PDA

View Full Version : Glenn to be Guest at Songwriters Hall of Fame Master Session at NYU



VAisForEagleLovers
09-27-2011, 08:27 PM
http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2011/09/26/legendary-songwriter-glenn-frey-to-be-guest-at-the-songwriters-hall-of-fame-master-session-series-at-nyu-.html

sodascouts
09-27-2011, 09:10 PM
Just saw that article from NYU come up on my Google alerts. VERY cool!

According to the article, "Master Sessions are free and open to the NYU community, members of the Hall of Fame, and the music community."

Hmm - that seems pretty specific. Do you have to show a student ID or something? How does one prove that one is part of the "music community"?

Freypower
09-27-2011, 09:44 PM
I don't know, but the people who attend will be very lucky. Photos! I want photos! (October 25 is my husband's birthday).

sodascouts
09-28-2011, 01:14 AM
They will indeed, especially since he so rarely gives interviews. To have an entire evening devoted to a "part lecture, part performance, and part in-depth interview, concluding with a Q&A" from Glenn Frey - so awesome!

Henley Honey
09-28-2011, 09:40 AM
Just saw that article from NYU come up on my Google alerts. VERY cool!

According to the article, "Master Sessions are free and open to the NYU community, members of the Hall of Fame, and the music community."

Hmm - that seems pretty specific. Do you have to show a student ID or something? How does one prove that one is part of the "music community"?


I don't know, but I'm a train ride away so I'm going to check it out. I'll post whatever info I get.

Brooke
09-28-2011, 10:01 AM
Wow! HH, you must go!

GlennLover
09-28-2011, 10:14 AM
I don't know, but I'm a train ride away so I'm going to check it out. I'll post whatever info I get.

That would be awesome if you were able to attend, HH!!!!

sodascouts
09-28-2011, 10:18 AM
Excellent! Waiting anxiously to hear what you discover!

Glennsallnighter
09-28-2011, 02:05 PM
Oooh, this is something I would love to attend, but timing wise, I haven't a hope so I'm not going to even try.

HH, I do hope you manage to represent the Border at it. I'm sure Glenn :heart: will be wonderful.

Is Taylor studying in NYU?

Windeagle
09-28-2011, 04:37 PM
Hmm... and y'know, Joe is playing in the area that weekend, and at my show in Red Bank, NJ just the night before.

So Glenn, if you're flying in early and have nothing to do... :partytime:.

Henley Honey
09-28-2011, 05:20 PM
So Glenn, if you're flying in early and have nothing to do... :partytime:.


You can stay at my house! I have a comfy spot all picked out!

Glennsallnighter
09-28-2011, 05:38 PM
I'll bet you do HH. just make sure your hub is out of the way. We wouldn't want him and Glenn :heart: to start discussing golf now, would we? :wink:

Ive always been a dreamer
09-28-2011, 07:40 PM
Hmmm - very interesting, WE!

And this is awesome - thank goodness for Google alerts! I would absolutely love to be in that room. But the timing of this majorly sucks for me. HH - I've got a sneaky feeling you may be on the Long Island Expressway that day! :partytime:

Ive always been a dreamer
09-28-2011, 08:57 PM
Is Taylor studying in NYU?

I believe she is, GA. I haven't heard anything about it recently, but I know she attended NYU in her freshman and sophomore college years. I assume she is there in her Junior year now, but I don't know for sure.

EaglesKiwi
09-29-2011, 03:47 AM
Quote from the article: “He has contributed dozens of songs to the canon of modern American popular music, and his indelible vocals have imbued these compositions with an emotional power that has made them resonate with generations."

Quite.

Wonder if I could sign up to a short course at NYU before 25th Oct... oh yeah, hang on, there's half a planet between me & NY! :hilarious:

Hope you get to go, HH!!

Henley Honey
09-29-2011, 08:31 AM
Hmmm - very interesting, WE!

And this is awesome - thank goodness for Google alerts! I would absolutely love to be in that room. But the timing of this majorly sucks for me. HH - I've got a sneaky feeling you may be on the Long Island Expressway that day! :partytime:


I think you might be right!!

Henley Honey
09-29-2011, 08:37 AM
I'll bet you do HH. just make sure your hub is out of the way. We wouldn't want him and Glenn :heart: to start discussing golf now, would we? :wink:


LOL :hilarious:
That's exactly what would happen. They'd be discussing eagles, birdies, putters, pars, irons, woods and what type of balls they prefer. Maybe even a few holes-in-one. Hmmm. . . . . Could be interesting. :hilarious:

Glennsallnighter
10-24-2011, 05:26 PM
So who is going? I bet you are all so excited. I can't believe its tomorrow!

Have a wonderful time. I'm sure it will be a very interesting session. Oh and in the unlikely event any of you DO get the chance to talk to Glenn :heart:, please tell him the Irish girl from Fallsview said 'Hi'. And that she'll be back!

Freypower
10-24-2011, 05:29 PM
Nobody has said they are going. HH only said she was thinking about it.

Henley Honey
10-24-2011, 05:42 PM
Soda, VAFEL & HH are going!
Soda came back to NYC with me from Atlantic City show and we cruised around Manhattan today.
We will give you all the details on the event!

Glennsallnighter
10-24-2011, 05:46 PM
Cool HH! Enjoy yourselves and have a wondeful time at NYU tomorrow evening. I'll be dying to hear all about it :thumbsup:

Freypower
10-24-2011, 06:12 PM
Well, that's good. I hope you get some photos. It didn't occur to me that the Atlantic City gig might make this possible.

Glennhoney
10-24-2011, 07:27 PM
YOU LUCKY GIRLS....enjoy!:)

Freypower
10-24-2011, 09:01 PM
So who is going? I bet you are all so excited. I can't believe its tomorrow!

Have a wonderful time. I'm sure it will be a very interesting session. Oh and in the unlikely event any of you DO get the chance to talk to Glenn :heart:, please tell him the Irish girl from Fallsview said 'Hi'. And that she'll be back!

I should add to this. In the unlikely event, etc, please tell him the Australian woman he pointed at during Route 66 also said 'Hi' and hopes she will be back too. :smitten:

Koala
10-25-2011, 12:22 AM
Cool that you are going, have fun!

Ive always been a dreamer
10-25-2011, 09:39 AM
I am so disappointed - I was supposed to go up today for the lecture as well, but I had to cancel my plans because I've got too much to do in order to meet a project deadline at work. Sometimes work really sucks! :sad:

Oh well - I can't complain (but sometimes I still do) - life's been good to me so far. Anyway, I hope Soda, HH, and VaIsFEL have a great time and I'm anxious to hear all about it! :thumbsup:

Glennsallnighter
10-25-2011, 09:49 AM
Awww that's a pity Kay! I'm sure you would have loved to be there! Like me! Still we'll wait with baited breath to hear what it's like!

TimothyBFan
10-25-2011, 09:51 AM
Have the any of the Eagles contacted Soda about putting her on the payroll in some capacity or the other? She's basically on the tours with them at this point, it seems anyways, might as well put her to use! :hilarious:

This is freakin' awesome that all of you get to go to this. It's so different from a concert and all. I can't wait to hear about this experience as I sit here in yucky ol' Indiana, smack in the middle of real life, living vicariously through others here on the board! :hilarious: I'm just kidding of course. I really do love my life. Really!!!!!

sodascouts
10-25-2011, 10:41 AM
Have the any of the Eagles contacted Soda about putting her on the payroll in some capacity or the other? She's basically on the tours with them at this point
I know, Willie! I was actually kind of embarrassed to admit I was going to this but I was in Atlantic City already and HH offered to put me up and... well... I really want to hear Glenn talk about his songwriting. Plus, it happens to be Fall Break at my school for the 16-week semester. It all just seemed to fall into place, y'know? Plus HH and her husband took me on a cruise of the harbor, I got to see the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge... I had a little NYC vacation!

I'm going to dress in a suit, slick my hair back (although I'm afraid some curls may defy even the most fearsome gel), and look all professional tonight. I'll be just another academic attending a university lecture - no fangirl squeeing allowed. ;) Glenn probably won't even recognize me!

Glennsallnighter
10-25-2011, 12:00 PM
I was wondering how you managed to wrangle all that time off Soda. Our mid term isn't until next week! It was a stroke of luck getting this week off. I'm glad you are putting it to good use!

You sound like you will look VERY professional indeed. But, ya know what.... I'd be prepared to put money on it.... Glenn :heart: WILL recognise you.

It sounds like it will be very interesting indeed. I'll be dying to hear what Glenn :heart: has to say about his songwriting. You remember to remember every word, Yeah? :wink:

VAisForEagleLovers
10-25-2011, 10:41 PM
Wow. I really don't know what else to say. Soda and HH will have better a better memory of what all was said. I took a notebook to take notes but then didn't even open it. At first, it was hard to hear. It was Glenn and Phil Galdston (a member of NYU's Artists' Faculty) sitting on chairs on a stage at an angle to each other (Glenn was angled towards us!) Whoever hooked up the microphone to his lapel put it on his left lapel and he spent the evening talking to Phil on his right, away from the mic.

He looked great (of course), and he wore a suit and tie. He sang It's Your World Now at the end, acoustic guitar only, and it brought tears to my eyes.

They asked us to turn off all electronic devices and it was quiet enough I knew the clicking of a shutter would be heard...so no pics. I'd planned on getting some at the end, but it all ended very quickly. I'll try and make up for it at Vegas next week.

One of the highlights of the evening, of course, was meeting HH and Soda.

I'll say it again. Wow.

Henley Honey
10-25-2011, 10:51 PM
Just got home. Had a wonderful time and enjoyed meeting VA. The lecture was very interesting and we learned some new things. One special treat that we weren't expecting was the performance of "It's Your World Now". We will write up a more detailed review tomorrow when we have more time, but here are some tidbits. . . .

Glenn admitted that Longbranch Pennywhistle was a bad name. He said he knew it wasn't a very good album when it was released (and he was right).

He talked about how he met David Geffin and asked if he could make some demos at Muscle Shoals while he was there with Linda Ronstadt. Geffin told him OK, but keep it to $500.00. Glenn ended up spending $2300.00 and that's when Geffin told him he needed to be in a band because they could cover his weaknessess with their strengths and help him showcase his strengths.

He said that he was never concerned with doing more than one lead song on an album. He recognized that Henley's voice was "money" and he had no problem giving Henley the majority of the leads if his voice was more suited to the song.

The more we write, the more we realize that we can't do it justice tonight with just these tidbits, so we'll leave it at that for now and do this right when we have more time. However there are plenty of highlights left.

Freypower
10-25-2011, 11:05 PM
Wow. I really don't know what else to say. Soda and HH will have better a better memory of what all was said. I took a notebook to take notes but then didn't even open it. At first, it was hard to hear. It was Glenn and Phil Galdston (a member of NYU's Artists' Faculty) sitting on chairs on a stage at an angle to each other (Glenn was angled towards us!) Whoever hooked up the microphone to his lapel put it on his left lapel and he spent the evening talking to Phil on his right, away from the mic.

He looked great (of course), and he wore a suit and tie. He sang It's Your World Now at the end, acoustic guitar only, and it brought tears to my eyes.

They asked us to turn off all electronic devices and it was quiet enough I knew the clicking of a shutter would be heard...so no pics. I'd planned on getting some at the end, but it all ended very quickly. I'll try and make up for it at Vegas next week.

One of the highlights of the evening, of course, was meeting HH and Soda.

I'll say it again. Wow.

How wonderful that you got to see that.

Freypower
10-25-2011, 11:07 PM
Just got home. Had a wonderful time and enjoyed meeting VA. The lecture was very interesting and we learned some new things. One special treat that we weren't expecting was the performance of "It's Your World Now". We will write up a more detailed review tomorrow when we have more time, but here are some tidbits. . . .

Glenn admitted that Longbranch Pennywhistle was a bad name. He said he knew it wasn't a very good album when it was released (and he was right).

He talked about how he met David Geffin and asked if he could make some demos at Muscle Shoals while he was there with Linda Ronstadt. Geffin told him OK, but keep it to $500.00. Glenn ended up spending $2300.00 and that's when Geffin told him he needed to be in a band because they could cover his weaknessess with their strengths and help him showcase his strengths.

He said that he was never concerned with doing more than one lead song on an album. He recognized that Henley's voice was "money" and he had no problem giving Henley the majority of the leads if his voice was more suited to the song.

The more we write, the more we realize that we can't do it justice tonight with just these tidbits, so we'll leave it at that for now and do this right when we have more time. However there are plenty of highlights left.

How generous & open hearted, as usual, but I would love to tell him that his voice is 'money' too.

I'm so glad you had the privilege of witnessing this event.

Koala
10-26-2011, 12:22 AM
Glad to hear you had a great time, an't wait to hear more!

How cool that he sang It's Your World Now! Love the song!

EaglesKiwi
10-26-2011, 04:56 AM
Just got home. Had a wonderful time and enjoyed meeting VA. The lecture was very interesting and we learned some new things. One special treat that we weren't expecting was the performance of "It's Your World Now". We will write up a more detailed review tomorrow when we have more time, but here are some tidbits. . . .

