It’s a family affair as Al Jardine and his ‘Family & Friends’ surf into town

Kimberley McGee

Tuesday, Nov. 23, 1999 | 9:05 a.m.

What: Al Jardine of the Beach Boys and Family & Friends, with special guests Desi Arnaz Jr., Billy Hinsche and Ricci Martin.

When: 9 p.m. daily, through Dec. 1.

Where: MGM Grand Hollywood Theater.

Cost: $45, plus tax.

Information: Call 891-7777.

It's a new incarnation of the Beach Boys with the addition of the offspring of the Mamas and the Papas, and the Beach Boys. "Al Jardine of the Beach Boys and Family & Friends" roll out the famous hits of both '60s groups and some new songs on stage at the MGM Grand Hollywood Theater through Dec. 1.

They are joined by "special guests" Desi Arnaz Jr., Billy Hinsche and Ricci Martin.

Jardine, along with his sons, Matt and Adam, plus the Wilson half of the group Wilson-Phillips, Carnie and Wendy Wilson, and Owen Elliot, Mama Cass Elliot's daughter, have gathered to croon the oldies, such as the Beach Boys' "Help Me Rhonda" and "Little Surfer Girl," and even some songs Jardine recorded in the '70s.

The Wilsons, daughters of Beach Boys alum Brian Wilson, grew up with Jardine's sons, harmonizing to the surfer group's hits from the time they were mere babes on the beach in Southern California. Throughout the years the extended family of the Mamas and the Papas and the Beach Boys have sung, played and worked together off stage. Now they want to share the old and new tunes with an audience still humming the lively beach tunes of yesteryear.

"Everyone has been involved with the Beach Boys for years," Matt Jardine says of the group's current lineup. "It's an extended family."

The "family" usually gives two to five shows per month in different cities. But they chose Las Vegas for a two-week stay. "This is Vegas, it's exciting, there's this energy and we are really happy to just be here," Carnie Wilson says.

Working with family members and friends they've known most of their lives, Adam Jardine says it's the best way to belt classics and still fuse their own style into the songs.

"(The band members) know you so well, we have a family relationship, everything you go through, and then we have a professional relationship and we've learned to separate those two," he says. "We really love each other."

The "pop" of the pop hits, Al Jardine, hopes to recruit new fans with a mix of their solid hits and new tunes in the show. "We focus on the music of the '80s and we do what we can to placate the people who like the surfer music," says Jardine, who is pulling music from record company rejects and re-tooling it for the '90s with the new sound of the Wilsons and his hip sons.

"(The album) 'Breakaway' was our last effort on Capitol (records) in the '70s and (they said) it was not our best effort," Al Jardine says. "We want to bring awareness to the public of (our music) and we are having a good time doing it."

The addition of the grown-up children who listened to their parents on the radio, television and even TV commercials has added to the group, he says. Their voices, especially the Wilsons', eerily mimic their famous parents -- but with a fresh twist.

"They've given reality, authenticity to the group," Al Jardine says.

There are a few other Beach Boys incarnations out there, stemming from ex-band mates, but Jardine says that the addition of the sons and daughters makes the show fun, and the sound true.

"I wouldn't do it if I didn't believe in it," Al Jardine says.

For the Wilsons, singing their father, Brian's, words in his pitch is a little strange. "We were shocked, we didn't know what it would be like singing our father's songs," Carnie Wilson says. "The original Beach Boys are no longer. This is a wonderful new origination. It's so much fun."

A healthier Carnie

Carnie Wilson has been in the news lately, and not just for her strong voice. She recently had labroscoptic surgery to minimize her stomach in order to lose weight. She has said she weighed more than 300 pounds, but since the surgery three months ago, she has lost 67 pounds and has never felt better. Four ounces of food a day keep her satisfied - that and lots of water -- and she comments that she couldn't be happier with her new image.

"Put it this way: When I first started doing this show, at the end of the show we have a lot of fast songs all in a row and I was so out of breath and so sweaty I felt my blood pressure go up. I honestly had to sit down," Carnie Wilson says. "I was so scared. I thought 'Oh God.' I was worried."

The rapid weight loss has been great, she says, excitedly. And she doesn't miss regular meals and all the in-between foods most people gorge on daily. "I don't eat that much food. I eat two meals a day, about four or five ounces of food (all day)," Carnie Wilson says. "That's it, no snacking."

The alternative of surgery gave her hope that she could maintain healthy eating habits, get energy and gain a more svelte body. "Now I'm hardly out of breath, it makes all the difference," she says. "I feel light, you know. I never didn't dance but now it's easier, it's so much fun."

She opted to share her medical experience on the Internet with a live web-cam of the procedure as the surgeons cut into her belly and cinched her stomach to receive less food.

"I wanted to get the word out about morbid obesity because I feel like it's ignored," Carnie Wilson says. "It's a clinical disease and I think that by reaching a lot of people, people who are morbidly obese, they can know this surgery is an alternative. It's not the answer for everyone, but it was definitely the answer for me."

Since the surgery Wilson has been approached by fans who have either commented on her weight loss or had the surgery done themselves. "I was at the (McCarran) airport and this girl, Amy, came up and said she had (the surgery) done too because she saw (I) had (done) it," Carnie Wilson says. "I (thought) 'Oh my God,' you know, it's so incredible."

The reaction from fans -- who have changed their lives thanks to the inspiration of this bubbly celebrity -- has meant a lot to her.

"I know it was the right thing to do it publicly, even though it was a little scary to do it that way," Carnie Wilson says. "I knew that I had a purpose for doing it, that it's important for me that people know they are not alone in their suffering."

She pulls up her shirt, revealing two fading inch-long scars from the surgery. "I had suffered many years and I was tired of it," Wilson says.

She still sometimes craves those comfort foods, but that's a small sacrifice. "I lost my craving for sugar, I lost my craving for fried foods, I just don't want that food anymore," she says. "I want protein, I want to eat well."

And she wants to perform. This tour, with childhood friends and family, is perfect for the songstress right now. "I thought it was a good opportunity to tour. I was itching to perform again," Carnie Wilson says. "I've always done television and stuff like that but the live concert thing is such a blast."

And appreciative audience feedback gives her a pleasant surge of happiness.

"It's a big rush and we are really excited to be here in Las Vegas," she says. "There is something just fun about it, something alive."

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