Surf guitars (left to right)—John Stamos, Totten, and Jeff Foskett ride the 6-string waves with vocalist Mike Love. Scott Totten earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee, performed in
Surf guitars (left to right)—John Stamos, Totten, and Jeff Foskett ride the 6-string waves with vocalist Mike Love.
Scott Totten earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee, performed in numerous Broadway musicals, and did tons of session work, but perhaps his most demanding gig has been “conducting” Brian Wilson’s brilliant studio arrangements as musical director for the Beach Boys. In addition to ensuring the band performs the music of the Beach Boys with near-impeccable precision at every single show, he has to do this job for an act that seems to be constantly on tour, as well as under the watchful eye of original Beach Boy, Mike Love.
What are some of the challenges of musical directing a band that is etched into the fabric of American rock culture?
A lot of the Beach Boys music is very orchestrated and specific. So one of the things I take very seriously is adhering to the arrangements Brian Wilson came up with in the studio—this is the guitar part, this is the organ part, this is the drum beat, this is your vocal part, and so on. I try not to take it to the point of stifling the band, but when an audience hears “California Girls,” they want to hear what they know. I’m like a conductor, actually. I have to know the score, as well as each player’s part, so if I need to, I can say, “It should be phrased like this.”
Do you get together with the band to rehearse the arrangements before each tour?
Because we’re always on tour, having a rehearsal day is a very rare thing. In the 17 years I’ve been in the band, we’ve had maybe four rehearsal days when Mike wanted to work up some new material from the catalog. But,