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eaglestogether
04-09-2007, 07:13 AM
[Hi , I'm Eugene from Christchurch in NZ. I have been a huge fan of the Eagles ever since I heard "Hotel California" back in 1976.
The funny thing was , I brought the "Hotel California" tape because I liked the cover picture and my intuition told me to buy it in which I had no prior knowledge of the Eagles. Well , the rest was history.
Over the course of time , I made 2 scrapbooks on the band but they got destroyed in a fire. I was so gutted as many of the photos, pictures were rare.
After the "HC" tape , I then obtained the "Desperado" LP. I was taken aback to hear it was so different but nonetheless there was something there that got me hooked, which was the harmonies and the guitars.
One particular day I was lucky to see "Hotel California" on TV, this was in the day before VCR . I was left on a high watching this and it was so memorable.
From there I grew to love Joe Walsh's work. The Guitar Man.
Then Randy Meisner put out a couple of solo albums on tape and I don't have them now but I was impressed with his solo works.I wish I can get them again. I am not sure if they ever came out on CD.
I actually had a dream one night walking down the street and outside one house were 5 Eagle's members sitting on the couch and arm chairs. It was Glenn who greeted me and I sat with them drinking a cold beer. They were relaxing in the sun ,talking ,laughing and enjoying their cold beers.
It was an old house, old couch and chairs, the lawn was neat and it was a great hangout, a great bunch of guys who loved the relaxing style.
I hear that the Eagles may soon release a new album, it just keeps getting better and better.

sodascouts
04-09-2007, 10:17 AM
Welcome, Eugene! :)

DonFan
04-09-2007, 10:36 AM
Welcome! Glad you found us, Eugene. We all love the Eagles here.

timfan
04-09-2007, 11:28 AM
Hi Eugene! Welcome to the Border :D

Ive always been a dreamer
04-09-2007, 11:52 AM
Welcome from me as well, Eugene. Hope you enjoy yourself on The Border. You are amongst many other hard core Eagles fans here.

EasyFeeling
04-09-2007, 02:35 PM
Welcome to The Border, Eugene. :D

Randy's Girl
04-09-2007, 02:37 PM
Hey Eugene, and welcome. Just wanted to say that Randy's solo stuff is available on CD. I have them all now, they are easy to get hold of on ebay. Worth having

Brooke
04-09-2007, 02:41 PM
Welcome to The Border, Eugene!

Glennsallnighter
04-09-2007, 07:20 PM
Welcome Eugene, hope you enjoy it here :D

Freypower
04-09-2007, 08:41 PM
Eugene, it's nice to see someone else from the Antipodes here (I live in Sydney).

Maleah
04-09-2007, 10:47 PM
Welcome Eugene! 8)

eaglestogether
04-11-2007, 06:14 PM
Thank you all for your welcoming comments.

Yes being a hardcore fan alright, quite an obsession LOL.

These guys really rock , and I could be wrong but for years they appeared quite aloof and lived very private lives which is fair enough but I just couldn't get enough of them.
In fact when they broke up in 1980, it was quite mystifying to how it all happened. I do suspect that the heavy cocaine use brought out the ugliness of the Beast amongst them. Unfortunately such heavy use can put people on a downwards spiral path.
And 14 years later they came back!!, and who expected that to happen. It was great timing when the "Common Thread" album came out which provided the catalyst for the Reunion.
For the Hardcore fan, it was a rebirth , a new beginning. I couldn't believe I was at an Eagles concert held in Christchurch , New Zealand in 1996 and to actually see the guys up there was a mind blowing experience. God bless them.
I would never try to download their music for free. This is just my opinion as I believe as a respectable fan they are entitled to what is due to them for their hard work in creating music.
I actually thought the Eagles were recruiting a new guitarist by the name of Kenny Wayne Smith?.

sodascouts
04-11-2007, 06:41 PM
Was that the Christchurch show where there was that huge storm? What a night! lol

I don't think it's right to download commercially available music either, but I'm of the mind that if it's not commercially available, it's fair game. I realize not everyone shares this opinion, though.

