Beach Boys: ‘End Doesn’t Seem To Be Anywhere In Sight,’ Mike Love Says

The Beach Boys were a defining band of the 1960s, with their innovative sound inspiring a generation of musicians, and founding member Mike Love said the band is still going strong now five decades later.

The founding member of the group, who is still actively touring under its latest lineup, recently said that he sees the Beach Boys continuing to tour into the foreseeable future.

“It has been a pretty amazing career so far, and the end doesn’t seem to be anywhere in sight,” Love said.

The Beach Boys have been one of the busiest acts in music, playing an average of 150 concerts a year. The group is now made up of founding member Love and a rotation of longtime collaborators — currently Bruce Johnston, Jeffrey Foskett, Randell Kirsch, Tim Bonhomme, John Cowsill, and Scott Totten.

Love said the group has been successful because it’s sticking to its origins as a pioneer of surf rock.

“I’ve always thought of The Beach Boys as a sonic oasis,” Love said. “Our music is unique in both the subject matter and the arrangement of instrumentation, which makes for a really neat package. Our mission now is to re-create our live songs so they sound as close to the record as we possibly can. We just loved doing the music, the harmonies and singing together as kids and were just fortunate enough to have had the career that we ended up with.”

Even Love, the longest-serving member, said he is impressed with how the Beach Boys have managed to stay relevant — and popular.

“To still be going and have the songs resonate five decades later is pretty miraculous in a way,” Love said

Mike Love said he sees the power and universal appeal of the Beach Boys through the non-stop touring. At a recent show, he said he witnessed a 90-year-old fan dancing with a 9-year-old, a site he described as “amazing.”

[Image via Billboard.com]