Sensing that the news of founding members Brian Wilson and Al Jardine being dumped in favor of returning Beach Boys to its more recently established, more easily dominated by Mike Love lineup had inspired more Mike Love hate than usual, Mike Love put on his explainer cap—fitting it over his nested stack of other caps—and addressed the controversy in a typically longwinded letter to the L.A. Times. Not surprisingly, Love insists he did nothing wrong by breaking off from Wilson and Jardine again, saying that the decision was made only because "it is not feasible, both logistically and economically" for the reunited original Beach Boys lineup to play many of the smaller-market dates that Love insists are "vitally important" for keeping the Beach Boys' name alive by allowing Mike Love to play under it and collect all of its associated money and attention for himself. Also, he said a lot of stuff like this:
I did not fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I cannot fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I am not his employer. I do not have such authority. And even if I did, I would never fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I love Brian Wilson. We are partners. He’s my cousin by birth and my brother in music. We grew up together. We sang Everly Brothers’ songs together at Aunt Audrey’s piano. We played football together. We formed a band together. We wrote songs together that have been woven into the fabric of this nation. Our songs are in the DNA of America. Our imagery of the coast, surfing, cars and teenage freedom helped make our country the envy of the world.
Ugh, stop it. Anyway, the rest of the letter goes on and on like that and is just as awful. Keep it under your hats, Mike Love.