PDA

View Full Version : Interview w/ Randy's bassist Tom Erak



Delilah
01-11-2017, 03:37 PM
I didn't put this in the Randy press thread b/c it's not an interview with Randy but with his former bass player Tom Erak. Mr. Erak played on Randy's 3rd solo album and toured with him "all over the world" (I know they toured in Japan but I'd love to know where else they performed). Anyway, mods feel free to move to the press thread if that is more appropriate. It's not clear when this interview took place but the podcast shows a 2016 copyright.

A brief overview:

Randy--I love that guy...He's a funk, R&B bass player...He loved my playing...I didn't know any Eagles songs...[Randy]'s amazing...Nobody's a better singer than him...He's just a shy guy...a really nice--he's a sweet man.

The interviewer tried to bring up Randy's late wife but Mr. Erak cut him off, only saying he "knew her extremely well" and that it was an accident. He gave his interesting perspective about Randy's trip to the desert and taking psychedelics as well as writing credits on TITTL (basically that Randy wrote everything).

It's a long interview and the part that pertains to Randy starts at 59:30 when Mike Flicker, Randy's producer, is being discussed.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ylugy4lSc

Freypower
01-11-2017, 04:41 PM
I didn't put this in the Randy press thread b/c it's not an interview with Randy but with his former bass player Tom Erak. Mr. Erak played on Randy's 3rd solo album and toured with him "all over the world" (I know they toured in Japan but I'd love to know where else they performed). Anyway, mods feel free to move to the press thread if that is more appropriate. It's not clear when this interview took place but the podcast shows a 2016 copyright.

A brief overview:


The interviewer tried to bring up Randy's late wife but Mr. Erak cut him off, only saying he "knew her extremely well" and that it was an accident. He gave his interesting perspective about Randy's trip to the desert and taking psychedelics as well as writing credits on TITTL (basically that Randy wrote everything).

It's a long interview and the part that pertains to Randy starts at 59:30 when Mike Flicker, Randy's producer, is being discussed.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ylugy4lSc

I suppose this will not go down well but when Glenn played the song on radio in London in 2012 he stated plainly that he, Glenn, wrote the song on piano. My impression has always been that Randy had the idea for the song but Glenn wrote the music & Don helped with the lyrics.

I don't want an argument. I just felt that I needed to state that there is a contradiction to this claim. So 'they didn't write a word of it or a note of it'.... at the least, that is an exaggeration.

NightMistBlue
01-11-2017, 05:02 PM
I didn't put this in the Randy press thread b/c it's not an interview with Randy but with his former bass player Tom Erak. Mr. Erak played on Randy's 3rd solo album and toured with him "all over the world" (I know they toured in Japan but I'd love to know where else they performed). Anyway, mods feel free to move to the press thread if that is more appropriate. It's not clear when this interview took place but the podcast shows a 2016 copyright.

A brief overview:


The interviewer tried to bring up Randy's late wife but Mr. Erak cut him off, only saying he "knew her extremely well" and that it was an accident. He gave his interesting perspective about Randy's trip to the desert and taking psychedelics as well as writing credits on TITTL (basically that Randy wrote everything).

It's a long interview and the part that pertains to Randy starts at 59:30 when Mike Flicker, Randy's producer, is being discussed.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ylugy4lSc

Wow, Delilah - thank you times 65,000! What a find. Pat yourself on the back, young lady! :grin:

VillageGirl
01-11-2017, 05:04 PM
I suppose this will not go down well but when Glenn played the song on radio in London in 2012 he stated plainly that he, Glenn, wrote the song on piano. My impression has always been that Randy had the idea for the song but Glenn wrote the music & Don helped with the lyrics.

I don't want an argument. I just felt that I needed to state that there is a contradiction to this claim. So 'they didn't write a word of it or a note of it'.... at the least, that is an exaggeration.

Yes, God forbid someone aside from Glenn or Henley get credit. Same old. Not worth an argument.

Just as we can't take this bassist's word for gospel, I don't think we can accept Glenn's word as the absolute truth either.

