1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: This is Masters in Business with Barry Ridholts on Bloomberg Radio. 2 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: This week on the podcast, I have an extra special guest. 3 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: And I know everybody busts my chops when I say that, 4 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: but my guest is extra special. His name is Don Felder. 5 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: He was the lead guitarist for the Eagles. He wrote 6 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:26,119 Speaker 1: Hotel California. He is a legend in the music industry 7 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: and really a very nice guy and an informative um 8 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: rack on tour who tells wonderful stories. If you are 9 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: at all interested in music or seventies, or the Eagles, 10 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: or the eighties, or guitar history or the nineties, you 11 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: will find this to be an absolutely fascinating conversation. So, 12 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: with no further ado, my interview with Don Felder. My 13 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: extra special guest this week is Don Felder. He is 14 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: a legendary guitarist and songwriter, perhaps best known for his 15 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: work with the Eagles, where he has written numerous songs, 16 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: including Victim of Love and perhaps most famously, Hotel California. 17 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: Don Felder, Welcome to Bloomberg. Thank you. It's fabulous to 18 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: be back here again. So, um, you have really a 19 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,320 Speaker 1: fascinating background, and I was really you know stunned when 20 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 1: I was reading you. You grew up in Gainesville, Florida, 21 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: which somehow became a hotbed of music. Is that a 22 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: fair statement. Yeah, for some reason, and I don't know 23 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: if it was something that was in the water or 24 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: in something that we were all smoking at the time, 25 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: that so many people came out of Gainesville that went 26 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 1: on to become rock and roll legends, rock and Roll 27 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: Hall of Fame inductees, platinum selling artist. We were all 28 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: just kids in different garage bands down there. One of 29 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: my guitar students was a kid named Tommy Petty who 30 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,559 Speaker 1: I taught how to play guitar. He was little Tommy Petty, 31 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: Little Tommy. He was playing bass in this band called 32 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: the Epics, and he thought it was kind of awkward 33 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: and geeky to be fronting a band playing bass and singing. 34 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: So he wanted to learn to play guitar so he 35 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: could write songs instead of playing bass. So I gave 36 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: him guitar lessons. I helped a little little bit of 37 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: the arrangement on a couple of their songs in their shows. 38 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: I went to just hang out. We were friends. We 39 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: were in battles of the bands together, Uh. Steven Stills 40 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: and I had a band together in Gainesville. I think 41 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: we were fourteen and fifteen years old. My mom would 42 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: drive us around to these little events because we didn't 43 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: have a car, driver's license or anything. Uh. Dwyane Allman 44 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,519 Speaker 1: and Greg Allman were in different bands in that time, 45 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 1: called like the Almond Joys or the Spotlights. Dwayne taught 46 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: me how to play slide guitar one night on the 47 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: floor of his mom's house in Dayton of Beach, about 48 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: two thirty in the morning. Who else was around their 49 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,519 Speaker 1: Leonard skinnerd was right over in Jacksonville, Florida. Bernie Leadon 50 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: actually moved to Gainesville because his dad was given the 51 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: appointment of heading up the nuclear research department at the 52 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: University of Arida, so he moved his family, all eight kids, 53 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 1: over to Gainesville. And Stephen Stills had just left to 54 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: move to California, and Bernie showed up and picked me 55 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: up actually at a bus station where I was coming 56 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: back from a little town called Lake City about thirty 57 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: minutes away, where I had gone up by myself and 58 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 1: played this little women's tea party in the afternoon. So 59 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: he had a car. He was sixteen he picked me 60 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: up at the bus station and actually wound up replacing 61 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: Stephen Stills in that band, and Bernie went on to 62 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:32,839 Speaker 1: become one of the founding members of the Eagles. We've 63 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: known each other since high school. So Stephen, Bernie, and 64 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: Tom and myself all went to the same high school, 65 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: Gainesville High School together, so astonishing. I don't know how 66 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: that all happened, but it did. And and what first 67 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: got you interested in music? The legend is you see 68 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: Elvis Presley on television and not just sparks a lifelong interest. Well, 69 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: there was a huge interest in that explosion of rock 70 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: and roll in that time and had just a really strong, 71 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: exciting energy about it, whether it was a little Richard 72 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 1: singing two Dy Fruity or Elvis on stage shaking and 73 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: gyrating and flipping his greasy hair around and snarling his 74 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: upper lip and watching all those young girls screaming at him. 75 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: I kind of said, you know, I think I'd like 76 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: to do that. That looks like fun. Uh. And so 77 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: I traded a handful of cherry bombs to a kid 78 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: that lived across the street for a broken guitar and 79 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,359 Speaker 1: had a crack and it was missing strings and I 80 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: found the guy around the corner that helped me tune 81 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,680 Speaker 1: the thing, replace some of the strings on it. And 82 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: I used to sit on my front porch down there 83 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: on this dirt road in Gainesville, on this metal glider, 84 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,360 Speaker 1: just sliding back and forth and back and forth, trying 85 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: to figure out how that guitar worked, where do you 86 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: put your fingers, how do you make chords? And there 87 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: wasn't a music school. There was no money to be 88 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: had in my family for lessons if there was a 89 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: music school, so I was pretty much self taught. And 90 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:57,919 Speaker 1: it turned out that I gave myself kind of basic 91 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: ear training by listening to stuff on the radio or 92 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: listening to my stuff on my dad's tape recorder and 93 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: just playing it over and over and over until I 94 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,679 Speaker 1: could figure it out on guitar. And eventually, even today, 95 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: I can hear something two or three times and just 96 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: play it right away because I've trained my mind and 97 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 1: my body and my insight into music to be able 98 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: to hear something and play it. So from there, I 99 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,840 Speaker 1: moved from Gainesville. I think I was nineteen years old. Well, 100 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 1: before we leave Gainesville, let's just stay stay in Gainesville, 101 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 1: Florida for another moment. Okay, you start um working at 102 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: a music store like an instrument store, um, and you 103 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:40,040 Speaker 1: were working essentially to be able to earn money for instruments. 104 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: Is that. Yeah? I wasn't getting paid money. I was 105 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:45,919 Speaker 1: given credit for every hour or every lesson that I 106 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,839 Speaker 1: taught there. I was given credit on the store card. 107 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 1: They had this thing that they'd put in their register 108 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: and give me five dollars or ten dollars for having 109 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: much I'd earned. And I could use that money for strings, 110 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 1: for pedals, for cords. If I saved up a nump, 111 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:01,279 Speaker 1: I could trade in my old guitar and get a 112 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,360 Speaker 1: better guitar and or an amp or some tubes. Or 113 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,279 Speaker 1: if I blew out a speaker in my appen it 114 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:09,359 Speaker 1: needed to be replaced, which happened frequently in those days, 115 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: I would be able to work until I got enough 116 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:14,599 Speaker 1: money to get a speaker replacement. So yeah, that's where 117 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 1: I was learning how to make money. Was in uh, 118 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: working in a music store. And and where did the 119 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: music theory in Gainesville first come into your experiences? There 120 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 1: was a great guitar player that lived there whose name 121 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: was Paul Hillis. He left Gainesville and went to the 122 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,279 Speaker 1: Berkeley School of Music in Boston and came back a 123 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: few years later, but had given up guitar and it 124 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: started playing piano because he thought you could see compositions 125 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:46,360 Speaker 1: and chord clusters and progressions much easier on piano than 126 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 1: on guitar, which is true. It's a repetitive octave on piano, 127 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,600 Speaker 1: and on guitar it's everything's a different feeding fingering as 128 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: you go up the scale or up the neck. So 129 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: he opened the School of Music, and for every hour 130 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: that I taught there these incoming young kids that had 131 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: gotten a guitar for Christmas and we're complaining about their 132 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: callous is hurting on their fingers. For every hour I 133 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: taught them, he would teach me music theory, composition, chord progressions, 134 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: how to read music. And I basically got the cheap 135 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: version of a Berkeley College of Music education from Ball, 136 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: the cheap version. Um, there was one of the person 137 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: you did not mention. I recall reading about from the area, 138 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: and I want to say it was the keyboardist for 139 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: Stevie Ray Vaughan. Is that right? I don't know anything 140 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: about That's off my that was that might have been 141 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: a little a little later. Um, so, so what finally 142 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: motivated you to say, all right, Gainesville has been good 143 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: to me musically, But on the other side of the 144 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: country is this place called Los Angeles, and there seems 145 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: to be a burgeoning music scene going on over there. 