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Los Angeles Times
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Good Vibrations: Surf City honors Beach Boy Brian Wilson with paddle out
Brian Wilson wasn't much of a surfer by his own admission, but the legendary musician captured the feeling of Southern California surf culture through his music. His legacy and contribution to the surf community brought about 150 surfers to the north side of the Huntington Beach pier Saturday morning to paddle out in memory of the Beach Boys co-founder who died June 11 at the age of 82. 'The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson had a huge part in establishing what we would call the Southern California beach culture,' said emcee and world champion surfer, Peter 'PT' Townend. A crowd of nearly 400 people gathered on the sand and on the pier overlooking the podium where Townend was joined by Kelly Miller, president and chief executive officer of Visit Huntington Beach and Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean fame, while audio speakers blared classic Beach Boys hits like 1967's 'Good Vibrations.' 'I did not personally know Brian and I did not know the Beach Boys personally but I can tell you that those harmonies, those lyrics and those crafted surf culture songs stirred my soul magically like I am sure it did all of yours,' Miller said to the crowd. The paddle out coincided with International Surfing Day, as well as few other hallmarks highlighted by Miller. 'Ten years ago we did the world's largest surfboard, yesterday was Brian's birthday and this is the first official kick off weekend of summer,' Miller said. In a statement issued June 18 by the Beach Boys, the band stated, 'Brian Wilson wasn't just the heart of the Beach Boys — he was the soul of our sound.' The original band consisted of Wilson, his brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love and neighbor Al Jardine. The Beach Boys had numerous hit songs about surf culture, including 'Surfin' Safari' and 'Surfer Girl.' Wilson also co-wrote Jan and Dean's No. 1 hit, 'Surf City' which inspired the city of Huntington Beach's nickname, Surf City U.S.A., which the city trademarked in 1994. At the paddle out, Torrence shared his story of collaborating with Wilson on the hit song. 'Jan (Berry) and I were lucky enough to meet this wonderful songwriter and record producer in the early '60s,' Torrence said. 'We, of course, were looking for material and we said, 'Brian, why don't you write a song for Jan and Dean?' ' Wilson was working on two songs that were contenders for his next single, but they both sounded pretty similar so he was willing to part with one. The songs were 'Surfin' U.S.A' and 'Surf City' and Wilson told Torrence he was leaning toward keeping 'Surfin' U.S.A' 'He said 'If you want the other song, you can finish it, I don't care,' so we took the song,' Torrence recalled. Berry and Torrence finished writing the song and invited Wilson to the studio once they were ready to record. 'He showed up and we did all the vocals and we thought it was pretty damn good,' said Torrence. 'Eight weeks later, it was the No. 1 song in the United States.' Although Wilson's cause of death has not been made public, the late musician was diagnosed with dementia and placed under a conservatorship in 2024. The 2014 film, 'Love & Mercy,' chronicled Wilson's struggles with drug addition and mental health issues. The humanizing biopic was on local Huntington Beach surfer Stacey Rhineer's mind as she carried her board to the water for the paddle out. 'I saw the movie 'Love & Mercy' and that was really special to me,' said Rhineer. 'I have been listening to the Beach Boys a lot ever since, especially Brian Wilson.' Duke Aipa, son of Hawaiian surfer and surfboard shaper Ben Aipa, began the memorial with the ceremonial blowing of the conch shell and kept the good vibrations going by leading the paddle out instruction. 'There is a little bit of a current in the water so the lifeguards are there to assist,' Aipa assured surfers before singing a Hawaiian version of the doxology, a liturgical expression of praise to God. Surfers waded into the choppy waters, guided by Aipa with flowers in hand. The group formed a circle out in the open water before riding waves back to shore. Fans on the sand also honored Wilson. Huntington Beach resident Greg Carcerano said he grew up surfing in Huntington Beach in the 1960's and considers the Beach Boys music an integral part of the surf scene. 'They have always been my favorite band and I have probably seen them in concert 10 or 15 times,' Carcerano said. Wearing a Beach Boys shirt and carrying a portable JBL speaker playing the band's music, Carcerano said he knows Beach Boy enthusiasts like himself will continue to celebrate the music Wilson gave to the world. 'Brian's legacy is that he brought joy and happiness to people through his music,' said Carcerano. 'He is going to be forever in our hearts.'
Los Angeles Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Visit Huntington Beach President and CEO Kelly Miller to retire in October
Kelly Miller wants to visit Joshua Tree. To help make that happen, he's stepping down as president and chief executive of travel marketing organization Visit Huntington Beach, effective Oct. 15. Miller, who has been at the helm of Visit Huntington Beach for 12 of the nearly 35 years he's worked in the visitor industry, decided it's a good time to retire and enjoy life with his wife. 'I do believe that as we get to the next chapter and hopefully the next third of my life, because I do want to try to live to be 100, those priorities change,' said Miller, 67, in an interview Monday. 'You have a sense in your own skull that those priorities are changing and you want to do more hobbies or travel more, and you aren't as excited about the things you used to be excited about when I was younger in the hospitality industry. 'I love to ride my bike, I love Orange County and I love Huntington Beach, and I want to really enjoy the time we have here within this region. I've never been to Joshua Tree, for example. These are the things that we talk about, but before you know it we're in the middle of COVID and all of these things start to happen.' Miller feels that under his leadership, Visit Huntington Beach has solidified Surf City's status as a premier destination for travelers, events and 'beach-wide' conventions, delivering on the brand promise of being the quintessential California beach destination. Miller, whose organization hosted the biannual Tourism Summit last month, noted that Huntington Beach welcomed 2.34 million non-Orange County visitors last year, a 4.4% increase from 2023. Roughly two-thirds of the city's visitors overall are repeat visitors. 'If you lay that foundation right and the team is delivering on what the board's expectations are, the question becomes, do you mail it in or do you look to do the next chapter?' Miller said. 'Leaving on one's own terms is very important.' During his tenure, Visit HB reached a 10-year funding agreement with the city of Huntington Beach, and saw three Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) assessment increases. Justin Simpson, the Visit HB board chairman and general manager of Kimpton Shorebreak Huntington Beach Resort, said Miller's ability to balance forward-thinking strategy with a results-based approach has served the city well. 'While we will deeply miss his presence, we fully support Kelly's decision to retire and are grateful for the legacy he leaves behind,' Simpson said in a news release. 'Under his leadership, VHB has not only achieved national recognition, including DMAP accreditation from Destinations International, but has also twice been named one of the best places to work in Orange County. His impact will be felt for years to come.' Miller held destination leadership roles in Juneau, Alaska; Atlanta, Ga.; Asheville, N.C. and Tampa, Fla. before coming to Huntington Beach. A longtime supporter of sports tourism, he is currently the chair of the Orange County Sports Commission and formerly chaired the Orange County Visitors Assn. He said some of his favorite memories during his tenure include celebrating surfing's centennial in 2014 and 2015, when he rode a 42-foot-long surfboard with 66 other surfers, setting Guinness World Records for both the length of the board and most riders. In June 2019, Huntington Beach hosted Visit USA's annual IPW tourism showcase, which included a performance by Snoop Dogg. Miller said that hosting the International Surfing Assn. World Para Surfing Championship the last two years was also meaningful for him, as his stepmother lived with multiple sclerosis for decades. Visit Huntington Beach now has more money to market the travel destination than ever before, and recently partnered with a new advertising agency, JNS Next. 'I now have in place an incredible team,' he said. 'There were some things we wanted to check off. This might be a good time to wave goodbye, be around to see my successor get hired, help train them and go to my next chapter. It just felt time.'
