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Published: Thursday, Jul. 30, 2009

Music: Lance Robison’s songs about the sea

Atascadero musician had three Beach Boys master reels in storage for decades before he turned them in to make his own record

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For 40 years, Lance Robison secretly possessed an important part of Beach Boys history.

Back in the 1960s, Robison’s brother, John, came upon three master reels from the Beach Boys’s 1964 album, “Shut Down Vol 2.” Needing money, John sold Lance the tapes for $15.

The tapes languished in storage for 40 years until one day, on a whim, Robison contacted local author Jon Stebbins, who had written about the Beach Boys.

“I thought, at least I can get these back to where they belong,” Robison said. “It wasn’t anything where I was going to try to make a lot of money.”

Stebbins got Robison in touch with Alan Boyd, the Beach Boys’ archivist, and recording engineer Mark Linnett. In exchange for the tapes, Robison handed over two CDs of his own songs and asked them to help him record an album. Eventually, Capitol/EMI cut a check that allowed Robison to record in Los Angeles with session musicians such as The Cars guitarist Elliot Easton.

The result is “Codependance Beach,” a collection of by-the-sea songs Robison has been writing since he was teen. A little bit country, a little bit reggae and even a little bit Beach Boys, the songs reflect a life’s work.

Meanwhile, tracks garnered from Robison’s reels were used on a recent Beach Boys compilation, “Summer Love Songs,” which gives a nod to Robison in the liner notes.

We spoke to Robison, 56, at his home in Atascadero.

Q: How did your brother get these Beach Boys reels?

A: It’s kind of speculative. All I know is a guy he knew had them, and he had maybe more than three — like maybe nine. Of course, that was 40 years ago. So nobody knows anything. But my brother has a friend he went to school with in Torrance. ... We think that this guy had another friend who lived near the Wilsons in Hawthorne.

Q: Did you know those were a big deal all those years?

A: I didn’t realize they were the first-generation recordings of these songs. I knew they were pretty special. I couldn’t have any way of knowing they were the only tapes in existence.

Q: Do you have any idea what your tapes may have been worth?

A: I know I could have cleared 60 grand on that, easily. But it wasn’t my intention. And when Mark (Linnett) came up for a budget to do 12, 15 songs, that was enough.

Q: So basically, the record company wrote you a check?

A: Yeah, I just took that money and turned it into my music. Because, otherwise, I would have never done the album.

Q: You got the guitarist from The Cars to play on your record? That’s pretty amazing.

A: That’s way amazing, man. And he was just as sweet as he can be, and funny. He was like Woody Allen. Elliot Easton has done it all. He shared some real nice stories.

Q: These are songs you’ve written over 40 years, right?

A: “Warm Winds” was the first song that I wrote on this album, and I was probably 16 or 17. I suppose I remember thinking, “Yeah, it sure would be cool to record this.” I just thought it was a Beach Boys song in my head.

Then I hitchhiked across America and basically started writing “Codependance Beach.”

I’ve always written about the sea, have always been enamored with sailing. I had great fantasies about travel and all that.

Q: You mentioned hitchhiking. What was that all about?

A: My dad dropped me off at the 10 on Western. I had about 80 pounds of canned goods in my backpack and my guitar. I wore pink overalls.

I had a girlfriend in Columbia, Mo., and I saw her. But in between I saw my aunt and uncle in Phoenix. I slept outside one time the entire trip. And other than that, I was picked up by people and wound up sleeping in their houses.

Q: Was it hard finding people to give you a ride across the country?

A: I never had any problem. It was pretty amazing.

Q: What are your top three Beach Boys songs?

A: How can you discount “Good Vibrations” and “Surfing U. S. A.?” But there was a song called “Farmer’s Daughter,” which I hadn’t heard for years, which was on the “Surfing U. S. A.” album.

Q: Are there any songs about the sea that you really appreciate?

A: “Bad Sea Dreams” is my “Madman Across the Water.” Man, I wish I had all the strings that Elton John had. I love that. Crosby, Still and Nash— “Southern Cross” is a great song. How many songs have that kind of drama to them? And I really like “Aja” by Steely Dan.

Reach Patrick S. Pemberton at 781-7903.