SAN DIEGO—It was arduous to think about a extra healthful scene than the one Sunday afternoon at Jack Murphy Stadium: It was a sunny Mom’s Day, the Padres had simply overwhelmed the Cubs and the Seashore Boys had been giving a live performance earlier than greater than 50,000 exuberant followers.
Because the band churned out hits like “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “California Girls” from a stage behind second base, preschoolers and grandparents had been among the many a whole bunch of individuals in a spirited conga-like line that skipped its manner via the stadium’s loge stage.
The household nature of the gathering underscored why Inside Secretary James Watt’s resolution to ban the Seashore Boys from the annual July 4th celebration on the Capitol Mall has been ridiculed as one of the crucial hapless judgment calls for the reason that Titanic was proclaimed seaworthy.
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By declaring final month that rock teams just like the Seashore Boys appeal to an “undesirable element,” Watt managed to remodel a band that’s greater than a decade previous its creative peak right into a nationwide image. A number of the Seashore Boys—particularly Carl Wilson—are bored with the Watt hoopla and like to focus on the group’s music.
However the followers appeared desirous to make an announcement Sunday. For some, the cheering—even the over-cheering—was meant merely as an indication of assist for the Seashore Boys. For others, nonetheless, the afternoon’s celebration had a deeper ring.
Defined Randy Williams, 34, of San Diego: “I think Watt really hit a nerve. People feel so helpless when the government is involved. We’re out of jobs but they tell us to just be patient, that everything is getting better.
“Usually the issues are so complex or politicians speak in such double talk that you don’t know what’s going on. But here was something real simple; the Beach Boys. I don’t think Watt is any worse than most of them, but he gave us an easy target. He gave us a chance to strike back.”
Sunday wasn’t the primary time that Pax Productions and the Padres teamed as much as current the Seashore Boys as a part of a baseball/music doubleheader. The group additionally performed after a Padres recreation right here final 12 months.
Radio station KIOO-FM, which helped promote Sunday, had even invited the Cupboard member to the sport. When he despatched regrets, the station determined to distribute paper Watt masks to everybody at he recreation.
However these plans had been canceled after phrase from the Seashore Boys’ group that the band wished to make the Watt uproar behind them, defined a station consultant.
The Seashore Boys’ Carl Wilson, who watched the Padres recreation from one of many luxurious packing containers behind residence plate, grimaced when a reporter talked about Watt.
“I’m really tired of all that nonsense,” he stated. “I’m into music. I’ve got a new solo album that is just out and I’m serious about what we’re (the Beach Boys) are doing. People sometimes think a band that has been together this long takes things for granted, but you still have your pride at stake when you step up on stage. When we do a poor show, it drives me nuts.”
Wilson acknowledged that he was touched by the outpouring of assist following Watt’s assertion.
“I’m not talking about Nancy Reagan or the White House staff,” he stated. “I’m talking about the way the public responded. You pick up papers and you see all the man-in-the-street interviews and people saying ‘I love the Beach Boys’ or whatever. It makes you feel wonderful.
However, Mike Love, who handles most of the lead vocals, didn’t flinch when Watt’s name was mentioned. “I’m having a field day,” he stated, very upbeat as he stood among the many cameramen within the band’s dressing room moments earlier than occurring stage. “I’m even thinking about writing a song” referred to as ‘Watt’s Not Taking place.’”
Pausing to ensure the reporter obtained the pun, Love continued: “This whole thing has stimulated me. It has given me a chance to use our ‘celebrity’ (status) to express some of my ideas on things other than music . . . the chance to make statements on the redwoods and the way we’re screwing up the coastline with all the offshore drilling . . . and the way we let millions of pounds of grain rot while people are starving around the world.”
Would he ever run for workplace?
“No,” he quipped, “I’m a musician. With Brian (Wilson) returning to the band, I think we can still do a lot of creative things. But I think we can also do things in other ways. Politicians have to be sensitive when a lot of people speak up, and they realize that a lot of people have faith in the Beach Boys. Sen. (Robert J.) Dole (R-Kan.) has already asked us to do a concert in Kansas.
“I see this as the start of a whole new movement. There’s the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, and we’re going to come out with the California Beach Party. I’d like to do a series of free shows up and down the California coast, have a million people out there having a good time. Then we could take that same spirit and concert across the country.”
On the band assembly for the stage, Tom Hulett, the Seashore Boys’ supervisor, stated that the group will do at the very least one July 4 present this 12 months, perhaps even afternoon and night concert events in numerous cities if schedules will be organized. He’s even engaged on a plan for a company to underwrite the concert events to allow them to be free.
“You ought to see my desk,” Hulett stated. “You wouldn’t believe the offers that have been pouring in. The rock audience always knew what the Beach Boys stood for, but now the Beach Boys are OK with the over-40 crowd. They’re OK with the corporate people. They’re even OK with my mother.”