The guitarist that currently plays a lot of Felder's parts is named Steuart Smith. I don't think he'll become an official Eagle anytime soon, but he did co-write one of the new songs, "Do Something."

Freypower
04-11-2007, 11:16 PM
The Christchurch show was in November 1995 before they arrived in Australia.

glenneaglesfan
04-12-2007, 05:27 AM
Welcome Eugene. How cool that you saw them in Christchurch.

Mrs Frey
04-16-2007, 07:56 AM
[quote="eaglestogether"][Hi , I'm Eugene from Christchurch in NZ. I have been a huge fan of the Eagles ever since I heard "Hotel California" back in 1976.

Welcome to the Board, Eugene! I am also still a newbie (I joined at the end of March), but you are way ahead of me in the Eagles fanatism stakes - I was only born in 1976!

The Eagles first struck me in a big way in 2004, when I borrowed their first volume of "Greatest Hits" from a friend. But it was only in February this year that I first had the privilege of seeing "Hell Freezes Over", and I've now become a fanatic (particularly about Mr Frey! :heart: ).

It's rather nice to have a gentleman sharing this Board of Eagles love. It's just usually us females drooling over Eagles beauty (okay, and other more important things too, such as their music :wink: ). I've been so busy drooling over Glenn :heart: , I haven't had a chance to drool over the others yet! :wink: But I'm getting there - just give it time...

Of course, I'm jealous of you too because you also got to see The Eagles in concert. My friend, from whom I borrowed the CD, saw them in Switzerland towards the end of last year. I just wish they could visit South Africa... :(

eaglestogether
07-29-2007, 06:13 AM
I had to laugh when the Eagles apologised for being late. They just had to stop before coming onstage to finish eating Fish and Chips they had got at the Shirley Fish Shop.
It was a beautiful sunny day up to the time they came on, then it started to spit , then it down poured then turned cold. Lol I blame the thunderous sound the Eagles pumped out before playing "Hotel California". It must have given the clouds a hell of a fright and shaken them up to drop the bucket loads of rain.
Sadly at the time I didn't have $20 to buy the Eagles offical programme. I was really gutted about that. It turned out that after the concert I was the last to leave the carpart from not getting the car started due to the fuel pump. Eventually the car roared into life and stopped again 2 miles down the road. There were two people standing by who had also come from the concert and they had been waiting for the booked Taxi that never showed up . I gave them a lift when the car started again and went out of the way to take them to Hornby. I was telling them how I wish I had got the programme and when I dropped them off, the guy undid his jacket and pulled out the programme he had hidden to stop getting wet and he gave it to me. That was amazing...one good deed leads to another.

eaglestogether
07-29-2007, 06:41 AM
I have heard from another woman who also likes Glenn and she says that Glenn is the leader of the pack, I told her that I thought Don Henley was, which became a good debate.
I like Timothy's looks, he looks so cool being part American Indian and with his long hair. I get the impression he is the most respected member of the band. I guess he comes across as a gentle type and looks like he has a peace making personality in which I am like .
I think Don can be difficult, moody and sometimes quite cold and private but a very intelligent man and has a very good appreciation of human affairs. I think Glenn is a real fun type, just wants a good time perhaps the most senstive member and may have his fiery moments. The good side is Glenn who is generous and so is Timothy.
Joe is the surprise package as the key element and to some degree keeps the team honest.
These are just my thoughts and observations. What do you think?

sodascouts
07-29-2007, 04:00 PM
It's hard to say without really knowing these guys. Perceptions gleaned from things like interviews, interactions on videos, and brief conversations can be misleading. I'm just going to speculate... but I'm going to do a lot of it, because I find it fun. Take it with a grain of salt.

I think that Glenn is indeed the functional leader of the band. I've read interviews that characterized the band as it was starting out as "Glenn's band" - their working name (admittedly a joke) was even "Teen King and the Emergencies." It morphed into something else, but it's telling that when Glenn left, the band fell apart, and when he refused to join the reunion, it couldn't take place. While one can argue the same is true for Don, Don seems to defer to Glenn in matters of the band. On the Hell Freezes Over video, Glenn's the one telling everybody when to show up, taking charge of insuring the harmonies are working. When Don continues to have trouble with the orchestra, Glenn eventually comes over to deal with it.

