Music icons The Beach Boys enlisted
Al Gomes and Connie Watrous to run the band's successful publicity campaign that helped win them their first-ever Grammy
Award for Best Historical Album for their box set 'The Smile
Sessions.' In the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' 50-year
career, The Beach Boys had never won a Grammy Award from
the Voting Members of The Recording Academy. That all changed
on February 10, 2013 at the 55th Annual celebration when
music history was finally made. The news sent ripples around
the world. The New York Times declared, "The Drought is
Over!"
Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson and box set producers Alan Boyd and Dennis Wolfe accepted their Grammy Awards with words of thanks to The Beach Boys, extended family, and Al and Connie.
- Watch the Acceptance
Speech -
On August 9, 2017, Al Gomes and Connie Watrous conceived, produced and MC'd a
commemoration ceremony on-stage with The Beach Boys which honored the 40th
Anniversary of the band performing for the largest concert audience EVER
assembled in the history of the State of Rhode Island - over 40,000 fans
on September 2, 1977 at the Narragansett Park Race Track in Pawtucket, RI - a record that has never been
broken.
Al and Connie were also successful
in getting the stretch of street where the concert stage
stood forever renamed as 'Beach Boys Way.'
The ceremony included
Grammy Award-winning Beach Boys producer Alan Boyd; Pawtucket,
RI Mayor Donald Grebien; East Providence, RI Mayor James
Briden; representatives of Rhode Island Governor Gina Marie
Raimondo, and United States Senator Jack Reed. In addition
to the unveiling of The Beach Boys' street sign, the band
also received citations from the State of Rhode Island and
the United States Senate, the Cities of Pawtucket, RI and
East Providence, RI (also a host city of the historic concert)
declaring it 'Beach Boys Day,' and the City of East Providence,
RI giving The Beach Boys the coveted Key to the City.
You'll find 'Beach Boys Way' at the corner of
511 Narragansett Park Drive in
Pawtucket, RI in the USA.
- Watch Commemoration Ceremony -
From left to right:
Linda Tominsky, Connie Watrous, Adam Tominsky (whose business
property the street sign is located on), Beach Boy Bruce
Johnston, East Providence Mayor James Briden, Pawtucket
Mayor Donald Grebien, Beach Boy Mike Love, Grammy Award
winner and Beach Boys Producer
Alan Boyd, Al Gomes, and East Providence Assistant Mayor
Robert Britto. Click
for bigger photo
On September 21, 2017, because
of Al Gomes and Connie Watrous' efforts and research,
The Beach Boys were honored by Roger Williams University
for a significant historic event in their career - the band's
concert on September 22, 1971 at The Ramada Inn in Portsmouth,
RI.
The concert was the first-ever appearance of South African
Ricky Fataar and Filipino Billy Hinsche as members in the
band, essentially changing the Beach Boys' live and recording
act's line-up into a multi-cultural group. This shifted
the band into an essential and important creative period
from 1971-1974 that included the recording of their stellar
'Holland' LP, and Rolling Stone magazine naming them 'Band
of the Year.' Also on hand at the celebration was Grammy Award-winning producer-engineer Rob Fraboni
(who worked on the 'Holland' album) as one of the guests of honor.
Diversity is a credo of Roger Williams University, which is why they chose to celebrate this moment in the band's history. The school, along with Al and Connie, unveiled plaques at the site of the 1971
concert in Portsmouth, RI (now the Baypoint Inn & Conference Center), hosted
a special Beach Boys-themed dinner in the dining hall, and
transformed the outer reaches of the hall into a beach party
for guests.
Al Gomes assisted Alan Boyd with the
selection of tracks for The Beach Boys' career-spanning
box set, 'Made In California,' which led to the inclusion
of ten of Al's choices to the collection including 'Sound
of Free,' 'Had to Phone Ya (Instrumental),' and 'Why Don't
They Let Us Fall In Love.'
Al and Connie Watrous also assisted Alan with the compilation album 'Sunshine Tomorrow' including hosting a Focus Group of Beach Boys fans and friends including Clara Reed, Jay Hurd, Dave and June Spencer, Bob and Jo-Ann Pagano, and Martha Eno to help with the selection of tracks. 'Sunshine Tomorrow' celebrates the 50th Anniversary of The Beach Boys'
1967 album 'Wild Honey' and included the album's first-ever complete stereo
mix.
