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Original Beach Boy sends ‘A Postcard from California’

Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine will present “A Postcard from California,” featuring Beach Boys and his solo songs, from Thursday, June 7, through Sunday, June 10, at the Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St. The show opens at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 6 p.m. on Sunday. Thursday tickets range from $43-$70. Tickets for Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances range from $49 to $80. For information and tickets, visit http://www.parkcityshows.com or call 435-649-9371.

Al Jardine wants to share “A Postcard from California” with Park City.

The singer, one of the founding members of The Beach Boys, will play a string of concerts starting Thursday at the Egyptian Theatre.

“It will be what the title suggests: ‘A Postcard from California: from the Very First Song,’” Jardine said.



The show will start with recorded narration by Jardine.

We were known for our harmonies. So we were more like a chorus that played instruments…” Al Jardine,Beach Boys co-founder

“I talk about taking the audience back into time to the living room of Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, as we look through the glass window of our first recording session in Hawthorne, California,” Jardine said.



Then a rough recording of “Surfin’,” The Beach Boys’ first hit, released in 1961, will start to play.

“I’ll then come out and pick up a double bass and we finish the song live,” Jardine said.

The ‘we’ is Jardine’s band, featuring his son Matt on guitar and percussion and keyboardist Jeff Ross.

The concert will feature other Beach Boys hits, including “Surfin’ Safari,” “Surfer Girl,” “Little Deuce Coupe,” “Barbara Ann” and “Good Vibrations.”

The idea is to highlight The Beach Boys’ songs, and pay tribute to main songwriter and Jardine’s friend, Brian Wilson.

“He was a very clever songwriter who could write the most beautiful melodies,” Jardine said. “He also came from a family that had wonderful singers — his brothers Dennis and Carl and cousin Mike Love. And then there was me. And we were a cauldron of creativity.”

The Beach Boys songs highlighted Southern California culture.

“One of those elements was surfing, which was reality of the West Coast experience,” Jardine said.

Although the Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, Jardine doesn’t consider the band a rock band.

“We were a pop band,” he said. “Yes, we could rock. Carl wanted to rock, but his brother wrote such beautiful songs, and we were known for our harmonies. So we were more like a chorus that played instruments”

The songwriting is one of the big reasons why the songs have lasted all these years, Jardine said.

“Brian also had a wonderful singing voice,” Jardine said. “His range was outstanding, and he and his family all had a capacity for outstanding singing.”

Jardine, who quit the The Beach Boys for a spell to go back to school, said it was Brian Wilson who badgered him to go back to the band.

“Brian told me that I needed to get back because he couldn’t work with his dad,” Jardine said, referring to Wilson’s the much-publicized abuse at the hands of his father, Murry. “I felt compassion for Brian. So I went back.”

Jardine said he also missed playing the music with his friends.

“You learn a lot by watching and listening,” he said. “I was very fortunate to get a music lesson from Brian. Mike was also quite a lyricist. Carl was a great guitarist and Dennis was a damn good drummer, considering he never played drums before.

“Your game increases if you surround yourself with people who know more about what you need to do than you do,” Jardine said. “If you surround yourself with bad people, you could turn out another way, on all levels.”

Jardine said he is thankful to have the chance to play Beach Boys songs live today.

“It’s a miracle, because all the bands I idolized growing up lasted no more than 10 years,” he said. “So we are celebrating now.”

The celebration includes releasing a new album called “Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,” which will be released June 8.

“It’s a reconstruction of our vocal harmonies with new arrangements,” Jardine said. “It makes the music sound like new.”

Then there’s Jardine’s trio who are currently on tour.

“What we do is deconstruct the same songs that are on the symphony album into the most elemental forms,” he said. “It’s also fun telling the stories of how we made the records throughout our different eras.”

Jardine will also celebrate the re-release of his 2010 album “A Postcard from California” on vinyl in two months.

“We just closed the deal today,” he said. “Vinyl is popular again. So it will be great for people to be able to hold the record in their hands and see the artwork on the cover.”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated for spelling. 


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