Band of Assholes -- who's in yours?

[silenus]

@Charlie_Wayne

Can anyone explain just what it is that I may be missing? I am definitely not looking for a quarrel. I would just like to understand how Don Henley seems to have gotten a reputation for being an “asshole”. Can anyone here please help me with some explanation?

Well, his review of the Rock Bottom Remainders for L.A. Weekly was so brutal the band contemplated having Amy’s uncle put out a hit on him.

[Charlie_Wayne]

@silenus

Well, his review of the Rock Bottom Remainders for L.A. Weekly was so brutal the band contemplated having Amy’s uncle put out a hit on him.

Thank you Silenus. I never heard of that but will try to find some more info.

[Tamerlane]

@Charlie_Wayne

Also, there are a few documentary films about The Eagles and most all of them consistently portray Don Henley as a stabilizing force in The Eagles (as opposed to Glenn Fry who is almost always portrayed as someone who cares so much about the quality of the music created by The Eagles that he often sacrifices a pleasant personality in order to get his way when it comes to the quality of the music. I can understand why Glenn Fry might behave in that way. But given that Don Henley is almost always portrayed as someone who brings stability and a kind personality to the nature of the band, I just can’t imagine that he would not be liked in the same way that Glenn Fry would appear to be disliked.

So let me qualify by starting with this - I don’t like The Eagles. I don’t despise them as much The Dude, but few things will get me to reach for the dial faster to change the station than Hotel California coming on the radio. Accordingly, I don’t follow The Eagles and do not have a what I would call a deep knowledge of them, their background and their personalities. Do to their ubiquity I know who the major players are and a bit about the band history. But nothing really in depth.

So when I say I’ve always heard Frey and Henley were assholes, that is admittedly coming from a place of more hearsay than is usual for this stuff. And some of it is difficult to untangle from the contempt the band( and his solo work )was held in by the punk generation( you can hear Jello Biafra name-checking and mocking him at about 5:30 into Buy My Snake-Oil or partner in crime Mojo Nixon on Don Henley Must Die ) So I just did a bit of quick internet research and turned up the following possible issues:

1.) When Don Felder got all disgruntled and started bagging on his band mates and ultimately sued them, it wasn’t just Frey. It was Frey AND Henley he sneeringly referred to as “the Gods”.

2.) Related to the above Henley is purportedly arrogant and bit of an egomaniac with arguably a somewhat inflated and pompous view of the importance of The Eagles.

3.) Henley was once arrested when a naked 16 year old prostitute at his place OD’ed on cocaine and quaaludes.

4.) I haven’t seen it but apparently more than a few fans were dismayed how he( and Frey )came off in the 2013 documentary.

On the other hand he seems in at least some interviews as an introspective guy who owns his past excess and he had the brass balls to walk on stage unannounced at an Austin club and sing Don Henley Must Die with Mojo Nixon, so good on him ;). So dunno. Asshole, part-time asshole( like most of them ) or okay guy with an image problem. But there definitely there is at least an image problem.

[Guest-starring_Id]

@pkbites

Unlike most of you I had personal experience and contact with most of the members of my band and have stories as to why I chose them here.

David Cassidy- Acoustic guitar Freaking drunk asshole!

Peter Frampton- Lead electric guitar Egocentric and selfish, treats people like shit
**
Mark McGrath**- Vocals Arrogant hothead

Ace Frehley- Back up electric guitar Bitter, unhappy soul who wants to spread his misery to others!

Lars Ulrich- Drums Ultimate douche bag!

Howard Jones- Keyboards A very strange fellow surrounded by stranger people.

Kenny Rogers- Back up vocals. I didn’t have personal contact with him but I did go to one of his concerts where he forgot entire lines to songs he wrote! It was real uncomfortable to watch!

I realise a lot of these bands - by necessity, really - have diverse personnel, but wow Kenny and Ace in the same band! I would spend upwards of $4300 to see a single live performance of that.

@Tamerlane

…but few things will get me to reach for the dial faster to change the station than Hotel California coming on the radio.

Lawdy, amen.

@Tamerlane

…he had the brass balls to walk on stage unannounced at an Austin club and sing Don Henley Must Die with Mojo Nixon, so good on him

Yeah I dig folks who can laugh at themselves.

I’m pretty sure Lemme became quite problematic with Hawkwind.

Trying to find i-view with Offspring vocalist being a complete and utter douche, the same with an old MTV i-view with Simon LeBon.

Of the mulitple times I’ve been around him, I’ve found bassist David Wm Sims (Scratch Acid, Rapeman, Jesus Lizard) to be the worst petty fucking asshole.

So does Roger Waters win the thread, then?

[Slow_Moving_Vehicle]

@Quercus

Los Lobos, for one, are bitter about him taking all the songwriting credit for “Myth of the Fingerprints”; which they say was written nearly completely by Los Lobos. The story is that they didn’t know anything until the album came out with only Simon credited. Simon doesn’t return phone calls or anything, and when they finally got a reply from Simon, along the lines of '“so sue me; see what happens”. I think other musicians have had similar experiences.

On the other hand, I saw his Graceland show (the best concert I have ever seen, bar none) and noticed that he was on the stage playing backup for each of the three opening acts.

There’s also a YouTube video of a concert where a fan in the audience yells out that she learned to play guitar from the song he was beginning. So Simon called her up to the stage to play it, while he backed her up on rhythm guitar.

So, maybe sometimes an asshole, sometimes a decent guy. Like most of us.