Pray For Surf Interview ~ "Son of A Beach Boy"

Pray For Surf Interview 

Phil Miglioratti and Karen~Lesley Powell talk about "Scott Wilson: Son of a Beach Boy”

Phil ~ What was your role in the writing of “Son of a Beach Boy”?

Karen ~ I knew Scott had been looking for a writer for his book via a mutual friend. It all began with him asking if he could just show me his notes and did I think they had potential to turn into a book. I was in Los Angeles the last week of August 2014 and we met at my hotel and went along to Santa Monica pier, ordered drinks at a fish restaurant by the carousel at the entrance of the pier and he brought out a cream folder.  Thankfully, he had a timeline his mom (Carole Bloom) had typed for him; pretty much starting at the day she met Dennis to the building of the monument. There was also several copies of the same interview Carole had typed about the night she met Dennis and how he met Scott. But the rest was pretty much hard to read scribbled notes and lots of print outs about Dennis off the net. One article about Charles Manson and one called THE DEATH OF A BEACH BOY (easily found on the internet). But there really was very little to work with. 

Scott was so enthusiastic but he really did not have a book.  I felt sorry for him and offered to help him, though I pointed out the only professional writing I had done was in the late 80's/early 90's when I worked with a graphic artist as a journalism student on a quarterly fanzine called 'It's a MAG a sin' based on the Pet Shop Boys. It was printed in London and, where most fanzines were just photocopied paper, ours was a shiny cover booklet because of my brother Steven's expertise (he now designs CD artwork for bands). But we did pretty well, selling copies around the world, so I thought "You know what, this is a holy mess, but maybe I can help Scott here."

My role would be his ghost-writer. I could use the timeline, come up with a series of chapters and work over the Internet with him on each part.  He let me take what he did have back to he UK with me and I started typing the one thing he had written (a forward, explaining why he wanted to write the book), then decided to introduce Dennis.  Obviously every one already knew who he was but it seemed an obvious place to start. Just who was this guy Scott's mom was about to bump into one night in a trendy Sunset club called Pandora's Box?

She was only 15 at the time and there with a friend who recognized Dennis. Carole had no idea who the band even was. The story in SUMMER DREAMS with the glass of water being chucked all over Dennis was actually Carole, as he made a comment as she passed about her cute ass. She secretly kind of liked him but knew she had a baby at home and was into guys a little older.  Besides her friend was very much fixated on Dennis.

So it was my idea just to help Scott bring his book to life as a friend. His mom drew up a contract but I told him I didn't want one.  I was writing the book for him for experience and as a favour to him.

Phil ~ How did it come about for you to work with Scott?

Karen ~ I had never heard of Dennis Wilson when my friend one day asks me if I had seen a doc on TV called THE REAL BEACH BOY. I hadn't as I had never liked them. I did buy the soundtrack album for Cocktail just for the song KOKOMO. But my friend started bombarding me with Youtube clips. 

After the tv doc, she decided to set up a Facebook fan page and asked me if I would help her.  I do digital art and she asked if I could google some pictures and just make some collages and take stills off old videos. So I made hundreds for her and one day she was excited that Scott Wilson had joined and left a comment about a photo of his dad with their 4 pet dogs. I asked him if he remembered their names and he said only one, this big mean looking German Shepherd cross, but he told me his parents owned so many pets, he had lost track. 

It was at that point he sent me a friend request. We kind of just hit it off as friends. Then, when my marriage ended, Scott got in touch and when he heard I was going to be in L.A, he asked if we could meet for dinner. There was an instant bond. I just knew he was special, was never star struck, I still do not associate him at all with the Beach Boys; he’s the guy who would disinfect my kitchen floor and run to the bakery to bring us fried egg sandwiches on a morning for breakfast. 

Phil ~ Describe the storytelling/writing process

Karen ~  I basically had a list of chapters and the time line and I'd just get Scott to chat.  Just a normal conversation where we would sit on my bed and he'd chatter away about that point in his life and I'd short hand type. Sometimes we would laugh, other times, we would cry as some of the stories were very difficult for Scott. We would just do a little bit each day and then he'd go off and watch movies and I would rewrite the chapter and whiz it off to Carole to check. She would return anything Scott had gotten wrong from his very early childhood to the correct story. Carole was very strict that we got everything spot on and left most of the other band members out as much as possible. This book was to be about Scott and his dad and the impact of having a famous father had on him. Carole was happy for us to mention her and was very open and honest but has never wanted to write her own book, now happily married to film director Jeffrey Bloom for over thirty years. When I finished a chapter, I would read it to Scott and he'd give it the thumbs up. But he found it quite a difficult process.

