Brian Wilson Speaks in LA Last Night!

Beach Boys legend also gives brief acoustic performance and drops clues about his next hard rock project.

By Jose Martinez

Last night, the brand spankin' new state-of-the-art GRAMMY Museum, housed in the megalopolis that is LA LIVE in downtown Los Angeles, hosted its first public program. Billed as "An Evening with Brian Wilson," 200 lucky fans were treated to an intimate discussion with the famed singer as well as a brief acoustic performance.

GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Robert Santelli, the evening's Q&A moderator, described the event as the opportunity to "hear history from the horse's mouth." And the horse, Southern California legend Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, was in an energetic mood much to the delight of his fans.

How appropriate that while the rest of the country was freezing it was a cool 75-degree winter night in Los Angeles as the definitive beach boy talked about his historic music career.

Listing Chuck Berry as the "most influential songwriter of my life," Wilson also pointed out that the works of lauded producer Phil Spector and the harmonious Four Freshmen were very monumental to his craft.

Arguably one of popular music's most deeply revered icons, the 66-year-old Wilson is a legendary songwriter, producer and performer that has created some of the most cherished songs in rock history.

Speaking in quick, excited bursts, Wilson confessed that he was "jealous" of the Beatles and described their music as "electrifying."

He also admitted that the Beach Boys' 1966 classic Pet Sounds was an "experiment in sound" made to "keep Phil Spector's sound alive."

Confessing that he's determined to "keep good music alive," Wilson described his first ever encounter with Elvis Presley. It seemed the King (Presley) was recording in the same studio as the Beach Boys, and Elvis, wearing a long, burgundy suede coat refused to listen to Wilson's new tracks.

Wilson, the architect of the smooth California sound, pointed out that he longs to make a hard rock record. In fact, he's already recorded versions of "Proud Mary" and "At the Hop."

"One day," he said, of the record's release. "I'm wondering if I should," he added.

Having penned so many classics, Wilson noted that the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" is his favorite song. "It's the best song I've ever written."

When asked to list the four artists he would choose to be stranded with on a desert island he quickly chose The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Bee Gees, and The Eagles.

After being asked what is left for him to accomplish, to which he answered, "nothing really," Wilson was joined by his 5-piece band and performed a brief but impressive six-song set. Singing with a serene expression, Wilson performed "Surfer Girl" (the first song he ever wrote), as well as tracks from his latest release That Lucky Old Sun such as "Midnight's Another Day" (very epic sounding), "Going Home" and the Beach Boys-inspired "Southern California." He also treated fans to favorites "God Only Knows" and "Surfin' U.S.A."

To the credit of the newly opened GRAMMY Museum, this wonderful evening, the first in a series of "Evening with" events (jazz great Charlie Haden will be the next guest on January 21) amazingly only cost members $18 and non-members $19.95. Talk about a bargain!

In the midst of a promotional tour to celebrate the release of That Lucky Old Sun DVD on January 27, fans can catch the following Brian Wilson events:

Jan 24 - Autograph signing at Guitar Center Hollywood (12pm) and Guitar Center Northridge (5pm)

Jan 25 - Autograph signing at Guitar Center La Mesa in San Diego (1pm)

Jan 28 - Brian Wilson concert at The Wiltern in Los Angeles

Jan 29 - Brian Wilson concert at House of Blues in San Diego

Jan 30 - World Premiere of Going Home documentary at Santa Barbara Film Festival

For more information on the GRAMMY Museum go to www.grammymuseum.org.

[Photo Credit: James Minchin III]