Interviews

Q: You presented the SMiLEtracks to the Beach Boys when they returned from the tour. I seem to recall, with the exception of Dennis, there seemed to be some real hesitancy from band mates to really get involved singing to these instrumentals. Mike Love did not like the stuff presented.

A: No he didn’t.

Q And some other band members weren’t super thrilled, either.

Q: And some didn’t like Van Dyke Parks’ lyrics.

A: Right.

Growing up, the younger Jaffe never intended to become the caretaker of the Preservation Hall legacy. In fact, he never thought he would be a professional musician. Coming of age in the musty rooms, dank carriageway, and inner courtyard of Preservation Hall—the French Quarter’s living shrine to traditional New Orleans jazz—Jaffe assumed music would play a secondary role in his life.

Q: During Pet Sounds and then SMiLE, the recording studio became an instrument.

A: Yes. It became an environment to record music. It’s a place to make music. Right?

Q: How about working with engineers like Chuck Britz at Western, Stan Ross and Larry Levine and Doc Siegel at Gold Star. Then, Bruce Botnick at Sunset Sound, along with several engineers at Columbia, including Ralph Balantin and a session for “Vege-Tables” with Armin Steiner at his studio.

A: The best trip is that they know music. They are good at music and engineering, too.

This interview, conducted by Matthew Greenwald back in 1997, first appeared in issue 14 of The Tracking Angle. As Rhino readies the new Doors LP box set (now set for April, 2008), we figured it was a good time to present it here-ed.

Part II:Building Gold Star Studios, Phil Spector and Alvin & The Chipmunks Come to Play:

FREMER: Where did you get all this (recording)stuff?

ROSS: We bought the parts. There were no recording consoles available. We had a broadcast console that was available to us. It was a stereo console because one channel was for cuing and the right was for the air. It was gorgeous. A guy had this wonderful board with the colored knobs and [it was] just what we wanted. And so we got it for a good price and I said, ah, we got the console.

FREMER: So you had to make an investment. So you had to have savings? You borrowed?

ROSS: We borrowed the difference, whatever. Hey, I wasn’t a GI so I had a problem. Anyway, we found out that this console was hot. [LAUGHTER]