Phil ~ John Stebbins said to Scott:

"Wow, Scott Wilson, the missing link. You are the only person who has never    spoken to anyone about your dad."...Why was Scott silent for so long?...    What promoted him to tell his story?

Karen ~ He could not afford a professional writer and was not capable of writing a book himself. Scott is the only child who does not receive anything at all from Dennis' estate. He was never legally adopted and Dennis never left a will. Life took over: drugs, lost his business and his wife, lived with friends and rented rooms. He struggled to tell the story. At one point, someone was going to write a version for him but it never really took off.

        

I dunno, if I hadn't come along if this book would still be just an idea but he wanted to very much write the story hoping it would help him finally heal. He totally let me in, something Scott struggles with, but he let out a lot of emotion. Scott felt guilty over his dad's death because the day Dennis drowned, he had asked to go to the marina, but he didn't. In Scott's mind, he thinks he could have saved him but only Dennis could have saved Dennis and the physical damage was already done.

Phil ~ Please explain how Scott became the son of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, and introduce us to Carole Wilson Bloom.

Karen ~ I have already mentioned how the couple met.  Carole's mom originates from the UK and her dad, from Canada.  Both families moved to Michigan and then eventually to Los Angeles. Carole, born un the United States, had a sister, Shelley, who died and a brother Jerry. I believe she went through a rebellious stage during her early teens. She ran off with Scott's biological father, John Robert Vanerstrom, a construction worker, to escape arguing with her parents. She got pregnant very young with Scott and though John was part of Scott's life, they were too young, so Carole returned home. She went to beauty school while her mom looked after Scott during the day. She partied weekends and bumped into Dennis at a club at Sunset Blvd when she was 15, then bumped into Dennis again at a Hollywood pool party a few weeks later when her friend was seeing Dennis. 

But after spending the afternoon at his apartment one afternoon, Dennis started trying to get Carole to see him instead. He even turned up at her house and climbed up the guttering onto her balcony, where Scott was laying fast asleep. Eventually, he turned up at the school and managed to secure a date, even when she told him about having a baby son.  Thinking this might make him run, Dennis instead asked if he could meet Scott and instantly fell in love with him.  He was a very cute child; huge dark eyes and super bonnie. While out with his mom, Scott was approached by a talent scout to do modeling and TV work but Dennis did not like the idea despite taking Scott on many tours and introducing him at the end of the concerts to the audiences.

Carole was also an animal lover, sharing Dennis' passion for owning lots of pets. She helped the people Dennis often brought home. A nice bubbly person, she is very intelligent, has had two non Beach Boys books published, makes patch work quilts out of peoples disposable camera photos and is a qualified therapist. She has also helped Jeff with his movies.

Right from the moment Dennis met Scott, he wanted to look after Carole and her baby son, so they moved in with him right away. He did intend to officially adopt him but never got round to it. Dennis took Scott everywhere, like fishing, on the tours I have mentioned and to the beach.  He considered himself very much as Scotty's real dad and Scott did not learn of the truth until he was 12 years old.  He took his parents divorce badly.

Phil ~  Scott stated his grandfather Murry Wilson never spoke to him, plus, it is well known Murry was both a hero and a villain in Dennis, Carl and Brian's lives. How did that affect Dennis and how did it shape they way Dennis fathered Scott?

Karen ~ Dennis was a very, in fact far too lenient, parent.  He never got cross with Scott, unless Carole was about and he would put on a little act but he was more like a big play mate than a dad. He never once hit Scott because he was never going to become Murry. Dennis actually adored Murry but his dad could never show love.  Dennis was opposite; he showered people with love but could never find anyone who fulfilled him. He was always really in search of a father figure. Though he was very serious about the music the Beach Boys made and his own songs, he goofed around everywhere and annoyed Mike like crazy.  

Phil ~ Was Scott fully accepted into the Wilson family?  

Karen ~ He does not believe so at all.  But he also talks of always been made welcome at parties at Brian's house. Scott has low self-esteem and it is in his head that he has not been accepted.  Carl B told me he has spent his entire life trying to get close to him but he won't allow him in.

Phil ~ How was Scott treated by the Beach Boys?

Karen ~

• Alan Jardine ~ Scott likes him.  Al is easy going.

• Brian Wilson ~ Very close, Dennis was more like the older brother and protective. Scott did not see much of Brian as he was ill a lot.

• Bruce Johnston ~ used to see him surfing in Malibu and Scott was just a different generation so there was never any great friendship.  But acknowledgement as one of the family kids.

