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Stamos sat behind the kit for Barbara Ann, and the rest, well, was good vibrations.
Its not about the money for Mike anymore, Stamos says about his 83-year-old bandmates continued interest in touring.
He just realizes how much the world needs his music right now.
(Lovedeniedhe fired Wilson.)
Mike was always the commercial side and Brian was the music side, adds Stamos.
And there was no place for me over on that side.
Look at you, going on a summer tour.Its a dream.
Last year, I finally got the knack for the touring thing.
Theres this festival called See.Hear.Now on the Jersey shore that we got enlisted to perform at.
I said, I dont know if we should be playing this.
Were a bit of an oldies act now and theres some contemporary, groovy bands on there.
And the band was like, No, were playing it and youre playing with us.
I never get nervous unless theres other brilliant musicians around.
Im hiding in my trailer.
I didnt know what it looked like outside and how many people would want to see us.
I kept my head down, walked onstage, and looked up and it was 60,000 people.
People were going insane for the band.
We couldnt even hear ourselves.
I saw all these musicians come around to watch the show when I was playing drums.
I thought,Dont look, John.
Just get through it.But I cheat and look behind me, and theres Dave Grohlvideotaping me.
The Weezer guys are all there.
We finished, and they hugged us and said, Thats fucking great, man.
I was really proud of the band that day.
I wrote in my high-school yearbook, Without music life would be a mistake.
And my dad said, Thats a dumbass thing.
Well, its not so dumb now, is it Dad?
I found the Beach Boys passages in your2023 memoirvery compelling.
You didnt want to detract from the authenticity of the music by being there.
How much trial and error did you go through to achieve that?It took a lot of time.
I would approach it, go back, and think it over again.
Hopefully, I feel like now I represent them.
I sing a couple of songs and play drum solos.
Im in the zone and not thinking about the sound.
But also, you get to a point where you just go, Fuck it.
Im not going to worry about what people think.
Im going to leave my soul out there tonight.
Thats all I can do.
Several of the Beach Boys practice Transcendental Meditation, and they turned you onto the technique.
You ought to name all the girls, Paul.
And Paul was like, Oh, yeah.
Whatever Mike is doing, people should pay attention to it.
That guy is 83 years old and he buries all of us onstage.
Hes pissed off were only doing one show a day.
But meditation is big for him.
Back in the 80s, Mike sent trainers over to teach me the practice.
You sit 20 minutes twice a day and you say your mantra over and over again.
You really do feel refreshed.
We used to all do it together on the bus or backstage, but thats gone away.
Mike and I would meditate on occasion next to each other.
Im so proud of him because hes finally mellowed out.
I feel like people are coming around to him and realizing his contributions to the band.
I know that he could be vilified over the years.
Some of it was justified, but a lot of it wasnt.
He talks about Brian all the time.
Whatever was keeping them apart, I hope they lift that.
Even Carl Wilson told me once, We love Brian.
I dont know why they had to push us down to lift him up.
Lets lift him up.
Mike says that a lot, too.
He gets really emotional about stuff.
Did this situation ever give you pause about joining Mikes edition of the Beach Boys?
Did you talk to him about it?I helped Mike through that because he needed some crisis PR.
I cant speak for Mike, but I know it was difficult.
What happened, from what I understand, is they booked a certain amount of shows.
Mike said, Okay, Ill do these 50 shows and did them.
Somewhere in there, he started booking back to his other band.
That touring entity was just easier on him.
But he couldnt fire Brian.
I think what happened was somebody got into Brians ear.
I wasnt a part of any of it.
But it was tough for Mike.
And there was never a place for me on the other side, the Brian Wilson side.
That was really about the purity of the music and sounding exactly like the record.
They didnt need somebody jumping around or whatever the fuck.
The other side, Mikes side, was a celebration of the music.
It was a party and more commercial.
You occasionally performed with Brian when touring with the band in the 80s and 90s.
Then Brian took a liking to me.
We did these shows in the summer and it was during a time when Mike was away in India.
He was fresh out of theEugene Landymachine, and he was tall, thin, and funny.
Landys minions were all around him.
He was programmed pretty well.
He goes, Stamos, tell everybody Im not dead.
Its just that my back hurts.
I go, What?
He was like, Tell everybody Im not dead.
So I go, Everybody, can I have your attention?
Brian wanted me to tell you guys hes not dead, his back just hurts.
And theyre like, Oh, okay, great.
And Im like, What the fuck?
How did I get here?
One time, Mike was spewing this sort of stuff about India, peace, and love.
Brian turns up and goes, Mike, youre so into it youre out of it.
I loved that one.
What would warrant such a look?It was pretty rare that I got it, thank God.
It would be when I was playing.
It would just be that oh, shit moment.
It was when you fucked something up.
But he was so kind.
Of course, he had to sing God Only Knows because hes ethereal.
I asked Brian how long it took him to write God Only Knows.
He said, Eight minutes.
I played it through twice.
Youve stated that Mike loves your pretty face and saw the commercial benefit of having you join the band.
Would the Beach Boys still be touring at this level of success if you werent involved?Absolutely.
This is like Beethoven or the Beatles.
Its the power of those songs.
Ill tell you, they wouldnt be touring without Mike.
But hes not ready to stop anytime soon.
Hes one of the great front men.
I dont care what anybody says.
And now its been 40 years.
And he responded, No, but I know it now.
I thought that was interesting.
He added, I know how people need this.
I think he feels the responsibility to share the healing and uniting power those songs have.
It brings us together as one.
Thats the message behind the two of us now.
When were there, it feels like were one family united by timeless music.
Whats on the John Stamos tour rider?A steamer.