On Farewell 1 he's the one introducing the band. Glenn also was the only Eagle involved in producing Farewell 1, and he was the executive producer at that. Don has called him "the grease," the one who kept everything in the Eagles running. Don has also said that when he took on more lead vocals, it was because Glenn stepped back and let him do it. Glyn Johns (their early producer) has said that his main conflicts were always with Glenn, because he presented himself as the leader of the band and demanded to control its direction. Johns was basically like "Shut up kid, I'm in control here, not you. I don't care if you call yourself the leader." So you see, there's a lot of evidence that your friend is right.

Glenn's gotten a reputation of being the happy-go-lucky one but I think that's a bit of an oversimplification. It's true he seems to enjoy having fun - he dedicates a lot of time to hobbies he enjoys, he seems to prefer love songs (so do I!), and he's never spent a lot of time preaching about his beliefs. That doesn't mean he doesn't take things seriously, though, when he feels it's called for. He has said he's a "quiet giver." He doesn't make a lot of noise about causes, but he's supported various children's charities for over two decades... even back when he was supposedly a party animal who only cared about a good time. It's interesting that you call him the most sensitive, eaglestogether, because I think many people believe Don is more sensitive. However, when it comes to treatment of women, Glenn does seem to win on that score, if the hooker book is any indication.

I think out of all the Eagles, Glenn is the one who really knows how to turn on the charm and get everybody in the room liking him and wanting to please him, lol. He knows how to smile at a person and put them at ease, make them laugh, make them want to be his friend. He's a very charismatic, dynamic figure and that kind of person just draws others to him. Folks want people like Glenn to like them and include them, so they're more inclined to do what he wants. I'm sure in his younger days it got him plenty of women, too, even before he was rich and famous! It also makes him a great front man.

I think Glenn can be moody, too. Just as he knows how to charm, he knows how to talk to people in a way that makes them feel like a piece of crap if he feels they deserve it. He can give devastating looks, use a tone that brooks no opposition. I think he gets a sense of people quickly - whether he likes them or not, the attitude he needs to take with them, the things he needs to say to get results from them - and I also think he might not be too forgiving if someone pisses him off.

I also think that behind the ego is someone who isn't always supremely confident, but is very capable of giving everyone the impression he is. I think he is someone who is able to project an aura of control even if inside he's losing it. That makes him a good leader, too.

Don seems to be quieter, but not meek. He knows hows to assert himself. Like Glenn's tag as the light-hearted one, I think Don's tag as the totally serious one is an oversimplification. Some people think he's humorless but I think he's got a great sense of humor, it's just the sarcastic type. As a frequent user of sarcasm myself, I appreciate that. He also is very passionate about spreading his beliefs by preaching about them. It's admirable that he cares so much about things like the environment. The downside is that it seems to make him more intolerant of people who don't agree with him. He'll cut them down, be contemptuous of them. That also comes from the fact that I think his opinion of himself and his intellect is quite high, not undeservedly. I think he considers himself the intellectual of the band, and many people on the outside pick up on that and give him that label as well.

He certainly is well-read and eloquent. He can express himself ably and argue cleverly. His lyrical ability is so sophisticated that sometimes he reaches the realm of the poetic. He wants to preach to the masses who he feels might not have his political and social discernment and convince them he's right, and with that kind of eloquence, he's often successful. His heart is in the right place. He truly believes that if people thought like him the world would a better place, and that it is his social responsibility to "spread the word." When it comes to convincing people to donate to good causes, he's right. In other areas... well, people can judge for themselves.

Don also seems to be the one that has the biggest complex about privacy and the greatest desire to try to control information, his vendetta against an author of an Eagles bio the biggest example. Apparently he has hired people to police message boards to make sure certain topics are never discussed. He diligently tries to keep anyone from seeing the video Johnny Can't Read for some reason. One day, if he hasn't already, I think he'll accept that the internet has made it impossible for him to control information, but he's fought against it long and hard.