146 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: There were a couple of stops along the way. I 147 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: had a band called the Mondy Quintet that Bernie Leadon 148 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: was in with me. We played opening for this band 149 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: called The Circle, and The Circle were being managed by 150 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: Sid Bernstein, who was a huge manager here in New York. 151 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: And their road crew decided they were going to take 152 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: us up to New York and do some showcases up 153 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: here in different clubs, and we had a sixteen year 154 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 1: old drummer that actually owned the van. Uh, So we 155 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: loaded everything into this van and drove from Gainesville up 156 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: to New York. I think we were up here about 157 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: a week and we had done some showcases and Sid's 158 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,679 Speaker 1: organization was really interesting and signing us, managing us and 159 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: kind of building a career. But our drummer started crying 160 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 1: I think the second or third day in the bedroom 161 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: because he missed his mom and he was frightened by 162 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 1: New York City. So we had to pack everything back 163 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 1: into the van and moved back down to Gainsville to 164 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: It was his van, he had to go home. Um 165 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: So later I had another band that I put together 166 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: called Flow and I packed up with a guitar in 167 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,079 Speaker 1: one hand, a suitcase and the other and moved back 168 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: up to New York with that band, starved her on 169 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: the street for about a year and a half. The 170 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 1: very first thing I did when I got here the 171 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: second day was I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 172 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 1: There was no art in Gainesville at all, probably nothing 173 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,880 Speaker 1: south of the Mason Dixon down there that rivaled what 174 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: I had heard about them at So I spent the 175 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: entire day there at the met my second day here 176 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 1: in New York, just soaking up all the history and 177 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: the amazing artwork that's there, and the sculptures, and the 178 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:27,600 Speaker 1: Egyptian history going back thousands of years, and just had 179 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 1: a newfound appreciation for what I had never seen or 180 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: had before. Anyway. Um I worked here for about a 181 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: year and a half. We made a record with a 182 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: band called flow Uh, signed by a guy named Creed 183 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 1: Taylor for CTI Records. Creed was one of the biggest 184 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: blue note and verve jazz producers in the business. I 185 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: think Quincy Jones was on that label with me. Uh, 186 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: Hubert Laws was on that label. It was kind of 187 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 1: Hubert Laws, Yes, that's right, we had. It was kind 188 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,960 Speaker 1: of a jazz label, and we were a jazz fusion 189 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: rock band. He saw us play at the Film or 190 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 1: East one night and signed us literally the following week 191 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 1: to his record label. After about a year and a half, 192 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,760 Speaker 1: I decided I just didn't want to live in New 193 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: York City. It's a try. It's a tough transition from 194 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,840 Speaker 1: beach bum in Florida up to Eskimo here and living 195 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,080 Speaker 1: on the city was a little a little difficult for me. 196 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:25,559 Speaker 1: And my high school girlfriend had moved back to Boston, uh, 197 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: and so I went up to visit her a couple 198 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: of times and decided I was going to move to 199 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,679 Speaker 1: Boston because we wanted to get back together. And I 200 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,080 Speaker 1: asked Creed Taylor if he would help me, and he 201 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 1: called Berkeley School of Music and set up an appointment 202 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 1: there for me to go in and UH call two 203 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: or three recording studios up there to give me an 204 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,840 Speaker 1: introduction to that area. So I went in and started 205 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: doing jingles and sessions in these recording studios, and actually 206 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 1: went over to Berkeley College of Music and they offered 207 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,040 Speaker 1: me a job teaching, And I didn't want to be 208 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 1: a teacher. I wanted to actually be doing music, teaching music, 209 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: so I humbly declined uh their offer to teach there UH, 210 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: and wound up working in this one studio. I think 211 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,080 Speaker 1: I was working there six days a week, and I 212 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,520 Speaker 1: made fifty dollars a week. Now, if you went to 213 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 1: a recording school today and you spent that much time 214 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,000 Speaker 1: and effort learning how to record, you'd probably spend fifty 215 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,280 Speaker 1: grand a semester to get that kind of education. So 216 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: I think I got the better end of that bargain, 217 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:27,720 Speaker 1: and I got the better end of the bargain on 218 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: a handful of cherry bones for a guitar. All these 219 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,280 Speaker 1: trades and things that I did along the way for 220 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 1: the free Berkeley education and learning how to make records 221 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: in that studio in Boston for three years really served 222 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: me well. So finally, my friend Bernie Lyndon kept calling 223 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: me and going, what are you doing in New York? 224 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:46,839 Speaker 1: What are you doing in Boston? The music businesses out 225 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:49,520 Speaker 1: in California. You need to move to California. I want 226 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 1: to talk about California right now. Hotel California. Let's talk 227 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: a little bit about you're writing that song, because my 228 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 1: I mentioned my pet theory is the Eagles were kind 229 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:04,960 Speaker 1: of thought of as like a kick back mellow country, 230 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,599 Speaker 1: not quite rock bands, and I know the rest of 231 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:11,800 Speaker 1: the band really wanted to be more of a led 232 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 1: Zeppelin type of um, both with Hotels Destruction and with 233 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:22,079 Speaker 1: rock and roll, and Hotel California just took the band 234 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 1: to an entirely different level. Not only is the song 235 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: ranked forty nine on the list of Greatest Songs of 236 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,880 Speaker 1: All Time, Uh, the album sold seventeen million copies in 237 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:36,080 Speaker 1: the US thirty two million worldwide. I think it was 238 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:38,720 Speaker 1: number three on the Old Time List something like that. 239 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 1: So so you deserve a whole lot of credit for 240 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:45,600 Speaker 1: really taking the band up until the next level. I 241 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: have to ask, because it's so different from everything else 242 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:54,600 Speaker 1: that was done, how did you come up with that 243 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: that intro? And then how did you basically just write 244 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: the music for that song. At the time, I was 245 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: living in a rental beach house on Malibu Beach, and 246 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: I had two little kids. One was about a year old, 247 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 1: one was about two and a half years old, and 248 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,160 Speaker 1: I was sitting on a couch one day just playing 249 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 1: acoustic guitar and looking out at the sun glistening on 250 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: the Pacific Ocean and watching my two kids playing in 251 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:23,200 Speaker 1: the sand and this little swing set we had on 252 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 1: the beach, and I out came that progression two or 253 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 1: three times, and I had to go record a little 254 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 1: bit of it so I wouldn't forget it. Much like 255 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: a dream, when something comes through me, I have to 256 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:37,719 Speaker 1: write it down or record it, or you know, two 257 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 1: days later, I can't remember what it was. It was gone, 258 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: you know. So I run into my daughter's back bedroom, 259 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: who was almost a year and when she was awake, 260 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,560 Speaker 1: I had set up this little recording studio back there 261 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: where I could go in and make demos. So I 262 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 1: went back and recorded that little progression three or four 263 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:55,840 Speaker 1: times and turned it off and went out and played 264 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:58,960 Speaker 1: with my kids on the beach. Years well months later, 265 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: when it was time to sit down and write the 266 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,440 Speaker 1: songs that were going to become candidates for what was 267 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 1: going to be the Hotel California Record, I had put 268 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:11,200 Speaker 1: together about fifteen or sixteen song ideas, and I heard 269 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: that little three time loop through the progression, I said, 270 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,120 Speaker 1: I gotta finish that. So I really rebuilt the whole 271 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: idea of playing acoustic guitar, twelve strings starting it off, 272 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 1: and I played bass on the overdub. I played a 273 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 1: drum machine that ran through it, the sound kind of 274 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: like a cha cha beat or something, and I thought 275 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 1: Joe Walsh should just join the band, and was going 276 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 1: to be the first appearance on this record. Joe and 277 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: I had been playing together a lot before he joined 278 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 1: the band. If you go online and look at Joe 279 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 1: Walsh and friends, you can see him and I doing 280 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 1: all this guitar trading and jamming together. I wanted to 281 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:49,840 Speaker 1: have something on this record that he and I could 282 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: do together that that was by design from the very beginning. 283 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: It wasn't an afterthought, Hey, let's put a little guitar 284 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: duel at the end. That was conscious. That was conscious 285 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 1: aimed at trying to have a bed that we could 286 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 1: do that on. So when I got to the part 287 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:09,080 Speaker 1: where I was recreating or making up or ad living 288 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,000 Speaker 1: these solos, I said, I'd play something kind of like this, 289 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: and Joe had plays something kind of like this, and 290 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: then I'd play this and he had play something like that, 291 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,600 Speaker 1: and so I made a little mix of that and 292 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: I think fourteen or fifteen other song ideas. One became 293 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 1: Victim of Love uh, and put it on this cassette. 