The Night I Sang with Brian Wilson

A number of years ago I was down in LA with MuchMusic working on a number of interviews. One day we spent a couple of hours at Madonna's house on Los Feliz tapping her MMVA acceptance speech and then we drove over to Brian Wilson's house to tape an interview about his album Imagination. This isn't a story about that trip.

This story took place a couple of years ago at Massey Hall. Brian Wilson came to Toronto to perform Smile. The atmosphere among Toronto's music intelligentsia was electric. This was the night they had waited most of their lives for. A few months earlier, I sat in Paul Quarrington's home playing him an advance copy of the album. It was slightly surreal given that he was preparing for an interview with the inspiration for Whale Music.

Back to Massey Hall. Brian had agreed to do a few interviews before soundcheck. Among them was 30 minutes spent with Peter Mansbridge taping an interview in the balcony of the hall. If you ever have the chance try to catch Mansbridge One On One with Brian Wilson. It's fascinating.

After all of the interviews were done he headed down to the stage for soundcheck. Rather than running through one of the songs on Smile though, Brian decided to teach the band a new song he had written that morning. The band members gathered around him at the keyboard at the front of the stage and watched his hands as he banged out the chords. They then went off to each of their own instruments and Brian walked from one musician to another describing exactly what he wanted them to play. Over the course of the next 30 minutes the song unfolded itself from Brian Wilson's brain right there on the Massey Hall stage. He had hoped to perform the new composition that night but as suddenly as the music started, union regulations called for a dark stage.

90 minutes later I found myself sitting in Brian's dressing room. There were a bunch of posters I needed him to sign but he was busy working on harmonies for the new song with his assistant. His assistant sang the lead and Brian played piano and worked out the complimentary vocal parts. Between run throughs we chatted about the song and its themes (love, peace, understanding) and then, suddenly, Brian asked me to sing the lead. I was a little shocked. No, change that, I was terrified. He insisted. I protested that I couldn't sing. He assured me that everyone could sing. Reason got the better of me. This would be a great story...The day I sang with Brian Wilson!

They handed me the lyric sheet and Brian counted me in. I missed the cue and we had to start over again. I gave it my best shot. I sang with as much heart as I could muster and then it was over. I waited for the verdict. Brian looked to his assistant and said "He could be a back-up singer." And that was that. I was relegated to the back of the stage by Brian Wilson.

Later that night Brina and his band put on a show that will be talked about for years. Every recognizable face in the Toronto music industry was there. When it ended the ovation was deafening. We went down to the Century Lounge for the meet & greet after the show. Brian sat behind a table, smiled for photos, signed autographs and accepted the universal praise.

I never look at the picture they took of Brian and I together. It just wouldn't do justice to that night I sang with Brian Wilson.