NightMistBlue
01-11-2017, 05:11 PM
I suppose this will not go down well but when Glenn played the song on radio in London in 2012 he stated plainly that he, Glenn, wrote the song on piano. My impression has always been that Randy had the idea for the song but Glenn wrote the music & Don helped with the lyrics.

FP, do you know if this interview is available on audio? Or perhaps someone has transcribed it.

Freypower
01-11-2017, 05:56 PM
Yes, God forbid someone aside from Glenn or Henley get credit. Same old. Not worth an argument.

Just as we can't take this bassist's word for gospel, I don't think we can accept Glenn's word as the absolute truth either.

I didn't say Randy didin't deserve any credit. Please read what I actually said. The claim is that Randy wrote ALL of TITTL when I don't believe he ever even said that himself.

Freypower
01-11-2017, 05:57 PM
FP, do you know if this interview is available on audio? Or perhaps someone has transcribed it.


I have it on iTunes. What I quoted above is the gist of what was said, which was 'I wrote TITTL on piano' before he played it on piano. Presumably he meant the music. As far as I know the lyrics were by Randy with assistance from Henley.

I said I didn't want an argument.

UndertheWire
01-11-2017, 06:06 PM
So what has Randy said about the writing of TITTL? I believe he has acknowledged help from Glenn and Don.

There are lots of possibilities, but an obvious one is that someone who wasn't there when the song was written but who worked with Randy ten years later and is now recalling that a further thirty years on may just have got it wrong.

And no, I don't think anyone has a problem with Randy getting credit for the song, just giving him sole credit goes against what he and others have said through the years.

VillageGirl
01-11-2017, 06:18 PM
From what I remember, Randy had said he was alone after a show and started on the lyrics and phrase, "All alone at the end of the evening. When the bright lights have faded to blue". He played around with it and brought it to Glenn and Henley who helped him write the song, so it was a collaboration. It wasn't just Glenn's muse speaking to him, beckoning him to the piano, and out came TITTL.

Funk 50
01-11-2017, 06:22 PM
When Glenn performed Take It To The Limit solo on UK radio (26:6:12), he was a bit rusty, playing it on the piano. He told the presenter "I've been playing guitar on it most of the time but I did write it on the piano so I should be able to carve out a reasonable version".

I presume that Randy brought the song to the band and Glenn and Don helped him add a little Eagles magic to it. As it's a piano song, I see Glenn playing the piano as the three of them meticulously worked it up to be a classic track.

Jim Ed Norman plays the piano on the LP version. Glenn initially played piano when Eagles performed Take It To The Limit live, before Tim replaced Randy in the band.

During that radio show, Glenn also performed After Hours, alone at the piano. Despite it being a newly released song, he was under rehearsed for that too and, unapologetically, makes a "couple of clams" during the song. :unimpressed:

It was a great thrill to hear Glenn performing solo though. :razz:

Thanks for the Tom Erak link. I'd never be able to listen to that for an hour and a half.

VillageGirl
01-11-2017, 06:29 PM
Ah, good to know. Seems more logical. Thanks Funk50.

UndertheWire
01-11-2017, 06:34 PM
VG, that fits with what I remember.

As for Glenn's comment about "I wrote it on piano", the context is that he was going to play (on Elton John's piano) and sing live and he was asked about playing piano rather than guitar and he said he should be ok as he wrote it on piano. He could have been more precise about what he wrote on piano, but he was talking while setting up to play.

Freypower
01-11-2017, 09:57 PM
From what I remember, Randy had said he was alone after a show and started on the lyrics and phrase, "All alone at the end of the evening. When the bright lights have faded to blue". He played around with it and brought it to Glenn and Henley who helped him write the song, so it was a collaboration. It wasn't just Glenn's muse speaking to him, beckoning him to the piano, and out came TITTL.


Did I ever suggest that it WAS?

Thanks to UTW & F50 for filling in the details. :confused:

VillageGirl
01-11-2017, 10:17 PM
I suppose this will not go down well but when Glenn played the song on radio in London in 2012 he stated plainly that he, Glenn, wrote the song on piano.