Sounds great. Thanks for posting so soon after the event :), really looking forward to hearing more...

TimothyBFan
10-26-2011, 08:21 AM
I bet this was a really awesome thing to be a part of---so different from the norm for one of our guys.

Love how modest Glenn is. He's an amazing musician, but he seems so humble and willing to give others credit where credit is due.

When Soda sent me a text after and told me he had sang IYWN, all I could think was WOW---that made those ladies awfully happy!!! I know how much that song means to so many Glenn fans here on the board. I only wish we could have a video of it. How wonderful that would of been to hear acoustically.

Anxiously awaiting the rest of the details.

Glennsallnighter
10-26-2011, 08:44 AM
Sounds like this was a wonderful and unique experience. Dying to hear more about it! And IYWN!!!!!! Swoooooooon!

Ive always been a dreamer
10-26-2011, 09:18 AM
Wow - Soda and HH called me last night after the lecture to fill me in since they knew how bombed I am about missing it. Sounds like it was an awesome, unique experience indeed. I'll leave the details for them to tell, but I can't wait to hear more too. :thumbsup:

sodascouts
10-26-2011, 11:40 AM
Just got back home. I'd love to chill out and post about last night, but instead, I've got to get ready to go to work! I teach at 2:30 this afternoon (our break is only two days long). No rest for the weary. ;) Totally worth it, though! It was indeed a unique experience and I'm very glad I went.

Glennsallnighter
10-26-2011, 12:27 PM
Its a pain having to head back to work so quickly Soda (did it in August) but I'm sure you'll agree it was well worth it. Hope today goes well for you.

Henley Honey
10-26-2011, 02:58 PM
I had a little time this morning so I went over my notes, but this does not cover even half of the lecture. Between Soda, me and VA I'm sure we can put it all together but it'll take time and several posts.

During the introduction, Glenn was lauded for the solidity and consistency of his material. He was credited with being a consumate artist who created country pop and who should be recognized for his work which concentrated and iconicized the SoCal lifestyle and vibe that permeated his writing. As a songwriter and an artist he produced tightly woven and cohesive songs.

Glenn mentioned that his Standards album is almost finished and how much he enjoyed "spending time" with the artists that he covered.

They began to discuss songwriting and how important it is that nothing seemed forced or out of place. Its best if the music just flows and is natural. He made a specific point of acknowledging his association with Don Henley and Jack Tempchin and their contributions to his songwriting.

After the first Eagles album -- which had 3 hits and what Glenn called other material that was "not so good", he and Don Henley discussed how they had "better get good at songwriting and get good fast" to be able to hold their own with the likes of Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne.
They decided to write songs together and in the first week wrote Desperado and Tequilla Sunrise.

Glenn acknowledged that his is a big audiophile of American rhythm and blues, Motown, The Byrds and The Beach Boys. He thought that if he started spending time with great artists and studying their catalogs, some of their greatness would "rub off". He would listen to the music of Al Green and Hall & Oates and try and analyze and learn from them. He recently "spent time" with Neil Young's catalog.

He talked about how in Detroit where he grew up, Bob Seger took him under his wing, how they spent time together in and out of the studio. Bob told him that if he wanted to make it in the music business he'd have to write his own songs. Glenn asked Bob "Well, what if they're bad songs?" Seger said: "Oh, they're gonna be bad -- but you just have to keep on writing them". That got a laugh from the audience.

I think this is when he started discussing going to Southern California with JD Souther and meeting Jackson Browne at a fund raiser in Long Beach and how he and JD rented the upstairs apartment while Jackson lived in the downstairs unit in a house in Echo Park. Glenn said that Jackson unwittingly taught him how to write a song. Jackson would get up early in the mornings and work on his songs over and over again trying to get them right. Glenn would be listening from the upstairs apartment and came to admire Jackson for his diligence and his artistic craftmanship which he realized was necessary to write songs. Glenn learned that to write you just had to "roll up your sleeves" and "hunker down" and work at perfecting the song over and over again.

Glenn felt that at that time by himself he wasn't that great of a songwriter but that he found a great songwriting partner in Don Henley. Henley was an English literature student at North Texas State University who was smart, very literate, well read and educated, who understood lyrics, poetry, pentameter and elements of song writing. He said they were "scared great".


They started off playing with Linda Ronstadt, but shortly thereafter formed the Eagles.

More to follow -- have to go to work!

Brooke
10-26-2011, 03:06 PM
Very good so far, HH! We'll be diligently waiting.........

Freypower
10-26-2011, 03:44 PM
What an excellent summary, HH. How inspiring. I am so glad that he mentioned the After Hours album again. I wonder which Neil Young songs in particular he's been 'spending time' with on reexamining that catalogue?

Re Willie's comment about how much IYWN means to Glenn's fans - it certainly means a great deal to me. What I would have given to hear him sing it, unamplified. That's another unique rendition of one of his songs that Soda can chalk up (so can the other attendees of course).

Henley Honey
10-26-2011, 05:13 PM
OK -- Next short piece . . . My notes were pretty good and I'm fairly confident about my quotes being accurate. My apologies if I'm not.

Glenn was asked about the Eagles being labeled a Country Rock Band -- how he felt about that and if he agreed was it intentional to be labeled that way.

He replied: "The Eagles loved bands like Poco, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Hearts & Flowers and The Dillards. My definition of country rock was always Chuck Berry with three-part harmony. Songs like Take It Easy and Already Gone are two pretty good examples of what we're talking about. I'm not much for labels, but we definitely were more of a country band in the beginning but as we started to make personnel changes we became a little more hard rock. By the time we finished Desperado we felt like songwriters. Thanks to the Beatles and people who wrote all kinds of different songs we just felt that we could write all kinds of songs. We were growing and I think each album we made was a growing process.
Our albums reflected that process."

Desperado -- which he considers a better album than others and was a concept album -- "wasn't really a country rock opera -- it was an album with songs about people who lived outside the laws of normality".

Desperado came about because of a Time-Life book that Jackson Browne had called The Gunfighters. "We were sitting around late one night looking at pictures of the Doolin-Dalton Gang, Jesse James and Billy the Kid, so we starting thinking about that and started writing Doolin-Dalton. In the beginning it was gonna be an album about all folk heros. James Dean was originally gonna be on it, but as we moved forward we started to feel that Desperado was an umbrella for a whole concept album."


More later . . . .

Topkat
10-26-2011, 07:59 PM
I am just finding this thread!! How exciting, to get to see this lecture. I wish I knew about it. Love all the details of Glenn's speech. How many people were there? Did you have to be a student of NYU to attend?
What a fantastic opportunity to hear Glenn. I'm so happy some of you got to attend this!! Sounds fantastic.....
I wonder if Glenn is still in NYC??

VAisForEagleLovers
10-26-2011, 08:03 PM
The theatre holds about 300 and it was almost full. It was open to the public, but we heard some students say it wasn't advertised well within the school.

Koala
10-27-2011, 01:35 AM
HH, thanks so much for your summary!

TimothyBFan
10-27-2011, 07:24 AM
I'm loving the tidbits you guys seemed to have gotten. How cool is this after this many years to know we don't all know everything about them? ;) I especially love this part so far. I know about the The Gunfighters book, etc. but I don't believe I knew that they had originally set out to make it an album about all folk heroes or that James Dean was suppose to be on this album. Very cool!!

Keep the review coming. Loving it!!






Desperado came about because of a Time-Life book that Jackson Browne had called The Gunfighters. "We were sitting around late one night looking at pictures of the Doolin-Dalton Gang, Jesse James and Billy the Kid, so we starting thinking about that and started writing Doolin-Dalton. In the beginning it was gonna be an album about all folk heros. James Dean was originally gonna be on it, but as we moved forward we started to feel that Desperado was an umbrella for a whole concept album."

Brooke
10-27-2011, 10:32 AM
Yeah, it's nice to hear something new. What a great experience for all of you that went! :bow:

Troubadour
10-27-2011, 10:35 AM
Those of you who got to attend this talk are really lucky! It must have been great to see Glenn in a different setting, talking in-depth about his career and influences. It's very fitting with the band's anniversary coming up. Thanks for your detailed summaries, HH - we really appreciate your note-taking efforts!

I love the old stories about the Troubadour days and the '70s LA scene... a talented group of young singer-songwriters hanging around together, breeding creativity. One of those magical moments in music history that would spawn a whole legacy of amazing musicians and timeless songs. Not that they would have known that at the time, of course.

sodascouts
10-27-2011, 10:47 AM
Yes, thank you so much, HH. Just reading this is bringing back great memories.

Seeing Glenn in this setting talking about his experiences and songwriting process was very cool and despite the copious amount of research I've done on the guys and Glenn in particular, even I heard some new stories. Of course, hearing "It's Your World Now" for perhaps the only time it has ever been performed live was very thrilling!!!

Last night I intended to write some about this as well but when I got home, I fell asleep and didn't wake up until 7:00 am this morning. I guess I needed to catch up on my sleep - October has been a pretty crazy month for me! I'll try again tonight after I get back from work (gotta leave soon in fact).

I thought this would be my last Eagles-related adventure for a while, but now that Timothy has announced dates..... too bad I can't afford Vegas!

sodascouts
10-27-2011, 11:27 AM
BTW I thought "It's Your World Now" was especially appropriate considering it was done as part of a university series. Some of the students who attended may be the hit songwriters of tomorrow!

Glennsallnighter
10-27-2011, 11:31 AM
So true Soda! October has indeed been busy for you. But worth it I'm sure. Looking forward to hearing your 'review' of Tuesday evening. Hope youre feeling refreshed, and that you have a good day! :hug:

Henley Honey
10-27-2011, 03:13 PM
And, yet more . . . .

The discussion continued about songwriting. Glenn talked about there being a big transition from being a songwriter and somebody playing live to being a recording artist. "It's a very different animal."
In the studio its just you, an engineer maybe a few roadies and a tape machine and you have to figure out a way to put excitement on tape without an audience to feed off of. "You become more microscopic. You don't want it too rushed. Time and groove become more important".

He said that around the time they made their third album is when he thought they really started to get better as songwriters and also get better at making records. "After we wrote Desperado and Tequilla Sunrise, the criteria for us was if we played this for Jackson what would he think? If we played this for Neil Young would he think it was a good song? If we played it for Joni Mitchell would she like it or would there be a long silence which is always a sign of negation?". He talked about about how they started to feel like they were going to be OK. That he and Don had good chemistry.

They talked about Desperado not selling as many copies as the first album. Glenn said: "It was about being an artist too. It wasn't just about trying to sell records. It was about trying to do something that was valid -- something that was important."

Glenn was asked how he felt about other artists covering their songs. He said it was hard to cover Eagles songs. There hadn't been too many covers because their versions were the definitive versions. He thought Linda's version of Desperado was great as was the Gypsy Kings version of Hotel California. He also liked Vince Gill's version of I Can't Tell You Why.

They discussed the discipline and focus needed for writing. How the Eagles had put out an album a year for 5 years while simultaneously touring. Glenn said "We were young. We were excited. We were getting better. The one thing about having a hit record is that it tells you that you're doing something right and that you can just focus on what you can start doing better. For about 2 years, Don and I just could not do anything wrong."

He talked about making the album One Of These Nights. "That was when we really started to gel. We knew we were good. We knew what we were doing was good. I often tell young songwriters to find a songwriting partner. Two things happen when you write by yourself. You fall in love with your own voice and your own words and you can't really be critical about it cause you think it all sounds wonderful -- or you get very paranoid and don't think anything is good enough and you worry yourself to death."

He talked about how Don and he had enough mutual respect for each other that they could sit down and write a song and not be offended if the other did not like a suggestion made by the other. How they had a good checks and balance system with each other. Same with Jack Tempchin. He talked about how it helped to be working with people you trust. He likened the writing relationship to a marriage. You have to find the right fit and that with trust and mutual respect comes the courage to write songs.

He talked about the Troubadour and how they came to write Lyin Eyes. How it was the story of this triangle between the singer with the heart of gold and the rich sugar daddy and the beautiful girl caught in between.
"We wrote Lyin Eyes in 2 days. It's a song with 8 verses that is 7 to 8 minutes long and we actually had more lyrics than we used. The story just worked. We wrote it fast."

Glenn talked about what a great high voice Randy had but that he never had a hit record so they decided to write TITTL for him which was the Eagles first million-selling single. "It just sort of felt like we knew what we were doing. We knew the rules. We knew what was good and what wasn't good and we weren't afraid to go in there and just have at it."

They talked about the unusual structure of One Of These Nights. They played the intro and the beginning of the song. Glenn said: "That's my favorite Eagles record. We almost called the OOTN album Black In The Saddle because we felt we were getting a little more R&B into our music, moving a little bit away from Country Rock on some songs."
"We had Don Henley who was one of the great singers of our time and he's got the kind of voice that can sing R&B".

