When Brian Wilson plays "God Only Knows" at the Capitol Center on Tuesday, the memorable horn line that begins the song will be played by New Hampshire native Probyn Gregory.

Gregory, 52, joined Wilson's 10-member touring band in 1999 and has traveled the globe with the formerly reclusive musical icon. Besides French horn, Gregory plays guitar, other wind instruments and Tannerin (the spooky woo-woo sound that features in "Good Vibrations").

In an hour-long telephone interview, Gregory spoke about his history and the enduring appeal of Wilson's music. This interview is edited and condensed from that wide-ranging conversation, as well as an earlier e-mail exchange.

What are your connections to New Hampshire?

I spent most of my growing up in Keene or Jaffrey, where my family next year will celebrate 100 years of New Hampshire-ness. I graduated KHS in 1974.

Do you still have family and friends here?

Yep. Two sisters and aunt in Jaffrey, dad in Fitzwilliam, brother in Keene, cousins in Jaffrey and Brattleboro. I began being a camp director at Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in Nelson in the 1970s and continue on sporadically today in that role.

Most of the folks in the Brian Wilson band have been there for the last 10 years. What accounts for that cohesion?

Brian likes to see the same faces around him. He feels comfortable not having a revolving cast. Also, the music is so joyful. It appeals to everyone. When we very first went out, in 1999, we saw a lot of "blue hairs" - meaning people who were probably already in their 20s or 30s when the songs were hits in the first place - who now had grown older but were still wanting to come out and hear the music. And we've also seen 12- and 13-year-old kids just discovering it for the first time. The music of Brian is really - I don't want to say timeless, but it appeals to a large section of the audience. It did then, it does now.

And we're happy to be part of that, because it's so good. I mean, I still am not sick of "I Get Around" and "California Girls," even though I've played them a thousand times, literally. It's good music, and I stand behind it. And we all feel that way. We're proud to be part of the renaissance of this guy who is a seminal figure in American pop music.

What's the biggest challenge of going on the road and playing these songs?

Aside from the tough micro-tuning of vocal doubling (harmony is much easier), being away from the family for extended periods is the hardest thing. When they get teleportation together someday, I will be happy. Couple hours for a gig is fine - weeks away is not.

INSTRUMENTS AND VOICES

How many instruments do you play during a show with the band?

It depends on the show. If it's Smile [Wilson's legendary unreleased album from the 1960s, which he revived for live performance in 2004] I play quite a bit. I play seven or eight things: banjo, guitar, some keyboard, a slide whistle, the Theremin, the French horn, sometimes I have to play trombone.

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