Well now you are crawfishing, aren't you? Does the statement you posted above not give the indication that the author of TITTL was Glenn?
It doesn't matter as I believe this band has been ripped to shreds by its inner turmoil and divided fan base,amongst other things, which is unfortunate.

Thanks again to the OP for the info and to UTW and Funk50 for the clarification.

Delilah
01-11-2017, 11:19 PM
I included Mr. Erak's quote about the song b/c it was counter to what I had understood about the song credits. This is how Randy has explained the origin of TITTL in his press thread, according to several links:


How did Take It To The Limit come about?
We drank a lot of beer at the Troubadour – Randy Newman, Steve Martin, Jim Morrison, all these people that we’d know hung out here. We’d go down there and have a few beers. That’s how I started Take It To The Limit. I went back to my house one night from the Troubadour. It was real late at night. I was by myself and started singing and playing, ‘All alone at the end of the evening…’ That’s where it started. I had a couple of verses. Don and Glenn [Frey] helped me finish it just in time to get it on the record.

I thought I read somewhere that he started writing the song on guitar. He also envisioned a more uptempo, rock and roll type song, in the vein of "Tryin'", I suppose, which has a similar theme. What I figured is that he took what he had to Glenn and Don. Glenn slowed down the tempo and changed it to a waltz. That's probably what he meant by "I wrote it on piano." Don probably helped with the music. Glenn more likely had a hand with the lyrics rather than Don, IMO, b/c they don't sound like Henley lyrics to me.

Clearly, Randy had more than a barebones "idea"; unfortunately, his credit for the song seems to have been minimized over the years, perpetuated in part, I believe, by his name being listed last in the song credits in the "The Very Best of the Eagles" album released in 2003 (the same kind of credit rearrangement occurred with Timothy on "I Can't Tell You Why"), as well as his not being out in the public eye promoting himself. A lot of people give Don F grief for frequently mentioning his role in writing HC; but if it were not for this constant plugging, no doubt the same credit minimization would be happening with him, with many people assuming Glenn and Don H 99% responsible for the song.

Freypower
01-11-2017, 11:42 PM
Well now you are crawfishing, aren't you? Does the statement you posted above not give the indication that the author of TITTL was Glenn?
It doesn't matter as I believe this band has been ripped to shreds by its inner turmoil and divided fan base,amongst other things, which is unfortunate.

Thanks again to the OP for the info and to UTW and Funk50 for the clarification.


THE MUSIC.

When I wrote that Frey ' wrote the song on piano' I was referring to the music. If you look at my response to NMB I then clarify that as far as I am aware he wrote the music & Meisner & Henley wrote the lyrics. In fact I also stated that in my response to Delilah but you have just leapt on the 'wrote the song' phrase. I am sorry you have misinterpreted my post because I never meant to suggest such a thing. Delilah's post above may be more accurate. All I did was report what I heard Glenn say on radio. If all he did was slow down the tempo then perhaps that is what he should have said.

UndertheWire
01-12-2017, 05:02 AM
While it's interesting to get titbits from Randy's former bassist, why does it have to turn into a series of nasty little digs at Henley/Frey? It makes those complaints about negativity in Felder threads seem rather hypocritical. It seems that noone is allowed to criticise Felder for what he actually says or does but it's fine to imagine all kinds of petty transgressions by Henley or Frey. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood but today I'm finding it particularly irritating.

Keep it simple - none of us were there when the songs were written or when the credits were put on different releases of old tracks.

This is from Jack Tempchin last year:

“And because The Eagles and particularly my friend Glenn Frey are some of the few guys that I’ve met in life that are stand-up guys, I never had any trouble getting paid or getting credited for anything.” he adds. “They were just fantastic about that. Unlike a lot of the stories in the music business. They enabled me to just write songs my whole life and not to have other jobs.” link (http://bestclassicbands.com/glenn-frey-collaborator-jack-tempchin-talks-songwriting-2-19-16/)

VillageGirl
01-12-2017, 07:38 AM
While it's interesting to get titbits from Randy's former bassist, why does it have to turn into a series of nasty little digs at Henley/Frey? It makes those complaints about negativity in Felder threads seem rather hypocritical. It seems that noone is allowed to criticise Felder for what he actually says or does but it's fine to imagine all kinds of petty transgressions by Henley or Frey. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood but today I'm finding it particularly irritating.

