ALAN BOYD
CHANNEL SURFING
[There are two sets of Liner Notes for this album. This first version is a bit longer and was unused. The version further down the page is the one that was ultimately used, due to space limitations.
Both are presented here courtesy of Alan Boyd. Much thanks to him for allowing their use.]
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ALBUM LINER NOTES
by ELLIOT KENDALL
Alan Boyd is a true musical Renaissance Man of the new millennium.
Naturally,
today we are all multi-taskers galore, taking on a multitude of
projects with apparent ease and juggling agendas nonstop with an eye
towards the finish line, the weekend or the wrap party. Many of us
manage to accomplish quite a lot -- with acceptable results.
Alan Boyd seems to be able to do it all, with exceptional results, a chuckle and a warm, friendly smile.
Alan
and I originally met as a result of a suggestion by fellow
musician/recording artist and deep-dish Brian Wilson/Beach Boys
enthusiast (and UM native) Sean Macreavy. Sean and I were recording
pals/musicians with a feverish taste for Hawthorne (read: the artistry
of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys) and Sean had mentioned that Alan
was someone I should connect with.
Upon
visiting my hometown of Berkeley, CA, I sought to look up Alan, who at
the time was residing in the Oakland foothills and working on an
industrial film projects for NASA. That’s correct, NASA – not waiting
tables with a "Cheddar or Swiss?" dialog, or pounding phone sales to
unsuspecting victims of Long Distance service like many of us musician
cats, but directing and editing epic shorts for the folks who like to
step out in inner and outer space. Not your typical creative
type/starving artist, this Alan – naturally I was intrigued.
Sean
had told me of Alan’s musical abilities (and his passion for the
California sound). Sean then played me cassettes of a few brilliant
Boyd demos that were floating around at the time: "Down South In San
Diego" (a tune marinated in Southern California-styled harmonies – so
much so that a grey-area Japanese edition of Brian Wilson’s Sweet Insanity album included it as a bonus track), the fabulous "Channel Surfing" and "Everybody’s Waiting."
"Down
South In San Diego" was the theme song to an original ENDLESS SUMMER
QUARTERLY – Brian Wilson/Beach Boys appreciation convention, actually
held in
San Diego. "ESQ" as it’s affectionately known, was and remains to this day a stellar Brian Wilson/Beach Boys publication.
What
a concept – to create an original theme for a group of fellow musical
enthusiasts of the California Sound! The song was played at the
convention at various times to an ecstatic reaction, and became a gift
and a memory of that wonderful day of fellowship. For the uninitiated,
viewing these Beach Boys gatherings is almost the equivalent of
watching Star Trek fans -- BB enthusiasts meeting and drooling over
various memorabilia, exchanging stories, sharing music and generally
bonding and telling ourselves and each other, "we’re not nuts for
digging The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson!"
But
back to Alan and our meeting and the Oakland hills... So not only was
Alan at this time an accomplished editor and director, supporting
himself with one of his many creative outlets, but he was also a unique
recording artist who was creating a truly organic buzz among
enthusiasts of harmony and production. CHANNEL SURFING (as the
informal 6-song cassette was then titled) was slipping around the
nation and across the pond to the UK and Japan. Along the collectors’
pipeline it sailed...
I
suspected that Alan would someday move to Los Angeles to pursue his
talents Down South, and I may have even suggested the no-brainer
concept. I selfishly also thought that it would be great to have a
like-minded creative pal of integrity in the town of "let’s get
together – no really!"
Flash
forward to present day 2004: Alan made it Down South and has directed,
produced and/or edited a staggering array of top-drawer film and
television projects – let’s list a few:
ENDLESS HARMONY (Grammy-nominated documentary on the history of The Beach Boys)
HEY HEY, WE’RE THE MONKEES! (Disney Channel bio on the pre-fab Four)
NASHVILLE SOUNDS (The Beach Boys’ meet Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, et al)
MARIANNE FAITHFULL: DREAMING MY DREAMS (The Saga of a True Survivor)
BRIAN WILSON 1999 TOUR FILM (The “Opening Act” for Brian’s first solo tour)
Boyd
also founded a flourishing stock film company that continues to provide
classic b-roll footage to the cinematic faithful in Tinseltown…
But
the music endured. That back burner flame of recording was kept
aglow. Alan continued to chip away at ideas in L.A., meeting and
collaborating with various songwriters and musicians and foraging
through several home studios and a vast number of recording formats.