294 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 1: Made copies of the cassette. If anybody knows what a 295 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: cassette is anymore, I think you've got to be over 296 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,640 Speaker 1: fifty understand what a cassette is, right, and forget eight tracks. 297 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: Nobody knows what that. It's a it's a little plastic 298 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: MP three. It's just hard to get it in the 299 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:45,040 Speaker 1: CD players. It's a little fat anyway, So I made copies, 300 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: and I gave a copy to Don Henley, Glenn Fry, 301 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: Joe Walsh, and Randy Meisner, who was the bass player 302 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 1: in the band at the time. I said, if there's 303 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,920 Speaker 1: anything on these songs you guys like and you want 304 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 1: to finish writing with me, gimme call let me know 305 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,400 Speaker 1: and we'll figure it out. You know, we'll start working 306 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: on and him they called me a couple of days later, said, 307 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: you know, I like that track that sounds kind of 308 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 1: like a Mexican reggae and I knew exactly which track 309 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: evens almost a little Spanish influence, and so so let 310 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: me ask you a few questions about that, because I'm 311 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 1: fascinated by this process. First, the guitar duel at the end, 312 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,000 Speaker 1: So you want to incorporate Joe Walsh Moore into the band. 313 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:27,080 Speaker 1: What what did you use as inspiration for that? Because 314 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 1: when I was thinking about this, I immediately think of 315 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 1: the end of Layla or the Beatles Abbey Road medley 316 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 1: where there's three guys swapping h guitar looks back and forth. 317 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: What what was the driving force that said, hey, let's 318 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: do a little guitar duel on here. Thank Joe and 319 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: I had already been doing that and you were talking 320 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: about Layla. That was Dwayne Alman play the high slide 321 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: guitar part on that and Eric playing below it. It 322 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: was just it was something that all guitar players like 323 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 1: to do, to go together against somebody that plays really 324 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: all and it pushes you up to another level. And 325 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 1: so I wanted to do that with Joe on this record, 326 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: So I kind of designed that whole track with that 327 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,679 Speaker 1: in mind. Now, after I gave him that cassette, it 328 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: was like a year and something later we were actually 329 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:19,520 Speaker 1: in the studio. We had recorded that basic track three times. 330 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: First time it was in the wrong key for Don 331 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:25,439 Speaker 1: Henley to sing in, and he's got a pretty high range, 332 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:28,040 Speaker 1: but yeah, but even that was too hot. We had 333 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: to go lower it from E minor down to B minor, 334 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: which is not a particularly friendly guitar key to play in. Uh. 335 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:39,040 Speaker 1: And then finally we got everything laid out on the 336 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:41,600 Speaker 1: track and the overdubs done and the intros recorded and 337 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: everything done, and Joe and I, as I always kind 338 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: of foresaw it, We're sitting in the control room with 339 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:50,480 Speaker 1: two guitars plugged into amplifiers out in the studio and 340 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 1: miked up, and I was going to play a lick 341 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:55,119 Speaker 1: and Joe would play a lick, and we just started 342 00:17:55,200 --> 00:18:00,080 Speaker 1: doing what we had always done. And Don Henley opens 343 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:02,160 Speaker 1: the door and comes walking back in a stands there 344 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 1: for a minute and goes, what are you doing. I said, well, 345 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:08,159 Speaker 1: we're recording the solos on the end of this record. 346 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:10,159 Speaker 1: And he says, that's not right. You had to do 347 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 1: it just like the demo. I said, I don't know 348 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:14,639 Speaker 1: what that was. That was a year ago that I 349 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: made that demo idea. So he said, no, no, no no, no, 350 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: you've got to record it like the demo because he 351 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,120 Speaker 1: had been listening to it over and over and over 352 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: and over. Well, it is cat You have to admit 353 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 1: it's really catch Well, I have to say, some of 354 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,880 Speaker 1: the best first shots that come out when you're improvising 355 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,479 Speaker 1: are usually your best. You know, that moment of just 356 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 1: first inspiration comes out. So I had to call my 357 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 1: housekeeper back in Malibu and have her go through my cassettes, 358 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:46,119 Speaker 1: find that copy, put it in a blaster play it, 359 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:48,440 Speaker 1: hold the phone up to the speaker so we could 360 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,080 Speaker 1: record it in Miami. Then I had to sit down 361 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: and learn what I just made up off the cuff 362 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:57,200 Speaker 1: and wait a second, Hold on Hotel California was recorded 363 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:01,359 Speaker 1: in Miami. Yeah, not in not in l A. I 364 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: of all the research I did, that's the one thing 365 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,480 Speaker 1: I didn't even think of looking up. It would make 366 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: sense for you to record that in uh in California? 367 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:11,440 Speaker 1: But why why am I Auntie? Well? You know it's 368 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 1: funny because nobody in the band was from California. Handley 369 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:17,680 Speaker 1: was from Texas, Grands from Detroit, Joe was from Ohio, 370 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,400 Speaker 1: and Randy Meisner was from Nebraska. I was from Florida. 371 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:25,880 Speaker 1: Yet we became the California band that everybody identified with, 372 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: you know, and so especially after Hotel California came in, 373 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:31,920 Speaker 1: it had just such an iconic you know, sure everybody 374 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,760 Speaker 1: hears the word California and you think of palm trees 375 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:38,919 Speaker 1: and beaches and stars on Hollywood Boulevard, movie stars and 376 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,160 Speaker 1: all these images that we have just pounded into our 377 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:46,359 Speaker 1: head over the years are associated with that word California. 378 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:48,679 Speaker 1: Whether you've been there or not, you have images in 379 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:52,120 Speaker 1: your mor So, um, you know, to be the California 380 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 1: band and nobody from California's kind of a unique thing. 381 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: But we recorded in Miami, so last Hotel California. Question, 382 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 1: there is a version of the song played live and acoustic, 383 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:09,919 Speaker 1: and for that version you rewrote this beautiful sort of 384 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 1: Spanish introduction. What what was the inspiration for that? Well, 385 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,000 Speaker 1: in the middle of the nineties, everybody, including Eric Clapton, 386 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:22,080 Speaker 1: did an acoustic, unplugged version of like Layla right for 387 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,359 Speaker 1: for MTV they had m t V and plugged in again, 388 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: the same people who won't know what cassettes are won't 389 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,639 Speaker 1: know what MTV is, but f the audience will get it, 390 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:35,120 Speaker 1: that's right. So, um, we were putting together a bunch 391 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 1: of different things for that filming of the health freezers 392 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,720 Speaker 1: over film, and Henley finally says about three days at 393 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,200 Speaker 1: the very end of Rehearsally says, we need an acoustic 394 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: version of Hotel. Now. We have been playing this thing 395 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 1: with electric guitars and distorted amps for years, right, and 396 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 1: that's what everybody knew. And I thought, well, if we 397 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,360 Speaker 1: sit down with a couple of acoustic guitars and try 398 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:03,640 Speaker 1: to play, we're gonna sound like a couple of country 399 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,639 Speaker 1: bumpkins playing, you know, acoustic steel string guitar. So I 400 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,160 Speaker 1: had spent a lot of time sitting in a holiday 401 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 1: inn in Cambridge Square playing nylon string guitar while people 402 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: ate their dinner and ordered more wine from the later 403 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 1: and stuff. I had developed some pretty good technique on 404 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:24,679 Speaker 1: acoustic guitar nylon string guitar. So I went home that 405 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 1: night and I took out my nylon string guitar and 406 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 1: I started playing around with it, and I go, okay, 407 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:32,120 Speaker 1: I've got to order tomorrow to acoustic nylon string guitars 408 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 1: with pickups in them. Put one in Joe's hand, one 409 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,639 Speaker 1: in my hand. Here's how we start, would play it, 410 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,159 Speaker 1: and da da da da da, And so we just 411 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: put it together at rehearsal one day. We rehearse it 412 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: for two or three days. We get on the sound 413 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,280 Speaker 1: stage to record. I think there's like twelve or fourteen 414 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:52,680 Speaker 1: cameras rolling. There's an orchestra behind us, uh two recording 415 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 1: trucks recording all the audio, and at sound check we 416 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,040 Speaker 1: do the song. It starts right at the beginning like 417 00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: it started on the chord. Don Hanley says, this song 418 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 1: needs a special introduction. So I said, well, what are 419 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:08,960 Speaker 1: you going to say? How are you going to introduce this? 420 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,359 Speaker 1: He says, no, no, no, no, not talking introduction, and 421 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:17,200 Speaker 1: this needs a special musical introduction. I said, uh, okay, 422 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 1: So I said, you guys, play a chord, I'll doodle around. 423 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: When I stopped playing. You play another chord, this chord, 424 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,880 Speaker 1: I'll doodle around, third chord. I'll dool into a kind 425 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: of a frantic arpeggio. And then when I finally hit 426 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,879 Speaker 1: the slow, retarded part of that arpeggio, you hit the 427 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: final chord and we start the percussion. So, literally, sitting 428 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: on the stage thirty minutes before we start taping, we 429 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 1: run through this thing and I go, okay, I'm just 430 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,679 Speaker 1: gonna make it up hope. I'm funny, you know, like 431 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:50,880 Speaker 1: all the jazz stuff that I learned in New York 432 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,400 Speaker 1: improvisation has become really important to me to be able 433 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: to do that walk into a studio, plug in, makeup 434 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 1: a solo. So anyway, we recorded that. We made two takes. 