Al, Connie, and friends also contributed to the box sets that followed:
'Wake the World: The Friends Sessions'(View Credits), 'I Can Hear Music : The 20/20 Sessions'(View Credits), and the critically acclaimed 'Feel Flows,' which debuted at #1 on Amazon Music (Complete Details).
In addition, Al assisted Capitol Records with
marketing and publicity for the box set, 'The Beach Boys U.S. Singles Collection -
The Capitol Years (1962-1965).'
In 2016, Al Gomes conceived and co-produced,
along with Grammy Award-winning Beach Boys producer, archivist
and historian Alan Boyd and Connie Watrous, a spoken
word tribute CD called 'The Works of Stephen J. Kalinich
- Be Still'. The stellar collection included performances of
legendary Beach Boys lyricist Kalinich's poetry by Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson; acclaimed actors
Stacy Keach, James Michael Tyler ('Friends'), Ralph Brown ('Star Wars : The Phantom Menace'), Jenny Jules (Critics' Circle Theatre Award Winner),
Emmy Award nominee Rose Weaver, and Samaire Armstrong ('The O.C.,' 'Entourage'); Grammy Award nominee
Lisa Haley; author and musician Tracy Landecker; along
with performances by Al, Connie, Alan, and Stephen.
The Recording Academy placed the album on its
Official Ballot for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Spoken
Word Album. Listen to the album and read more info
Al says, 'This has turned out to be one of the best projects I've ever
worked on. What an incredible gathering of talent. Thanks to all who gave of themselves - and to all those who listen.' Connie added, 'It aligned with the stars so quickly and everyone involved
came into it with a beautiful spirit and worked so hard to make it happen
with the purest of hearts.' Listen here
Dennis Wilson Al Gomes ran the creative strategy for Sony Music for the re-release of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's masterpiece, 'Pacific Ocean Blue.'
Billy Hinsche Al
Gomes coordinated and produced the East Coast Premiere Screening of longtime Beach Boys tour member Billy Hinsche's film,
'1974 - On the Road with The Beach Boys,' which included
a Q&A session with Billy and the audience, and a live show
afterparty.
Blondie Chaplin On September 29, 2017, Al Gomes and Connie Watrous presented a copy of the plaque from Roger Williams University to Beach Boy Blondie Chaplin at The Zeiterion Theatre
in New Bedford, MA. He had joined The Beach Boys five months after Ricky Fataar joined, essentially changing the band's live and recording
act's line-up into a multi-cultural group. Blondie's response to the sold-out audience at the
'Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds' show : "I played a lot in these parts in 1971, and it's nice to be remembered this way."
Al handled the publicity and promotion for Blondie's recording project, The Young Presidents. The album was produced by Rob Fraboni (who brought Al into the project), the engineerer and mixer for The Beach Boys' classic album 'Holland.'
Alan Boyd Al Gomes is representing
Beach Boys producer, archivist, and filmmaker Alan Boyd's
work as a producer and composer. Upon receiving his Grammy
Award on-stage for The Beach Boys' 'The Smile Sessions,'
Alan thanked Al Gomes and Big Noise personally for running
a successful publicity campaign that scored the box set
a win.
David Marks Al Gomes oversaw the publicity campaign for Beach Boy David Marks' career-spanning
collection, 'The Lost Years.'
Stephen
J. Kalinich Al Gomes oversaw the marketing and publicity
for the original releases of Beach Boys lyricist Stephen
Kalinich's music tribute CDs 'California Feeling' and 'California
Feeling 2,' as well as submitting the albums to The Grammy
Awards in multiple categories. In addition, Al was instrumental
in bringing together Stephen and Neil
Innes (Monty Python / The Rutles) to write a new
track together called 'This Is A Song About Me' for the
second collection.
In the summer of 2020, Al and
Connie Watrous were tasked with the mission of re-releasing
the 'California Feeling' collections including overseeing
new track sequences, new artwork (featuring Stephen's paintings),
and the full worldwide release. Each of the now new Four
Volumes of the collection tells a unique story.
'California Feeling' is now
available on all major digital platforms including Spotify
and YouTube.
