Brian Wilson Band
Brian Wilson Band | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Pet Sounds Band (2025–present) |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres |
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| Years active | 1999–2022, 2025–present |
| Associated acts | |
The Brian Wilson Band, also known as the Pet Sounds Band (from 2025), is an American touring ensemble that served as the backing band for Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson from 1999 until his retirement in 2022. The band was largely drawn from the Los Angeles power-pop group the Wondermints, supplemented by Chicago-based session musicians who had recorded with Wilson on his 1998 solo album Imagination. Under the musical direction of keyboardist Darian Sahanaja, the ensemble accompanied Wilson on continuous international touring for over two decades, performing the complete Pet Sounds album live, staging the long-delayed premiere of SMiLE, and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Pet Sounds. Following Wilson's retirement and his death in June 2025, Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine reassembled the band's core members in 2025 under the name the Pet Sounds Band to continue performing Wilson's music as a tribute.
Background and formation (1998–1999)
Brian Wilson had largely avoided touring for most of his adult life, citing anxiety and mental health difficulties stemming from a breakdown in late 1964. After the death of his brother Carl Wilson in February 1998, the Beach Boys' stable touring lineup dissolved. Wilson's third solo album, Imagination, released in June 1998, prompted plans for his first proper solo tour.
In late 1998, Wilson's wife Melinda approached the management of the Wondermints, an LA-based power-pop group formed in the early 1990s by guitarist Nick Walusko and keyboardist Darian Sahanaja. The Wondermints had come to Wilson's attention through a tribute concert in Hollywood and subsequent informal meetings. Multi-instrumentalist Probyn Gregory, who played horns with the Wondermints, was also recruited. The Wondermints members — Sahanaja, Walusko, percussionist Mike D'Amico, and Gregory — were joined by Chicago-based musicians Scott Bennett (various instruments), Paul Von Mertens (woodwinds), Bob Lizik (bass), and vocalist Taylor Mills, all of whom had worked with Wilson on the Imagination sessions. Former Beach Boys touring musician Jeffrey Foskett, who had toured and recorded with the group since the early 1980s, joined as lead vocalist and musical director alongside Sahanaja.
The band's first shows took place in March 1999. Wilson initially toured in support of Imagination, but the setlist quickly evolved into a wide-ranging survey of Beach Boys classics and album tracks rarely heard in concert. Wilson's first live album, Live at the Roxy Theatre, recorded in West Hollywood in October 1999 and released in 2000, documents the band in their earliest formation.
History
Imagination and early touring era (1999–2003)
The band toured the United States, Japan, and Europe throughout 1999 and 2000. The ensemble developed a reputation for unusually meticulous reproduction of Wilson's studio recordings, with each member studying the original arrangements in depth. Probyn Gregory has described learning to tune a bicycle horn to the correct pitch for a passage in "You Still Believe in Me" as emblematic of the group's approach.[citation needed]
Wilson's drummer from this era was Jim Hines, who held the position from 1999 through 2008. D'Amico, who had served as the Wondermints' drummer, transitioned to percussion alongside vocalist Taylor Mills. Nelson Bragg joined as additional percussionist in 2004. D'Amico's tenure as a regular touring member was interrupted between 2001 and 2002, during which Andy Paley — who had collaborated with Wilson on an unreleased album project in the mid-1990s — served in his place.
SMiLE and the Pet Sounds live era (2004–2011)
The band's most celebrated achievement came in 2004 when they performed the premiere of Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE at the Royal Festival Hall in London, completing a project Wilson had abandoned in 1967. The performance was met with widespread critical acclaim and was subsequently toured internationally, with the accompanying studio album released to universal praise. The SMiLE sessions required the band to master complex, unconventional arrangements that had never been performed live, a task Wilson credited Sahanaja with leading.[citation needed]
Concurrently, the band continued performing the complete Pet Sounds album at dedicated concerts around the world. Paul Von Mertens, playing woodwinds, and Probyn Gregory, on brass and theremin, were central to reproducing the album's dense studio textures live. Jeffrey Foskett served as the band's lead vocalist and musical co-director throughout this period. Al Jardine, co-founder of the Beach Boys, joined Wilson's touring band for select dates from November 2006 through January 2007 before the collaboration was interrupted by legal disputes among the Beach Boys.