Nice
musical things happened along the way while Alan continued to direct
and edit Film & TV: Yours Truly suggested to Cary Mansfield of
Varese Sarabande Records that "Channel Surfing" would make an ideal
addition to THE WARMTH OF THE SUN – SONGS INSPIRED BY THE BEACH BOYS,
and Alan’s track was in great company, nestled in with legendary cuts
by Sagittarius, Yellow Balloon, Eric Carmen and First Class. Senior VP
of A&R for Universal Music Enterprises Andy McKaie was quoted in
conversation as saying that "Channel Surfing" was his favorite track on
the compilation. Timothy White, the late editor-in-chief of Billboard
enthusiastically hailed "Channel Surfing" in a special front page
article. The buzz was on.
And
now, Alan has finally decided to get up onstage and sing - a recent
performance at The Troubadour in L.A. boasted an all-star group of
California’s finest session cats and harmonists. The reception was so
positive that Alan has finally decided to gather up and release his
various "Beached Boyd" recordings, along with a couple of excerpts from
recent silent movie scores that he's prepared for American Movie
Classics and the Classic Arts Channel, and a tune specially recorded
for a Harry Nilsson fan gathering.
Finally, here’s an answer to The Question that keeps popping up on Beach Boys fan websites:
"Who's singing that "Down In San Diego" song?”
Elliot
Kendall is a recording artist, reissue producer, liner notes author,
radio promoter
and musicologist who resides in Los Angeles. he scored
the Showtime film THE EFFECTS OF MAGIC and cast the studio musicians
and appeared in the ABC/Columbia/Tri-star TV miniseries THE BEACH BOYS
- AN AMERICAN BAND. Mr. Kendall is a longtime friend of Mr. Boyd.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
ALAN BOYD
CHANNEL SURFING
ALBUM LINER NOTES by ELLIOT KENDALL
Alan Boyd is a true musical Renaissance Man of the new millennium.
We
originally met as a result of a suggestion by fellow recording artist
and deep-dish Brian Wilson/Beach Boys enthusiast Sean Macreavy. Sean
told me of Alan’s musical abilities, and played me cassettes of some
brilliant Boyd demos that were floating around at the time: the
fabulous "Channel Surfing," "Everybody’s Waiting," and "Down South In
San Diego," the latter theme songs for an ENDLESS SUMMER QUARTERLY
Beach Boys appreciation convention in San Diego, CA. The song was
played at the convention to an ecstatic reaction, and became a gift and
a memory of that wonderful day of fellowship.
It
was clear that Alan was a unique recording artist who was creating a
truly organic buzz among enthusiasts of harmony and production. Channel Surfing
(as the informal 6-song CD was then titled) was slipping around the
nation and across the pond to the UK and Japan. Along the collectors’
pipeline it sailed, and eventually it found its way into the hands of a
few key folks in Beach Boy Land...
...Which
led to Alan himself becoming involved with The Beach Boys. An
accomplished filmmaker and archivist, Alan was soon directing and
editing several films about the group (he received a Grammy nomination
for his definitive 1998 documentary, ENDLESS HARMONY), and producing
some highly acclaimed Beach Boys’ archival compilations.
Meanwhile,
the music endured. That back burner flame of recording was kept aglow
as Alan continued to chip away, meeting and collaborating with various
songwriters and musicians and foraging through several home studios and
a vast number of recording formats.
When
Cary Mansfield of Varese Sarabande Records added “Channel Surfing” to
the compilation “THE WARMTH OF THE SUN – Songs Inspired By The Beach
Boys,” Senior VP of A&R for Universal Music Enterprises Andy
McKaie was heard saying that it was his favorite track on the
compilation. Timothy White, the late editor-in-chief of Billboard
enthusiastically hailed "Channel Surfing" in a special front page
article. The buzz was on.
A
recent Boyd performance at The Troubadour in L.A. boasted an all-star
group of California’s finest session cats and harmonists. The
reception was so positive that Alan has finally decided to gather up
and release his various "Beached Boyd" recordings, along with a couple
of excerpts from recent silent movie scores that he's prepared for
American Movie Classics and the Classic Arts Channel, and a tune
specially recorded for a Harry Nilsson fan gathering.
Finally,
here’s an answer to The Question that keeps popping up on Beach Boys
fan websites: "Who's singing that "Down In San Diego" song?”
Elliot Kendall is a recording artist, reissue producer, liner notes author, radio promoter and musicologist who resides in Los Angeles. He scored the Showtime film THE EFFECTS OF MAGIC and cast the studio musicians and appeared in the ABC/Columbia/Tri-Star TV miniseries THE BEACH BOYS - AN AMERICAN BAND. Mr. Kendall is a longtime friend of Mr. Boyd.