435 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:05,320 Speaker 1: We were filmed the show twice. The first take obviously 436 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: was the best. The second one I did okay, but 437 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:09,800 Speaker 1: it wasn't as good, it wasn't as fresh. It just 438 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 1: wasn't as exciting as the second one. So we chose 439 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: the first take. And it's really the only song that 440 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: I know that was the same record recorded by the 441 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:23,679 Speaker 1: same band that has been nominated two times for Grammys. Uh, 442 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: quite the original and that one as well. Let's talk 443 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 1: a little bit about your new CD, American Rock and Roll. 444 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 1: This reads like a Grammy Award list of of guest 445 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 1: musicians Sammy Hagar, Bob we Are, Slash, Joe Satriani, Mick Fleetwood. 446 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 1: I'm sure I'm missing lots and lots of other people. 447 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 1: What what made you want to record a sort of 448 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: supergroup c D Well, it didn't start out that way. 449 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:57,040 Speaker 1: Originally had the initial concept for this record based on 450 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,880 Speaker 1: the song American rock and Roll. I was at Woodstock 451 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:03,239 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty nine. I saw Jimi Hendrix play live. I 452 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,440 Speaker 1: saw Crosby, Stills and Nash, I saw Santana, I saw 453 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 1: Janis Joplin, I saw the Grateful Dead. Three days worth 454 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: of just drenched, soaked your shorts, uh covered with mud, 455 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,399 Speaker 1: of probably the most historic rock and roll performances I 456 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: think in the history of rock and roll music. As 457 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 1: a matter of fact, that nuclear rock explosion that took 458 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 1: place at Woodstock in nineteen sixty nine, the fallout from 459 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 1: that event really succumference the entire world, and everybody was 460 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:36,840 Speaker 1: influenced and impacted by that. As a matter of fact, 461 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,399 Speaker 1: Slash is a huge Jimmy Hendricks fan. He cut his 462 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:44,159 Speaker 1: teeth learning Jimmy Jimmy Hendricks Licks and everybody that I 463 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 1: invited him to play on this record, in one way 464 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,720 Speaker 1: or another, were influenced by the artist at Woodstock. So 465 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: this song American rock and Roll is a little bit 466 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:57,439 Speaker 1: of a rock humnary musically, starting back in nineteen sixty 467 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:00,399 Speaker 1: nine with Hendricks and all those guys from Woodstock, and 468 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,320 Speaker 1: through the decades, every one of the artists that has 469 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: risen out of the ashes of woodstock and gone on 470 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:12,160 Speaker 1: to be huge artists themselves. Successful artists themselves. I thought 471 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 1: was really a nice salute to the history of rock 472 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:19,159 Speaker 1: and roll. So who helped you put this album together? 473 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 1: Who produced it? Tell tell us a little bit about 474 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:25,000 Speaker 1: the backdrop for this. I have a studio in my home. 475 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 1: I've had a studio since uh and I spend just 476 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:32,360 Speaker 1: about every single day in my studio when I'm home, 477 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:35,840 Speaker 1: not outlaying on my pool by my pool and Beverly Hills, 478 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:40,320 Speaker 1: but in my studio working. So um. I always doodle 479 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 1: around with different ideas, whether it's driving down the four 480 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:46,400 Speaker 1: oh five and grabbing a cell phone and singing lyrics 481 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: into a cell phone, or sitting on a plane with 482 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,200 Speaker 1: the laptop writing lyrics, or doodling around in the studio 483 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:56,280 Speaker 1: just plugging in a guitar and writing little parts, whatever 484 00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:59,080 Speaker 1: it is. I'm just obsessed with music, and that's what 485 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 1: I do. So um. The inspiration for this whole record 486 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:06,320 Speaker 1: was to be able to take these little bits and 487 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 1: pieces and invite friends of mine into play on it. 488 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 1: My last record, wrote it forever, I played everything on 489 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,199 Speaker 1: it except for one guy came in, Steve Luca there 490 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:18,560 Speaker 1: and played guitar on the title track, wrote it forever 491 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 1: with me um and it really turned out beautifully well, 492 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 1: but it was very controlled. There wasn't that inspiration in 493 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: that fire and that energy that comes together when you're 494 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:33,399 Speaker 1: sitting in a room with Joe Satriani, who's an incredible player, 495 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,719 Speaker 1: and we're trading off licks and writing harmonies and just 496 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 1: that excitement that's there. Or Peter Frampton and I play 497 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:44,360 Speaker 1: on an Alex Lives and Richie Sambora Oriental, the tons 498 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,840 Speaker 1: of great players. It just really got me excited. And 499 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: there's a song on this record called Charmed, and it's 500 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: about once you go through the success, the rise of success, 501 00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,439 Speaker 1: and you have all the money and the fame and 502 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 1: the adulation and private jets and cars and big houses, 503 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,240 Speaker 1: if the music doesn't have the passion, all that other 504 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,439 Speaker 1: stuff has lost its charm. It just doesn't. It's not 505 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:14,040 Speaker 1: worth it. And so to me, my original inspiration has 506 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: always been the excitement and love of music, from the 507 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,600 Speaker 1: time I was doing till the time even today when 508 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 1: I walk out on stage, I don't have to go 509 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,239 Speaker 1: out and play anything, but I love to be on 510 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 1: stage playing for people. So all of these people that 511 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 1: came in feel the same way. We didn't have to 512 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:33,080 Speaker 1: negotiate with managers and lawyers and all that stuff. I 513 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:35,760 Speaker 1: just call up Slash and say, hey, I got this 514 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:37,680 Speaker 1: song I'd love to have you play on. And he'd 515 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: come in with a guitar and we'd sit down and 516 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:42,159 Speaker 1: jam on stuff and have a great time doing it. 517 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:44,760 Speaker 1: A couple of hours later, he's given me a hug, 518 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:47,199 Speaker 1: he's off and we're editing and putting stuff together that 519 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,679 Speaker 1: we recorded. Same thing with Uh Sammy Hagar on this 520 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: I wrote this song called rock You. It's like a 521 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:57,840 Speaker 1: big stadium power rock star for Hagar, absolutely, and so 522 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,640 Speaker 1: I really wanted to do a raw duet with somebody 523 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,879 Speaker 1: that had that really strong rock and roll, gravelly voice. 524 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 1: I called up Sammy and hey, I got this song 525 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 1: I'd love to have you sing on. He said, sure, 526 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: come on up to my studio. So I hop on 527 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,359 Speaker 1: a plane and fly up Sasolito with my little hard 528 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,320 Speaker 1: drive in my bag and go in and literally an 529 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 1: hour later, he and I have sung a verse. He 530 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: sings a verse, I sing a verse. We trade off 531 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: on the choruses we do vocally, but just sharing the 532 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:29,679 Speaker 1: stage there on that song. So well, and Sammy was 533 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,520 Speaker 1: such the perfect person to play on that. Just as 534 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:36,159 Speaker 1: we're finishing, Joe Satriani comes walking down the hallway. He 535 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:39,360 Speaker 1: keeps his guitars and stuff in the back of Sammy studio. 536 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: I said, Joe, go grab a guitar, come in here. 537 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:43,719 Speaker 1: I got something I want you to play on. So 538 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:45,880 Speaker 1: he comes in and I set up my guitar and 539 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:49,200 Speaker 1: we just, out of nowhere create this thing, much like 540 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 1: I wanted to do with Joe, but we had to 541 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:56,520 Speaker 1: go back and reenact the exact demo perfectly. It's so 542 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,720 Speaker 1: much fun and excitement when you do it live right there, 543 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,320 Speaker 1: and Joe is an incredible player. Pushed me and I 544 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: pushed him, and that's what it's all about. And then 545 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:08,720 Speaker 1: as we're finishing Opposatrion and Bob Weir has a studio 546 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:13,160 Speaker 1: about two blocks away. Come on, hea, Yeah, he comes 547 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,680 Speaker 1: over to just hang out and get a freak cup 548 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:18,400 Speaker 1: of coffee and hear a few jokes and I see him. 549 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:21,080 Speaker 1: I say, Bob, come here, go out on that mic 550 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,160 Speaker 1: and just saying rock you, which is the chorus, and 551 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: I think we've got five or six Bob, We're singing 552 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 1: on the chorus, but it all just fell together in 553 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:33,400 Speaker 1: such a sweet way. And the title track American rock 554 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:37,080 Speaker 1: and roll. I wanted it to start off sounding like 555 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,120 Speaker 1: the late sixties seventies. Mick Fleetwood has a way when 556 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 1: he plays, he just sounds like Mick, and everybody so 557 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:48,320 Speaker 1: identifies with that feel in that era that he starts 558 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: off the song playing drums, another another drummer. Vocalists, not 559 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:53,800 Speaker 1: a lot of them, and we worked with two of 560 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:57,640 Speaker 1: the best. Yeah, and about halfway through, Chad Smith from 561 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:02,200 Speaker 1: the Chili Peppers comes in, feeling like a five thousand 562 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 1: pound gorilla on steroids. He plays so loud and so strong, 563 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,160 Speaker 1: and the track just kind of lifts up off the 564 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: runway and takes off when he starts playing. But that's 565 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:15,240 Speaker 1: really the migration from like the sixty nine all the 566 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:17,880 Speaker 1: way through the decades, and when we started hitting the 567 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:22,120 Speaker 1: eighties and that more intense, you know, Chili Peppers, Fighters 568 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 1: and the nineties kind of feel just kind of took over. 569 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:27,480 Speaker 1: I wanted the song musically to my great as well. 570 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,520 Speaker 1: So there's so many great people on this record. You know, 571 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:33,840 Speaker 1: Todd Suckerman from Sticks plays drums on a Jim Kilton 572 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,600 Speaker 1: or a couple of guys from Toto, David Page and 573 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,520 Speaker 1: I wrote a song called Hearts on Fire that he's 574 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:44,720 Speaker 1: just got this greasy keyboard player feel about him. Steve Carro, 575 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 1: their keyboard players on it, Nathan East, who used to 576 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:51,640 Speaker 1: be Clapton's guitar player, and before that are bass guitar 577 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,600 Speaker 1: player Clapton's bass player, and then before that he was 578 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,479 Speaker 1: with me, and before me, I had stolen from Kenny Login. 