Beach Boys fill stadium in wake of Watt hoopla

SAN DIEGO—It was hard to imagine a more wholesome scene than the one Sunday afternoon at Jack Murphy Stadium: It was a sunny Mother’s Day, the Padres had just beaten the Cubs and the Beach Boys were giving a concert before more than 50,000 exuberant fans.

As the band churned out hits like “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “California Girls” from a stage behind second base, preschoolers and grandparents were among the hundreds of people in a spirited conga-like line that skipped its way through the stadium’s loge level.

The family nature of the gathering underscored why Interior Secretary James Watt’s decision to ban the Beach Boys from the annual July 4th celebration on the Capitol Mall has been ridiculed as one of the most hapless judgment calls since the Titanic was proclaimed seaworthy.

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By declaring last month that rock groups like the Beach Boys attract an “undesirable element,” Watt managed to transform a band that is more than a decade past its artistic peak into a national symbol. Some of the Beach Boys—especially Carl Wilson—are tired of the Watt hoopla and prefer to concentrate on the group’s music.

But the fans seemed eager to make a statement Sunday. For some, the cheering—even the over-cheering—was meant merely as a sign of support for the Beach Boys. For others, however, the afternoon’s celebration had a deeper ring.

Explained Randy Williams, 34, of San Diego: “I think Watt really hit a nerve. People feel so helpless when the government is involved. We’re out of jobs but they tell us to just be patient, that everything is getting better.

“Usually the issues are so complex or politicians speak in such double talk that you don’t know what’s going on. But here was something real simple; the Beach Boys. I don’t think Watt is any worse than most of them, but he gave us an easy target. He gave us a chance to strike back.”

Sunday wasn’t the first time that Pax Productions and the Padres teamed up to present the Beach Boys as part of a baseball/music doubleheader. The group also played after a Padres game here last year.

But there wasn’t the sense of mission then, observers agreed. The reason the Beach Boys, now into their third decade of making records, are such big news again is simple: Watt.

Radio station KIOO-FM, which helped promote Sunday, had even invited the Cabinet member to the game. When he sent regrets, the station decided to distribute paper Watt masks to everyone at he game.

But these plans were canceled after word from the Beach Boys’ organization that the band wanted to make the Watt uproar behind them, explained a station representative.

The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson, who watched the Padres game from one of the luxury boxes behind home plate, grimaced when a reporter mentioned Watt.

“I’m really tired of all that nonsense,” he said. “I’m into music. I’ve got a new solo album that is just out and I’m serious about what we’re (the Beach Boys) are doing. People sometimes think a band that has been together this long takes things for granted, but you still have your pride at stake when you step up on stage. When we do a poor show, it drives me nuts.”

Wilson acknowledged that he was touched by the outpouring of support following Watt’s statement.

“I’m not talking about Nancy Reagan or the White House staff,” he said. “I’m talking about the way the public responded. You pick up papers and you see all the man-in-the-street interviews and people saying ‘I love the Beach Boys’ or whatever. It makes you feel wonderful.

However, Mike Love, who handles most of the lead vocals, didn’t flinch when Watt’s name was mentioned. “I’m having a field day,” he said, very upbeat as he stood among the cameramen in the band’s dressing room moments before going on stage. “I’m even thinking about writing a song” called ‘Watt’s Not Happening.’”

Pausing to make sure the reporter got the pun, Love continued: “This whole thing has stimulated me. It has given me a chance to use our ‘celebrity’ (status) to express some of my ideas on things other than music . . . the chance to make statements on the redwoods and the way we’re screwing up the coastline with all the offshore drilling . . . and the way we let millions of pounds of grain rot while people are starving around the world.”

Would he ever run for office?

“No,” he quipped, “I’m a musician. With Brian (Wilson) returning to the band, I think we can still do a lot of creative things. But I think we can also do things in other ways. Politicians have to be sensitive when a lot of people speak up, and they realize that a lot of people have faith in the Beach Boys. Sen. (Robert J.) Dole (R-Kan.) has already asked us to do a concert in Kansas.

“I see this as the start of a whole new movement. There’s the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, and we’re going to come out with the California Beach Party. I’d like to do a series of free shows up and down the California coast, have a million people out there having a good time. Then we could take that same spirit and concert across the country.”

At the band meeting for the stage, Tom Hulett, the Beach Boys’ manager, said that the group will do at least one July 4 show this year, maybe even afternoon and evening concerts in different cities if schedules can be arranged. He’s even working on a plan for a corporation to underwrite the concerts so they can be free.

“You ought to see my desk,” Hulett said. “You wouldn’t believe the offers that have been pouring in. The rock audience always knew what the Beach Boys stood for, but now the Beach Boys are OK with the over-40 crowd. They’re OK with the corporate people. They’re even OK with my mother.”