GOODBYE SURFING, HELLO GOD!

The Atavist No. 8, October/November 2011

In 1966, Brian Wilson entered the studio to compose Smile, a Beach Boys album that he believed would change the band, and perhaps the face of popular music, forever. What happened next became legend, as captured by journalist Jules Siegel, who had been given entry into Wilson’s inner circle. “Goodbye Surfing, Hello God” ran in Cheetah magazine, helping to create the legend and mystery of Wilson’s madcap genius. Then the story, like the album, disappeared. Now The Atavist has brought to life Siegel’s 1967 classic. It’s the tale of a musician’s struggle against his own demons to capture greatness on tape, and to top the Beatles in the process.

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Jules Siegel is a writer and graphic designer whose work has appeared over the years in Playboy, Best American Short Stories, Library of America’s Writing Los Angeles, and many other publications. His articles about Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan, Thomas Pynchon, and other prominent Americans are primary (and often unique) sources of information based on his personal acquaintance and extensive direct interviews with the subjects. He is also active in the field of book art, with works in the Artist Books Collection of the Museum of Modern Art and other institutional and private collections.