photo:Kevin Statham
I hadn’t seen the Beach Boys in 4 years. As a matter of fact they were my first new interview for the Red’s Reunion portion of my weekly Global Television appearance back then. The band rocked the Red Robinson Show Theatre August 28th-29th. Shown on stage with me is fm 104.9 morning host Scott Miller. We had so much fun and the band did not let us down. They played an almost 2 hour set.
photo: Kevin Statham
The thing I admire most about The Beach Boys is the quality of their show. They have not given up on the original sound. Mike Love and Bruce Johnston go to great pains to teach the young guys the harmonies that made the group famous. The young guys also are better musicians than the original group. So, the experience does not disappoint. Many of the Beach Boys studio sounds came from the talents of what is referred to as The Wrecking Crew , an ensemble of some of Hollywood’s greatest musicians. They backed a host of hitmakers in the Sixties and Seventies. Their magic can be seen in the documentary The Wrecking Crew which is now available on DVD. These musicians were as influential as the musicians at Motown.
The magic night of memories will long be remembered. On hand at the show was Dal Richards, who appreciates their music as well. Also in attendance was Nick Orchard, whose latest documentary for CBC is The Beat Goes On, a continuing history of the music industry in Canada and a sequel to the first effort Shakin’ All Over. My only complaint with this documentary is the absence of some of the artists from the West, including Terry Black, and others. Jack Scott is never mentioned and he was from Windsor. Oh, well when you work with various government bodies you end up with what they dictate. However, at least it is a history of rock and roll in Canada, albeit lacking some artists.
Nick will be on my case but he also knows I know how the system works. We have great arguments about CANCON. I say we don’t need it anymore. He insists we do. The difference is, I believe, our talent is good enough to stand on its own two feet. CanCon insists on radio stations playing 35% Canadian content. Are they now insisting on Canada winning 35% of the gold at the Olympics? Of course not. At any rate, thanks Nick for fighting the good war with the government body and the Quebec money behind the project. 90% of the program is fantastic and that says a lot.