Today, the new Beach Boys podcast series premieres on iTunes. "The Warmth of the Sun Podcast Series" is all about the forthcoming CD of the same name - an amazing compilation that spans the Boys' career from the early sixties up until the mid-80s. What's so great about the album is the sheer variety of the material: from the Brian-dominated sixties through the seventies more democratic days when each of the band members stepped up to the plate to deliver some truly memorable songs.



The first podcast is an introduction to the album featuring brand-new interviews with Brian, Mike, Al and Bruce. For good measure, we raided the Capitol vaults to find additional narratives from Carl and Dennis, which makes this first podcast truly special. You'll also see that this episode is also available as a video podcast. It's really fun and the rare photos from the Capitol vaults makes this episode even better. Not only can you watch this podcast on your iPod video, but if you're one of the lucky ones to have purchased Apple TV, you'll also be able to watch this episode on your flat-screen TV - and it looks great.

Personally, I want to thank Brian, Mike, Al and Bruce for being so enthusiastic about this project and taking their time to talk about each of the album's tracks. You're all truly special people and it shines through in your music - which continues to give us such Good Vibrations more than 40 years later. Thanks guys, and we hope you love this series as much as we did producing it.

Once again, thanks to my partner in crime, Joe Vella (pictured at right above with me and Brian). Joe is the super-talented producer who has become the King of Podcasts, having co-produced this series, as well as producing dazzling other works for Yo-Yo Ma, John Coltrane, Elvis Costello, and so many others.

Coming blog posts will talk about each of the episodes as well as my interviews with Mike, Al and Bruce, and hanging out with Brian at his home and being totally amazed at his incredible memory, as well as his piano playing - which we used to open up each of the episodes. Thanks, Brian and Melinda - you're the best.