Glenn told the story of how he and Don had written OOTN and were to meet up with the band in Miami and go into the studio. Randy got stuck in a snowstorm in Cleveland and got delayed so they started without him. That is how Don Felder came to pick up the bass and write the intro on OOTN. Glenn also said that OOTN was originally written on the piano.

They discussed the "simple but innovative structure" of the song.
"It just felt right. Sometimes the songs take over and they tell you what to write. Sometimes it's not always you doing it. There are no rules in songwriting other than it's gotta sound cool. It can't sound forced. It needs to be natural. Respect the song. Understand what it says. Respect the vocal."

He talked about how a song isn't finished until the record is mixed and gave the example of OOTN. How they had the line -- I've been searching for the daughter of the devil himself -- but that they didn't have the line searching for an angel in white for about 3-4 weeks until a friend/producer suggested it.

Continuing the discussion about how a song is really never done, Glenn talked about how Don as a lyric writer would never give up -- even when his lead vocals were done. "He'd come back in and say I wan't to try it this way and he'd try new lyrics." They used the phrase "Hidden Deeper Meaning". How they would try and squeeze more meaning into the song. "Something personal".

"Songwriting is about getting big ideas into small places. You're not writing a novel with vivid descriptions. Sometimes you can't say everthing you want to say. Sometimes what you leave out is just as important as what you leave in. Never explain everything. I think that's a big mistake."

He said: "One of the greatest allies that you have as an artist is the imagination of your audience -- of finding a way to draw them in -- to have them identify with this piece of material so that it's them, not you. It's them. They're the guy in Lyin Eyes. They're the guy in BOML. You want to get people involved. You can't do that if you're just gonna explain everything. People need to be tricked into enlightenment."

He continued: "As a songwriter, the one thing you have to do is show up. I don't wirte songs all the time, but I carry around titles with me. I carry around ideas and then when it comes time for songwriting you need to do it everyday." He talked about how he used to think songs came from "up here" meaning the air, but now thinks they come from the subconscious "cause that's where you've read all the books, listened to the music, chords and stories. It's all in your subconscious. You have to get yourself ready and oiled enough to let that stuff flow out."


That's all I time for now. More later. . . . .

Freypower
10-27-2011, 04:45 PM
That's really an in depth look at the way they wrote songs but I am glad they didn't call the OOTN album 'Black In The Saddle'. Despite Glenn's enthusiasm for the title track, the album is my least favourite Eagles album because the songs NOT written by himself & Don were quite frankly not as good. I didn't know the third person in the Lyin' Eyes triangle was 'the singer with the heart of gold'. Does he mean himself? I never thought of it, even though it originated in the Troubadour, as being about an 'industry' relationship.

My only complaint with all this is he doesn't talk much about how doing his own lead vocals influenced the way songs were written; he only talks about Don's vocals. I know he's being modest & he doesn't want to blow his own trumpet. The only part I could find which I thought may apply to him too is 'respect the vocal'.

Henley Honey
10-27-2011, 05:21 PM
He mentioned that once they had some money, they went up the block from the Troubadour to Dan Tana's restaurant and hang out there. They'd introduce themselves to these beautiful women who'd stay till 1 AM and then go home to their rich sugar daddy boyfriends. That was the context of the triangle.

Henley Honey
10-27-2011, 05:55 PM
It continued . . . .

"I've had moments where I've written songs when I wasn't even aware of starting the song." He uses two songs written with Jack Tempchin as an example. They were writing "The One You Love" and Glenn started talking about a sax riff that he had and he described it for Jack. Jack "got it" and they wrote "I Found Somebody" out of the blue.

On songwriting, he added:
"I love the self exploration. I love a little bit of the pain and suffering that must go into it, but I also love the fact that it is never the same. It's always different." He talked about each song having its own personality and said, "It's like with your kids. They are of you but they're not you. Some get written fast. Some take time. Some never get finished and I like that. I'm still amazed. I'm never disappointed. Sometimes the title comes first, sometimes the chords come first. Sometimes the title".

He went on to tell the story of how Life In The Fast Lane came about.
"I'm in the San Fernando Valley and its 1975. We used to play alot of poker in those days and we used to do alot of drugs. I'm riding in a Corvette with a drug dealer and we're riding on the Ventura Freeway and I know he has drugs in his briefcase. I'm sitting shotgun in this little 'Vette and he's all the sudden doing 85 mph in the left lane of the Ventura Freeway. I'm like -- what are you doin' man? He looks at me as says -- Life in the Fast Lane. So I said to myself -- now that's a song."

He told Don about it and while they were rehearsing in Stone Canyon at Randy's house. Joe played a lick warming up and Glenn told Don -- That's it. That's LITFL. He said they had a good story in mind of a young couple who had it all -- jet set lifestyle, fast cars and parties but ultimately found that an empty life. None of those things could satisfy the couple. He felt the song was perfect for Hotel California which he considered a "dark record".


to be continued . . . Anybody getting sick of this or should I keep going?

VAisForEagleLovers
10-27-2011, 06:02 PM
I want to read more and I was there!

Freypower
10-27-2011, 06:16 PM
No, HH, this is absolutely perfect. Although I have heard a lot of these stories in other forms, you are telling them the way Glenn told them, and that is important. In any case I hadn't heard the 'self exploration' part. I'm finding out more & more about him the more you write & you are doing it very well indeed. :rockon:

Henley Honey
10-27-2011, 07:01 PM
OK -- last installment for tonight -- cause I'm going blind trying to decifer my notes.

We are still on LITFL. They played the intro and Glenn said: "Makes you want to get high, doesn't it?" That got a laugh from the audience.
They played it partway through and continued the discussion on its structure. How it only had a half chorus in the beginning and that was because they felt it was important to get back to the story and then include the entire chorus later on in the song. They discussed how in the beginning of the song the characters are described physically (brutally handsome/terminally pretty) rather than describing their situations which came later in the song. Glenn said: "part of telling the story is to make the characters look a little more glamorous and interesting." His point was you have to leave somewhere for the characters to go in the story.

He added: "We used to have a saying in the Eagles, which was -- everything changes once Don starts singing -- and in a song like LITFL he is such a compelling vocalist that he becomes the center of the record. He is telling the story. He becomes the narrator and you want to listen to him." Glenn compared it to hearing Michael McDonald sing -- that you're just drawn in.

"Starting with OOTN, personally, all I cared about was singing one song on an Eagles album and I just wanted to write a bunch of songs with Don for Don to sing because he was money. He was straight to the radio."

Glenn was asked about any material that the Eagles may have done but never released. He said no, that if they felt a song wasn't good enough to be released they'd never have finished it. It was in the context of not using all their material where Glenn said Don Felder would bring them songs and 90% of them had so many guitar parts there was no room for vocals and therefore not used -- with one exception -- and that was Hotel California.

(Soda, please double check your notes on the above Felder section as I don't want to misinterpret what Glenn said or what he meant!!!) He was in no way derogatory to Don Felder.

Glenn and Don (Henley) really liked the synthesis of the Mexican/Raggae sound on Hotel California. Glenn said he likes songs with multiple influences. He said it makes them more interesting.

More tomorrow -- or maybe Soda wants to pick it up from here?

Troubadour
10-27-2011, 07:01 PM
I agree - your write-ups are superb, HH! I'm really enjoying them.

Freypower
10-27-2011, 07:37 PM
The gushing about Don is admirable. There seems no point in saying that Glenn's narration of songs such as Lyin' Eyes & New Kid In Town is just as compelling.

Both New Kid In Town & Heartache Tonight - songs GLENN sang - went to Number One & won Grammy awards. One of those was for the vocal performance.

I know how humble he is & I know that he wishes to acknowledge Don's talent, but for heaven's sake, there were two of them in that partnership, and still are, and they both bring an equal amount of talent to the partnership & to the band.

ETA: Don't get me wrong; I am grateful to hear these insights. I know very well that he isn't going to go to something like this & tell everyone how wonderful HE is. That isn't what he does. As I said; admirable & humble.

Glennhoney
10-27-2011, 07:46 PM
WOW...wish it had been video taped...I would've loved to seen him/listen to him talk about all this....did you guys take notes?..or tape him...or else you have an incredible memory....great job..

Henley Honey
10-27-2011, 08:38 PM
I took notes. I took stenography & typing about a thousand years ago and it's like riding a bike -- you never forget. I was a little rusty at first, but it kicked in and I managed to concentrate and get it down. The difficulty comes in getting the notes transcribed without misquoting.

On a more frivolous note, Glenn looked HOT. :inlove:

I saw him outside the venue talking on his cell phone when he first arrived and he had on a dark, three-quarter length overcoat. He wore a two-piece suit that fit very well. He looked fit but cold. The theater was like a freezer. Betcha he wished he'd kept on the coat!

Topkat
10-27-2011, 10:40 PM
Wow, HH you really got every detail on Glenn's appearance. I don't know how you got down all that info. It was great reading all about it!!
Thanks so much for writing this up for us..... must have been a real thrill for those who attended.

VAisForEagleLovers
10-27-2011, 10:42 PM
Her pen was smokin'! So I kicked back and put mine away, then asked to copy her notes later. Or, better yet, get her to type them all in then just swipe them! I never did stuff like that as a student, but it's working for me now!

Thanks, HH!

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 12:00 AM
Ok, I'll pick up at the Felder section above since HH asked me to double check, and go on from there for a little bit! I may not have the following word for word, but it's pretty close.

"Don Felder, the guitar player for the Eagles from 1974... 'cause he joined in 1974... every time we made an album, Felder would give Henley and I a 90-minute cassette full of instrumentals for us to write songs to and, 90% of the time, he had played so many guitar parts that there was no room to even sing.. and we would say that to him. 'Hey, where do we sing? First this guitar plays this, then this guitar plays that....' The one exception was 'Hotel California.' He gave us this instrumental demo and Don and I were listening to it and we said, 'mmm. This is really a nice synthesis. It's Mexican Reggae. We think this is really good.' And I like songs that are a synthesis, where there's multiple influences.... it's not just one way or another. I think it makes things more interesting..."

He continued:

"So, we had this chord progression. Now, at the time, Don and I were big fans of Steely Dan. I think we'd met them a couple times, maybe, and we were especially impressed with how brave Steely Dan was with their lyrics. They said things in their songs that Don and I would never even dream of saying. I mean, they got the Steely Dan t-shirts.... just things that they said. We were very impressed.

"So, we started thinking that maybe we should be a little braver in our lyrics, and 'Hotel California' was the perfect song. So, we're sitting there and I said to Don, 'This song should be like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Start out, the guy's driving in his car. He takes a hit off a joint, he comes over the rise, he sees a place in the distance with some lights, he drives over there, someone opens the door, there's a bunch of weird people....and what does it mean? It means nothing! Now, later on in the song, we're talking about tarnished elegance, we're talking about how man continues to soil everything that's good, once he finds something really nice he goes there and wrecks it... there are certain elements of that tarnished elegance sort of thing... there's meaning in Hotel California... but a lot of it was just movie-making.... just pictures.

"And of course, we started writing songs before there were videos. Your mind - the back of your eyelids - was the screen for the songs you listened to. I would drive around in the car listening to 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' and dreaming it up. Sometimes I'm thinking about what it must have been like at the Beatles session, who was playing what and where they were sitting... and other times, I'm just having this movie going on in my head along with the lyrics that somebody's written. So that's really what we were trying to do. We've always been very visual writers.

"I have this theory: don't tell me how you feel. Tell me a story; paint me a picture. That's what's important. I want to be entertained. Other stuff can filter in... all your hidden meanings... your message... that can be included, but first and foremost, you have to entertain.

"'Hotel California' goes there. There's a lot to like about 'Hotel California.' There's the cricle of fifths chord progression, there's the reggae beat, Don and I wrote these lyrics, it's got a story that moves and continues to be like an episode of the Twilight Zone, the guitar parts, and how we went to the end of the song and built these guitar parts... Felder's solo first, then Joe's solo second, then split one for the third, then they play the triplets twice through... we had this whole thing, and we thought it was very interesting; it never got dull. 'Hotel California' never got dull. And then we put it out there...

"But back to Steely Dan. Walter Becker of Steely Dan had a girlfriend who loved the Eagles, and she's playing Eagles all the time. It probably drove him nuts. So, there was a song on a Steely Dan album called "Tell Me Everything You Did," and there's a line that says... they were having an argument, and the line in the song is, 'Turn up the Eagles; the neighbors are listening.'"

[We audience members all laughed at that!]

"So, we wanted to send a message back to Steely Dan. My idea was 'They stab it with their Steely knives.' Now, we couldn't say 'Steely Dans' because a 'Steely Dan' was a dildo, was slang for it."

[At that, I (Nancy) am like "Whhaaaa???" I had no idea that group named themselves after a dildo!]

Glenn added, "The other thing that happened... another line in that song.... we were always trying to put things in the song that meant a little something to us that maybe nobody else would get. Back a few years before we recorded Hotel California, a friend of ours... I won't say who he is... he had left his wife, and his wife became suicidal. She didn't wanna go on. And she would call Don. And Don would go over to her house and talk her off the ledge... I'm using a figure of speech. But she used to always say, 'I just don't really see any reason for going on. I'll just check out.' And that's what she called dying. So, now we've got this metaphor. So when we say 'check out of the hotel,' now we know that it means a little something more to us. So, we would look for things like that to include."