It's also interesting that despite his high opinion of himself, he seems to prefer sharing the spotlight by being a member of the Eagles rather than a solo act. He prioritizes the Eagles and as I've said before, defers to Glenn. That doesn't mean I don't think he has ego clashes with Glenn. I bet they have plenty. When they don't agree on something, I'm sure Don asserts himself. It just means that in the end, I think he lets Glenn have the last word. I think that's something that hasn't changed in all the years he's been in the Eagles - he still remembers back when he was the lonely guy in the bar that Glenn asked to be in his band, the insecure guy that didn't feel confident enough to do anything but co-write one song on the Eagles LP but that Glenn made his songwriting partner (Don has said that Glenn was the one who approached him about writing together), the one that Glenn allowed to take the spotlight later. That's why he was so devastated when Glenn cut him off in 1980, basically not calling him for years - this after Don had considered Glenn one of his best friends.

Tim seems a quiet type content to stay in the background, to "take the path of least resistance" as Glenn says. He is the humble one, the one who never goes on the star trip, the one who returns the e-mails, sends the signed photos, makes every single fan feel personally valued. He's very passionate about his music, but rather than get pissy because he doesn't get to release his music with the Eagles, he simply puts it out on his own label. He doesn't care if he gets the accolades. He doesn't care if he's not the band big-shot. He just wants to make music.

Joe on the surface seems deceptively simple. He comes off as the joker, the one who makes everybody laugh, the life of the party. I think he'd be the most fun to hang out with on a regular basis (although since Glenn is my fave, I'd probably still want to hang out with him if given the choice!)

Yes, he's a hoot, and people love him. However, underneath it all, I think he is the Eagle who has suffered the most, the one who's endured the most pain. He's said that his decision to turn off the machines of his daughter in the hospital haunts him to this day - that even though it was the right thing to do, he feels he killed her. He has to struggle with keeping clean every day of his life, "one day at a time," yet he's willing to bring up the old demons to help others. His relationships with women have consistently fallen apart (although I think perhaps he is still trying to reconcile with his current wife, right?). Yes, he is the one always trying to keep things light, the "clown prince of rock," but how much of that is the need to sublimate the pain he lives with every day?

When it comes to ego, I do think he's gone from being really assertive in the seventies to going with the flow now - "I'm not paid to think," he says when asked about the direction of the band.

Whew, that was even longer than I thought it would be! Congrats if you read through all of that!

Ive always been a dreamer
07-29-2007, 04:14 PM
These are pretty good observations. Of course, I'm sure there is a private side to all of the guys that we fans never get to see, but I would tend agree with a lot of the opinions here. As you all have done, I will preface everything I say here as pure speculation based my observations. Unfortunately, I don't personally know any of the guys.

I didn't realize that Tim is part American Indian. Somehow, that escaped me and I thought he was Hispanic. Also, according to Tim himself in a recent radio interview (see timothybschmitonline.com), once he gets to know you, he is "the party." I agree that he appears to be rather easy-going and keeps his ego in check, which helps make him a good fit in the band.

I believe Don is one of those poor "misunderstood souls". :wink: My opinion is that under the public persona, he is probably a very caring and sensitive person, albeit moody. I agree with Soda that in spite of his successful solo career, he seems to be more comfortable with the Eagles. I think that may boil down to the fact that he is basically shy i.e. the drummer mentality of being more comfortable 'hiding behind the drums'.

Having the opportunity to 'observe' Glenn for a few days, I agree with everything that Soda says. I agree that Glenn appears to be an outgoing, fun-loving type of guy. I also agree that he appears to be very sensitive. He is EXTREMELY charismatic. However, my guess is that he can be quite moody and impatient as well. There seems to be evidence of a hot temper if you pi$$ him off. :wink: In the early days of the band, Glenn was the lone front man and the leader. He was also the most well known. As Soda said, that eventually morphed into sharing the limelight with the others.

In spite of all of his individual success, Joe seems very content to be part of this band and leave it to Don and Glenn to deal with all the 'crap'. I remember reading articles that date back to the mid 70's when he said he wanted to just be part of a band rather than a leader. I think he found the right one. He does seem to be somewhat of an enigma. I agree that he probably hides a lot of personal pain by always playing the role of the 'clown prince of rock'.

timfan
07-29-2007, 04:36 PM
I didn't realize that Tim is part American Indian.