Beach Boys 50th Anniversary reunion (2012)
In 2012, the original surviving members of the Beach Boys — Wilson, Jardine, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks — reunited for the 50th Anniversary Tour. Most of Wilson's touring band formed the backbone of the reunion ensemble. The tour ran from April through October 2012 before the reunion dissolved amid reported disagreements. The gap in Wilson's solo touring activity this year is reflected in his band's history as a hiatus year.
Post-reunion era and continued touring (2013–2022)
Following the dissolution of the reunion, Wilson resumed solo touring in 2013 with a reconstituted band that included several returning members alongside new additions. Al Jardine rejoined as a permanent touring member. David Marks and Blondie Chaplin, both former Beach Boys, appeared during the 2013–2014 run. Jeffrey Foskett's final show with Wilson took place on January 20, 2014. Matt Jardine, son of Al Jardine, assumed a permanent vocal role from 2014.
Scott Bennett, who had been with Wilson since the 1998 Imagination sessions, was arrested on assault charges in December 2014 and was not retained for subsequent touring.[1] Gary Griffin, a Chicago-based keyboardist, joined as Bennett's replacement in mid-2015. Blondie Chaplin also returned in a full-time role in 2015.
The 50th anniversary of Pet Sounds in 2016 prompted another major international tour performing the album in full. Rob Bonfiglio joined as an additional lead guitarist and took over duties in 2019 after founding member Nick Walusko died on August 7, 2019, while on tour in Buffalo, New York.[2] Wilson's final performance took place on July 26, 2022, after which his family announced he had been diagnosed with dementia and would not continue touring. He died on June 11, 2025.
The Pet Sounds Band (2025–present)
In 2025, Al Jardine announced the formation of the Pet Sounds Band and began reassembling core members of Wilson's former touring band.[3] Led by Darian Sahanaja as musical director, the group includes Matt Jardine, Bob Lizik, Mike D'Amico, Jim Laspesa, Gary Griffin, Rob Bonfiglio, Paul Von Mertens, and new members Debbie Shair (keyboards/backing vocals) and Emeen Zarookian (guitar/keyboards/backing vocals). The band's touring show is presented as a tribute to Brian Wilson and performs material from across the Beach Boys and Wilson solo catalogue.
Members
Current members
Bold Denotes Beach Boys members
- Al Jardine – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, (November 2006–January 2007, 2013–2022, 2025–present)
- Darian Sahanaja – keyboards, lead vocals, musical director (1999–2022, 2025–present)
- Bob Lizik – bass (1999–2022, 2025–present)
- Paul Von Mertens – woodwinds, brass (1999–2022, 2025–present)
- Mike D'Amico – drums (2008–2022, 2025–present), percussion, guitar, and backing vocals (1999–2001, 2002–2004)
- Matt Jardine – lead vocals, guitar (2014–2022, 2025–present)
- Rob Bonfiglio – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals (2018–2022, 2025–present)
- Gary Griffin – keyboards, backing and lead vocals (2015–2022, 2025–present)
- Jim Laspesa – percussion, backing and lead vocals (2018–2022, 2025–present)
- Debbie Shair – keyboards, backing vocals (2025–present)
- Emeen Zarookian – rhythm guitar, keyboard, backing vocals (2025–present)
Former members
- Brian Wilson – lead and backing vocals, piano (1999–2022; died June 11, 2025)
- Jeffrey Foskett – lead vocals, guitar (1999–January 20, 2014)
- Nick Walusko – lead guitar, vocals (1999–August 7, 2019; died on tour)
- Scott Bennett – keyboards, vocals (1999–mid-2015)
- Taylor Mills – backing vocals, percussion (1999–2011)
- Jim Hines – drums (1999–2008)
- Nelson Bragg – percussion, vocals (2004–2018)
- Blondie Chaplin – guitar, vocals (2013–2014, 2015–2022)
- David Marks – guitar, vocals (2013–2014)
- Brian Eichenberger – vocals (September 2014–January 2015)
- Andy Paley – percussion (2001–2002)
- Billy Hinsche – keyboards (substitute, 2016)
Member timeline
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Discography
Live albums
- Live at the Roxy Theatre (2000)
- Pet Sounds Live (2002)
- Brian Wilson and Friends (2016)
See also
References
External links
This article "Brian Wilson Band" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Brian Wilson Band. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