Koala
10-28-2011, 12:33 AM
Again, Thanks a so much everyone for your detailed summaries!I have enjoyed reading it very much !

Freypower
10-28-2011, 02:03 AM
I knew about the Steely Dan name origin.

That was very detailed & interesting.

I do wonder why he & Henley didn't feel they could rework or write extra parts/melodies for some of Felder's 'guitar parts' submissions. You can understand a bit better why Felder felt somewhat rejected by them.

EaglesKiwi
10-28-2011, 04:45 AM
This is fascinating reading. HH, you have done an awesome job with your notes! :bow:

I particularly like that Glenn was so respectful to both Randy and Felder. (Did Bernie get any mention?).

Wish I'd been there to see Nancy's face at the origin of Steely Dan's name.
;)

Interesting comment about Felder's songs not having space for lyrics. All I can think of is that maybe they built a certain momentum that lyrics would interrupt... but then, Joe's warm-up lick turned into LITFL. Maybe because it was shorter?

Could they have picked up parts of Felder's compositions and dropped them into the middle of something else, as a guitar solo? Or would that just not have worked... (I know we can't really answer the question, I'm just speculating here!).

Brooke
10-28-2011, 09:58 AM
This is really very interesting! Thanks guys for getting it all down so completely!

I would have loved to have heard Glenn tell all this in person!

Windeagle
10-28-2011, 09:58 AM
This is fascinating reading. Thanks for all your hard work, HH and Soda!

Henley Honey
10-28-2011, 10:40 AM
From this point on in the lecture, it was very difficult to hear the questions, but you can kind of tell what was being asked from Glenn's answers.

He was asked about the impact of Hotel California -- how it was used as a metaphor for the lifestyle.
Glenn talked about HC being their second concept album. How it could have been called Tales from the Dark Side or The Underbelly of Fame.
"We were writing about ourselves. We were rich and famous and we were dealing with how it's not all its cracked up to be. Where is the meaning here? What was fluff? What didn't mean anything?" He talked about how if he wrote something & Don like it, then he thought everyone else would like it too.

In the same vein, he was asked if he was surprised that all this "overlay meaning" appeared. Glenn said: "God yes. Televangelists would be on and they'd hold open the fold out of HC -- it was sort of our Sgt. Pepper -- we'd gathered a whole bunch of wierd people and people we knew in a hotel lobby and they'd go up and point to a shadow of a woman up in the balcony and say -- this woman is a satanist, she is a devil worshiper, a witch. It was just some girl we'd said to dress in black and stand over there. But that song is the perfect example of letting your audience's imagination bring the meaning to the song. So it means what it does to you."

They went back to the discussion of Cover Songs. They played a portion of the Gypsy King's version of HC. Glenn said: "That was good" and did a little chair dance to the mexican/raggae beat.

Then they played a long portion of a truly horrific cover of HC by Nancy Sinatra. (Horrific is my word -- not Glenn's -- but he seemed to cringe as well.)

Glenn was asked about the periods of time after HC where they didn't release a record and if writer's block was an issue.
He replied: "Certainly. I would never trade the experience of having HC as a huge selling album and then going in and trying to make a record after that. As Bob Dylan said 'They deceived me into thinking I had something to protect'. That's basically what happened."
He talked about how Saturday Night Fever & Rumours both outsold HC that year, but that eventually HC probably surpassed them in sales.

"When we went into the studio to record The Long Run we were pretty uptight about just how great everything had to be now. I wish at the time we could have taken a little bit more of a European view of our career where things happen in peaks and valleys but we were sort of in this arc going up. It was like how do we beat ourselves? How do we do better? The LR was a difficult record to make and it took a long time."

He talked about how he truly loved some songs on the album - in particular the song they wrote for Timothy. "It took a long time and part of the reason too is that words are not a replenishable resource. We had already used the moon, the sky, the wind, the desert, the ocean, the sea, the night, the stars. We sort of used all that stuff up in our songs and then what do we do next?"

He mentioned that the title track -- The Long Run was one of his favorites and that is was a R&B song. He mentioned ICTYW, HT and a song they wrote for a hollywood producer - The King of Hollywood. He also talked about Those Shoes being the only song he'd ever heard with two guitar talk boxes playing together.

Again, I could not hear the question, but they started discussing Timothy and his "pure voice". Glenn mentioned how Timothy had played in Poco and they sang kind of "happy, happy tunes" and how the Eagles were "really not into happy". He said Tim had a great falsetto voice like Smokey Robinson and that they should write something like an Al Green song for him. "So that's how that started. I went to the piano -- like I'm gonna do now -- and this will be bad cause it's in Timothy's key (D major 7)."
Glenn starts playing and singing ICTYW. (I think VA and Soda sighed simultaneously.)

He was asked about how the Eagles didn't do "happy" but how they still got emotions "melancholy pathos" into their songs. Glenn said: "I just think bittersweet is way more interesting that just sweet. I think there needs to be a little tension. It just makes the story you're telling in the song more interesting, so that was something Don and I always had in our minds." He used Wasted Time as an example. How its the story of a love relationship that is struggling. BOML - same thing and uses the line "That same old crowd was like a cold dark cloud that we could never rise above."
as another example of melancholy pathos.

We are getting near the end of the lecture, but there will be one more (maybe two) transcriptions to come . . . . .

TimothyBFan
10-28-2011, 10:54 AM
Just spent the last 1/2 hour or so in this thread and all I can say is WOW!!!! HH & Soda, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! :bow:

Going on the record here, knew about Steely Dan's origin. We (especially hubby) are big Steely Dan fans. I've always gotten a kick out of it because I figured there were lots of people out there that were clueless to that unless you were a fan. And of course whenever we listen to The Royal Scam album by Steely Dan and hear Everything You Did, hubby sings that line really loud at me. :hilarious: Heaven knows, my neighbors have heard a lot of Eagles from our house.

And if I'm not mistaken, on the Eagles Greatest Hits or Best Of album, isn't it in the liner notes somewhere how the "stab it with the Steely knives" being because of Steely Dan? Will have to double check when I get a chance.

And on the "gushing about Don". I just don't see it as that way at all. I see it as more he's simply stating facts and how he sees it. I don't want to offend anyone, but I think he's pretty much on the money on it all.

On that note, wouldn't it be interesting tho to have the exact same conversation with Don and hear his take on the same subjects?

VAisForEagleLovers
10-28-2011, 11:09 AM
HH - And you didn't sigh??

The key was too high for him, but he still sounded great. Of course, I'm just a bit biased.

I think what's coming next, if I remember correctly, he talks about how they wrote the song. If I were a songwriter, I'm not sure if I'd find this discussion helpful or frustrating. All in all, his approach to songwriting was different with every song, it seems. Sometimes the title could come first and he'd write a song to match it. Sometimes a chord progression would interest him and he'd write some music and let Don handle the lyrics. Sometimes he'd set out to write a certain type of song. Sometimes he sat down at a piano and things flowed from his fingers, and sometimes he struggled with that. If I were a budding songwriter, I'd be happy to hear that it can word regardless of your approach, but I'd also want to hear a more methodical approach. I guess songwriting is like other art forms...it just happens as it's meant to happen. And really, that was the point he was trying to get across the entire evening. Don't push it, don't force it, keep it honest, and put yourself into it.

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 11:38 AM
I'll try to add a little more while HH takes a break!

IMHO, they spent way too long playing that crappy Nancy Sinatra cover. You know, I couldn't help but notice that they didn't play a clip from an Eagles song GLENN sang one time! We heard clips from Desperado, OOTN, LITFL, and HC. Now, I can only surmise this is because Glenn thinks that those are the Eagles' best songs and he wanted those highlighted but still, I was kind of bummed. At least we got to hear him sing ICTYW and, of course, IYWN.

He identified the "King of Hollywood" - apparently it was about a producer named Robert Evans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Evans_%28producer%29). I had never heard that before!

One thing that cracked me up about when Glenn was describing Timothy's days in Poco - he started singing a bit from Poco's "Hoe Down" - "Going to a hoe down! Kick up your heels! Woo-hoo!" Glenn sounded freaking hilarious trying to imitate them.

To get more into detail as to how ICTYW was written.... he said that he came up with the opening chords on the piano and Don came up with the opening lyrics pretty much off the cuff. As far as how Glenn sounded - he actually did pretty good despite the fact that it was so high. I was indeed sighing, not cringing, lol.

The interviewer complimented Glenn's guitar solo, calling it "wonderful," and Glenn told the tale about how he usually wound up playing lead guitar on the bass player's songs. He said that both Felder and Joe had tried playing lead on ICTYW but "they just didn't seem to play what I ended up playing, which was very melodic..." He then quickly added, as if afraid he were come off as bragging, "I'm not saying it because I played it, but it's a very melodic, memorable guitar solo. You can sing along to it, just like you can sing along to the rest of the song."

After talking about bittersweet songs and BOML, the interviewer commented that many people thought BOML was a great love song. [Me, Nancy, I'm sitting there thinking, "Who are these people and do they not understand lines like 'We both see it slipping away'? Um, BOML is so obviously NOT a love song!"] But back to Glenn, lol.

Glenn added that BOML was quasi-autobiographical. "Don and I were in the Eagles, and we were trying to have girlfriends, and the Eagles were more important than the girlfriends, and it put a strain on relationships. We just wrote about that. But we didn't write about it just for us; we wrote about it in a way that other people could relate to. Someone once told me that people didn't just listen to the Eagles; they did things to the Eagles. They broke up with their girlfriend, they got the nerve to walk across the room and ask somebody to dance, they got in a car and had a fandango and drove all the way across the United States smoking dope and listening to Hotel California...." [folks in the audience were laughing at this] "...which I took as a great compliment. And people have said that to me, too. Like, 'I was in the hospital undergoing surgery and I heard this song...' and those sort of things. And I think that's a good testimony to the songs."

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 11:49 AM
Next was a part I really appreciated as a professor of literature, and that was Glenn talking about the value of reading to songwriting. The interviewer stated, "I know you are an avid reader."

Glenn replied, "Yes, and so is Don, and I think that is something I learned from Joni Mitchell. She was an avid reader and I met her around the time we were doing the third Eagles album, and she wrote words and taught me to write words. The best way to be a wordsmith is to be reading all the time. I don't think that that means you have to read just poetry. You can read stories; you can read a lot of things."

The interviewer then asked him about the importance of doing research for songs, and if he had rode out into the desert to write songs about the desert, etc., and introduced himself to new experiences in order to "shake it up."

Glenn agreed. "Yeah, I think that's really important. You have to keep feeding yourself, nourishing your mind. What else are you going to talk about?"

At this point, the guy read two questions from the audience. I was a bit disappointed that they only read two as there were many questions submitted, but I guess it was a time thing. Still, if they had spent less time playing Nancy Sinatra, maybe they would've had more time to read questions from the audience!

At any rate, the first question was: "What do you do if your lyrics and chords feel cliche? How do you get off that plateau?"

Glenn seemed a bit puzzled by this question. His answer: "Well, you don't use those!" That got some laughs. He continued, "That's a great thing about songwriting and it's a great thing about making records. It's not oil painting, where if you went to some color you screwed up the sky and now you have to throw the whole canvas away. This is songwriting! I mean, if you stay up all night and write some stuff, and you think it's great, and you wake up the next morning and it's bad, you throw it away. You say, 'Yeah, I wasn't very good last night. I thought that was great, but it sucked.' And then you just move on."

He continued, "I've taught a songwriting class at UCLA about fifteen years ago; I've done some speaking about songwriting this year as well. The one thing you can't teach anyone is how to be clever, and the best songwriters are SO clever. James Taylor is SO clever. Paul Simon is SO clever. The way they can spin a tale... write a catchy tune. To be clever is a certain talent and I'm not sure how you can educate, I'm not sure how you can teach that."

He came up with an example of not-so-clever vs. clever: "'My baby left me, I'm all alone, I sure am blue.' Now, that's not as interesting as 'An empty glass, an ashtray, a lonely room' - that's more interesting, but it's the same story. Again, it's about spinning a tale, casting a little intrigue out there. I mean, is there anything more interesting than the intro of Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight'? That intro comes on, and just the chords, and the dark pad, and you're hooked, you're there. It's not always the lyrics, sometimes it's the mood, but the whole idea is to draw people in. It has to be interesting. It can't just be slop. Like I said, if you find yourself writing cliches or hating the chords that you've written, well, then you keep working and find some good chords. You find another way to do these things. You just keep working."

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 12:27 PM
Instead of going to another question, the interviewer asked Glenn to talk about his "rules" of songwriting, especially his most important "rule" which was "Be Honest."

[Note from Nancy: I found this part to be the more revelatory of the evening.]

