Don Felder in the Press/Blogs/etc.

[sad-cafe]

Thanks for that GL!

many times I have thought that they all should "get over it"- of course this is all based upon what I have read about this split between Felder and the rest of the band. So I do wonder if there is more to the story or are they all being hard headed/stubborn about this issue? Again, based on what I have read, Felder comes across as a complainer and so often you really just need to count your blessings. Being a member of the Eagles, to this day, is what still gets him publicity.

yup. I totally agree

[Freypower]

A couple of comments in the Felder interview reinforce that despite his wide eyed pleas of wanting to be 'friends' with the other Eagles he doesn't really mean it:

"There were rigid constraints writing and recording songs with the Eagles. You had to be in 'Eagles World' and anything outside of that just didn't fit," Felder says. "And it might be that some guys couldn't play the parts.

Meow.

I think most of us have heard Heavy Metal, which I happen to think is one of Felder's best songs, but there is nothing particularly innovative or difficult about it.

"And I'm thinking, 'Gee, didn't [Henley] write 'Get Over It?'"

The second quote has been edited, but for Felder's information, Get Over It was written by Henley & Glenn Frey. And as long as Felder continues to denigrate Frey's songwriting talents & ignore his singing ability, not to mention taking thinly veiled swipes at his musicianship. there will never be a reconciliation, regardless of how much Glenn does all this himself.

There will be Felder fans here who will think I am too harsh; perhaps. I try not to comment on Felder's statements these days for the most part.

[chaim]

Cool interview with Don. He sounds like a nice guy. And I love the bit about DH's break-ups.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...greatest-hits/

SS
xx
http://sshh-sshh.blogspot.co.uk/2014...st-see-tv.html

I'm nitpicking again (it's what I do best), but I find this bit slightly weird:

FOX411: What songs will you be playing on The Soundtrack of Summer tour?

Felder: I’ll obviously do songs from my Eagles days — the ones I co-wrote, recorded, and toured with the band — like “Hotel California,” “Those Shoes,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” and “Heartache Tonight.” In other words, I’ll be doing all of the rockers that were part of my “sentence” with the Eagles. (laughs)

Kinda makes it sound like he co-wrote Heartache Tonight too. I know that he came up with the cool riff after Joe's main riff in LITFL, although he's not in he credits.
I assume that the writer has edited slightly what Don actually said.

[UndertheWire]

He usually says "the ones I co-wrote, recorded, or toured with the band" so it's probably a transcription error.

[Freypower]

Unless he has changed his setlist, he also does Tequila Sunrise & I think Take It Easy. I suppose his justification for playing those is he 'toured' with them. He certainly didn't play on them or co-write them.

[SilverMoon]

Compare this interview with the Felder interview above - here is Felder, today, talking about wanting to be friends and he doesn't get why the guys don't want anything to do with him, and in the 2001 interview, their sense of relief and even joy at the fact of him being gone is palpable. The more I learn and read, I get the sense that things started to go bad with him around '76 or so? They kept him on through 2001 - 11 active years, such a long time, for the good of the band. Imagine the entire time he was driving them nuts. That is such a long time, and they were trying to avoid the unpleasantness of firing him. He needs to stop talking about them, it doesn't reflect well on him.

Timothy and Joe were friends with Don Felder. I don’t think they wanted him out of the band. In his book, Don F. says that early in 2000, after the end of his marriage, Timothy and Joe phoned him to offer their support. And at Christmas of 2000, shortly before his dismissal, Timothy and Joe sent him their presents. So I guess they still cared about him and wanted to stay friends with him. And in the ’90s, Timothy had formed a band with Don Felder.

[SilverMoon]

Joe Vitale, Joe Walsh’s longtime friend, seems to get along great with Don Felder. He has written to Don on Facebook at least twice that I know of. The first time was on February 7, after Don announced that he was going to The Arsenio Hall Show. Joe Vitale said he would be watching the show. The second time was on April 3, after Don posted a picture from the Don Felder and Friends Rock Cerritos for Katrina benefit concert (2006). Joe Vitale commented that he was in the picture playing the organ and that it was a great picture. This is very cool!





https://www.facebook.com/donfeldermu...906048/?type=1





https://www.facebook.com/donfeldermu...404885/?type=1

[Freypower]

Timothy and Joe were friends with Don Felder. I don’t think they wanted him out of the band. In his book, Don F. says that early in 2000, after the end of his marriage, Timothy and Joe phoned him to offer their support. And at Christmas of 2000, shortly before his dismissal, Timothy and Joe sent him their presents. So I guess they still cared about him and wanted to stay friends with him. And in the ’90s, Timothy had formed a band with Don Felder.

There was a collaboration with Paul Carrack known as the Malibu Men's Choir, but as it never played live or recorded apart from unreleased demos, I would disagree that this amounts to Schmit & Felder 'forming a band'.

Whether they were friends or not, you don't mention how Joe & Tim responded to Felder after Felder was fired. Joe told him there was nothing he could do & Tim said he should have signed the papers. He has not spoken to Joe since & I would think it highly unilkely he has spoken to Tim. See pp 319-320 of Heaven & Hell.

Also, as neither of them have ever spoken about Felder's firing, there is no evidence to suggest they wanted him to stay in the band, or indeed vice versa.

[MaryCalifornia]

It would not surprise me at all to learn that Don Felder has many friends in the music industry and in his life. I'm sure he does. He seems like a very nice guy.

[sodascouts]

Yes, I daresay his break with the Eagles has not made him universally loathed! However,in 2001, it seems he had become such an agitator that his dismissal was a "horrible relief" even to Joe and Tim. Still, that doesn't necessarily translate to them harboring hard feelings forever and I wouldn't be surprised if he and Joe have spoken since 2007 and the publication of the book. He didn't target Joe and Tim in his book, after all, other than expressing disappointment and a sense of betrayal that they didn't fight for him to remain in the band. They were not included in the lawsuit.

One can't blame him for speaking of the split when he's inevitably asked about it, but I do wish he would see that after this many years, it's better to stay positive. I think he would come off much better to all Eagles fans if he chose that path. As it stands, while his supporters will defend him regardless, he is turning off others. He has nothing to lose by laying off the negativity and everything to gain.