Learn: Home » CrutchfieldAdvisor Presents Brian Wilson's SMiLE
LP: Having seen The Brian Wilson band a dozen or so times since 1999, I am fascinated as to how the two combos have so effortlessly and seamlessly integrated themselves into interpreting Brian's music with such authority. It's almost as if it were you guys on the original '60s recordings, in terms of the prowess and the feel that you all bring to every facet of Brian's music, be it the complete Pet Sounds tour or even his solo album Getting In Over My Head from the summer of 2004.
DS: Well, you just hit it. It just goes to show that it is about "feel." People say that to me and I really do not know what to say other than we just feel the music. We just feel it. When I first met Nick some 20 years ago, he just came by a mutual friend's place to pick up his amp and he was ready to go when we struck up a conversation about movies — we are both huge Stanley Kubrick fans. Within five minutes we were talking about Brian and not another five minutes passed before we started discussing SMiLE. Now mind you, this is 20 years ago. The whole reason SMiLE came up was that Nick mentioned that he had just driven from Los Angeles to San Diego to a great little record store that sold underground and bootleg records. So, he drove the 100+ miles to get a copy of the very first vinyl bootleg of SMiLE. So he bought it and it was a really hot day, well, the record got warped on the car ride home. Then in an act of desperation, coupled with a degree of naivete, he tried to iron it flat. Of course that totally ruined it for good and he was really upset. However, that was the content of our first conversation. We just love the same music and have a connection that is almost telepathic.
LP: That translates quite effectively on The Wondermints' studio albums.
DS: Well, my favorite thing is to be in the studio.
LP: Like Brian. You guys seem to use the studio like a tool.
DS: Yes! Absolutely we do. It's just another means of expressing yourself. You use it the same way you'd use any other instrument. It can provide a different texture or another color.
LP: That separates you from the majority of your contemporaries, as you both incorporate and manipulate the technology and process, rather than simply using it as a conveyance.
DS: Hmmm . . . yeah, I guess we do. We really enjoy using it as a canvas, a little brighter here, more shading there. Then you step away from it and look at what you have.
LP: That returns us to your specific role in The Brian Wilson Band. How did you become the Musical Director or do you even consider yourself as such?
DS: I have never really thought of myself as having a role, per se. I see it as Brian Wilson and we are simply his support group. His music is played and expressed through us. I always just thought of myself as one of those voices or instruments. The same way I don't consider myself as a great keyboard player, I'm a conduit. I will do whatever it takes in order to get the feeling that the music requires. There are players in Brian's band that I would consider as real "players." They have really mastered their instrument to near virtuoso levels. That said, I feel my forte is being able to think and feel the big picture.
LP: Was Jeff Foskett one of the Chicago area folks that Joe Thomas brought?
DS: No, he was of the West Coast contingent. It was basically The Wondermints and Jeff and as I recall, he too had to audition as well. However, by virtue of being a great singer and having played with The Beach Boys, Jeff became the de facto bandleader. He was the one who handled organizing the band, leading the rehearsals, and taking care of the day-to-day stuff at the time. He is a great guy and is more of a taskmaster. I call him The Admiral because he has an executive manner and is a bit more assertive, while I tend to be — well, I will quote Van Dyke Parks on this — I tend to be a very good "beta male," and while that could have been bad if we'd viewed each other as competition, what it has amounted to over the years is a large degree of mutual respect.
DS: Well, you just hit it. It just goes to show that it is about "feel." People say that to me and I really do not know what to say other than we just feel the music. We just feel it. When I first met Nick some 20 years ago, he just came by a mutual friend's place to pick up his amp and he was ready to go when we struck up a conversation about movies — we are both huge Stanley Kubrick fans. Within five minutes we were talking about Brian and not another five minutes passed before we started discussing SMiLE. Now mind you, this is 20 years ago. The whole reason SMiLE came up was that Nick mentioned that he had just driven from Los Angeles to San Diego to a great little record store that sold underground and bootleg records. So, he drove the 100+ miles to get a copy of the very first vinyl bootleg of SMiLE. So he bought it and it was a really hot day, well, the record got warped on the car ride home. Then in an act of desperation, coupled with a degree of naivete, he tried to iron it flat. Of course that totally ruined it for good and he was really upset. However, that was the content of our first conversation. We just love the same music and have a connection that is almost telepathic.
LP: That translates quite effectively on The Wondermints' studio albums.
DS: Well, my favorite thing is to be in the studio.
LP: Like Brian. You guys seem to use the studio like a tool.
DS: Yes! Absolutely we do. It's just another means of expressing yourself. You use it the same way you'd use any other instrument. It can provide a different texture or another color.
LP: That separates you from the majority of your contemporaries, as you both incorporate and manipulate the technology and process, rather than simply using it as a conveyance.
DS: Hmmm . . . yeah, I guess we do. We really enjoy using it as a canvas, a little brighter here, more shading there. Then you step away from it and look at what you have.
 "I will do whatever it takes in order to get the feeling that the music requires." ©Mathew Lock. |
LP: That returns us to your specific role in The Brian Wilson Band. How did you become the Musical Director or do you even consider yourself as such?
DS: I have never really thought of myself as having a role, per se. I see it as Brian Wilson and we are simply his support group. His music is played and expressed through us. I always just thought of myself as one of those voices or instruments. The same way I don't consider myself as a great keyboard player, I'm a conduit. I will do whatever it takes in order to get the feeling that the music requires. There are players in Brian's band that I would consider as real "players." They have really mastered their instrument to near virtuoso levels. That said, I feel my forte is being able to think and feel the big picture.
LP: Was Jeff Foskett one of the Chicago area folks that Joe Thomas brought?
DS: No, he was of the West Coast contingent. It was basically The Wondermints and Jeff and as I recall, he too had to audition as well. However, by virtue of being a great singer and having played with The Beach Boys, Jeff became the de facto bandleader. He was the one who handled organizing the band, leading the rehearsals, and taking care of the day-to-day stuff at the time. He is a great guy and is more of a taskmaster. I call him The Admiral because he has an executive manner and is a bit more assertive, while I tend to be — well, I will quote Van Dyke Parks on this — I tend to be a very good "beta male," and while that could have been bad if we'd viewed each other as competition, what it has amounted to over the years is a large degree of mutual respect.