Glenn replied, "Somebody once asked me in an interview back in 1973 why I was in the music business, and I looked her in the eye and said, 'For sex and drugs.'' [audience laughs] "But it was only because I felt that that person didn't deserve to know the truth. That's not why I was really in the music business.... which was because I had something inside of me that wanted to get out. I wanted to make people feel good. I wanted to communicate. Music goes so far beyond the spoken word. I was just watching the George Harrison documentary on HBO and Robbie Shankard (?) was saying, 'Music transcends all the speeches you can give about God and religion... it's a feeling; it's a language unto itself.'

"The one thing I know about the Eagles and the one thing I know about myself is... whether you like the Eagles or you think we're pretentious country-rock snobs or whatever you feel, we have never spent a dishonest moment on stage, or in the studio, or sitting in my living room with two legal pads, Don and I staring at each other going, 'What do we do?' It's not something that I strive for; it's just the way we are. We have to be honest. And I think these things show through. I really believe we're transparent. I really believe that if you see somebody walk onstage and say, 'Geez, it's really great to be here tonight, ladies and gentleman! I wanna sing you a song that I really love. I wrote this a long time ago - originally it was called Brandy but Clive Davis told me to change it to Mandy, I really love this'... which he did...or so he says he did. But, you know, people can tell if you don't want to be there. People can tell if you're insincere. People can tell if you're fakin' it, if you're just going through the motions.

"And it's about your reputation. It's about something you have that you don't want to soil. You want that to be part of who you are. Bob Dylan.. honesty. The Beatles... honesty. They're not trying to fool anybody. They're just doing what they do because they love it. I think that comes across; I really do."

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 12:40 PM
His final bit was simply introducing IYWN. He told a story which he first mentioned briefly once back in 2007, and that was that the guy in the song was dying. Specifically, he said:

"This song is very long and it has four chords. This song is very interesting to me... speaking of 'hidden, deeper meanings'... I was writing to Jack Tempchin, and I said to him. 'I've got a title. I've always wanted to write a song called It's Your World Now.' And so he said, 'Yeah, that's cool, that's a good title.' So then, a couple weeks later, he called me up and said, 'I've started some lyrics for It's Your World Now. You want to get together?' I said, 'Yeah!' So he sent me some lyrics and basically, on the surface, this is a song about a guy who comes to visit a friend, or a girlfriend, or a lover, and they spend the day together, and then he's got to go. The truth of the matter is, the guy in the song is dying... and I've never told anybody 'til just now." Then he went into the song and, despite a couple minor blips, it was magnificent.
:inlove:

And with that song, the lecture was over. He said his goodbyes, blowing a kiss to Cindy on the way out.

What a great evening!

Henley Honey
10-28-2011, 01:07 PM
I LOVED the song. He simply picked up the acoustic guitar and just let if flow out of him. There was dead silence in the theater during the performance. The lecture was fabulous and although it was two-hours long, it felt like it went much too quickly and after a standing ovation and some thank-you's it was over. :wave:



Thanks for your help Soda. I could not have done this without you.
Don't get spoiled, boarderers. I am SO NOT taking notes at the Vegas show. I'm planting my butt in that front row and soaking it all in. I'm not even bringing a pen!

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 01:45 PM
Lol! Well, we did pretty good, eh, HH? ;)

I thought of some additional bits I'd like to add:

I remember when he was talking about Detroit, he mentioned he had taken piano lessons from the time he was 5 until the time he was 12, and he said, "I'm now a firm believer in early education" because playing just comes naturally to him even now, after all these years. If I'm not mistaken, his mother was in the audience sitting not too far from us, and I wonder if she was thinking "Yep, that was sure a good idea I had making him do that!" lol

As HH mentioned, Glenn talked about his association with Seger. He said that when he was a senior in high school trying to make it with a rock band, he wanted to be managed by Punch Andrews who was also managing Bob Seger, since Andrews owned a lot of clubs that all the bands wanted to play. He met Seger and was in awe of him because Seger had a record deal and had songs getting played on the radio. Glenn said that Bob kind of looked at him as a little brother and introduced him around to people like Marvin Gaye, and let him sit in on studio sessions like for "Heavy Music" when he was just 19.

He is very specific in his memory of when Seger told him he needed to write his own music - amazingly specific, I thought! What a memory! He recounted, "Bob and I went to Ann Arbor ... I was spending as much time with him as I could. We were at a club in Ann Arbor called The Fifth Dimension and we were watching a band called The Rationals. Now, The Rationals was a very good, four-piece white R&B band. They had a great singer named Scotty Morgan and a guitarist, bassist, and drummer. And we're sitting there watching The Rationals at the Fifth Dimension and Bob said to me, 'You know, they're never gonna make it, Glenn.' And I said, 'Really? Why?' And he said, 'Because they don't write their own songs. If you wanna make it, you have to write your own songs.... so you need to start writing your own songs.' I looked at him and I said, 'Well, what if they're bad?' And without blinking an eye he said, 'Oh, they're gonna be bad. You just need to keep writing, and keep writing, and eventually you'll write a good one.'"

Glenn's retelling of his time with J.D. Souther as Longbranch Pennywhistle was also cute. He called them "The Everly Brothers without a band" because "it was just the two of us, playing guitars and singing harmony parts." He said they met Jackson Browne at a benefit for the Long Beach Free Clinic. According to Glenn, "Jackson was walking around in the back singing a song called 'Jamaica Say You Will.' It's a beautiful song that has a great chorus that just cries out for harmony parts. So J.D. and I jumped out and after we got done with our stuff, we started singing harmony parts with him." At this point, Glenn actually sang a snatch of the chorus of "Jamaica Say You Will." SIGH!

He continued, "We met him, and we talked, and it was interesting how at that time, nobody was really in competition with each other. 'Oh, you're a songwriter, too? Well, where do you play? What do you do?' And actually J.D. and I were both breaking up with our girlfriends and we were looking for a place to live. And Jackson said, 'I have a place down in Echo Park that's really cheap, and there's a place up above me that'll take two people.' So we rented the house at Jackson's request in Echo Park. So now, J.D. and I are living above Jackson in this really tiny place. Jackson's got a piano downstairs. And J.D. was... uh... he had a quite a way with the ladies. And he actually... J.D. didn't come home a lot when we were living in Echo Park."

And this point, the interviewer interjected, "And you did?"

Glenn nodded emphatically. "And I did! I wasn't quite as good as J.D. yet. I didn't have all those moves together. " The audience was laughing pretty hard at this point. He went on to tell the story of how listening to Jackson work diligently on his songs, playing them again and again and again until he got them right, showed him that songwriting wasn't just about inspiration. It was about hard work. "At 9:00 in the morning, I'd hear his teapot going off, and then I 'd hear him playing the piano. He'd be working on the song 'Rock Me on the Water.' And he'd play the intro, and verse, and first chorus, over and over again for like a half hour. And then there'd be silence. And then the teapot would go off again. And then there'd be some more silence. And then, 20 or 30 minutes later, I'd hear him play it again and there'd be a second verse. And I'm upstairs going, 'So THAT'S how you write songs! You get yourself a cup of coffee, you roll up your sleeves, and you hunker down and work at it!'" He said Jackson showed him that it was craftsmanship, that you "sand and varnish" songs like a table until they were perfect.

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 03:07 PM
I particularly like that Glenn was so respectful to both Randy and Felder. (Did Bernie get any mention?).

As far as I know, Bernie only got mentioned when Glenn was talking about how Witchy Woman, which was a Leadon/Henley composition, was really the only good song from the first album that wasn't at least partially written by a non-Eagle.


Wish I'd been there to see Nancy's face at the origin of Steely Dan's name.I gave a little scandalized gasp, covered my mouth, and turned red. Luckily it was dark in there. lol

BTW, someone mentioned filming... it was filmed by a single camera set up on a tripod in the middle of the seats. Perhaps they will make some kind of low-budget release of the series?

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 03:15 PM
Some more additional tidbits that occurred to me:

I thought it was funny that he compared Don Henley's small-town roots to something from The Last Picture Show.

I want to expand more on that story about Glenn making demos at Muscle Shoals because it cracked me up. While he was on the road with Linda Ronstadt, they stopped by Muscle Shoals, Alabama, which has a famous recording studio. Glenn called up David Geffen and asked him if he could record some demos there because they had a couple days off. Geffen told him "OK, you can spend $500." As Glenn puts it, "So I recorded for two and a half days and I spent $2300. He was furious. He asks me, 'What did you do?!'" At this point, Glenn imitates his 70s self and in a drugged up voice gives his reply: "Well, man, the guys were soundin' so great and we were havin' such a great time, and I just kept on recording!" The audience was really laughing at that. So, that was when Geffen told him "You know what? You need to be in a group. You need to be in a group with people who will have strengths to cover your weaknesses and will give you an opportunity to show your strengths, too." Glenn said he took that advice, kept it in mind, and when he and Don were touring with Linda, they decided to form a band together within days of performing together.

Factoid: Ned Doheny gave them The Gunfighters book that inspired Desperado.

Glenn said that they were different from country bands at the time because they didn't dress in "country finery" but rather "Jeans, T-shirts, and cowboy boots" and that they "drank Heineken onstage."

At one point, the interviewer said he'd found a version of Linda Ronstadt doing "Desperado"on YouTube and he actually attempted to play the video during the lecture (he had a laptop hooked up to a projector, where he also displayed lyrics that, sadly, weren't 100% accurate). Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties and he was unable to play the video of Ronstadt's version. I had to wonder what would have happened if someone interviewing Don had tried to play a YouTube video of Desperado! Veins would have been popping! lol

I thought it was noteworthy that he said sometimes you "own" a song more after touring with it, that you start doing it better. I especially found this interesting considering how the Eagles often strive to stay married to their original recordings, which doesn't seem to allow room for making it better.

List of artists he said he respected and influenced him in the 70s: Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell, Brian Wilson, Jackson Browne, Tom Waits, Danny O'Keefe, and Laura Nero (?).

He said that when Don and he would get together, Don would ask him, "You got any chords? You got any song titles?" and they would start from there and it would just flow.

He compared finding the right songwriting partner to finding the right dancing partner. "Maybe there would be ten pretty girls who were all perfect but only one would feel right in your arms."

Factoid: The first album Szymczyk ever produced was BB King's The Thrill Is Gone, so he brought some blues cred to OOTN.

When Glenn said that Felder wrote the intro to OOTN, he added that Felder was a good bass player and had also written the bass part for Hotel California. He said, "Felder did a lot of good things.... for a while," and left it at that! lol! At any rate, it took Randy a day to learn the parts that Felder came up with.

Glenn mentioned that guitar parts should be singable, using George Harrison as an example - that they need to respect the vocal, but also add to the music and not just be filler. He said they would spend "hours if not days" on guitar overdubs.

Factoid: John Boylan is the one who suggested the "angel in white" lyric for OOTN; they originally were thinking of using "daughter of God."

An interesting comparison he made when talking about the brevity of songs was that, like ads, you had to get the message out there as memorably as possible without much time.

He compared dedicating oneself to working at songwriting to dedicating oneself to calisthenics - going to the gym and getting oneself in shape (and he even - perhaps unwittingly - used the same phrase he used in his 1988 Bally's ad that the most important thing is "showing up" to do it).

Factoid: "The One You Love" was written while they were working on "I Found Somebody." Glenn just randomly brought up that famous introductory sax line and they went from there.

(And... in the interest of accuracy I have to throw this in.... Hotel California has not yet surpassed Rumours in sales. However, Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 has blown Rumours out of the water, of course!)

Freypower
10-28-2011, 05:10 PM
I'll try to add a little more while HH takes a break!

IMHO, they spent way too long playing that crappy Nancy Sinatra cover. You know, I couldn't help but notice that they didn't play a clip from an Eagles song GLENN sang one time! We heard clips from Desperado, OOTN, LITFL, and HC. Now, I can only surmise this is because Glenn thinks that those are the Eagles' best songs and he wanted those highlighted but still, I was kind of bummed. At least we got to hear him sing ICTYW and, of course, IYWN.



This sums up why Glenn apparently seems to think that the best Eagles songs are the ones sung by somebody else. Perhaps I was wrong to use the word 'gushing' about his praise of Don but in my opinion Glenn downplays his own talent to the point of .... well, you just want to say to him 'stop it. Give yourself some credit'. It would have been interesting to hear him sing ICTYW.

I can correct a couple of other names Soda referred to. In the George Harrison doco they would have talked to Ravi Shankar, & Laura Nyro is one of the songwriters he talked about.

At least he finished with IYWN which sounds if he is proud of his work on LROOE (by the way, if they had reverted to him only having one lead vocal on a double album, it would have been ludicrous. I am sure he knows that, even if he'll never say so). I notice that he barely mentioned his solo career.

Thanks again to Soda & HH for their insights.

Glennhoney
10-28-2011, 05:14 PM
I LOVE READING ALL OF THIS...WHAT A GREAT EVENING...THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING!!!!:bow:

Freypower
10-28-2011, 05:17 PM
I'll try to add a little more while HH takes a break!