579 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,720 Speaker 1: So he finally got to work with Clapton, and I 580 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 1: don't have time to see him anymore anyway. The record 581 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,520 Speaker 1: was mixed by Bob clear Mountain. I don't know if 582 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: you are an audio file, but Bob clear Mountain is 583 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:12,640 Speaker 1: probably the most high fi legendary mixer in record history, 584 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:14,840 Speaker 1: to tell you the truth. He mixed it for me 585 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:17,479 Speaker 1: and did an amazing job. There's a guy named Bernie 586 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:22,000 Speaker 1: Grunman who was a mastering engineer that Bob clear Mountain 587 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 1: recommended that I use. So I go over to Bernie 588 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:29,000 Speaker 1: Greenman's mastering lab. This is oland, saclito or no, this 589 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:34,719 Speaker 1: is okay, And so Bernie calls one of his guys 590 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,400 Speaker 1: over whispers something in his ear, and the guy comes 591 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:41,080 Speaker 1: walking back in. He's got this big box of tape. Uh. 592 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,840 Speaker 1: And it actually turns out to be the original two 593 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 1: track mastered version of Hotel California from nineteen seventy six 594 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 1: that Bernie mastered originally and has remastered for CD and 595 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:58,600 Speaker 1: remastered for vinyl release and remastered for the Greatest to it. 596 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,440 Speaker 1: So all the stuff, and so I'm sitting there holding 597 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:03,200 Speaker 1: this box. I've got a picture of it. I'll show 598 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:06,080 Speaker 1: you of me holding this box of the original master 599 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:11,040 Speaker 1: while he's mastering this record American. So this really was 600 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:14,040 Speaker 1: an opportunity to do what you couldn't do on Hotel California, 601 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:16,880 Speaker 1: which was jam with Joe Walsh, and instead you jammed 602 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:19,960 Speaker 1: with all these other people. That must have been very satisfied. Yeah, 603 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,120 Speaker 1: it really was. It just expired inspiring. The other thing 604 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:26,720 Speaker 1: that's a little point side, noticed that Bernie Taupin did 605 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 1: the artwork for the cover of it. That's his American 606 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:33,280 Speaker 1: John's song co writer. He's a brilliant artist. And my 607 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:36,640 Speaker 1: soft Stone was working Nashville at a party and I said, 608 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: would you mind if I use one of those American 609 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:42,560 Speaker 1: flags for the cover of this album. Don't call American 610 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:44,880 Speaker 1: rock and roll. I know you're British, but you have 611 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,600 Speaker 1: had such an influence on American roll with you and 612 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:50,040 Speaker 1: bird are You and Elton, that I'd be honored. He 613 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:53,160 Speaker 1: absolutely let me have it, so that somebody on this 614 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:58,720 Speaker 1: record has an unbelievable pedigree, a great friendship. And uh 615 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:02,560 Speaker 1: did a wonderful job. You wrote the I almost forgot 616 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:05,240 Speaker 1: you wrote the theme song to Heavy Metal, didn't you. 617 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,120 Speaker 1: That's right the movie. I love that movie back in 618 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:09,960 Speaker 1: the day. As a matter of fact, that track was 619 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,600 Speaker 1: a track that I wrote for the Long Run record. 620 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:15,160 Speaker 1: It was going to be a follow up to Hotel California, 621 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:16,920 Speaker 1: where Joe and I would have been able to play 622 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:19,920 Speaker 1: these harder electric guitars, trading off in the harmonies and 623 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:23,000 Speaker 1: all that stuff. And we just never got to the point. 624 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:25,720 Speaker 1: I think we left three or four bits and pieces 625 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:28,040 Speaker 1: unfinished in the studio and we just had to get 626 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:29,800 Speaker 1: out of the studio. We had a tour book, and 627 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,240 Speaker 1: we were right up to the deadline, running out of 628 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:34,080 Speaker 1: time before we had to finish, and we just said, 629 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:35,960 Speaker 1: we don't have time to finish these. So I got 630 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:39,560 Speaker 1: a call from a director who wanted me to come 631 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: over and look at this animated movie. And I had 632 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 1: never seen anything like this in my life. It was 633 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,120 Speaker 1: because there never was anything like that. You're absolutely right. 634 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:52,280 Speaker 1: It was like an animated adult stoner movie. And I went, 635 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:55,080 Speaker 1: what do I write to that? And I thought about 636 00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:58,600 Speaker 1: that song that I had written that was tentatively entitled 637 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,440 Speaker 1: You're really High, I Aren't You? And I thought that 638 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:06,200 Speaker 1: would be in a perfect appropriate vibe that would go 639 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:08,960 Speaker 1: into that movie, and so I rewrote the lyrics, re 640 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:11,640 Speaker 1: recorded the track, and it turned out to be really 641 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:14,719 Speaker 1: a good successful track for me. So so before we 642 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:17,000 Speaker 1: talk about your book, I just have to throw some 643 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 1: numbers out about some of the accolades and and records 644 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:27,719 Speaker 1: set by the Eagles. So the Greatest Hits Album comes 645 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,480 Speaker 1: out the same year as Hotel California, right within a 646 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:33,799 Speaker 1: couple of months of that. That goes on to be 647 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:38,719 Speaker 1: the best selling album of the twentieth century and the 648 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,840 Speaker 1: second best selling album of all time. The only reason 649 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:44,760 Speaker 1: it felt a number two is after Michael Jackson passed away, 650 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:49,080 Speaker 1: Thriller surged and it just slightly notched I want to 651 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:52,000 Speaker 1: say twenty nine million in the US, forty two or 652 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:55,480 Speaker 1: forty three million worldwide. Actually, the R I A A 653 00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:00,880 Speaker 1: went back and they started analyzing all the screaming numbers 654 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:05,640 Speaker 1: and counting so many streams as a sale. And so 655 00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: now the number one's best selling album of all times 656 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:14,480 Speaker 1: is Greatest Hits Volume one. Eagles Greatest Hits Michael Jackson 657 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 1: is at number two, and number three is Hotel California. 658 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,560 Speaker 1: So having two out of the three top selling albums 659 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:25,560 Speaker 1: of all time is okay, not bad. So the Eagles 660 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:29,040 Speaker 1: go through two periods. They they break They started in 661 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:34,000 Speaker 1: the early seventies, they break up early eighties, right, So 662 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:36,719 Speaker 1: decade is what are the Beatles last eight years? So 663 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:40,759 Speaker 1: ten twelve years is actually a pretty good run. What 664 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:44,920 Speaker 1: motivated everybody to get back together? Well, you know, I 665 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:49,200 Speaker 1: think Don Henley put together this U Salute to the 666 00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:53,040 Speaker 1: Eagles recorded in Nashville by country artists. I recall Vince 667 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,239 Speaker 1: Gill and a number of other trips and a bunch 668 00:35:55,239 --> 00:35:57,760 Speaker 1: of people are on it, and it did so well. 669 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:00,200 Speaker 1: It was a bit of an eye opener about the 670 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:05,000 Speaker 1: demand and appreciation for Eagles songs. So I I keep 671 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:07,400 Speaker 1: hearing that and I always want to call BS on 672 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 1: it because Hotel California was a monster smash and the 673 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:17,239 Speaker 1: greatest It's sold a ton And if you remember what 674 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:21,279 Speaker 1: was it, late eighties, classic rock kinda takes over the 675 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:25,480 Speaker 1: air waves. Why wouldn't anybody think that there would be 676 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:28,719 Speaker 1: a demand for that? The boomers were aging, it was 677 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:32,200 Speaker 1: just you know, ready made to keep selling for the 678 00:36:32,239 --> 00:36:35,759 Speaker 1: next few decades. Or is this just hindsight? No? No, 679 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,239 Speaker 1: I think you're right. I think that Hotel California was 680 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:41,239 Speaker 1: always there is kind of the shining star of the 681 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:44,239 Speaker 1: catalog that the Eagles put out, But I think the 682 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:47,560 Speaker 1: countryside of it when it came out with country artists 683 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:51,399 Speaker 1: doing it, it was completely different. It wasn't Eagles performing it. 684 00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:55,000 Speaker 1: It was just an acknowledgement. It was called Common Threads 685 00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:58,080 Speaker 1: and it was a great country record, right. The closest 686 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:01,120 Speaker 1: thing to that would be the dedicated album of all 687 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:04,160 Speaker 1: the Grateful Dead covers was not not much earlier than that. 688 00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:06,400 Speaker 1: Is that about right? But it really just kind of 689 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:10,480 Speaker 1: brought to everyone's attention the viability of the possibility of 690 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:13,319 Speaker 1: a reunion. We had tried numerous times to get back 691 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:16,719 Speaker 1: together unsuccessfully before that, and why why there was one 692 00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:20,160 Speaker 1: hold out? Wasn't there? It was Glenn Fry yet Yeah, 693 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:23,160 Speaker 1: I mean both him and Don Henley had a fairly 694 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:28,960 Speaker 1: successful solo career and and Fry started doing TV and 695 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:33,120 Speaker 1: Miami Wis and movies. I think he liked his second 696 00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:36,440 Speaker 1: act as a as a star. He did. He enjoyed it, 697 00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:38,840 Speaker 1: and he was free of all the pressure and demands 698 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:41,880 Speaker 1: of having to follow up songs like Hotel California and 699 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:45,200 Speaker 1: make another album. The stress and difficulty of being in 700 00:37:45,239 --> 00:37:49,879 Speaker 1: the studio after reaching the height of a successful song 701 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:55,279 Speaker 1: album like Hotel California was just intense. Uh. Glenn used 702 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:58,000 Speaker 1: to call it the hardening of the artistry. That's a 703 00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:00,960 Speaker 1: dreaded disease, you know. That happened is when you have 704 00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:04,560 Speaker 1: this huge success that you have to surpass anything is 705 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:07,440 Speaker 1: like a huge hit movie and you come out with sequels, 706 00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:11,360 Speaker 1: it's always a little less than the original riot original movie, 707 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:15,680 Speaker 1: so Godfather Too being the only exception to that. Well, thanks, 708 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,680 Speaker 1: but you're right. I think that Common Threads record really 709 00:38:18,719 --> 00:38:20,680 Speaker 1: kind of brought everybody back to going, you know, we 710 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,520 Speaker 1: should get together and see how this works. And so 711 00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:26,640 Speaker 1: we went on to a shoot for Travis Trip for 712 00:38:26,719 --> 00:38:28,759 Speaker 1: Take It Easy, the first time we had been in 713 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:31,440 Speaker 1: the same room together for fourteen years. That was a 714 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,799 Speaker 1: video done from the album for MTV. That's right for 715 00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:38,560 Speaker 1: common threads, that's right. And we all played, we all 716 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:41,080 Speaker 1: hung out, we shot pooled together, we told jokes. It 717 00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:43,920 Speaker 1: was it was like, hey, this is okay, we can 718 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:47,480 Speaker 1: do this. All the old bad water is under the bridge. 