski has an impressive CV going back to the 1960s that predates his involvement with The Beach Boys and is way beyond John Stamos’ achievements as a drummer. What happened with him? Yeah. It's really weird, he played on some genuinely *great* records in the late sixties and early seventies, and he toured with Johnny Otis, who only ever hired the best musicians. I've heard stories about him having some personal problems which threw his concentration, and other people saying he had a bad back which meant playing became physically painful for him, and if either of those are true I feel very, very, sorry for the man. But he was kept on long, long after something should have been done, because his playing was poor by the early nineties and only got worse from then on. I was told it was his back by a highly reliable source.
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Post by AGD on Apr 24, 2023 10:45:38 GMT -5
Say what you Will about Adrian, but at least the music him and Mike made together is fun and actually worth a listen… I can’t really say the same thing about unleash the love or 12 sides of summer or any of the other stuff Mike made in the last 20 years. Maybe so (maybe not), and that was over forty years ago but live he was an increasing liability. Also, not a team player.
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