After talking about bittersweet songs and BOML, the interviewer commented that many people thought BOML was a great love song. [Me, Nancy, I'm sitting there thinking, "Who are these people and do they not understand lines like 'We both see it slipping away'? Um, BOML is so obviously NOT a love song!"] But back to Glenn, lol.



Minor point, but most people probably still classify breakup songs under the category of love songs, especially given the title of this song.

Freypower
10-28-2011, 05:21 PM
He came up with an example of not-so-clever vs. clever: "'My baby left me, I'm all alone, I sure am blue.' Now, that's not as interesting as 'An empty glass, an ashtray, a lonely room' - that's more interesting, but it's the same story. Again, it's about spinning a tale, casting a little intrigue out there. I mean, is there anything more interesting than the intro of Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight'? That intro comes on, and just the chords, and the dark pad, and you're hooked, you're there. It's not always the lyrics, sometimes it's the mood, but the whole idea is to draw people in. It has to be interesting. It can't just be slop. Like I said, if you find yourself writing cliches or hating the chords that you've written, well, then you keep working and find some good chords. You find another way to do these things. You just keep working."

This is perhaps the most insightful part to me of how he approaches songwriting. The part about 'my baby left me' etc reminds me of Some Kind Of Blue, which is that type of song, but now I understand why he wanted to start it with 'sunny day, two people walking' etc to give it some background.

I am just delighted that he seems to love In The Air Tonight as much as I do (and Koala, if I'm not mistaken). Apart from the Beatles this appears to be the only non-American song he talked about.

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 05:24 PM
This sums up why Glenn apparently seems to think that the best Eagles songs are the ones sung by somebody else. Perhaps I was wrong to use the word 'gushing' about his praise of Don but in my opinion Glenn downplays his own talent to the point of .... well, you just want to say to him 'stop it. Give yourself some credit'. It would have been interesting to hear him sing ICTYW.

I can correct a couple of other names Soda referred to. In the George Harrison doco they would have talked to Ravi Shankar, & Laura Nyro is one of the songwriters he talked about.

At least he finished with IYWN which sounds if he is proud of his work on LROOE (by the way, if they had reverted to him only having one lead vocal on a double album, it would have been ludicrous. I am sure he knows that, even if he'll never say so). I notice that he barely mentioned his solo career.

Thanks again to Soda & HH for their insights.

Thanks for the corrections, FP - I should have looked them up myself, but I was too busy trying to get everything down.

I agree that sometimes Glenn gets a bit extreme with regard to self-deprecation and downplaying his contributions and talent. Modesty is a virtue but sometimes it gets a little bit over-the-top. To hear him talk, you'd think nobody wants to listen to him sing - Don's voice is "money" and the unspoken implication is that Glenn's voice isn't on the same level. Meanwhile, Glenn's vocal achievements such as his Grammy-winning lead vocal on "Heartache Tonight" aren't even mentioned. I only hope he knows his true worth in his heart and doesn't really believe that his voice is so inferior to Don's, despite what his words would indicate.

Freypower
10-28-2011, 05:26 PM
Thank you Soda. You just summed that up perfectly. I hope he doesn't believe that either. His voice will always be Number One for me & the songs he sings with the Eagles will always be my favourites with a couple of exceptions.

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 06:02 PM
I agree that sometimes Glenn gets a bit extreme with regard to self-deprecation and downplaying his contributions and talent. Modesty is a virtue but sometimes it gets a little bit over-the-top. To hear him talk, you'd think nobody wants to listen to him sing - Don's voice is "money" and the unspoken implication is that Glenn's voice isn't on the same level. Meanwhile, Glenn's vocal achievements such as his Grammy-winning lead vocal on "Heartache Tonight" aren't even mentioned. I only hope he knows his true worth in his heart and doesn't really believe that his voice is so inferior to Don's, despite what his words would indicate.Thank you Soda. You just summed that up perfectly. I hope he doesn't believe that either. His voice will always be Number One for me & the songs he sings with the Eagles will always be my favourites with a couple of exceptions.

Same here, FP! He is my favorite male singer. I adore his voice. It's got such richness, such emotion, such texture... it's not every singer who can get me to fly across the freaking country. His voice can give me chills, bring tears to my eyes, make me smile, make me breathless.

In other words...
Glenn Frey is Made of Awesome!

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 06:32 PM
This was just posted on the GFO blog (http://glennfrey.blogspot.com/2011/09/glenn-frey-participates-in-songwriters.html) by a guy named Chris:

"This was the single best discussion on songwriting I have ever attended and someone I met last night agreed. For songwriters out there, it looked like NYU was recording this so it would be worth trying to get a copy.

I always liked the Eagles- this made me like them, and especially Glenn, even more. I think most people think that a band is about sex, drugs, and more drugs, and music. The reality for these guys is it was constant hard work- and they were dedicated.

The other thing is Glenn Fry is a real gentleman, at least it seemed that way to me- I was very impressed. And I spoke with him at the end- what a decent guy; he was nice to everybody who approached him. I doubt he made a ton of money for this, but he imparted more wisdom about songwriting and generally hard work and dedicating yourself to excellence- I wasn't expecting that at all. The Occupy Wall Street crowd could learn a lot from his message, but then again they'd have to want to work- and they'd probably get depressed to find out that a musician works so hard.

Thanks, Glenn, that was memorable."

- Chris
http://glennfrey.blogspot.com/2011/09/glenn-frey-participates-in-songwriters.html

Freypower
10-28-2011, 07:31 PM
Isn't that nice! I wonder if it would be worth trying to get a copy of the recording.

As for your previous post Soda, as you know I flew across the world to see him, he is the only singer I would do that for, and he knows it. ;) :inlove:

VAisForEagleLovers
10-28-2011, 09:42 PM
So he did meet with people afterwards. I wondered if he would, it seemed to be the kind of atmosphere where that would be an option. Guess I should have stuck around longer...

cheryl
10-28-2011, 09:45 PM
Thanks to everyone for doing this. Glenn's detail on writing these songs is just amazing. Especially enjoyed his telling of "Hotel California". I had heard some of it before, but this was great. Glad everyone's memories are so sharp. This is the kind of thing that needs to be part of their 40th anniversary Dvd.

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 10:15 PM
Jack Tempchin shared this on Facebook:

http://songhall.org/news/entry/1283

It has photos!

sodascouts
10-28-2011, 10:32 PM
So he did meet with people afterwards. I wondered if he would, it seemed to be the kind of atmosphere where that would be an option. Guess I should have stuck around longer...

I guess folks just approached him informally after he came outside or something like that.

timfan
10-28-2011, 10:37 PM
Hey! Looks like he's wearing the same outfit as the first night at Niagara Falls!

Love the air guitar pic! :inlove:

Freypower
10-28-2011, 11:00 PM
Oh, WOW!!! How wonderful! :bow: 8-)

Love the one with Jimmy Webb & is the first one In Charge, or not? And yes, that is the Niagara Falls tie at least.

Koala
10-29-2011, 02:27 AM
GREAT! Love the photos!

Glennsallnighter
10-29-2011, 12:48 PM
WOW! Ladies I've been reading the various posts by Soda, HH and VA over the past few days. What an experience this must have been for all of you. I love hearing insights into Glenn:heart:'s life and his songwriting, and what inspired home ( and even what didn't). It's so interesting to hear from him about the craft and discipline of writing songs. Of course we only hear the finished products. We have no idea what brings them to that point. What a wonderful and talented man he is!

I've tried the link posted but can't find the pictures :confused:. Have they been taken down already?

Glennsallnighter
10-29-2011, 12:54 PM
Isn't that nice!

As for your previous post Soda, as you know I flew across the world to see him, he is the only singer I would do that for, and he knows it. ;) :inlove:

Ditto FP, and hopefully if the chance presents itself, I will do it all again!

sodascouts
10-29-2011, 02:30 PM
I've tried the link posted but can't find the pictures :confused:. Have they been taken down already?

They're a flash slideshow under the text - if you don't have the correct plug in, you might not be able to see them. I posted what I felt were the most flattering two in "Frey Fever."

Glennsallnighter
10-29-2011, 06:21 PM
Yep! I caught them later, thanks! They look wonderful. Glenn :heart: looks fantastic. I'm delighted you all had such a great evening.

Prettymaid
10-29-2011, 06:42 PM
Okay, I just opened two windows so I could go back and review what I want to comment on.

First of all, it was so great that you guys got to go to this, and I'm really impressed with your note-taking skills. I'm also very thankful, because where else would I have learned all of this stuff! I love it when songwriters let us in on how they wrote a song, what they were thinking when they wrote a song, what they intended for the song to convey, etc. This sort of reminds me of that tv show, Inside the Actor's Studio with host James Lipton. The format seems the same.

I'm not sure, but I don't remember if any of you said what row you were sitting in from the stage. And I have to say that I'm very surprised (and slightly disappointed ;)) that you didn't wait to see if you would be able to approach Glenn afterward. I'm sure he would have been happy to chat with you.

Being a Jackson Browne fan, you can imagine how much I enjoyed the story of Glenn living upstairs from him and literally listening to him write songs, and then actually crediting JB as an influence.

I know exactly what Glenn means when he credits The Beatles for writing "all kinds of different songs". It's great when a band does not pidgeonhole themselves into one category. I'm not a big fan of country music, but when I hear my favorite singers/bands do a country flavored song I usually enjoy it.

Love the part about the criteria for whether a song was good or not was the feedback from Neil Young or Joni or Jackson. Can't you just close your eyes and imagine them playing a song to one of these guys and asking, "So, what do you think?" and waiting for the answer? Oh, how I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that room!

I agree with Glenn - Don's voice is money - but I remember that when I first started listening to the Eagles one of the things I really liked about them is that they had multiple lead singers, unlike the bands that were around at the time that had one lead singer. I liked that you never knew who you would hear singing lead on a song, and I agree with those of you who enjoy Glenn's leads just as much as Don's.

I got off on the part where Glenn talks about listening to The Beatles' Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds and thinking about what it must have been like at the session, who was playing what and where they were sitting... doesn't he realize that that's what we would love to know about Eagles songs?

Question: When Glenn started singing ICTYW did he start from the beginning? How far did he go?

Concerning BOML not being a love song, I'm going to have to disagree with Soda. I think it's a very loving thing to say, "We've always had each other...I guess that wasn't enough. But here in my heart I give you the best of my love." It's like he's saying even though the relationship is not going to work, he will always hold a special place in his heart for her.

Question: Did any of you submit a question and if so what was it?

Interesting that Glenn mentions that the audience can tell if you want to be there (onstage), that they can tell if you're just going through the motions. How often have we mentioned here that at times they just didn't seem to be enjoying themselves onstage?

I am very encouraged that Glenn's memory is so good. Maybe the Eagles will be able to put out some kind of retrospective of their career. I hope so!

Glennhoney
10-29-2011, 07:11 PM
I think one of you mentioned that Cindy and Nellie were there...were the kids there too?....I'm thinking Taylor must've been...had to be a special night for Nellie...he's very lucky to still have both his parents around...

sodascouts
10-29-2011, 07:46 PM
I'm not sure, but I don't remember if any of you said what row you were sitting in from the stage. And I have to say that I'm very surprised (and slightly disappointed ;)) that you didn't wait to see if you would be able to approach Glenn afterward. I'm sure he would have been happy to chat with you.

We were some of the first people in and got our pick of seats, essentially, but we didn't want to be all "in your face" so we just sat in the left section on either the third or fourth row. After we sat down, I noticed an elderly lady on the first row of our section off to the side and it looked like Glenn's mom to me. Cindy Frey later sat down on the first row in front of us. Taylor wound up sitting a couple rows behind us with some friends.

Glennhoney - As far as I could tell, no other male Freys were there, but maybe I missed them.

Lucky for us, we chose a great spot, because Glenn's chair happened to be angled our way (probably why the Frey Fam was sitting in that section, too).

As for afterwards, I didn't really want to approach him because I figured he was there for the students and I didn't want to come off as some attention whore fangirl who flew to New York to get a smile. It was enough to just hear him speak about his craft; his lecture was truly fascinating. On top of that, to hear him perform IYWN - what a privilege!

However, in retrospect, I do wish we would've stuck around so that HH and V could have had the chance to meet him.


Question: When Glenn started singing ICTYW did he start from the beginning? How far did he go?

He started at the beginning... "Look at us baby, up all night..." and sang all the way up to the first "I can't tell you why." Considering how high it was, he did pretty darn good.


Concerning BOML not being a love song, I'm going to have to disagree with Soda. I think it's a very loving thing to say, "We've always had each other...I guess that wasn't enough. But here in my heart I give you the best of my love." It's like he's saying even though the relationship is not going to work, he will always hold a special place in his heart for her.
I see what you're saying. Point taken.


Question: Did any of you submit a question and if so what was it?
I think I was the only one of us who submitted a question. HH and V were giving me a hard time because it was kind of long. In fact, it filled up the index card, lol. It went along these lines: "We know you often collaborate with other songwriters, most notably Don Henley and Jack Tempchin. How does that process work? For instance, do you brainstorm together or come up with ideas separately? Do you divide up duties, such as one of you devising chords and the other lyrics? Also, has this process changed over the years?" Then I added as a postscript, "Thanks for doing this!"