I find tons of digs at Felder on various threads, some fairly recent. It used to bother me, but I just don't care anymore. I think the practice of criticizing Felder less or using the positivity Felder thread has mostly gone by the wayside, but this is not a Felder forum and it seems most fans favor Glenn and Don H., which is not uncommon.



Keep it simple - none of us were there when the songs were written or when the credits were put on different releases of old tracks.[\quote]


This is very true. Completely agree.


This is from Jack Tempchin last year:
link (http://bestclassicbands.com/glenn-frey-collaborator-jack-tempchin-talks-songwriting-2-19-16/)

Well, Jack Tempchin wrote quite a few of their songs from the very beginning and co-wrote with Glenn and Don often. IMHO, the Eagles really needed him to learn the craft of song writing and to come up with those early hits, so there was no way they were going to screw him out song writing credits and royalties.

chaim
01-12-2017, 10:10 AM
It was probably just poor choice of words from Glenn. Instead of saying "I was at the piano when I was working on the song with Don and Randy" he said "when I wrote the song". Or maybe he should have said "when I co-wrote the song".

I don't quite get VillageGirl's comment about the Felder bashing still going on. I have seen only a couple of negative comments lately, and it doesn't make this a Felder bash club. But I haven't followed every thread, so maybe I've missed something...

NightMistBlue
01-12-2017, 10:19 AM
Randy is a real honest dude, that's my impression of him. He's always said - far as I know - that Glenn and Don H helped him finish the song. That's good enough for me. Would I like to know more detail? You bet. But I'd like to hear it from the horse's mouth and he ain't talkin'.

NightMistBlue
01-12-2017, 12:35 PM
Thanks for the Tom Erak link. I'd never be able to listen to that for an hour and a half.

:laugh: I love your drollery

Delilah
01-12-2017, 02:39 PM
While it's interesting to get titbits from Randy's former bassist, why does it have to turn into a series of nasty little digs at Henley/Frey? It makes those complaints about negativity in Felder threads seem rather hypocritical. It seems that noone is allowed to criticise Felder for what he actually says or does but it's fine to imagine all kinds of petty transgressions by Henley or Frey. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood but today I'm finding it particularly irritating.


I reviewed this thread and I don't see any digs at Glenn and Don H, much less "a series of nasty" ones. I'm not sure what you mean by "petty transgressions" either. Maybe if you gave examples to clarify? I definitely haven't seen anything that remotely compares to level of hostility that has been lodged against Don F.

I disagree that no one is allowed to criticize Felder, excepting the "Positivity" thread. Heck, a new Felder-bashing topic just started in the Eagles forum, and no one has objected as far as I know. Maybe that is what VG was referring to.

I posted the link b/c I thought it provided interesting insight about Randy from someone who knew him well and worked closely with him. I didn't believe anyone would take seriously and literally Mr. Erak's comment about the songwriting credit. Anyway, this was supposed to be about Randy.

Freypower
01-12-2017, 04:35 PM
I reviewed this thread and I don't see any digs at Glenn and Don H, much less "a series of nasty" ones. I'm not sure what you mean by "petty transgressions" either. Maybe if you gave examples to clarify? I definitely haven't seen anything that remotely compares to level of hostility that has been lodged against Don F.

I disagree that no one is allowed to criticize Felder, excepting the "Positivity" thread. Heck, a new Felder-bashing topic just started in the Eagles forum, and no one has objected as far as I know. Maybe that is what VG was referring to.

I posted the link b/c I thought it provided interesting insight about Randy from someone who knew him well and worked closely with him. I didn't believe anyone would take seriously and literally Mr. Erak's comment about the songwriting credit. Anyway, this was supposed to be about Randy.

If you didn't think anyone would take the credit statment seriously why did you specifically mention it?

Look at the sarcastic comments made by VG after my 'Glenn said he wrote the song' post, starting with the 'same old' about refusing to give Randy credit & then the 'Glenn's muse' stuff.

