Interview: Brian Wilson 2019

With a songbook that includes the likes of “Good Vibrations”, “California Girls”, “God Only Knows”, “I Get Around”, “Fun, Fun, Fun”, “Surfin’ Safari”, and “Help Me, Rhonda”, there can be no dispute that Brian Wilson is a musical genius.

This interview was done for noozhawk.com for Brian’s Wilson’s concert at the Arlington Theatre on 9/8/19, for which he’ll be highlighting songs off two Beach Boys albums – 1968’s Friends and 1971’s Surf’s Up.

And although these albums don’t get the accolades of 1966’s Pet Sounds (which Rolling Stone Magazine ranks as the second best album of all time) or the aborted follow-up album Smile which finally saw the light of day in 2011, there are a lot of great songs on Friends and Surf’s Up, and it will be a rare treat to hear these songs performed live. Selected Beach Boys hits will also be on the program. The openers for the show are The Zombies, who will play their album Odessey and Oracle.

While Wilson’s answers to the questions may be short, they still reveal some insight into the life and mind of one of music’s all-time greatest songwriters. This interview was done by phone on 9/5/19.

Interview: Tommy James

Tommy James had an incredible run in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, with hit songs including “Hanky Panky”, “Crimson and Clover”, “I Think We’re Alone Now”, “Mony Mony”, “Sweet Cherry Wine”, “Crystal Blue Persuasion”, and “Draggin’ the Line”. Several of these songs became hits again in the 1980’s when they were re-recorded by Joan Jett (“Crimson and Clover”), Billy Idol (“Mony Mony”), and Tiffany (“I Think We’re Alone Now”).

Amazingly, James did his recordings for a record label which was a front for a Mob family, a story detailed in his book “Me, the Mob, and the Music”, and which will be turned into a movie biopic in the next few years.

This interview was done for a preview article for noozhawk.com for James’ concert at the Ventura County Fair on 8/6/19. It was done by phone on 7/30/19. (Publicity photo)

Article: Jeff Barry and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Article about Jeff Barry being honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Interview: Jeff Barry

Jeff Barry is one of rock and roll’s most accomplished songwriters. He was recently selected for a 2010 Ahmet Ertegun Award by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Barry and his songwriting partner Ellie Greenwich co-wrote such early rock and roll classics as “Be My Baby”, “Da Doo Ron Ron”, “Chapel of Love”, “River Deep, Mountain High” (all co-written with Phil Spector), “Leader of the Pack” (co-written with George “Shadow” Morton), “Hanky Panky,” and “Do Wah Diddy Diddy.” Later, Barry co-wrote the bubblegum smash “Sugar, Sugar” with Andy Kim, and theme songs for the television shows “The Jeffersons,” “One Day at a Time,” and “Family Ties.” Barry also was the producer for many well-known songs, including “I’m A Believer” by The Monkees, and early Neil Diamond songs such as “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” and “Kentucky Woman.”

This interview was conducted in person on May 6, 2008 in Santa Barbara, California.