The collection features amazing
tracks by Beach Boy David Marks, Carnie Wilson and Wendy
Wilson (Wilson Phillips), Mary Wilson (The Supremes), actor
Stacy Keach, The Honeys, Dennis Wilson's son Carl B. Wilson,
Beach Boys producer Alan Boyd, pop singer Evie Sands, Brian
Wilson's musical director Probyn Gregory, and more.
Journalist and music critic
Brent Wootten (Salon) chose 'Volume One' of the compilations
Al and Connie put together as one of his 'Top 20 Albums
of 2020.' Brent : "I was delighted that so many of
my favorite artists treated us to their best work in years
(Lucinda Williams, Rufus Wainwright, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney,
The Flaming Lips, Shelby Lynne, Jeff Tweedy, and Fleet Foxes),
while 'California Feeling: The Songs of Stephen Kalinich
and Friends Volume One' - a tribute to the poet and Beach
Boys collaborator - offers contemporary takes on the classic
California sound." Here's
Brent's 'Top 20 Albums of 2020'
Mark Linett Grammy Award-winning Beach Boys producer Mark Linett was crucial in enlisting Al Gomes and Connie Watrous to run the successful campaign that won The Beach Boys their first-ever Grammy Award.
Adam Marsland Recording artist and producer's acclaimed
tribute project
to Dennis and Carl Wilson (featuring Alan Boyd). Al Gomes
was responsible for Dennis Wilson appearing on the Official
Ballot for The Grammy Awards as a songwriter for the very
first time for Dennis' unreleased track 'Wouldn't It Be
Nice to Live Again,' performed by Adam and his band.
Richie Cannata The Beach Boys, Al Jardine and Billy
Joel touring member enlisted Al Gomes to oversee the publicity and promotion campaign
for his acclaimed self-titled CD.
Fred
Simon Al Gomes served as Producer along with
the brilliant Fred Simon for the remastering and re-release
of an incredible collection of solo piano interpretations
by Fred of iconic pop classics by The Beach Boys. Connie
Watrous and Grammy Award-winning Beach Boys producer Alan
Boyd (who chose the cover photo) assisted heavily with the
project. The album was placed on the Official Ballot for
the 61st Annual Grammy Awards by The Recording Academy for
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Further validation
of the recording was achieved when The Beach Boys' official
magazine ESQ posted a rave review of the album. Read
it here Listen
to the album
'Just beautiful' - Mike Love of The Beach Boys
James Michael Tyler ('Friends') In July 2021, Al Gomes and Connie Watrous, along
with two-time Emmy Nominee Tim Labonte and Grammy Award winner Alan Boyd,
conceptualized and created a short film for James Michael's spoken word
performance entitled 'If You Knew,' written by Beach Boys lyricist Stephen Kalinch. The new video for 'If You Knew' was produced to honor James Michael and also create
a fundraiser for the organization that was working closely with him, the
Prostate Cancer Foundation. All the streaming proceeds of the video, and
Tyler's original recording, are being donated to the Prostate Cancer
Foundation. Complete Details |
News Article |
Video on YouTube
Toys for Tots at Beach Boys Way In honor of the The Beach Boys' favorite holiday charity since 1965, Al Gomes and Connie Watrous arranged for 'Beach Boys Way' to become an Official Drop-Off Site for Toys for Tots. Press | Drop-Off Day
Brian Wilson's Milestone Birthday In honor of Brian Wilson turning 80 years old, Al Gomes and Connie Watous contacted Brian's birthplace, Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, CA.
Working with Molly Lawson, Director of Business Development and
Marketing, the hospital celebrated and honored Brian on his birthday, designating it as 'Brian Wilson Day,'
decorating the entrance lobby, the cafeteria, and the coffee shop in a surfing theme
and prepared a special menu for the day. Beach Boys music was heard
throughout the hospital for the entire day on their sound system. A special gigantic cake
with a graphic of Brian was made by one of Molly's staff.
The topper was a Certificate of Recognition from the hospital to present
to Brian himself. The plaque is now permanently in the entrance lobby of the hospital. View the certificate.
Al and Connie also coordinated a Zoom call with Brian Wilson, Probyn Gregory of Brian's touring band, Molly and
her staff at Centinela Hospital, Beach Boy Blondie Chaplin, Grammy Award-winning Beach Boys producers Alan Boyd and Mark Linett, Two-time Emmy Award Nominee Tim Labonte (who produced the Zoom call), and others.
