Learn: Home » CrutchfieldAdvisor Presents Brian Wilson's SMiLE
Interview with David Leaf, Writer/Producer/Director of Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE
Brian Wilson and SMiLE's long and unquestionably strange sojourn from the mid '60s to 2004 has also been chronicled in the feature-length documentary Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE from Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and Beach Boys' historian David Leaf. The film — which is airing throughout November and December on the premium television network Showtime — offers a plethora of answers, confirmations and affirmations about every facet of the SMiLE project — both then and now. The story is traced from the events that led up to the initial ideological conception all the way through to the very first performance on February 20, 2004 at Royal Festival Hall in London.
The tales and actualities are recounted first-person by the participants, as Leaf gathered a who's who of '60s pop culture icons, including musicians who worked with Brian in the '60s, as well as friends and admirers. Among the record industry luminaries are former Rolling Stones' manager and general scene maker Andrew Loog Oldham, Beatles' producer Sir George Martin, record producers Lou Adler and Lenny Waronker, musicians Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, Roger Daltrey, and actor/producer Rob Reiner. Plus, key members of Brian's '60s recording sessions, such as Hal Blaine (drums), Carol Kaye (bass), Don Randi (keyboards), Mike Melvoin (keyboards) and his lyrical collaborators Tony Asher and Van Dyke Parks are featured. Not to mention the myriad mythical figures from within Brian's highly supportive inner circle, including Loren Darg [nee: Schwartz], record executive David Anderle, future Three Dog Night member Danny Hutton, and journalist Mike Vosse.
Fittingly, equal time is also given to the unsung heroes and heroine of the current Brian Wilson Band: Darian Sahanaja (vocals/keyboards/percussion), Jeffrey Foskett (vocals/guitar/percussion), Probyn Gregory (vocals/guitar/brass), Nick Walusko (vocals/guitar), Nelson Bragg (vocals/percussion), Jim Hines (drums/vocals), Bob Lizik (bass), Paul Mertens (woodwinds/harmonica), Scott Bennett (vocals/keyboards/percussion) and Taylor Mills (vocals). They have been the spine that supports Brian both in the studio and on the road, where they've been ever since his first solo outings in 1999. Although they were basically fused from two different combos, collectively the unit has grown into the finest touring and studio ensemble to have ever had the privilege to have worked with Brian.
CrutchfieldAdvisor is fortunate enough to have spent a few minutes with David Leaf on October 8, 2004 to discuss not only Beautiful Dreamer, but also his involvement with Brian, which dates back as far as the mid 1970s with the creation of a fanzine dedicated to the music of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys.
Lindsay Planer: How did you make your initial connection with the Beach Boys, particularly Brian?
David Leaf: I connected with Brian the same way everybody else does — through his music. I was a fan in the '60s, but it was when I heard the Surf's Up album in 1971, that the music began to demand my attention in two ways. Simultaneously to my reading about SMiLE, I heard the song "Surf's Up." It was like, "Oh my God! The SMiLE music is as great as everybody says it is." The second was when I heard "'Til I Die." I thought, "He can still do it. This is as powerful a piece of music as I have ever heard." Those songs spoke to me, and I guess you could say from that point on I was hooked.
LP: Did you seek Brian out?
DL: A couple of years after I got out of college, I moved to California. One of my goals was to write a book about Brian Wilson. I believed then and I believe now that he's an extraordinarily important American artist. I felt that there needed to be some piece of prose that focused on his artistry.
LP: Was it easy to get access to him?
DL: I never really sought or got access to him. I started a fanzine that I called "Pet Sounds," for obvious reasons. That attracted a little bit of attention, because a fanzine about Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys was rare in those days.
LP: When was this?
DL: 1977. The first issue came in February and eventually that led to a book contract.
LP: So you never got in.
DL: I never really got into the official Beach Boys organization when I was writing. I was invited to a couple of events...like the launch party for the Love You album. And I did interview Carl, Dennis, and Mike. But I was able to get most of my information from Brian's friends, who believed that I was sincere in my desire to paint an accurate portrait of his artistic life. Some of them spoke to me anonymously and some went on the record when they shared with me their thoughts, experiences, stories, and adventures.
LP: So in many ways, Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE began all the way back then?
DL: Yes, I think that would be fair to say. The relationships that I made when I was writing the book in 1977 and 1978 are relationships that I've maintained for over a quarter of a century because all of us were concerned for Brian's well being — both personally and artistically. I think the point of the film, as it relates to the question you asked, is that this is a story of not just artistic redemption, but of personal redemption.
When you watch the film you can see the result of all of the love he's received, especially the devotion of the past decade. You see a man who has come out of his shell and been healed by the process of finishing this legendary work, presenting it to the world, and then having the world stand up and cheer. This is Brian's story. What is inspiring to all of us who have shared it through the years and what we can take away from it is, "if you believe and are willing to go the extra mile, anything is possible." That is an inspiring story for anybody in any circumstance in their life.