719 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,120 Speaker 1: And so we decided would get back together and do 720 00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:53,400 Speaker 1: a tour and a new record and that MTV show 721 00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:57,080 Speaker 1: that we've taped for MTV, and uh, it all started 722 00:38:57,080 --> 00:39:00,840 Speaker 1: off really well. But as these things happened, they tend 723 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:03,960 Speaker 1: to It only is a matter of time before all 724 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:08,239 Speaker 1: the bad memories start coming back. Eventually, you leave the 725 00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:11,560 Speaker 1: bands and you write a book, which is not what 726 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:15,960 Speaker 1: I typically think of when I think of Fingers Felder. 727 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:18,840 Speaker 1: So what made you decide? And by the way, the 728 00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:23,400 Speaker 1: book isn't merely a throwaway. If you read the book, 729 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:26,920 Speaker 1: it's well written. It's clear you put some time and 730 00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:29,600 Speaker 1: effort into this, didn't you. Well, I never started out 731 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:31,440 Speaker 1: to write a book. As a matter of fact, I 732 00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:35,000 Speaker 1: failed ninth grade ninth grade English and had to spend 733 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,880 Speaker 1: the summer back in the same class in Gainesville and 734 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:40,440 Speaker 1: a hundred degree temperature where everybody else was going to 735 00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:43,480 Speaker 1: the pool into the beach with the same English teacher 736 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:45,680 Speaker 1: that had failed me. To make it up so that 737 00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:48,319 Speaker 1: I could go on into the tenth grade. So I 738 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:50,600 Speaker 1: didn't start out to try to write a book. I 739 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:53,400 Speaker 1: started out after I had left the band and also 740 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:56,480 Speaker 1: in the same twelve months had gone through a divorce 741 00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:59,919 Speaker 1: and separation from my wife. That everything that I knew 742 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:01,640 Speaker 1: that I had built up to that point in my 743 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:06,160 Speaker 1: life had been taken away. My fatherhood, my wife, my home, 744 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:11,760 Speaker 1: my family, my job, my celebrity, my association with the Eagles, 745 00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:14,600 Speaker 1: it was all gone. And so I don't know if 746 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:17,200 Speaker 1: you've ever thrown pots, but when you sit down on 747 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:20,160 Speaker 1: a wheel to throw a pot, you have to take 748 00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,080 Speaker 1: a piece of clay and throw it in the middle 749 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:24,080 Speaker 1: of this wheel, and then you have to center it 750 00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:26,839 Speaker 1: by leaning into it. And if it's a little bit 751 00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:29,479 Speaker 1: off center, as you try to make something, it goes 752 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:32,000 Speaker 1: more and more and more out around as you go up. 753 00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:36,200 Speaker 1: So I needed to recenter myself in my life to 754 00:40:36,239 --> 00:40:38,879 Speaker 1: get a clear understanding of what had happened to me 755 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:43,120 Speaker 1: to where I was today, and so that I could 756 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:47,120 Speaker 1: go forward, not out of round. I could recenter myself 757 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:49,600 Speaker 1: and go forward with a clear understanding and kind of 758 00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:52,120 Speaker 1: shed a lot of that baggage. So I started doing 759 00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:56,440 Speaker 1: these morning meditations every morning at about five thirty in 760 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:59,799 Speaker 1: the morning, when it was really quiet and still. I'd 761 00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:03,080 Speaker 1: met a tape for about fifteen minutes on specific areas 762 00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:06,040 Speaker 1: of my life. And as I came out of those meditations, 763 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:09,200 Speaker 1: I would write them down on legal pads, just Philip 764 00:41:09,239 --> 00:41:12,600 Speaker 1: three four five pages of memories from that time. I 765 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,800 Speaker 1: started filling up these piles of legal pads after a 766 00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:20,000 Speaker 1: couple of months, and my um fiance at the time 767 00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:23,600 Speaker 1: went in unbeknownst to me, and started reading these things 768 00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:27,520 Speaker 1: and said one day, you know, this would make great book. 769 00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:30,200 Speaker 1: I went, I can't write a book. She said, no, no, 770 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:34,080 Speaker 1: these are these are no I'd never written anything. No. No. 771 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:36,520 Speaker 1: When you when she was saying to you, this would 772 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:38,600 Speaker 1: make a great book, you said I couldn't. I can't 773 00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:42,319 Speaker 1: write a book, Car responses, effectively, you already did. Yeah, 774 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:44,799 Speaker 1: that's right. She said, these stories are great. This, this 775 00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:48,040 Speaker 1: is fantastic. So she introduced me to a guy named 776 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:50,919 Speaker 1: Michael Ovits, who at the time was was a big 777 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:54,120 Speaker 1: hitter right right, and he had a literary department and 778 00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:58,359 Speaker 1: a television production department in a film department blah blah blah. 779 00:41:58,440 --> 00:42:01,600 Speaker 1: Managed Leo DiCaprio, and these different things they had going 780 00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:04,399 Speaker 1: on in this new company. So I went to him, 781 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:06,640 Speaker 1: and after talking to him for about five minutes, just 782 00:42:06,719 --> 00:42:10,200 Speaker 1: describing some of the stories that I had written, he said, 783 00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:13,239 Speaker 1: you go to my office tomorrow and ask for the 784 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:15,920 Speaker 1: head of the literary department there and he'll take care 785 00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:18,680 Speaker 1: of it. So I go in. I don't even have 786 00:42:18,719 --> 00:42:21,200 Speaker 1: a book, I don't have anything in writing except my 787 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:25,200 Speaker 1: hands scribbled notes on legal pads. So I meet with 788 00:42:25,239 --> 00:42:27,960 Speaker 1: this guy, tell him some of the stories and some 789 00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:30,239 Speaker 1: of the thoughts and stuff I had had and how 790 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:32,760 Speaker 1: this came about. The week later, we're on a flight 791 00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:35,640 Speaker 1: from l A to New York to meet with five 792 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:39,400 Speaker 1: publishing companies. And when we get back on the plane, 793 00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:41,480 Speaker 1: by the time we land back in l A, we 794 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:44,920 Speaker 1: have five offers for me to write a book. And 795 00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:48,719 Speaker 1: I had never been so petrified my life about how 796 00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:52,359 Speaker 1: to take these chicken scrawls of my memories and turn 797 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,120 Speaker 1: him into a real book. So, with the help of 798 00:42:55,560 --> 00:42:59,080 Speaker 1: a co editor and co writer, Wendy Holden, and the 799 00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:03,480 Speaker 1: publishers editor themselves, we went through all this. I started 800 00:43:03,520 --> 00:43:08,560 Speaker 1: transcribing my memories, my meditations onto tape, and then that 801 00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:13,160 Speaker 1: was transcribed into keyboard writing onto a word document so 802 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:14,759 Speaker 1: I could look at it and edit it and stuff, 803 00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:18,120 Speaker 1: so I wasn't writing it all out by hand. And 804 00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:20,880 Speaker 1: it turned out that we finally got to a point 805 00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:22,840 Speaker 1: where we wanted to publish it, and I had to 806 00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:24,360 Speaker 1: put together a bunch of pictures in it, and the 807 00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:27,319 Speaker 1: next thing I know, I'm an author. I come to 808 00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:29,960 Speaker 1: New York a couple of weeks after that and release 809 00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:32,920 Speaker 1: of the book. I'm sitting in a friends apartment and 810 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:35,239 Speaker 1: I'm looking on Amazon to see where my book is, 811 00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:37,640 Speaker 1: and it's like a hundred and twenty eight or something 812 00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:40,879 Speaker 1: on the rock bios. I go in that morning at 813 00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:44,360 Speaker 1: like six am or something to be on Howard Stern Show. 814 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:47,399 Speaker 1: I've seen those clips. They're quite amusing, and we had 815 00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:50,000 Speaker 1: a great time. I think I played Hotel California and 816 00:43:50,080 --> 00:43:52,759 Speaker 1: head him and everybody in the in the room saying 817 00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:55,719 Speaker 1: a Hotel California with me. And I go back to 818 00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:58,320 Speaker 1: my apartment when I'm done, and I go to Google 819 00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:02,040 Speaker 1: Amazon to see where my book is and it's number one, sure, 820 00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:05,200 Speaker 1: And the following week that actually went on the New 821 00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:08,600 Speaker 1: York Times Bestseller's list. Like that, the power of Howard 822 00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:13,120 Speaker 1: was just unbelievable. So here's the question for you. There 823 00:44:13,239 --> 00:44:18,120 Speaker 1: was all sorts of interesting responses to the book. What's 824 00:44:18,200 --> 00:44:21,799 Speaker 1: the most vivid pushback that that stands out in your 825 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:25,719 Speaker 1: mind to to what you had actually written? You know, 826 00:44:25,840 --> 00:44:28,440 Speaker 1: I think a lot of people thought that I was 827 00:44:28,520 --> 00:44:31,480 Speaker 1: actually going out to like slam the guys in the 828 00:44:31,520 --> 00:44:35,000 Speaker 1: band and reveal a bunch of dirty inside. Really wasn't 829 00:44:35,040 --> 00:44:37,400 Speaker 1: a lot of dirty. No pun intended dirty laundry, and 830 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:41,040 Speaker 1: no, no no, no, I deliberately left all of that aside. 831 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:45,040 Speaker 1: I did not want to come out angry, bitter, retaliatory 832 00:44:45,040 --> 00:44:48,520 Speaker 1: in anyway. I have the highest respect for the work 833 00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:51,040 Speaker 1: and the art we made together, and I really like 834 00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:54,440 Speaker 1: to cherish that and keep that in a very positive light. 