Regarding VG's comments onTempchin - he wrote PEF & co-wrote Already Gone. He never wrote with Frey during the Eagles years until LROOE & he has never written with Henley, full stop. You want a dig at Frey & Henley? There is the comment that they 'needed' Tempchin to help them learn to write songs.

As for 'Felder bashing' a topic was started which has had two responses, one of which I admit is mine. It seemed to die very quickly because the subject was covered in the 'what I don't like' thread.

Of course I should have said nothing. I should have known better.

VillageGirl
01-12-2017, 07:54 PM
Delilah, thank you so much for posting the link. We have so little news regarding Randy, so it was a huge treat. I'm pretty sure most of us appreciated it greatly!

I'm just going to leave it at that because as you wisely said, this post is about Randy. Sorry we got off track :(

Delilah
01-12-2017, 09:52 PM
Delilah, thank you so much for posting the link. We have so little news regarding Randy, so it was a huge treat. I'm pretty sure most of us appreciated it greatly!

I'm just going to leave it at that because as you wisely said, this post is about Randy. Sorry we got off track :(

You're welcome, VG, and everyone else who expressed thanks. I regret that I got off track myself. This was new positive information about Randy that I was happy to share. Thanks to everyone who added constructively to the thread.:-)

UndertheWire
01-13-2017, 06:17 AM
Thanks for finding it. I'm always pleased to read new stories of Randy when he was out there doing what he did best.

Funk 50
01-13-2017, 10:18 AM
For anyone who hasn't already read this rare treat. This is the text version of a 90 minute-ish interview that John Beaudin carried out with Randy in the early noughties:

http://rockhistorymusic.com/interviews/exclusive-interview-with-former-eagles-randy-meisner/

chaim
01-13-2017, 11:27 AM
Thanks, Funk 50! Finally I see Randy confirm what I've assumed all along. He was interviewed for an Eagles book in the 90's, and I've always felt that he was just angry at the time because he had wanted to be part of the "resumption" and that's why his comments are bitter. This is what he said about the book(s) in 2015:

"Yeah, there were a couple of them. It’s like catching someone at a wrong time when everyone was kind of angry at everyone else. You say things that you really don’t mean. These people want the dirt and they forget that most of the time there was not any dirt. Most of the time we got along really well. Years later you read it and its dirt and you think why in the hell did I say that about him whether it’s Glen or Henley. For God sakes were just people. It was a time where there was a little resentment."

Someone referred to Randy's comments in the book just the other day, but I think we can say now that what Randy says in the book is just how he felt at the time.

Delilah
01-13-2017, 06:18 PM
Thank you for posting Funk50; it's a great interview that reflects Randy's modest and kind personality.
***********

This is what he said about the book(s) in 2015:

"Yeah, there were a couple of them. It’s like catching someone at a wrong time when everyone was kind of angry at everyone else. You say things that you really don’t mean. These people want the dirt and they forget that most of the time there was not any dirt. Most of the time we got along really well. Years later you read it and its dirt and you think why in the hell did I say that about him whether it’s Glen or Henley. For God sakes were just people. It was a time where there was a little resentment."

Someone referred to Randy's comments in the book just the other day, but I think we can say now that what Randy says in the book is just how he felt at the time.

This is from the same link about The World Class Rockers:

Randy – Yeah, it changes sometimes. There was Spencer Davis, Nick St Nicholas who was with Steppenwolf, Ron Wikso from Foreigner on Drums and Denny Laine from Wings. We’ve been together for a while now maybe four to five years.We do mostly corporate dates.

Randy joined WCR in 1995. So this interview took place around the year 2000 not 2015. It seems he let go of whatever resentment he expressed in that one book a long time ago. And he certainly wasn't the only one to say negative things in it.

chaim
01-14-2017, 01:38 AM
Thanks for the correction, Delilah. I didn't have much time, so I only read the bits where I saw the word "Eagles". :laugh: Btw, why didn't the transcriber bother to find out how to spell Glenn's name???

chaim
01-21-2017, 03:49 AM
(Here at about 19:30 mark Glenn makes it clear that he co-wrote TITTL. :D )