Brian Wilson and SMiLE's long and unquestionably strange sojourn from the mid '60s to 2004 has also been chronicled in the feature-length documentary Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE from Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and Beach Boys' historian David Leaf. The film — which is airing throughout November and December on the premium television network Showtime — offers a plethora of answers, confirmations and affirmations about every facet of the SMiLE project — both then and now. The story is traced from the events that led up to the initial ideological conception all the way through to the very first performance on February 20, 2004 at Royal Festival Hall in London.
 |
The tales and actualities are recounted first-person by the participants, as Leaf gathered a who's who of '60s pop culture icons, including musicians who worked with Brian in the '60s, as well as friends and admirers. Among the record industry luminaries are former Rolling Stones' manager and general scene maker Andrew Loog Oldham, Beatles' producer Sir George Martin, record producers Lou Adler and Lenny Waronker, musicians Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, Roger Daltrey, and actor/producer Rob Reiner. Plus, key members of Brian's '60s recording sessions, such as Hal Blaine (drums), Carol Kaye (bass), Don Randi (keyboards), Mike Melvoin (keyboards) and his lyrical collaborators Tony Asher and Van Dyke Parks are featured. Not to mention the myriad mythical figures from within Brian's highly supportive inner circle, including Loren Darg [nee: Schwartz], record executive David Anderle, future Three Dog Night member Danny Hutton, and journalist Mike Vosse.
Fittingly, equal time is also given to the unsung heroes and heroine of the current Brian Wilson Band: Darian Sahanaja (vocals/keyboards/percussion), Jeffrey Foskett (vocals/guitar/percussion), Probyn Gregory (vocals/guitar/brass), Nick Walusko (vocals/guitar), Nelson Bragg (vocals/percussion), Jim Hines (drums/vocals), Bob Lizik (bass), Paul Mertens (woodwinds/harmonica), Scott Bennett (vocals/keyboards/percussion) and Taylor Mills (vocals). They have been the spine that supports Brian both in the studio and on the road, where they've been ever since his first solo outings in 1999. Although they were basically fused from two different combos, collectively the unit has grown into the finest touring and studio ensemble to have ever had the privilege to have worked with Brian.
CrutchfieldAdvisor is fortunate enough to have spent a few minutes with David Leaf on October 8, 2004 to discuss not only Beautiful Dreamer, but also his involvement with Brian, which dates back as far as the mid 1970s with the creation of a fanzine dedicated to the music of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys.
Lindsay Planer: How did you make your initial connection with the Beach Boys, particularly Brian?
David Leaf: I connected with Brian the same way everybody else does — through his music. I was a fan in the '60s, but it was when I heard the Surf's Up album in 1971, that the music began to demand my attention in two ways. Simultaneously to my reading about SMiLE, I heard the song "Surf's Up." It was like, "Oh my God! The SMiLE music is as great as everybody says it is." The second was when I heard "'Til I Die." I thought, "He can still do it. This is as powerful a piece of music as I have ever heard." Those songs spoke to me, and I guess you could say from that point on I was hooked.
LP: Did you seek Brian out?
DL: A couple of years after I got out of college, I moved to California. One of my goals was to write a book about Brian Wilson. I believed then and I believe now that he's an extraordinarily important American artist. I felt that there needed to be some piece of prose that focused on his artistry.
LP: Was it easy to get access to him?
DL: I never really sought or got access to him. I started a fanzine that I called "Pet Sounds," for obvious reasons. That attracted a little bit of attention, because a fanzine about Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys was rare in those days.
LP: When was this?
DL: 1977. The first issue came in February and eventually that led to a book contract.
LP: So you never got in.
DL: I never really got into the official Beach Boys organization when I was writing. I was invited to a couple of events...like the launch party for the Love You album. And I did interview Carl, Dennis, and Mike. But I was able to get most of my information from Brian's friends, who believed that I was sincere in my desire to paint an accurate portrait of his artistic life. Some of them spoke to me anonymously and some went on the record when they shared with me their thoughts, experiences, stories, and adventures.
LP: So in many ways, Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE began all the way back then?
DL: Yes, I think that would be fair to say. The relationships that I made when I was writing the book in 1977 and 1978 are relationships that I've maintained for over a quarter of a century because all of us were concerned for Brian's well being — both personally and artistically. I think the point of the film, as it relates to the question you asked, is that this is a story of not just artistic redemption, but of personal redemption.
When you watch the film you can see the result of all of the love he's received, especially the devotion of the past decade. You see a man who has come out of his shell and been healed by the process of finishing this legendary work, presenting it to the world, and then having the world stand up and cheer. This is Brian's story. What is inspiring to all of us who have shared it through the years and what we can take away from it is, "if you believe and are willing to go the extra mile, anything is possible." That is an inspiring story for anybody in any circumstance in their life.