835 00:44:54,840 --> 00:44:57,959 Speaker 1: Despite all the arguments and you know, stress of having 836 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:01,160 Speaker 1: to create something a past Hotel California and all of 837 00:45:01,200 --> 00:45:05,319 Speaker 1: that tension, the ultimate outcome of the whole thing has 838 00:45:05,400 --> 00:45:08,920 Speaker 1: been phenomenal. What we went through to produce those records 839 00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:12,120 Speaker 1: was well worth the effort in time and hassle. So 840 00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:15,040 Speaker 1: I held that in the highest and still do held 841 00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:18,400 Speaker 1: that in the highest regard, and would never slander that 842 00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:21,080 Speaker 1: or slander the people so it was really as as 843 00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:24,600 Speaker 1: unbiased as I could be, and as that comes across 844 00:45:24,640 --> 00:45:28,040 Speaker 1: in the book, Yeah, just honest and unbiased and truthful 845 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:30,640 Speaker 1: about what And some people will go, oh, you just 846 00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:33,120 Speaker 1: want to make these guys look bad, and I went, no, 847 00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:37,680 Speaker 1: that wasn't the intent at all, And to be fair, Subsequently, 848 00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:43,480 Speaker 1: the the Eagles do this two part documentary and that's 849 00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:48,439 Speaker 1: completely unvarnished, warts and all. In fact, your buddy Joe 850 00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:51,920 Speaker 1: Wolf said, after he saw some of the honest things 851 00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:54,680 Speaker 1: that Glenn Fry said, he went back and said, oh, 852 00:45:54,719 --> 00:45:58,560 Speaker 1: I could be a little more honest also right, fairly, fairly, 853 00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:04,160 Speaker 1: completely transparent and unvarnished. Well, I didn't see anything anyone 854 00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:06,920 Speaker 1: said until I was asked to go in, and at 855 00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:08,960 Speaker 1: one time I thought, well, maybe I don't want to 856 00:46:08,960 --> 00:46:11,160 Speaker 1: be part of this. But then I thought, well, if 857 00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:13,319 Speaker 1: I went in and I was just telling the honest truth, 858 00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,719 Speaker 1: much like I had told him my book, I'm not 859 00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:18,600 Speaker 1: going to use an opportunity to punch somebody in the nose, 860 00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:21,800 Speaker 1: but just be respectful of what we had done together. 861 00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:24,759 Speaker 1: Uh that I thought, Okay, I'll go into it. So 862 00:46:24,880 --> 00:46:26,920 Speaker 1: I didn't even get to see the footage that I 863 00:46:27,040 --> 00:46:29,719 Speaker 1: was in before they put it in the film, much 864 00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:32,319 Speaker 1: less see anything else that anybody had said. The only 865 00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:35,799 Speaker 1: regret that I have about that documentary was that the 866 00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:39,880 Speaker 1: only two people that were had any history, which it 867 00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:43,640 Speaker 1: was the history of the Eagles prior to the Eagles 868 00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:48,000 Speaker 1: forming was Don Henley and Glenn Fry. Now Randy Meisner 869 00:46:48,160 --> 00:46:52,320 Speaker 1: was in much bigger bands before done Henley and Poco. 870 00:46:52,520 --> 00:46:55,880 Speaker 1: He worked with the Stone Canyon Ban, Rick Nelson, Stone 871 00:46:55,960 --> 00:46:58,640 Speaker 1: Canyon Ban, He did a lot of touring. I think 872 00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:02,479 Speaker 1: he was with a lot of other bands other than 873 00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:05,000 Speaker 1: the Eagles prior to the Eagles, and had a lot 874 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:07,760 Speaker 1: of success doing it. And yet there was no mention 875 00:47:07,800 --> 00:47:10,360 Speaker 1: of his prior history, no mention of my history and 876 00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:12,600 Speaker 1: the people I had worked with in Gainesville and grew 877 00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:15,279 Speaker 1: up with, and all of that stuff that led to 878 00:47:16,040 --> 00:47:18,520 Speaker 1: the whole Eagles being who and what they are. So 879 00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:20,360 Speaker 1: I thought it was a little bit more like the 880 00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:23,880 Speaker 1: history of Don and Glenn versus the history of the Eagles. 881 00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:26,960 Speaker 1: But but all told, I think everybody was pretty satisfied 882 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:29,799 Speaker 1: with how it came out. Yeah, I enjoyed it. We 883 00:47:29,880 --> 00:47:33,719 Speaker 1: have been speaking with Don fingers Felder, lead guitarist for 884 00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:37,520 Speaker 1: the Eagles, and all sorts of other musical ventures. If 885 00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:40,360 Speaker 1: you enjoy this conversation, we'll be sure and stick around 886 00:47:40,360 --> 00:47:43,320 Speaker 1: for the podcast extra when we keep the tape rolling 887 00:47:43,320 --> 00:47:48,280 Speaker 1: and continue discussing all things music related. We love your comments, 888 00:47:48,280 --> 00:47:52,800 Speaker 1: feedback and suggestions right to us at m IB podcast 889 00:47:52,840 --> 00:47:56,120 Speaker 1: at Bloomberg dot net. You can check out my daily 890 00:47:56,160 --> 00:48:00,000 Speaker 1: column on Bloomberg dot com slash opinion. Follow me on Twitter. 891 00:48:00,040 --> 00:48:03,279 Speaker 1: Are at rid Holts. I'm Barry Hults. You're listening to 892 00:48:03,360 --> 00:48:20,080 Speaker 1: Masters in Business on Bloomberg Radio. Welcome to the podcast. 893 00:48:20,239 --> 00:48:22,200 Speaker 1: Don thank you so much for doing this. I'm I'm 894 00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:24,920 Speaker 1: my a fan of your work for a long time, 895 00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:28,680 Speaker 1: and I'm really intrigued by some of these stories that 896 00:48:28,719 --> 00:48:32,360 Speaker 1: you don't hear all that often. There are a couple 897 00:48:32,360 --> 00:48:35,680 Speaker 1: of questions I didn't get to that I have to 898 00:48:35,760 --> 00:48:39,239 Speaker 1: ask before I get to my standard questions we ask 899 00:48:39,320 --> 00:48:43,080 Speaker 1: all our guests. So what you mentioned a couple of 900 00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:45,200 Speaker 1: people who played on the new album. Let me ask 901 00:48:45,239 --> 00:48:48,440 Speaker 1: you this. Who are the guitarists that you admire? And 902 00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:54,280 Speaker 1: why I like players that actually right sing and perform 903 00:48:54,360 --> 00:48:57,120 Speaker 1: their own songs. Okay, to have a triple threat, which 904 00:48:57,160 --> 00:49:01,000 Speaker 1: is what everybody in the Eagles did to me, is 905 00:49:01,040 --> 00:49:05,280 Speaker 1: the highest level of development and the highest of artistry. 906 00:49:05,280 --> 00:49:07,319 Speaker 1: If you look at people like John Mayer, to me, 907 00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:09,440 Speaker 1: I knew you're going to go there, because he's the 908 00:49:09,520 --> 00:49:12,719 Speaker 1: modern day Eric Clapp. He can write really well, he 909 00:49:12,920 --> 00:49:16,800 Speaker 1: sings really well, he plays really well. He's like the 910 00:49:16,840 --> 00:49:20,360 Speaker 1: whole package. He will have a career that spans decades. 911 00:49:20,440 --> 00:49:22,879 Speaker 1: He's not like a great singer that has to find 912 00:49:22,920 --> 00:49:25,080 Speaker 1: a great guitar player to play a solo or a 913 00:49:25,160 --> 00:49:29,200 Speaker 1: songwriter to write him a song, or he self contained. 914 00:49:29,239 --> 00:49:32,760 Speaker 1: Alicia Keys is the same way to me. Um, so 915 00:49:33,440 --> 00:49:37,920 Speaker 1: I like and admire players that really carry the whole um, 916 00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:42,160 Speaker 1: the whole triple threat to tell you the truth and 917 00:49:42,280 --> 00:49:45,279 Speaker 1: um what about you know, after you do show after show, 918 00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:48,360 Speaker 1: night after night, I'm sure they all kind of blur together. 919 00:49:49,000 --> 00:49:54,080 Speaker 1: Any gigs stand out as unique or special, weather it's 920 00:49:54,080 --> 00:49:57,160 Speaker 1: solo with the band, Any particular performances stand out in 921 00:49:57,160 --> 00:49:59,560 Speaker 1: your mind as wow, that was really a special show. 922 00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:03,520 Speaker 1: Couple of things. One we did right after I joined 923 00:50:03,520 --> 00:50:06,520 Speaker 1: the band. I think Joe Walsh wasn't in the band. 924 00:50:06,560 --> 00:50:08,960 Speaker 1: He was on the show. Bernie Ladman was still in 925 00:50:08,960 --> 00:50:13,600 Speaker 1: the band. We played a show in Wimbley Stadium in England. 926 00:50:13,680 --> 00:50:18,040 Speaker 1: Giant Right Elton John was headlining, uh and I think 927 00:50:18,080 --> 00:50:20,040 Speaker 1: there were four or five other bands on the show 928 00:50:20,080 --> 00:50:22,640 Speaker 1: as well, But it was for a hundred and ten 929 00:50:22,719 --> 00:50:26,239 Speaker 1: or a hundred and twenty thousand people. And if you've 930 00:50:26,239 --> 00:50:28,760 Speaker 1: ever been to a baseball field and you watch somebody 931 00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:32,279 Speaker 1: strike a baseball and then you hear the delay a 932 00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:35,960 Speaker 1: second or two later, the further way you are, you 933 00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:39,400 Speaker 1: really get to appreciate the distance and the speed of sound. 934 00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:42,240 Speaker 1: So when we were standing on this stage and people 935 00:50:42,280 --> 00:50:45,480 Speaker 1: were jumping up and down, you could see this wave 936 00:50:45,560 --> 00:50:48,719 Speaker 1: of jumps across the floor of Wimbley, and Wimbley's got 937 00:50:48,760 --> 00:50:53,120 Speaker 1: these overhanging kind of like terraces that hang out over 938 00:50:53,160 --> 00:50:57,160 Speaker 1: the round the stadium there they're actually going up and down. Structurally, 939 00:50:57,200 --> 00:50:59,439 Speaker 1: I hope they were engineered to carry that kind of weight, 940 00:50:59,719 --> 00:51:02,560 Speaker 1: but it was just a phenomenon to be able to 941 00:51:02,600 --> 00:51:05,000 Speaker 1: witness the speed of sound at a hundred and twenty 942 00:51:05,080 --> 00:51:08,480 Speaker 1: thousand people in one room. The other thing is like 943 00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:12,759 Speaker 1: I had to walk in and sing and play at 944 00:51:12,800 --> 00:51:16,000 Speaker 1: six am, which is three am in Pacific time, the 945 00:51:16,040 --> 00:51:20,239 Speaker 1: Howard Stern Show. I've done thousands of radio interviews, thousands 946 00:51:20,280 --> 00:51:23,160 Speaker 1: of TV interviews, and I have never been as scared 947 00:51:23,200 --> 00:51:26,920 Speaker 1: as I was walking into Howard Sterns radio show, because 948 00:51:26,960 --> 00:51:29,160 Speaker 1: in those days, if he didn't like you, he just 949 00:51:29,239 --> 00:51:32,480 Speaker 1: went straight for the goods, you know, and absolutely and 950 00:51:32,520 --> 00:51:35,160 Speaker 1: I just went in, you know, with my fingers crossed 951 00:51:35,160 --> 00:51:37,600 Speaker 1: and hoped. So I think that might have been one 952 00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:41,120 Speaker 1: of the performances that I was really petrified to step 953 00:51:41,160 --> 00:51:43,960 Speaker 1: in and play. But it ended up turning out great, 954 00:51:44,120 --> 00:51:46,279 Speaker 1: and it catapulted the book to the top of the 955 00:51:46,320 --> 00:51:49,279 Speaker 1: bestseller Howard was great kind to me. Really. He and 956 00:51:49,400 --> 00:51:51,680 Speaker 1: Joe had spent a lot of time together before, in 957 00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:56,960 Speaker 1: Joe's pre sober time, and uh so he knew from 958 00:51:57,040 --> 00:51:59,800 Speaker 1: Joe that we had had a great relationship. If you 959 00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:02,000 Speaker 1: want to repay the favor, he's got a new book 960 00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:04,600 Speaker 1: coming out and he's starting to do the circuit, so 961 00:52:05,160 --> 00:52:07,719 Speaker 1: you can bust his chops or or tell somebody else 962 00:52:07,719 --> 00:52:10,319 Speaker 1: to bust his chops when he comes in begging for 963 00:52:10,400 --> 00:52:14,360 Speaker 1: some for some publicity. Um, I think this is first 964 00:52:14,400 --> 00:52:16,719 Speaker 1: book in like a decade, so he's really trying to 965 00:52:17,239 --> 00:52:18,920 Speaker 1: trying to push it. So let me get to my 966 00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:21,719 Speaker 1: favorite questions. I asked these of all my guests more 967 00:52:21,800 --> 00:52:26,279 Speaker 1: or less. Um, let's let's plow through these. What was 968 00:52:26,400 --> 00:52:29,759 Speaker 1: the first car you ever owned? Your making model? I 969 00:52:29,800 --> 00:52:34,560 Speaker 1: think it was a sixty one sixty year sixty one 970 00:52:34,640 --> 00:52:40,120 Speaker 1: Simca for Simca, That's exactly what I said. My older brother, 971 00:52:40,239 --> 00:52:44,480 Speaker 1: who was just a brilliant academic in high school, got 972 00:52:44,480 --> 00:52:47,359 Speaker 1: a scholarship to the University of Florida, got a scholarship 973 00:52:47,440 --> 00:52:50,560 Speaker 1: to law school. Was like one of those five point 974 00:52:50,680 --> 00:52:55,120 Speaker 1: nine g p A uh students. Uh. He got like 975 00:52:55,600 --> 00:53:01,279 Speaker 1: a Chevrolet convertible, like a fifty seven Chevrolet convertible, beautiful 976 00:53:01,320 --> 00:53:04,400 Speaker 1: car and a dual exhaust. And I got to wash 977 00:53:04,440 --> 00:53:06,640 Speaker 1: it on Saturday if you give me a ride to 978 00:53:06,719 --> 00:53:09,239 Speaker 1: teen time dance or something that night, you know, because 979 00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:12,000 Speaker 1: I was still riding a bike anyway. So my dad 980 00:53:12,040 --> 00:53:14,200 Speaker 1: decided he was going to go over to Jacksonville where 981 00:53:14,239 --> 00:53:16,759 Speaker 1: there were all these car lots, and who was a mechanic. 982 00:53:17,320 --> 00:53:20,760 Speaker 1: So he comes back driving back into the front yard 983 00:53:20,840 --> 00:53:24,120 Speaker 1: the Simca. And I had never seen or heard anything 984 00:53:24,200 --> 00:53:27,360 Speaker 1: like this. It was like a made by Citron or 985 00:53:27,440 --> 00:53:30,640 Speaker 1: some French company. And I wanted to say, where's my 986 00:53:30,719 --> 00:53:34,120 Speaker 1: fifty seven Chevy convertible, you know, But I was the 987 00:53:34,239 --> 00:53:36,160 Speaker 1: kind of black sheep of the family. So I got 988 00:53:36,160 --> 00:53:39,640 Speaker 1: the simca, what's the most important thing people don't know 989 00:53:39,719 --> 00:53:44,040 Speaker 1: about you? Wow? Um that most people expect me to 990 00:53:44,120 --> 00:53:48,440 Speaker 1: be a certain type of cliche rock star. You are 991 00:53:48,560 --> 00:53:52,040 Speaker 1: not sure, not just a totally chill dude. You are 992 00:53:52,120 --> 00:53:57,080 Speaker 1: not a cliche at all. Yeah, I think I'm surprisingly normal. 993 00:53:57,600 --> 00:54:00,000 Speaker 1: The black leather coat and the boots are the closest 994 00:54:00,120 --> 00:54:02,719 Speaker 1: thing to the rock star vibe, only because I was 995 00:54:02,760 --> 00:54:05,360 Speaker 1: doing TV in there with sweats and you know, a 996 00:54:05,400 --> 00:54:08,680 Speaker 1: T shirt and flip flops on. So but um, I 997 00:54:08,760 --> 00:54:12,000 Speaker 1: do think people kind of jumped to the conclusion that 998 00:54:12,880 --> 00:54:16,880 Speaker 1: what they see in typical rock personalities is part of me, 999 00:54:16,920 --> 00:54:19,680 Speaker 1: and that's so not the case. So who were some 1000 00:54:19,760 --> 00:54:23,040 Speaker 1: of your early musical mentors you You mentioned Dwyane Allman 1001 00:54:23,160 --> 00:54:27,720 Speaker 1: and Elvis Presley who helped shape your worldview of music. 