Tim's father is part Chilean and part Mexican and his mother's family is from Europe. :)

eaglestogether
07-30-2007, 06:40 AM
Actually I am not 100% sure that Tim is part American Indian. I thought I read that somewhere.
I really enjoyed the replies, now I am convinced that Glenn is the main man of the band.
I was saddened to read about Joe. If I was placed in a similiar situation, I couldn't do it. Just some things in life that one never wants to have to deal with. My heart goes out to him.
I do love watching Joe's wacky ways. You may find interesting that an album he helped Joe Vitale on the album called "Plantation Harbor" has some of Joe Walsh's best guitar licks.
What do you think of Glenn's movie performance on "Jerry Mcquire"? I didn't get to see him on "Miami Vice.
I wonder if Glenn ever played a round of golf with Tiger Woods?

eaglestogether
07-30-2007, 06:48 AM
I had another dream some time ago going on backstage and behind the white lacy curtain was Timothy standing at a desk scribbling on some paper.
I asked what he was doing? He replied he was writing some words down for a song.
The others were doing a rehearsal. Timothy didn't mind me being there, he made me feel welcome. He was so nice and friendly.
A nice dream.

EasyFeeling
07-30-2007, 03:20 PM
That was a great read, Soda and Dreamer. :D Thanks for the interesting insight even it is speculation. :)

Mrs Frey
08-03-2007, 07:07 AM
Firstly, eaglestogether, I just wanted to say how nice it is to hear from you again. I enjoyed reading your posts, especially about your concert experience regarding the Eagles programme. Your insights on the individual Eagles are interesting, and I enjoyed your dream! :)

Soda, I must commend you on an extremely accomplished piece of writing. Your insights into the boys are informed opinions, and I have observed much the same of what you present in your post. You have provided me with new information too, especially about Joe. Over the last 5 months (going on 6) I've been studying Glenn :heart: and Don more than the others!:blush: I was so shocked and saddened to read about Joe's daughter, and my heart bleeds for him. What a horrible decision to have to make. I admire Joe's courage in the face of life's obstacles. I am currently taking life "One Day At A Time" too, after having lost my mother.

I suppose I can identify with Glenn :heart: and Don more than the others, which is why I love them so much. I had complete understanding and empathy with Glenn :heart: for when he left the Eagles, and even cut Don off, after having been so close to him for so long. Glenn :heart: may have put on the angry, independent front, and seemingly started his solo career glad to be rid of the burden of the Eagles, but I'm sure that the break-up tore at his heart, having invested so much of his time, energy and passion into the band and his friends. It's devastating when close bandmates start fighting and finding it unbearable even to be in the same room as each other, as I've experienced. The intense anger stems from having loved your friends so much, and depended on them, and then they show a side of themselves that is so bitterly disappointing that it causes you to just cut yourself off and walk away.

I also understand why Don was so hurt when Glenn :heart: walked out of his life for so many years. Perhaps he felt that he had less to do with Glenn's :heart: leaving than the others, and objected to having to bear the brunt of Glenn's :heart: anger. I have some experience in that department, too, unfortunately. Although Don, from what I've read, seems to be moody and difficult at times, I think it stems from lifelong insecurities, and being a sensitive soul, perhaps puts up a front, rather like Glenn :heart: (just in a different way), to prevent himself from getting hurt.

I think the fight that Glenn :heart: had with Don Felder in 1980 to cause the Eagles' break-up, which of course resulted in the whole band getting involved in the punch-up, really hurt him deeply. His cutting himself off from everyone, including Don Henley, was his way of protecting himself from further hurt.

Dreamer, I enjoyed your insights too. I agree with you about Glenn's :heart: temper - I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of him! He gives me the impression of someone who doesn't leave one guessing where one stands with him - he communicates well and will quickly let one know when he is unhappy, as Irving Azoff and Glyn Johns discovered very early on! :lol: That is a quality I appreciate.

TF, thanks for your information on Tim! Wow, I'm really enjoying this thread! :D