Even though my question wasn't read, I essentially got the answer in the discussion and that answer would be: "All of the above."


Interesting that Glenn mentions that the audience can tell if you want to be there (onstage), that they can tell if you're just going through the motions. How often have we mentioned here that at times they just didn't seem to be enjoying themselves onstage?
I thought that too, but Glenn was very insistent that such was never the case with the Eagles. I wondered - how could that be? Surely there have been a few occasions where the Eagles didn't really want to be playing but did so out of professional obligation. However, he was adamant that the Eagles never said they wanted to be there unless they truly did.

Glennhoney
10-29-2011, 09:27 PM
I wonder why (the Frey women) didn't all sit together...security, maybe?

sodascouts
10-29-2011, 09:44 PM
Taylor probably wanted to sit with her friends from school - not very surprising considering they were at her university.

As for the two Mrs. Freys - they sat near each other, just a few seats apart on the front row.

Henley Honey
10-30-2011, 01:49 PM
We were some of the first people in and got our pick of seats, essentially, but we didn't want to be all "in your face" so we just sat in the left section on either the third or fourth row.
Lucky for us, we chose a great spot, because Glenn's chair happened to be angled our way (probably why the Frey Fam was sitting in that section, too).

As for afterwards, I didn't really want to approach him because I figured he was there for the students and I didn't want to come off as some attention whore fangirl who flew to New York to get a smile. It was enough to just hear him speak about his craft; his lecture was truly fascinating. On top of that, to hear him perform IYWN - what a privilege!

However, in retrospect, I do wish we would've stuck around so that HH and V could have had the chance to meet him.





I think I was the only one of us who submitted a question. HH and V were giving me a hard time because it was kind of long. In fact, it filled up the index card, lol.





I totally agree, Soda. I thought it would have been kind of pushy and somewhat inappropriate for us to stick around and "chat". It just seemed like the right thing to do to make a quick exit and let the students and faculty have the "kodak moments".

And seriously, your saying your question was "kind of long" ???? Hello? War and Peace was "kind of long". Just sayin . . . . .

Glennsallnighter
10-30-2011, 05:49 PM
As for afterwards, I didn't really want to approach him because I figured he was there for the students and I didn't want to come off as some attention whore fangirl who flew to New York to get a smile. It was enough to just hear him speak about his craft; his lecture was truly fascinating. On top of that, to hear him perform IYWN - what a privilege!

However, in retrospect, I do wish we would've stuck around so that HH and V could have had the chance to meet him.





I understand your reluctance to be noticed here Soda, but I really don't think Glenn :heart: would think like that about you. he knows you are one of his biggest fans - he KNEW you'd be at Niagara Falls and I'm sure he would have felt you were just supporting him in another one of his ventures. I guess too he would realise that as such a big fan you might actually be interested to hear what he had to say. This was something so totally different from anything else he has done in so long.

It has been absolutely fascinating hearing everything that he had to say - I have certainly gained new insights into the craft of songwriting from what I have read over the last week or so.

sodascouts
10-30-2011, 06:25 PM
Well, perhaps my language was a bit hyperbolic. ;) I just meant to convey the same idea HH did in her later post.

Ive always been a dreamer
11-13-2011, 11:05 PM
Wow! Believe it or not, I just now got around to reading this entire thread. I was so busy around this time of the lecture that all I was able to do was scan the thread. I regret more now than ever that I missed this although VAisFEL, HH, and Soda, you all did a remarkable job of taking notes for us. I would definitely give you all an A+.

Anyway, it was very interesting to read about Glenn sharing his insights about songwriting. I do find it interesting that he does tend to underscore his contributions so much, especially considering how cocky he was back in the day. :lol: I realize that he may not want to come across as being boisterous, but nor should he be so modest. Seriously, he tends to downplay his role so much to the point that he misrepresents his contributions. There is no indication from anything I've ever read from Glenn and Don back in the 70's that these two guys were anything other than a true partnership and pretty equal contributors in the songwriting process.

As far a his singing role, PrettyMaid said it best in another thread - Don's voice may be money, but Glenn's is heart. I told her I wish I'd said that because I had a sneaky feeling that I may be using that line again. :wink: I have always said that one of my favorite things about this band is the fact that all of the band members can sing lead. This makes listening to an Eagles album so much more interesting for me. Again, Glenn should not minimize the importance of his singing role in the band's success.

My guess is that he does recognize his contributions, and I understand that he may no longer want to come across as the cocky rock star that he was back in the day, but there's no need for revisionist history either.

Freypower
11-14-2011, 02:07 AM
Hear hear, Dreamer. :applause:

Topkat
11-14-2011, 10:06 AM
I think Glenn has come a long way in the appreciation of the long term success of the band. His reputation and cocky attitude back in the day was really a turn off (to me anyway). I think it's always smart to be modest & humble. The work speaks for itself. In my opinion, it only makes him look better! I think the praise for Henley shows his true appreciation for the partnership and the success they had working together.:thumbsup:

Ive always been a dreamer
11-14-2011, 10:30 PM
Well TK - You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I think the cockiness of all the guys back then was mainly part of their rock star persona. All rock stars had to have attitude to be cool and our guys were very good at that. :wink:

As for today, I would agree that Glenn's modesty is a good thing, but not when it's at the expense of distorting facts about the past. I am basing my comments on all the information and interviews that Don and Glenn gave back in the 70's. I have read most of the information that is available about the band back then, and as I said earlier, I never got the impression that Glenn played the role of second fiddle then as he often does now. If he wants to take a somewhat lower profile now, that is his choice, but he shouldn't confuse it with his role in the band during the 70's. JMHO

Topkat
11-15-2011, 05:36 PM
Well TK - You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I think the cockiness of all the guys back then was mainly part of their rock star persona. All rock stars had to have attitude to be cool and our guys were very good at that.


I have to disagree with you on this one. Not all rock stars were cocky, and Glenn was downright nasty & had made several comments, especially in NYC where his attitude didn't make him cool, it made him seem like a jerk. Sorry, but that's how I saw it. I think however, it may have been the coke that was taking over & exaggerating some of his personality. I know people who had met him at this time & didn't have much nice to say about the guy.
I'm just glad to see that he has changed for the better.

As for him downgrading his writing skills as compared to Don, maybe it's true. Henley has always been know as the master of the lyrics. Maybe Don actually did do more of the writing. None of us were in the room with them. If Glenn wants to credit Don, why would anybody doubt what he says?

VAisForEagleLovers
11-15-2011, 06:20 PM
Yes, I've read a lot of comments from people who met him in the 70s and early 80s and didn't have a lot of good things to say. In my case, the comments came from people who wanted something from him (DJs, media, etc) and thought they had a right to it. I'm sure he could have handled it much better.

It's a free country and he can say what he wants. He can be modest and sing Don's praises. I just know that I'm a fan and it's a free country and I can sing Glenn's praises til I'm blue in the face. And I will!

Glennsallnighter
11-15-2011, 07:00 PM
Well said VA! I will too!

Ive always been a dreamer
11-15-2011, 10:31 PM
Well - you can count me in there as well VAisFEL and GA. I've never been one that has blind adoration for my idol, and I'm not really interested in belaboring this, but it was pretty typical bad boy behavior for rock stars in the 70's to have a cocky attitude. Doesn't mean it was right, but Glenn certainly wasn't alone in this regard. And it appears that he's a bit better behaved nowadays. :wink:

And with regard to the way Glenn minimizes his contributions in the band, the reason someone may doubt Glenn's recollection these days is because it doesn't really jive with most of the accounts from the 70's. I totally agree that none of us knows exactly how the songwriting process transpired in the band back in the day, but most of what's been written about it is that Glenn was very involved up until the late 70's when he felt that the band's end was inevitable.

Henley Honey
10-25-2013, 09:24 AM
I thought I'd revive this thread on the two year anniversary of Glenn's NYU lecture. Soda, Va and I were fortunate enough to attend and it was an evening we will never forget. If you haven't read through this thread, you should make some time to do so. It describes Glenn's insightful and personal account of his songwriting technique and progression throughout his career.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget -- plus it was the first time Soda or I had met VA. How time does fly!!

Houston Baby
10-25-2013, 10:33 AM
I wish I would have known everybody then cause I would have SO been there for this. What a special night! It would have been amazing to hear Glenn talk about songwriting! :heart:
And if I remember the postings correctly, Glenn's mom was there?
I am totally pea green with envy!!

Tiffanny Twisted
10-25-2013, 11:03 AM
My memories of this event were that jahh and I had gone to the Borgata a few days before to see joe walsh w bb king to celebrate our anniversary and that was the first time we met soda, dreamer and hh and her dh and we all went out after the show for dessert and drinks and this event was the talk of the table...(besides the show of course).Hard to believe that it was two years ago ...just a great band and a great group o f people talking bout this awesome event coming up ...

VAisForEagleLovers
10-25-2013, 01:10 PM
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget -- plus it was the first time Soda or I had met VA. How time does fly!!

HH has been trying to get rid of me ever since!!

Ive always been a dreamer
10-25-2013, 01:41 PM
Thanks for reviving this thread, HH. BUT - I have to say that you almost gave me a heart attack when I saw this ... I thought, OMG, Glenn's coming back to NYU for another guest appearance and NOTHING will keep me away this time. So when I read your post, I have to admit that I was mildly disappointed. However, once I snapped back to reality, I enjoyed your reminiscing. I will never get over that I missed this, but I have to agree that you all gave such incredible details of Glenn's Q&A that I almost felt like I was there. I am very grateful to you all for that and would agree that this thread is very interesting stuff for any fan. You won't be sorry if you take the time to read it.

Henley Honey
10-25-2013, 02:05 PM
Thanks for reviving this thread, HH. BUT - I have to say that you almost gave me a heart attack when I saw this ... I thought, OMG, Glenn's coming back to NYU for another guest appearance and NOTHING will keep me away this time. So when I read your post, I have to admit that I was mildly disappointed. However, once I snapped back to reality, I enjoyed your reminiscing. I will never get over that I missed this, but I have to agree that you all gave such incredible details of Glenn's Q&A that I almost felt like I was there. I am very grateful to you all for that and would agree that this thread is very interesting stuff for any fan. You won't be sorry if you take the time to read it.

Sorry, Dreamer!!! But if he were coming back I'd be right there with you!
Detailing the event for the board was a labor of love! It was my pleasure.

shunlvswx
10-25-2013, 02:38 PM
What a great thread. I learned so much from Glenn.

Isn't it interested that what Glenn said at this session is also what he said in the documentary. Who would had thought he would say this same thing 2 years.

Thanks ladies for sharing experience with us. I know I'm years late, but thanks for bumping this post back up to the front for the 2nd year anniversary.

Freypower
10-25-2013, 08:46 PM
What a great thread. I learned so much from Glenn.

Isn't it interested that what Glenn said at this session is also what he said in the documentary. Who would had thought he would say this same thing 2 years.

Thanks ladies for sharing experience with us. I know I'm years late, but thanks for bumping this post back up to the front for the 2nd year anniversary.

He has a habit of repeating things on several occasions & I am not just talking about his jokes during concerts. For example when he was doing the After Hours interviews he always talked about piano singing as opposed to guitar singing. He made the same comments more than once. So whatever he said at this event that he repeated in HOTE, it would be no surprise that he did.

VAisForEagleLovers
10-26-2014, 12:56 AM
Soda sent me a text earlier (I was kinda busy at a hockey game and then the long ride home) that today (I guess it's now technically yesterday) was the three year anniversary of Glenn's appearance at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Master Session at NYU. Besides having the excellent opportunity to hear my favorite musician talk about songwriting, I met Soda and HH that night. It doesn't seem like it's been that long since that night, because I still remember it like it was yesterday!

Ive always been a dreamer
10-26-2014, 03:32 PM
Ah yes ... Regrets? I've had a few and missing this seminar is certainly one of them! However, I must say the amazing detailed recaps of this that the three of you gave us certainly helped take some of the sting out of not being there. Many thanks to you for that! :angel:

Houston Baby
10-26-2014, 03:52 PM
Ah yes ... Regrets? I've had a few and missing this seminar is certainly one of them! However, I must say the amazing detailed recaps of this that the three of you gave us certainly helped take some of the sting out of not being there. Many thanks to you for that! :angel:

ITA - they did an awesome job! :yay::yay::yay:

Tiffanny Twisted
10-26-2014, 06:08 PM
Hh tanos for sharing . I love trips down memory lane

Glennsallnighter
10-27-2014, 07:24 PM
I would have loved to have had the opportunity to be at this but it would never have been possible, thank God those who were at it were to able to give such a wonderful account.

UndertheWire
11-18-2014, 06:19 PM
It's great to read back through the detailed reports. One thing I noticed was that some of the stories are almost word-for-word the same as in the documentary. I'm guessing he filmed some of his interview segments around the same time as this event.

NightMistBlue
01-07-2015, 11:47 AM
I'd just like to add my thanks - merci beaucoup, ladies, for sharing Glenn's songwriting wisdom with us poor wretches who couldn't be there!

