Who do you guys side with? Felder or Henley/Frey?

[Funk 50]

We had a 16-mm film made of one of the gigs in D.C. In the movie, there’s one part on the final cut where Joe and I are standing toe-to-toe playing the two main guitar parts in “Hotel California.” Joe’s wearing a bandana on his head because he hated to wash his hair. I say something to him, he looks at me, and we start laughing uncontrollably. Scores of people have asked me what it was I said to him that night.

I don't know if he answers in his book but in a radio interview he says to Joe "You're showing". i.e. You've got cocaine on your nose.

A bit unprofessional in my opinion.

Felder thought the Eagles split up the first day he joined them. So the constant tension and friction were already in evidence before he joined, despite him saying they were all pals together in the beginning.

Joe, the only Eagle who had experience of a solo career in 1980 was sure the Eagles would reunite at some point. No matter how tough life is in a band, it's tougher on your own.

After the way he's treated the Eagles, I don't know if anyone would join a band with Don Felder but I bet he's on the lookout for a band opportunity.

I wonder if Tim ever considered rejoining Poco after the Eagles split in 1981.

[chaim]

IMO Glenn's first album (and its cover) tells us why he broke up the Eagles. All the fun had gone and it was just pressure, friction etc. No Fun Aloud isn't a personal favorite for me, but obviously he wanted music to be fun again. "Mr. Felder" may say that he's the only one who does it for the love of music, but IMO No Fun Aloud makes it clear that Glenn doesn't like things to be dead serious all the time, and he too wants to have fun making music.

Comments about Don's book have been posted in this thread. And the quotes from Joe Vitale were interesting. I understand that it's a sweetened version of Don's book that came out. I wonder how much "private dirt" there was in the original draft!! Bruce Kulick (in KISS from 1984 to mid-90's) was writing a book over ten years ago, and he kept mentioning it. Then it just stopped. For years I was wondering what happened. In a rather recent interview Bruce was asked about it and he said that no publisher was interested in his book, because he wasn't going to throw anybody under the bus. So he buried the project. If every publisher says to you, "Put some dirt in there and we'll publish it", you have two options. Add some dirt, or forget about the book. I respect Bruce's decision, although I think that it's a real shame that it disappeared.

As for Joe hating washing his hair. I never took that as a negative comment from Don, although I think that Don is the master of throwing insulting remarks in between the lines. Actually I read it like Don was smiling when he wrote that.

[UndertheWire]

Chaim, I also see the 1980 breakup as essentially an "act of survival" by Glenn and I can't blame him for it.

Don Felder seems to be fairly happy fronting his own band and I doubt he'd enjoy going back to being told what to do. He might do it for the money and the kudos ("the music and the friendship") but that didn't satisfy him in the 90s so why would it now?

[MaryCalifornia]

I wonder if Tim ever considered rejoining Poco after the Eagles split in 1981.

I mean, who knows, but I would guess that his #1 priority was leaving himself available for when the Eagles started up again. I think that was the guiding consideration for all of his career moves. The man waited every day for 14 years for that train to start rolling again. This may be an overly dramatic description of his motives, but in any event, there was no money to be made with Poco, and I think he had a 3-album solo commitment.

[Brooke]

I would never, EVER, expect Felder to be asked back. The lawsuit and the book settle it.

Who would want to be in a band with someone that sued you? At least Randy and Bernie never tried that!

[WalshFan88]

After the way he's treated the Eagles, I don't know if anyone would join a band with Don Felder but I bet he's on the lookout for a band opportunity.

Wow, I must say I disagree.

I don't think Felder is looking for a band. I believe he is very honest when he says he does it for the music. He is very gracious to his fans and honestly, looks like he has a blast every time he's on stage. He never goes through the motions from what I've seen of him in his current shows.

I didn't see the "hair" thing as an intended insult, but rather he probably is very matter-of-fact and shares things at times without thinking about how it may come across to people. Lord knows I have.

[Freypower]

Felder spends a lot of time in that book attacking Glenn for what he perceived as Glenn's 'insults' to people like Tommy Nixon. But it's perfectly alright for him to call Glenn 'bipolar' & make childish comments on Joe's nose, is it? That's just 'matter of fact'.

As for doing it for the music... fair enough. But you would think he would have made more than two solo albums & would have had higher aspirations than being an Eagles cover act.

I really don't want to do the 'bash Felder' stuff. But when excuses are made for him that he refused to extend to others people have the right to point it out.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

There's an article, I think from Atlanta, that UTW posted in Felder's Press thread. It was posted with the comment that there was nothing controversial in it, but I've been thinking about it all day.

Q: Tell us about your set. You have a full band with you, right?

A: We’ll probably play about an hour. I’ll have a really amazing band with me. I’ve been with them 10 years and they’re all thoroughbreds in their own right. There are five pieces including me. It’s a lean and mean machine. It’s such a fun group of people – there’s no drama, no hissy fits. When I started putting this band together, the highest priority in people selection wasn’t how great they played or sang but how great of people they were. You’re married to them for months at a time.

This is an example of what pointed out with the hair and nose comments. Who had the drama? Who had the hissy fits? He said it was a fun group of people, why didn't he leave it at that? Why did he just have to get that little dig in there? Even if by some obscure chance he's not talking about his former band-mates, but someone else, he didn't need to dig at them, either.

I understand what you're saying Austin, however, people need to think before they speak. You especially need to think about it before putting it in print. The way the editing process works, there's a lot of opportunity to take back things best left unsaid.

Perhaps it's just the way he is, in which case, it's suddenly quite clear why Glenn didn't get along with him. In the real world, when it's a relationship between family members or husband and wife, these constant little digs are called 'emotional abuse'. That's an extreme thing to say here, and I hope it doesn't truly apply to Felder. A more accurate analogy is digs like this make them feel like they've got biting ants in their jock straps. Tiny little digs right where it hurts that add up quickly.

[WalshFan88]

I really have a hard time believing that Felder is a passive-aggressive who does it on purpose. It just doesn't feel right to me.

[WalshFan88]

Felder spends a lot of time in that book attacking Glenn for what he perceived as Glenn's 'insults' to people like Tommy Nixon. But it's perfectly alright for him to call Glenn 'bipolar' & make childish comments on Joe's nose, is it? That's just 'matter of fact'.

As for doing it for the music... fair enough. But you would think he would have made more than two solo albums & would have had higher aspirations than being an Eagles cover act.

I really don't want to do the 'bash Felder' stuff. But when excuses are made for him that he refused to extend to others people have the right to point it out.

I was referring mostly to the "nose" thing, not calling someone bipolar. That's obviously more serious and he shouldn't have said it.

I do think that he did a lot of dramatization in the book and telling like a story with vivid details to try to sell more copies. Just like in the beginning when he says "we emerged one by one from the bowels of the stadium, our lips wet with beer"....it's as if he's storytelling and trying to make it dramatic. Overly detailed and exaggerated. Instead of "we walked onstage...."