Below, you can read our interview with Les Fradkin of California nd listen to Good Vibrations. Check out our full music review of Good Vibrations here.
Q: Great to be speaking with you Les! What have you and Loretta been up to since we last checked in on “Come Fly to Fall in Love” in 2024?
A: We have been spending considerable time protecting our two California trademarks worldwide. We released the video for “Come Fly to Fall in Love,” which we filmed on our last trip to Turkey, Greece, and the Mediterranean. And we have been recording in several different countries around the world. And “Come Fly to Fall in Love” along with our song “Island” are both included on the new “Good Vibrations” album.
Q: You’ve released music as California for decades. What makes this new release feel fresh or different from your earlier work?
A: Well, for one thing, we don’t often record covers. But because of the recent passing of Brian Wilson, we felt that a cover of a famous Beach Boys song would be an appropriate tribute to the man who not only influenced our sound way back in 1973 at the formation of our group, but he also changed the course of music history with a record of “Good Vibrations” so revolutionary that it broke every rule in the book. It was the first time that a producer had used various studios as an instrument. The work we now do as California carries on that tradition of assembling songs in sections and not just as a straight-through performance in a single recording studio. Your readers should take note that we recorded our new “Good Vibrations” single recordings in several different places in different countries such as the USA, Spain, Gibraltar, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Tunisia, Colombia, and Panamá. That approach allows us to give the music a carefully assembled theatrical quality, and the cover photo we use on the single evokes the feeling we wanted to portray of travel, a subject we traditionally address in our lyrics. And, secondly, unlike the brief snippet of “Good Vibrations” in our “Summer Fun Medley,” this new recording of “Good Vibrations” features the complete song, which we have officially licensed from Irving Music and The Beach Boys. And it’s the first time the song has been done as a true male/female duet that we know of.
Q: You’ve called Good Vibrations a “piece of theater” with a duet concept. Can you share more about that vision and how you brought it to life?
A: While we were working on the vocals, we stumbled upon the duet concept. Loretta came up with her theatrical approach and double-tracked me on the chorus. But the duet concept extends to the fact that we record this music in multiple locations in multiple countries around the world, so that the countries themselves are part of the duet – a duet between the band California and our neighbors around the world. We are, in fact, incorporating the “vibrations“ of the culture of each country we record in and around the world, and this shows with what you’re hearing on these new recordings.
Q: With both of you contributing vocals and production, how do you balance your creative roles in the studio? What’s that collaboration like on a typical track?
A: I play all the instruments, start things up, and she gives me the brutal version. Her prime concern is making sure the vocal leads are enunciated clearly and that the administration on the publishing and PR is done correctly, because all of this is a full-time job and we do it all.
Q: The title “Good Vibrations” evokes a very specific musical era and feeling. What inspired the name, and how does this collection reflect that mood?
A: California is always committed to giving a positive vibe to what we record and release. So the title of our new release seemed utterly logical. Even the other two tracks on the extended play single are positive. Those two tracks, as I’ve mentioned, are “Come Fly to Fall in Love” and “Island”.
Q: You’ve been blending pop, rock, and even global instruments like oud and bouzouki — how do you decide which sounds to bring into each song?
A: I play for the song, so whatever we play is always at service to that approach. The oud was used on “Come Fly to Fall in Love” because we filmed in the country of Turkey, and the oud is native to that country. We used a bouzouki on “Willin” because effectively, it’s a 12-string guitar tuned down a whole step, but it gives a slightly different sound to the chime of a regular electric 12. The lyrics of “Willin” speculate that the singer is willing to go to another country to find his name in another land, so we decided to add the bouzouki because it’s an instrument from another land. Readers should take note that some of the bouzouki was recorded in Greece, as shown in the video of “Come Fly to Fall in Love”. That’s who we are: recording Artists of and in many lands.
Q: Looking ahead, what’s next for California? More music, touring, or maybe even expanding the theatrical concept further?
A: We no longer tour in the traditional live performance before an audience and are retired from that activity, but we tour the world to record our music, film, and photograph for our videos. We are always looking at more music and perhaps expanding the theater concept. We plan on traveling again to Europe this year, where we will, of course, be filming for a future video. And you never know what instruments I’m gonna find in the countries we will be visiting.
Q: Any shout-outs you wanna make?
A: Thanks, Mike Love, Brian Wilson, and the rest of The Beach Boys! And a big thank you to Ethnic Musical Instruments in Izmir, Turkey. And thank you and much love to all the people around the world who’ve been so supportive of our multiple studio and filming location efforts. We are very grateful to all of them.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: As usual, we are always waiting for the future to present itself. And as the song says, “We’re picking up Good Vibrations”.
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