• Carl Wilson ~ Scott's fave uncle. He says he was just so well balanced and always in the same mood.

• David Marks ~ Scott only met him for the first time when the monument was unveiled.

• Mike Love ~ Mike let Carole (Scott’s mom) and her kids stay at his house when their home at Benedict Canyon was put up for sale. Scott met Mike last year and he was brilliant with him. But there is resentment regarding his brother Gage, if he is genuinely Mike's grandson.

Phil ~ What can you tell us about how designing and building the Beach Boys Historic Landmark impacted Scott?

Karen ~ Scott has never felt proud of his life choices. He felt he had thrown his entire life away, being lonely, bitter and then hooked on drugs to mask his true feelings of confusion/pain/loss. Then he had the opportunity to do something great.  Scott says, he finally felt a sense of pride.  But it was short lived.  He was lost again once the monument was finished and had been unveiled. But he has beaten addiction, even right in front of my eyes, and he is very strong. I admire him for his honesty, as not many would have told this story.

Phil ~  Addiction is a sad but very real part of Scott's story. 

Unpack this statement for us: "Take it from me; an addict has no idea they are hurting anyone except themselves. Addiction is a very selfish disease. I know because my life has mirrored my dad’s in very scary ways."

Karen ~ I never knew Dennis; I only know Scott. He is adorable, kind, terribly sensitive, gentle, and yet I have seen what I have read about his dad in him too. That is all I am going to say!  Except you can hate him one day and adore him the next.

Phil ~ Is their a situation or story you can share here that will help readers understand the heart and soul of the book?

Karen ~ Scott says all people see when his dad is mentioned is drugs, booze and Manson, but Dennis was a person. A real person who had been abused as a kid, suffered with terrible panic attacks (so does Scott, oddly.) He wanted to let people know his dad was always in search of self worth. The same thing I believe Scott is in search of!  Scott also wanted to help people understand addiction.  Some will judge but we have had a lot of emails praising Scott's honesty and saying they now are able to understand their addicted relative a whole lot more. 

Phil ~ How important to Scott is Brian's statement about Dennis?

• "He was the one who got us going. He didn't make us better artists or musicians, but he gave us ambition. I'm pleased he pushed us because it was such a relief to know there was someone as strong as my dad to keep things going. He used to spank us, and it hurt too, but I loved him because he was a great musician"         - Brian Wilson.

Karen ~ I put it in. It had nothing to do with Scott; I just thought it explained very well what caused the Wilson brothers to be so damaged and yet also so successful!

Phil ~ What will readers learn about Dennis Wilson that goes beyond the promotional hype fans are usually fed?

Karen ~ Private things no one knew about the man behind the idol; the fact he suffered with panic attacks and used substance abuse to mask those terrifying feelings. I suffer with anxiety myself; it is easy to turn to a bottle of benzos or a bottle of wine. We tried to make the book balanced. A caring father who saved a little boy, a dad who dragged Scott's real father out of a car for stopping abruptly outside the family home and banging his little head against the windscreen. Yet someone who had so many demons, he didn't realise his own behaviour was not always ideal.  Someone who could hurt people but also cared deeply for and found some peace in helping people. We wanted it to be real and honest.

Phil ~ Dennis Wilson was a poster boy for the "sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll" lifestyle but he seemed to have a spiritual sensitivity. His family attended a Christian church while he was a boy. Did Scott speak of his father's beliefs or did he share a story reflecting his faith?

Karen ~ He told me Dennis was not religious, yet used to discuss life after death with Carli Munoz. He also played Elvis' gospel songs but unlike Scott, who is a Latter Day saint and super religious, Dennis was not a Bible pusher.

Phil ~ Karen, how does Scott want to be regarded and how does he hope we will remember his dad?

Karen ~ Scott wants to be accepted as Dennis' child; it is the one thing that truly haunts him. He is not Dennis Wilson's flesh and blood but he says he knows no other father. He knows he has made mistakes, he has hurt people, but he is just a person with flaws like us all. I have mentioned he'd like his dad to be remembered for his music and not just as an alchoholic, druggie, womanizing, Manson-friend guy, but the result of tremendous abuse. And though that abuse was not passed down to Scott, the affects of it were, so Scott made the wrong choices and regrets his life I think. But he truly believes in God and tries every day to be a good person.  He works hard but still makes the same mistakes at times.

Phil ~ Thank you Karen ...anything else you'd like us to know?

Karen ~ I just wish Scott would truly believe in himself! And that not every one is fake and untrustworthy. Some people really care about him and not because of Dennis.  But for Scott Vanerstrom! 

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