A new era of the Beach Boys is upon us, after the surf rock pioneers turned to social media to recruit their latest member.
Keyboardist and bassist Bruce Johnston stepped down after 60 years in the group earlier this year, and the band has announced Chris Cron as his replacement.
The golden ticket that got him the gig was his work on social media – in particular, an Instagram reel he posted three years ago, entitled How To Sound Like The Beach Boys
Before making that now life-changing video, Cron had fronted Orange County-based emo/alt-rock band Mêlée, releasing three albums between 2004 and 2010, before disbanding two years later.
He had no idea the reel would land him in the freshly vacated position held by a man who first joined the band in 1965 as a stand-in for the late Brian Wilson.
“I had no followers, and I wasn’t trying to become an influencer,” Cron tells Rolling Stone of the video, where he absolutely nails the layered vocal harmonies of Wouldn’t It Be Nice.
“I was just throwing stuff at the wall to see what stuck. I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got all these tracks for Wouldn’t It Be Nice. Maybe I throw up a stupid video about how to sound like the Beach Boys.'"
His knack for sounding like the perennial chart toppers got the attention of their musical director, Brian Eichenberger, and Jeff Celentano, who is part of guitarist Al Jardine’s solo band, after the clip surpassed two million views.
First, he was tasked with playing Pet Sounds on a tribute band tour, with those dates preceded by a rapid-fire crass course in bass.
“I bought a bass and learned how to play. I’d played bass on demos before, but that was simple punk-rock things; learning all the Carol Kaye parts took me a month or so,” he details. “The first few shows were a little rocky for me.”
He must have impressed, as he soon got a major promotion as Johnston edged towards retirement. Eichenberger made the call.
“He said, ‘Bruce is retiring, and we need someone to fill his spot. Are you interested?’” Cron remembers. “The offer didn’t even make sense to me.”
For a band as big as the Beach Boys, this feels like a recruitment on a different scale, and Cron, who was a mere bass guitar novice not long ago, is still pinching himself.
“People say, ‘You’re in the Beach Boys!’ And I’m like, ‘Well, I’m a touring member of the current thing right now, so I guess so,’” he says. “I don’t know what to think. It’s just fun. This was never on my bingo card.”
Spearheaded by Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys transformed ‘60s surf and guitar culture, and so his passing at 82 last year was felt across the guitar community, with tributes pouring in from all angles.