I took a songwriting course at the University of Miami about 10 years ago. One of the songs we studied was "Peaceful Easy Feeling"; the professor used it as an example of matching the flow of the music to the lyrics, i.e. the sustained notes in the chorus illustrate the peeeeaaacefulll feelings described :)

chaim
08-06-2015, 07:04 PM
I got a link to this thread in another thread. I have completely missed this. I read about nine pages, and someone had a very good point when he/she mentioned that he/she was expecting more specific methods to songwriting. I wasn't expecting instructions since I'm a hopeless case lyrically, but I sort of felt that way too. But then I remembered...Whenever I've heard/seen an interviewer ask a songwriter how his/her songs are born, the answer has ALWAYS been "there's no formula". It's always the same. Sometimes it's a title. Sometimes a chord progression that inspires you to take it further etc. I think Glenn's main message was the following: "Don't wait for inspiration. Work at it. (This is how Randy Newman does it) If there's a bit that destroys the flow, replace it."

My wife always tells me about images she sees in her head when she hears music, and I must say that the older I get (and the more I listen to my wife!) the more I respect Glenn's talent for seeing "the big picture" and having a "vision". An example: Who wrote the LITFL riff? Joe. Who wrote most of the lyric? Probably Don H. Who kept his ears open, got a cool phrase from a friend and recognized a riff that along with the phrase would be the basis of a perfect story? Glenn. IMO this is true leadership (in songwriting). A leader doesn't always come up with everything him/herself, but pays attention and brings together different stuff different people do. Like Miles Davis. I'm not saying that "Glenn is the greatest", but this is something I recognize more and more as I get older. It's not only about riffs or good lyrical lines (although they are important), but also about the big picture and "overseeing" the overall process. Glenn is a guitar player himself. He could have written a guitar riff for the phrase "life in the fast line". But he didn't. Again he listened to what was happening around him. "That lick is Life In The Fast Lane!" Maybe Randy was "the ribbon in the package", but Glenn was certainly "the glue".

VAisForEagleLovers
08-06-2015, 08:24 PM
Well said, Chaim. One thing that has always impressed me about Glenn is his sensitivity to the things around him, as you mention. It helps that he seems to have a great memory. He can store a cool phrase in his mind and maybe even forget about it until something like a guitar riff reminds him and he puts it together.

To me, songwriting is an art that doesn't get nearly enough credit. I know I never gave it credit until lately. You get an idea or even just a mood and with words (that rhyme, because why make it easy), melody, harmonies, background instruments, timing, verses, bridges, and volumes create a story in generally 300 words or less, six minutes or less, and do it so well it can bring tears to your eyes.

chaim
08-06-2015, 08:48 PM
Well said, Chaim. One thing that has always impressed me about Glenn is his sensitivity to the things around him, as you mention. It helps that he seems to have a great memory. He can store a cool phrase in his mind and maybe even forget about it until something like a guitar riff reminds him and he puts it together.

To me, songwriting is an art that doesn't get nearly enough credit. I know I never gave it credit until lately. You get an idea or even just a mood and with words (that rhyme, because why make it easy), melody, harmonies, background instruments, timing, verses, bridges, and volumes create a story in generally 300 words or less, six minutes or less, and do it so well it can bring tears to your eyes.

What a wonderful way to put it.:nod:

NightMistBlue
08-07-2015, 11:33 AM
That's why they call him the Mighty Arranger. :)

Chaim (and anyone else who is interested), the University of Sheffield offers a free online course in songwriting that is very good. I learned things I've never even heard of before, and it is very specific information for the most part.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/songwriting/1/register

UndertheWire
08-07-2015, 12:33 PM
I read through most of this thread again yesterday and the bit below has stayed with me. It's a clear contradiction of the acusations of "phoning it in" or "only doing it for the money".


Instead of going to another question, the interviewer asked Glenn to talk about his "rules" of songwriting, especially his most important "rule" which was "Be Honest."

[Note from Nancy: I found this part to be the more revelatory of the evening.]

Glenn replied, "Somebody once asked me in an interview back in 1973 why I was in the music business, and I looked her in the eye and said, 'For sex and drugs.'' [audience laughs] "But it was only because I felt that that person didn't deserve to know the truth. That's not why I was really in the music business.... which was because I had something inside of me that wanted to get out. I wanted to make people feel good. I wanted to communicate. Music goes so far beyond the spoken word. I was just watching the George Harrison documentary on HBO and Robbie Shankard (?) was saying, 'Music transcends all the speeches you can give about God and religion... it's a feeling; it's a language unto itself.'

"The one thing I know about the Eagles and the one thing I know about myself is... whether you like the Eagles or you think we're pretentious country-rock snobs or whatever you feel, we have never spent a dishonest moment on stage, or in the studio, or sitting in my living room with two legal pads, Don and I staring at each other going, 'What do we do?' It's not something that I strive for; it's just the way we are. We have to be honest. And I think these things show through. I really believe we're transparent. I really believe that if you see somebody walk onstage and say, 'Geez, it's really great to be here tonight, ladies and gentleman! I wanna sing you a song that I really love. I wrote this a long time ago - originally it was called Brandy but Clive Davis told me to change it to Mandy, I really love this'... which he did...or so he says he did. But, you know, people can tell if you don't want to be there. People can tell if you're insincere. People can tell if you're fakin' it, if you're just going through the motions.

"And it's about your reputation. It's about something you have that you don't want to soil. You want that to be part of who you are. Bob Dylan.. honesty. The Beatles... honesty. They're not trying to fool anybody. They're just doing what they do because they love it. I think that comes across; I really do."

I also found it interesting that when he wanted to hold an interviewer at bay in the 70s he resorted to the glib "sex and drugs" quote (though isn't it "sex and narcotics" in the original?) that has become infamous. That reminds me of the doc when he's asked about his frustrations and he comes back with "I haven't been getting laid." How many of his smart-arse comments are just a defence? He's said about learning to make people laugh so as not to get beaten up in Detroit. Does he still do that with journalists?

VAisForEagleLovers
08-07-2015, 01:25 PM
He's a funny guy, and it is handy to have humor and sarcasm at the ready for any time a person asks a question you don't want to answer for whatever reason!

What I find interesting about our guys, and I'm not sure this belongs here, but since Glenn did talk about it that night (being honest and not phoning it in) I guess it's appropriate, is that while they do what they do for the money at a high level. They might think about doing a show or two, or even a whole tour, and they do it for the money. They make sure the tickets prices are appropriately high, even if they leave some in the upper regions of an arena at a very affordable price. To some extent it's more than money, it's the ability to say they're still commanding a certain price.

What I really love about our guys is that once that decision is made, they work their @$$es off to make sure the fans get their money's worth. They make sure to deliver a high quality show, and this is what I really like, because they really do appreciate their fans, they want to be there. Maybe they don't when the event is first set up. Maybe they don't when they're traveling to it and missing something one of their kids has going on. When they walk out on that stage, though, they're all in, and it shows. It very definitely shows.

I find it amazing and interesting that they can carry off such a conundrum, that of doing it for the money, yet giving the fans what they want and doing it so well. I don't think there's a lot of people out there that could carry that off and have it all be so 'honest', but perhaps I'm wrong.

UndertheWire
08-07-2015, 01:52 PM
I get it. I've seen it with actors on the promotional rounds. Some are completely miserable and you can tell they'd rather be anywhere else, whereas others get into it - they play the part of someone who loves doing those interviews and in the process they become that person.

Ive always been a dreamer
10-25-2015, 05:36 PM
I'm reviving this thread to acknowledge the 4th anniversary of Glenn's appearance at this NYU lecture.

It is bittersweet for me because I had to cancel my plans to go up there because of stupid work! However, Soda, HH, and VA were there and did a superb job of documenting Glenn's remarks in this thread. It was a very interesting symposium, so I would definitely encourage anyone who hasn't done so to read through this thread - very good stuff!

NightMistBlue
10-26-2015, 12:06 PM
I get it. I've seen it with actors on the promotional rounds. Some are completely miserable and you can tell they'd rather be anywhere else, whereas others get into it - they play the part of someone who loves doing those interviews and in the process they become that person.

I think it's called professionalism! :) But yeah, some artistes want to be honest so they let you know when something (or someone) is far beneath them.

Actually, that's how Cameron Crowe began his 1975 Rolling Stone article on the band: they were being interviewed by a radio DJ somewhere, and the guys were really tired and barely responded to the DJ - except for Glenn, who stepped up the energy level and did his best.

I loved Glenn's discussion of songwriting. I put all his remarks from these pages into a Word document a few months back. Then subsequently lost said document [cringe].

AlreadyGone95
10-26-2015, 02:07 PM
Well, somehow I managed to miss this thread. I enjoyed reading it. It's nice to read about songwriting and the songs from Glenn's perspective!

shunlvswx
10-26-2016, 02:57 PM
Happy 5th Anniversary to this event. Its sad Glenn didn't get to go back to this before he died. I think the professor was going to ask Glenn back to another class this year. Those students were soo lucky to hear from Glenn those few days he was a guest lecturer and of course this special.

sodascouts
10-26-2016, 09:53 PM
Wow. 5 years ago. It seems like so much longer now.

Glennsallnighter
10-27-2016, 03:11 AM
I wasn't there but heard great reports from Soda and others who were there. I vowed to get beck to the next one if he ever did something like this again. Sadly it was not to be

Ive always been a dreamer
10-25-2018, 02:11 PM
I don't know if Soda was going to do this later or not, but I'll jump start the revival of this thread to acknowledge the anniversary of Glenn's appearance at this NYU lecture.

Sadly, one of my deepest regrets is I was unable to attend this because of work. Fortunately, those who did go (Soda, HH, and VA) did a phenomenal job of capturing Glenn's remarks for us. Once again, I would encourage everyone to read through this thread if you haven't done so previously - it is a very interesting read. Enjoy!

shunlvswx
10-25-2018, 02:23 PM
With a lot of the history dates gone, I forget what anniversary is coming up.

I enjoyed the write up on this.

CAinOH
10-25-2018, 03:12 PM
Wow. Just... wow! Despite this being one of our busier times of the year here are work, I started reading from the beginning of this thread and just couldn't stop. So much to read and so much to say... and so much to comment on. But I'll leave that to others.

Thank you to HH and Soda and Va for reporting back and for delivering such great notes! I need to save this thread for future perusal.

So great!

Glennsallnighter
10-26-2018, 05:27 AM
I had only been in Niagara Falls 2 months previously so I was never going to make this, but looking back I'm sorry now that I didn't make the effort. It was a fabulous occasion and Soda, HH and VA did a wonderful job reporting on it.

sodascouts
10-27-2018, 05:36 PM
Please, others, feel free to comment! I love to hear new perspectives.

I don't know if I've admitted this elsewhere in this thread but the reason I was able to be so detailed was that I recorded it. How I treasure that recording now, especially since it includes a recording of him playing "It's Your World Now" acoustic - which, despite that little hiccup towards the end, is absolutely beautiful.

He was fascinating to listen to, and I'm so glad I got to go.

Brooke
10-29-2018, 11:57 AM
It's so cool that you all got to go to this! And to have a recording.....awesome! :heart:

CAinOH
03-07-2019, 05:02 PM
I came across this link today:

https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/glenn_frey_discusses_songwriting_at_songhall_maste r_session

I think this is the same event being discussed here. There are a few photos.

(And, even though I shouldn't have, I took the time to read through this thread again... so fantastic! Thanks for the reports from those who were there.)

https://content.screencast.com/users/cheryl7821/folders/Default/media/88871162-cf49-42de-8965-43d673d22bdf/GFreySongWriterTalk.jpg

Glennsallnighter
03-08-2019, 08:51 AM
Thats amazing - Beautiful pic!

New Kid In Town
03-08-2019, 11:11 AM
I loved reading that thread ! Soda - It is so cool you recorded it ! Now you have that to listen to forever. Wonderful memories for you, HH, and VA to treasure !

sodascouts
03-09-2019, 10:12 AM
I loved reading that thread ! Soda - It is so cool you recorded it ! Now you have that to listen to forever. Wonderful memories for you, HH, and VA to treasure !

Yes - although it's kind of bittersweet listening to the recording of him doing "It's Your World Now" live now. Makes my heart ache a bit.

Ive always been a dreamer
03-09-2019, 02:09 PM
I know what you mean, Soda. It's still very hard for me to listen to that song without choking up. Not to be morbid, but I have decided that I want this song played at my funeral.

But, how fortunate we are to have all this wonderful stuff documented so that it can be shared with fans everywhere.

CAinOH
03-09-2019, 02:12 PM
But, how fortunate we are to have all this wonderful stuff documented so that it can be shared with fans everywhere.

Hear, hear, Dreamer! I consider the Border a depository of "all things Eagles" -- an invaluable resource!

New Kid In Town
03-11-2019, 06:56 AM
Hear, hear, Dreamer! I consider the Border a depository of "all things Eagles" -- an invaluable resource!

CA - Amen to that !