Brian Wilson is back on the road with his band, featuring fellow Beach Boys Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin. Wilson, who'll be performing a “greatest hits” set throughout out most of the run, plays tonight (January 17th) at Miami's Magic City Casino with '60s pop favorites the Cowsills opening.
Brian Wilson says that performing live is both a part of life and a means to an end: “We have to make our money, and we have to live and survive and bring music to people.”
Central to the success of Wilson’s touring career over the past 20 years is Wondermints keyboardist Darian Sahanaja, who along with the other ‘Mints, comprise part of Wilson’s world renown ensemble. Sahanaja, who helped put the Beach Boys' long unfinished Smile project together for Wilson's live performance back in 2004, recalled to us how producer Joe Thomas planted the seed for Brian Wilson to become a touring solo act with the release of 1998’s Imagination album: “Gotta hand it to Joe, he did say to Brian, 'Y'know, maybe you need to go out and perform to promote this record' — and that got Brian back onstage. But I do remember thinkin', 'Really? Brian Wilson, who had a nervous breakdown in 1964 and set the mold for that musician that couldn’t handle the road and wanted to stay home and be the guy writing all the music from home? That guy? That guy’s gonna go out on tour?'”
