Catching up with Al Jardine.
Al Jardine, original founding member of the Beach Boys, has seen it all. For more than the past five decades, the diminutive blond singer and rhythm guitarist has stood at the center of the drama that has unfolded around the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame pop act and, for the most part, came out unscathed. On his latest tour, “A Postcard from California” (also the title of his 2012 solo release), 75-yearold Jardine tells his stories and sings his favorite songs, backed by his son, Matt Jardine, and keyboardist Jeff Ross. Jardine spoke to The Chronicle from his ranch in Big Sur.
Q: How do these songs take on different meanings when you perform them on your own?
A: This show starts with a recreation of my very first time ever making a record. It’s truly magical. I start with introductory tape of the first session, so we take a trip back through time to the home of Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson. We play along to the very first Beach Boys demo tape that we found in the vaults, then we pick it up from where it left off. It’s like a Broadway staging. It has that feeling.
Q: Do you have good memories of those early days? A: Oh, yeah. I always wanted to have a bronze statue of our very first session like that photograph where they’re raising the flag on Iwo Jima. We only had one microphone and all we could do is stand close enough without pushing each other around. Brian was the tallest so he had to lean on top of us, and he had to play the drum behind him with his index finger. It took 26 takes to get the blend behind the microphone. Q: I’m glad you guys figured it out. A: From there, we go through the different eras of the Beach Boys music, from the cars and girls to the psychedelic stuff and on to “Postcards from California.” Each song has a story. I only did a show like this once before. It would be comparable to the Springsteen thing on Broadway. It has that feel. It’s really fascinating, because every time you tell the story it can take you off in a different direction. Q: Do you have a favorite Beach Boys era? A: I like the psychedelic era. If I do this again after this initial run, I’d like to add a few more colorful tunes, some of the deeper cuts from then. There’s so many deep cuts, I don’t have enough time in this lifetime to get to them all. Q: Are you bummed Brian Wilson decided to retire “Pet Sounds”? A: We’re going back to Europe and playing it all over the place. I just got the schedule. There’s no end in sight. The Beach Boys aren’t reincarnating in the same way. Unfortunately, there’s a schism there that happened with the cousins. It’s too bad it couldn’t have continued as one final curtain call.