Hi Everyone!

Check out this interview with David Marks with Rock Cellar Magazine.

http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2013/09/04/david-marks-beach-boys-interview-in-his-own-words/1/#sthash.OGqKGxDu.cvIz9pKe.dpbs

The parts of the article that stuck out for me were these quotes by David -

"On the road we were pretty much unsupervised. Murry ended up hiring a guy who was just as bad as us. I kind of suspect that my father took Mike aside and said, “You’re the oldest, take care of him.” Mike was on me about getting up to go to the gigs and write home to my parents. He looked after me and literally saved my life one time in Hawaii and metaphorically after that. We were sitting on a balcony after a show and we were in a hotel three stories up. I was drunk and we were talking to some girls. I was sitting on the actual railing and I went backwards over the railing and he grabbed my ankle and pulled me back up. It would have been disastrous; I probably would have died. When I was in the gutter in the late Nineties he recruited me to go back and play on the road with The Beach Boys. But even before that through the years he would call and ask me if I was doing alright. The fact that he called out of the blue through the years was impressive."

"Mike doesn’t get the credit that he deserves because he’s not a virtuoso on an instrument but when he sings the bass parts to those Four Freshman harmonies, that’s so hard to do. You have to be a really talented musician with a great ear to sing those interval spreads and keep them on pitch with three other people doing three other harmony parts. The guy deserves a lot of credit for that alone not to mention the hooks and the lyrics that he came up with for Brian’s songs. Mike also kept the band together through a lot of crises. As far as being the villain, people need a villain and he got chosen."

What are your thoughts about what Dave said about Mike?

Patricia Ferrelli
President
The Mike Love Fan Club

Very nice commentary by David Marks regarding not only how Mike has helped and looked out for him over the years,especially since he was the youngest member of the Beach Boys in the very beginning,but also about how Mike has done much behind the scenes to keep the Boys moving right along being a steady hand with them in spite of their many ups and downs,trials and tribulations since the very beginning.We're all aware of the very negative things that happened to the Wilson brothers,so,I don't feel it's necessary to name those things.I know that Dennis and Carl are deceased,but,I'm glad that Brian is still alive and,by the grace of God,has found greater peace and healing in his own life,greater success in his own life,and is doing very well on his present tour with Jeff Beck and Al Jardine.I'm glad that Mike in his own way seems to be a man with a good sense of humility,faith,prayer,and daily meditation,which I know has been a long standing part of his life since the late 1960's.That's all for now.

What are you listening to right now? Chant:Music for the Soul by the Cistercian Monks of Stilf Hilgenkreuz

Thats nice to hear what David Marks said, I dont buy into any of the nonsense thats written about Mike as getting things in context is what we should do and the Beach Boys have had a very rough ride over the years and Mike it seems was the only sensible one after they matured and Al as well. Drugs are so destructive he had to deal with the fallout of that. I say well done Mike xx

What are you listening to right now? Pet Sounds

It was refreshing to hear David speak well of Mike. I was happy to hear that Mike kept in touch with David over the years and continued their friendship. It's tiring hearing Al whine about Mike breaking up with the reunion tour, when Al broke up with Mike and the Beach Boys following Carl's death. I have been in the audience in at least one Beach Boys concert every year since they began and I can't say how grateful I am to Mike for keeping the band alive for 51 years. I appreciate the kind words David had to say about Mike in this interview.

It's interesting when a little story appears here.....I was living in Hawaii way back in the 60's and just missed the Beach Boys when they came for a concert.......I worked in the Ilikai Hotel and know the balconies well! Thank goodness Dave didn't injure himself from a hotel fall......Many angry things are said about Mike now a days as many BB followers are angered at the split...and are acting like children......my wish has always been that the BB's play together again, but I see at their ages, that personalities have gotten in the way of the harmonies.......and I am so glad I have seen them " up close " over the past couple of years in the New England areas......all were gentlemen!

What are you listening to right now? Darlin' by Carl Wilson

I consider myself blessed to have seen the guys on the 50th reunion tour. I've been to their concerts for the past 40 years and they always give a great performance. I especially was glad to see David in concert as I've never been able to see him before.This interview with David is refreshing in that it doesn't bash Mike that is so popular today. In my opinion, Mike was always the showman of the group and had a distinctive sound that blended well with the Wilsons and Jardine.Mike had to deal with Brian's eccentricities as well as other internal strifes that plagued the group.I know it's not nice to speak ill of the dead but, Dennis was a mess through most of the group's history and he was rather unstable.Then, drugs and alcohol infested some of the members and Mike was pretty well the stabilizing force with Carl the "peacemaker".My wife and I just went to a Mike Love / Bruce Johnston concert a few weeks ago and she had never seen a Beach Boy concert. She thoroughly enjoyed their concert and said that the harmonies were excellent and I told her that that was their tardemark sound.Mike like Brian has surrounded both he and Bruce with top notch performers. I especially enjoy John Cowsill's singing and drumming and had an opportunity to briefly speak with him.Also, Mike's son , Christian, is an excellent singer.All in all, the music is what will survive us all and sometime in the future no one will even give a thought to the undeserved negativity bestowed upon Mike.

What are you listening to right now? Tears In The Morning

Hi All!

This is my second reply to another reply after receiving another Bravenet email notice about replies.I'm glad that all of the replies about the David Marks interview have been positive.

What are you listening to right now? A Putumayo World Christmas-great year 'round calypso music!

Nice to read positive things about Mike. Nice words from Dave.

What are you listening to right now? Surfin' USA