1002 00:54:28,280 --> 00:54:31,360 Speaker 1: You know, I learned and studied everything I could steal 1003 00:54:32,160 --> 00:54:36,120 Speaker 1: anybody that could play really well. I was fascinated by 1004 00:54:36,200 --> 00:54:38,680 Speaker 1: learning how they did at chat. Atkins was a huge 1005 00:54:38,719 --> 00:54:41,399 Speaker 1: influence on me. Bb King was a you. Albert King 1006 00:54:41,520 --> 00:54:44,160 Speaker 1: was a huge influence. A matter of fact, I think 1007 00:54:44,200 --> 00:54:47,080 Speaker 1: I have to acknowledge that Chad Atkins is the reason 1008 00:54:47,160 --> 00:54:50,280 Speaker 1: I wound up playing that double neck, and the reason 1009 00:54:50,440 --> 00:54:54,640 Speaker 1: was on Hotel Californ Hotel California. Um, my dad had 1010 00:54:54,680 --> 00:54:56,880 Speaker 1: been trying to learn thought that was Jimmy Page. I 1011 00:54:56,920 --> 00:54:59,399 Speaker 1: had no idea you're going to go with. I had 1012 00:54:59,680 --> 00:55:02,239 Speaker 1: been trying to learn a lot of chet Atkins things. Now. 1013 00:55:02,320 --> 00:55:05,320 Speaker 1: Chet has a special way of playing where he takes 1014 00:55:05,320 --> 00:55:08,000 Speaker 1: the low three strings and he plays much like the 1015 00:55:08,120 --> 00:55:14,160 Speaker 1: left hand of a ragtime piano on the low strings 1016 00:55:14,280 --> 00:55:16,880 Speaker 1: right and on the top three strings he plays the 1017 00:55:16,920 --> 00:55:19,560 Speaker 1: melody much like the right hand of a piano. So 1018 00:55:19,640 --> 00:55:22,399 Speaker 1: he's able to accompany himself and play a melody at 1019 00:55:22,400 --> 00:55:26,319 Speaker 1: the same time, which I found technically fascinating. And at 1020 00:55:26,360 --> 00:55:28,399 Speaker 1: fourteen I was trying to figure out how he did 1021 00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:30,840 Speaker 1: all this stuff. So my dad took me over to 1022 00:55:30,960 --> 00:55:33,239 Speaker 1: Daytona Beach and he played in the small like little 1023 00:55:33,320 --> 00:55:36,800 Speaker 1: Daytona Beach Civic Auditorium, and he had taken a guitar 1024 00:55:37,040 --> 00:55:39,440 Speaker 1: and he had wired it so that the low three 1025 00:55:39,480 --> 00:55:43,360 Speaker 1: strings went out of one pickup and went into a 1026 00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:46,600 Speaker 1: amplifier on one side of the stage. The top three 1027 00:55:46,640 --> 00:55:50,160 Speaker 1: strings went out of another output into another amplifier. On 1028 00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:52,680 Speaker 1: the other side of the stage, and when he played 1029 00:55:52,719 --> 00:55:54,600 Speaker 1: these things, First of all, it was the first time 1030 00:55:54,640 --> 00:55:58,880 Speaker 1: I had really heard stereo live. But secondly, he played 1031 00:55:58,920 --> 00:56:01,680 Speaker 1: this thing that he said, you know, the bloodiest war 1032 00:56:01,840 --> 00:56:04,600 Speaker 1: we had in America that caused the most American lives 1033 00:56:04,880 --> 00:56:08,359 Speaker 1: was the Civil War, Americans killing Americans, and I want 1034 00:56:08,360 --> 00:56:10,840 Speaker 1: to be able to heal those wounds. And I'm going 1035 00:56:10,880 --> 00:56:13,759 Speaker 1: to play the two themes. So he started playing don't don't, don't, 1036 00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:15,719 Speaker 1: don't do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do, 1037 00:56:16,560 --> 00:56:19,160 Speaker 1: Yankee Doodle Dandy on the low, three strangers coming out 1038 00:56:19,160 --> 00:56:21,400 Speaker 1: of one amplifier. Then he stopped and said, I'm going 1039 00:56:21,480 --> 00:56:23,920 Speaker 1: to play the theme of the South, and he started 1040 00:56:23,920 --> 00:56:27,040 Speaker 1: playing Dixie came out of the other amplifier, and he says, 1041 00:56:27,080 --> 00:56:29,640 Speaker 1: in order to unite these two spirits, I'm going to 1042 00:56:29,680 --> 00:56:31,800 Speaker 1: play them both at the same time. And he played 1043 00:56:32,000 --> 00:56:36,440 Speaker 1: both songs simultaneously, coming out of two different amplifiers, and 1044 00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:40,920 Speaker 1: the top of my head just exploded. How can he 1045 00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:44,440 Speaker 1: technically do that? And instrumentally how does he have So 1046 00:56:44,640 --> 00:56:48,280 Speaker 1: we stayed right where Chet went back and got a case, 1047 00:56:48,440 --> 00:56:50,480 Speaker 1: opened it up, packed up his own guitar. There was 1048 00:56:50,520 --> 00:56:53,600 Speaker 1: no road crew or roadie or anything, and he walked 1049 00:56:53,640 --> 00:56:55,160 Speaker 1: off the front of the stage and there were steps 1050 00:56:55,160 --> 00:56:56,840 Speaker 1: that came down. He was just gonna walk out of 1051 00:56:56,840 --> 00:56:59,160 Speaker 1: the front of the hall. My dad and I stayed 1052 00:56:59,160 --> 00:57:00,719 Speaker 1: there and I said, how did you do that? And 1053 00:57:00,760 --> 00:57:03,279 Speaker 1: he described how he had wired and split his pick 1054 00:57:03,360 --> 00:57:05,600 Speaker 1: up so he could do that. So when I got 1055 00:57:05,640 --> 00:57:08,760 Speaker 1: on the sound stage after recording all these guitar tracks 1056 00:57:08,760 --> 00:57:12,360 Speaker 1: in the studio to figure out how I was going 1057 00:57:12,400 --> 00:57:17,840 Speaker 1: to play that song live, I sent a ROADI out 1058 00:57:17,840 --> 00:57:20,080 Speaker 1: to buy the guitar and I rewired it. So it's 1059 00:57:20,240 --> 00:57:23,240 Speaker 1: literally two different guitars. One is a twelve string guitar 1060 00:57:23,600 --> 00:57:25,680 Speaker 1: that when the switches up, it goes out of one 1061 00:57:25,680 --> 00:57:29,200 Speaker 1: outputting into a Leslie amplifier, sounds just like the record. 1062 00:57:29,640 --> 00:57:31,520 Speaker 1: You flip it down to the other neck, it goes 1063 00:57:31,560 --> 00:57:33,840 Speaker 1: out of another output and threw a pedal board into 1064 00:57:33,920 --> 00:57:35,680 Speaker 1: an amp, and you got all that rock and roll 1065 00:57:35,760 --> 00:57:39,160 Speaker 1: electric guitar. So he not only influenced me in the 1066 00:57:39,240 --> 00:57:42,800 Speaker 1: playing and technical ability, but the concept of being able 1067 00:57:42,840 --> 00:57:47,120 Speaker 1: to do something as electronically technical as splitting the guitar 1068 00:57:47,160 --> 00:57:49,440 Speaker 1: into stereo, which really is the reason I had to 1069 00:57:49,640 --> 00:57:52,640 Speaker 1: wear that white double neck every night, quite quite fascinating. 1070 00:57:52,960 --> 00:57:55,080 Speaker 1: Let's talk about books. What what are some of your 1071 00:57:55,120 --> 00:57:56,960 Speaker 1: favorite books. You're on the road a lot. What do 1072 00:57:57,000 --> 00:57:58,920 Speaker 1: you like to read? What? What sort of stuff do 1073 00:57:59,000 --> 00:58:01,640 Speaker 1: you enjoy? Do you read books or listen to books 1074 00:58:01,800 --> 00:58:04,000 Speaker 1: or podcasts? What? What do you do to keep busy 1075 00:58:04,120 --> 00:58:06,280 Speaker 1: when you're traveling. I like to read. A matter of 1076 00:58:06,280 --> 00:58:08,160 Speaker 1: fact that I've got a great story. When my wife 1077 00:58:08,200 --> 00:58:13,240 Speaker 1: was working at Harvard Square. She was a search assistant 1078 00:58:13,360 --> 00:58:18,080 Speaker 1: research secretary for guys who were writing thesism books at Harvard. 1079 00:58:18,680 --> 00:58:20,440 Speaker 1: So I used to take a train over there when 1080 00:58:20,480 --> 00:58:21,960 Speaker 1: I got out of the studio, and I'd sit in 1081 00:58:22,000 --> 00:58:24,600 Speaker 1: this coffee shop and I was reading this book called 1082 00:58:24,880 --> 00:58:28,040 Speaker 1: written by Pdo Spinsky, call in Search of the Miraculous. 1083 00:58:28,200 --> 00:58:30,720 Speaker 1: And I was always I think I have always been 1084 00:58:31,120 --> 00:58:34,320 Speaker 1: and searched the miraculous in my life. So I'm sitting 1085 00:58:34,320 --> 00:58:36,320 Speaker 1: there reading this this guy comes down and sits down 1086 00:58:36,360 --> 00:58:38,320 Speaker 1: at older gentleman sits down and next to me. He 1087 00:58:38,360 --> 00:58:39,880 Speaker 1: looks at me, he goes, what are you reading? And 1088 00:58:39,920 --> 00:58:43,120 Speaker 1: I go, well, this book about this guy in Search 1089 00:58:43,120 --> 00:58:46,160 Speaker 1: of the Miraculous, and he was doing experiments with music 1090 00:58:46,320 --> 00:58:49,400 Speaker 1: where he would play different types of music and tonalities, 1091 00:58:49,440 --> 00:58:54,480 Speaker 1: Egyptian music, half town music, hold town music, Eastern, Western, Southern, 1092 00:58:55,080 --> 00:58:59,840 Speaker 1: to see what influence and how we responded musically and 1093 00:59:00,200 --> 00:59:07,040 Speaker 1: personally to certain frequency oscillations. And it was just fascinating 1094 00:59:07,080 --> 00:59:09,560 Speaker 1: to me. And I started explaining to this guy. He said, 1095 00:59:09,880 --> 00:59:12,360 Speaker 1: are you a student here at Harvard? No, I'm just 1096 00:59:12,440 --> 00:59:15,680 Speaker 1: a musician. He said, would you be interested in going 1097 00:59:15,720 --> 00:59:20,080 Speaker 1: to school here? And I went, no, I'm studying music. 1098 00:59:20,480 --> 00:59:23,600 Speaker 1: I'm a musician. I don't want to go study at Harvard. 1099 00:59:23,600 --> 00:59:25,600 Speaker 1: So I had the opportunity not only to be a 1100 00:59:25,640 --> 00:59:28,680 Speaker 1: teacher at Berkeley, but because I was reading that book 1101 00:59:28,920 --> 00:59:31,080 Speaker 1: he was he was a professor at Harvard, and he 1102 00:59:31,120 --> 00:59:33,320 Speaker 1: was going to get me out as a student, just 1103 00:59:33,320 --> 00:59:35,560 Speaker 1: because I was so obsessed with trying to, you know, 1104 00:59:35,640 --> 00:59:37,720 Speaker 1: read and learn stuff. So what do you do today 1105 00:59:37,720 --> 00:59:39,840 Speaker 1: for fun? What do you do when you're not in 1106 00:59:39,880 --> 00:59:44,240 Speaker 1: the recording studio? Well, I used to play golf a lot. 1107 00:59:44,320 --> 00:59:47,040 Speaker 1: I was a seven handicap and I loved playing golf 1108 00:59:47,080 --> 00:59:49,800 Speaker 1: when I have the time. But over the last five years, 1109 00:59:49,840 --> 00:59:55,120 Speaker 1: my life has just gotten so full of writing, recording, producing, touring, promotion, 1110 00:59:55,320 --> 00:59:58,760 Speaker 1: everything that my golf game has really suffered dramatically I'm 1111 00:59:58,840 --> 01:00:01,680 Speaker 1: up to a twelve handy happen. There's moments where you 1112 01:00:01,720 --> 01:00:04,240 Speaker 1: see the old seven show up, and then there's moments 1113 01:00:04,280 --> 01:00:07,320 Speaker 1: of twelve and fourteen, which are you know, not quite 1114 01:00:07,640 --> 01:00:11,720 Speaker 1: quite as welcomed into my golf game. So what sort 1115 01:00:11,720 --> 01:00:14,560 Speaker 1: of advice would you give a millennial or recent college 1116 01:00:14,600 --> 01:00:18,280 Speaker 1: grad who was interested in a career in music. You know, 1117 01:00:18,400 --> 01:00:22,040 Speaker 1: if it's something you're not absolutely obsessed with for the 1118 01:00:22,160 --> 01:00:25,640 Speaker 1: love of doing that, don't do it for the money. 1119 01:00:25,720 --> 01:00:27,520 Speaker 1: Don't do it because you think you're going to become 1120 01:00:27,640 --> 01:00:31,160 Speaker 1: rich and famous, and you know, uh, overtake the world, 1121 01:00:31,800 --> 01:00:34,800 Speaker 1: because at the end of the road, when you look 1122 01:00:34,840 --> 01:00:40,280 Speaker 1: back at your life, if you have not lived a fulfilling, loving, challenging, 1123 01:00:40,400 --> 01:00:44,160 Speaker 1: passionate life doing what you want to do, then you've 1124 01:00:44,200 --> 01:00:47,440 Speaker 1: lived your life wrong. You'll you'll have regrets that you 1125 01:00:47,760 --> 01:00:50,120 Speaker 1: It's not the number of zeros that you have on 1126 01:00:50,200 --> 01:00:53,720 Speaker 1: the end of your bank account number it to me, 1127 01:00:53,840 --> 01:00:57,200 Speaker 1: it's how much thrill and passion and excitement you had 1128 01:00:57,440 --> 01:00:59,640 Speaker 1: in your life while you were here doing what you 1129 01:00:59,760 --> 01:01:03,040 Speaker 1: chose institute, and our final question, what do you know 1130 01:01:03,080 --> 01:01:06,440 Speaker 1: about the music industry today that you wish you knew 1131 01:01:06,680 --> 01:01:09,760 Speaker 1: back in the early seventies when you were first starting out, well, 1132 01:01:09,760 --> 01:01:12,920 Speaker 1: you know, I became kind of self educated about the 1133 01:01:13,000 --> 01:01:16,920 Speaker 1: music business. I my brother was a lawyer, like I 1134 01:01:16,960 --> 01:01:21,240 Speaker 1: said earlier, and I really wanted to know how it worked, 1135 01:01:21,520 --> 01:01:24,320 Speaker 1: everything from accounting. I took accounting classes so I could 1136 01:01:24,360 --> 01:01:27,840 Speaker 1: read a general ledger. I got involved with overseeing a 1137 01:01:27,840 --> 01:01:30,800 Speaker 1: lot of the investments my business managers were doing, because 1138 01:01:30,880 --> 01:01:34,080 Speaker 1: so many artists wind up, you know, starting out rich 1139 01:01:34,120 --> 01:01:37,960 Speaker 1: and for bad business investments, wind up not being so rich, 1140 01:01:38,120 --> 01:01:40,640 Speaker 1: you know, just being ripped off. Its legend I was. 1141 01:01:40,840 --> 01:01:43,600 Speaker 1: I refused to let anybody put out a check out 1142 01:01:43,600 --> 01:01:45,840 Speaker 1: of my account more than five thousand dollars and list 1143 01:01:45,920 --> 01:01:48,280 Speaker 1: I sign it today it's a matter of fact. So 1144 01:01:48,760 --> 01:01:51,480 Speaker 1: you know, I just stay really keeping a close eye 1145 01:01:51,560 --> 01:01:55,160 Speaker 1: on the business side of it as well as I'm 1146 01:01:55,200 --> 01:01:58,680 Speaker 1: sort of self managed today. I mean I have management, 1147 01:01:58,760 --> 01:02:02,040 Speaker 1: but I literally look at every contract that goes in 1148 01:02:02,120 --> 01:02:05,400 Speaker 1: and out for show performances. We run spreadsheets to see 1149 01:02:05,720 --> 01:02:07,520 Speaker 1: what the gross is going to be, what the costs 1150 01:02:07,520 --> 01:02:09,080 Speaker 1: are going to be, what the net's going to be. 1151 01:02:09,200 --> 01:02:11,120 Speaker 1: Is this worth doing and going and doing and just 1152 01:02:11,600 --> 01:02:15,120 Speaker 1: really involved in the business side of the music business. 1153 01:02:15,240 --> 01:02:19,120 Speaker 1: Every document I signed, whether it's a publishing deal for 1154 01:02:19,120 --> 01:02:23,600 Speaker 1: for um my book or a new recording contract with BMG. 1155 01:02:23,840 --> 01:02:26,439 Speaker 1: Who's a great record label right now? Who my new 1156 01:02:26,760 --> 01:02:29,480 Speaker 1: record is on American rock and roll Great. I look 1157 01:02:29,520 --> 01:02:32,360 Speaker 1: at every contract, discussed it with my lawyers, go over it. 1158 01:02:32,400 --> 01:02:35,240 Speaker 1: And if you go through life with your eyes closed, 1159 01:02:35,280 --> 01:02:39,160 Speaker 1: you are just a turkey waiting to be shot. True 1160 01:02:39,240 --> 01:02:42,840 Speaker 1: true words were never spoken. We have been speaking with 1161 01:02:43,000 --> 01:02:47,840 Speaker 1: legendary guitarists and musician Don Felder. If you enjoy this conversation, 1162 01:02:47,880 --> 01:02:50,360 Speaker 1: well look up and entered down an inch on Apple 1163 01:02:50,400 --> 01:02:53,480 Speaker 1: iTunes and you can see any of the other nearly 1164 01:02:53,520 --> 01:02:55,960 Speaker 1: two d and fifty such chats we've had over the 1165 01:02:55,960 --> 01:02:59,760 Speaker 1: past five years. We love your comments, feedback and suggestions. 1166 01:03:00,120 --> 01:03:03,880 Speaker 1: Write to us at m IB podcast at Bloomberg dot net. 1167 01:03:03,960 --> 01:03:07,920 Speaker 1: Give us a review on Apple iTunes. I would be 1168 01:03:07,960 --> 01:03:10,280 Speaker 1: remiss if I did not thank the crack staff that 1169 01:03:10,360 --> 01:03:15,560 Speaker 1: helps put this conversation together each week. Um Medina Parwana 1170 01:03:15,840 --> 01:03:20,160 Speaker 1: is my engineer slash producer. Michael Boyle is our booker. 1171 01:03:20,720 --> 01:03:23,800 Speaker 1: Michael Batnick is my head of research. Anatica Val Brunn 1172 01:03:24,120 --> 01:03:28,320 Speaker 1: is our project director. I'm Barry Retolts. You've been listening 1173 01:03:28,360 --> 01:03:30,960 Speaker 1: to Master's business on Bloomberg Radio