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Thread: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

  1. #71
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    Default Re: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

    LTEF - Great photo of you all ! and I agree, Don does look quite amused !

    HB & VA thank you again for your wonderful recap of the Q & A. Made me feel like I right there with ya all .

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    Default Re: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

    Thank you very much Houston baby and VA for sharing all Don's three and a half hour Q&A. Far and beyond anything we could hope for from official press sources. Such detail could only come from the most generous of ardent fans.

    Wonderful reading, both entertaining and informative. I've had a high respect of Don for decades, it has slipped a little lately but this is definitely a large tick in the plus column. Thanks again for bringing it to us.

    A couple of responses, regarding Don's comments about radio. YouTube has taken over the role that radio played during the Eagles heyday. Just like the bands, radio stations feel a need to play tracks that their target audience are familiar with. To hear new music, fans go to YouTube. Don needs to embrace YouTube. That's what I currently believe anyway

    Don's comments about Long Road Out Of Eden were surprising. No doubt, he'll be performing Waiting In The Weeds, solo or with the Eagles very soon. The Last Resort seems to have gone down well since he reintroduced it to his live repertoire

  3. #73
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    Default Re: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

    You are very welcome from VA and me everyone!

    CONTINUING.......

    Question #42: A man from Cleveland, OH. He said that Don has talked about struggling some nights, he’s also talked about singing the same songs each night. He’s also mentioned about how sometimes his mind wanders and goes to some interesting places. Don said, “Yeah, what I’m gonna have for dinner later.” After much laughter, the man said he was hoping for something a little more romantic (I’m positive that’s the word he used) and interesting than that. Don said, “I’m sorry.” After more laughter, the guy said he thought then the question became, “Burnt ends, ribs, or brisket?” (VA - I’m such a plebian when it comes to BBQ, I had to look up Burnt Ends. It’s really a thing.) Don said he had ribs the night before. Then Don answered the original question and likened it to driving in a car, where you can think and drive at the same time. He said it was the same with drumming, and they call it ‘going into the zone.’ He said if he thinks too much about what he’s doing, he’ll mess up. In his mind, he knows what to do, he doesn’t need to think about it. He’s not phoning it in, he’s trying, he’s focused on what he’s doing, but there’s another part of his brain that’s doing something else. Like thinking about ribs and brisket. He can do both without messing up. He had some great BBQ the night before. He said the BBQ came from the Pecan Lodge (which he’d mentioned in concert the night before). Quite a few shouted out that they’d gone there earlier that day.
    Question #43: A man from Houston, but said he was at the Runaway event last year. He said there’s a lot of disposable income that’s spent chasing him all over the US (I can’t imagine who would do that, lol!). Don said we should be putting it into Johnson & Johnson. So the guy said that at last years’ Runaway event, Don had said he’d look into getting an Eagles channel on SiriusXM radio. Once again, Don thought they already had one (apparently they do on iHeart?). The crowd emphatically told him they didn’t. Don said he could fix that. (Who am I to remind him he said that last year? SXM just ignores my emails on the matter at this point.) So then the guy said he wondered what to get a guy for his birthday who could probably afford to get himself whatever he wanted. Then went on to explain that since we’d been told we could leave gifts for him on a table, he and his wife brought him butt nuggets. He explained they have chickens, and butt nuggets are eggs. So apparently, they brought him fresh eggs for his birthday. Don mentioned he has some chickens, and they stop laying when it gets so hot. He mentioned he’d never heard eggs referred to as butt nuggets before. Don said he’d take them, he’s not really into the gift thing, but he’d take those. Then he said that all of us being there that day and the night before was gift enough for him.
    Question #44: A lady from Houston. She asked for details on how they prepared for the Classic West and East concerts, the set list, who would sing what, etc. He said the setlist was pretty much already decided from previous setlists. He said they rehearsed for 2 ½ weeks. They rehearsed at first without Vince, since he was on tour. After he got there, they rehearsed for two weeks at a place near Culver City, CA. They had to change up some harmony parts, a lot of details they had to work on. Some they’re still working on. He said they always rehearsed a lot in their career, they liked to over-prepare. He said when they go to NY they’ll rehearse for a couple of days in the stadium. You can rehearse in a rehearsal hall, it’s one thing, but in a stadium, it’s an entirely different ballgame. (haha!) Sound is different, mixes are different, everything is different. They rehearsed for two nights at Dodger stadium so the lighting guy could get it right. There’s a lot of things that go into it. Also, the big IMAX screens in the back. They’ll do the same in NY. He said they’ll sit around rehearsing vocal harmonies, in a circle, the Circle of Fear. Figure out the harmonies, then go up to the mics and sing with the instruments, then go back to the Circle of Fear and do the next song. They do that over and over again for each song, they usually rehearse for 6 to 7 hours at a time.
    Question #45: A lady from Westlake Village, CA: She mentioned she was 70, and Don expressed surprise. We all did, she looked like she was in her late 30’s. She said she had been surprised to hear that Vince Gill would be with them, as in her mind, she’d always separated the genres. She was at the Classic West, and with Vince and Glenn Frey’s son, the emotions were so overwhelming. She wondered what prompted them to ask Vince, and is he going to stay with the Eagles? Don said, “Probably.” He said that several things prompted them. One was that Vince and Glenn had been good friends, they were both avid golfers and golfed together. Secondly, they all admired Vince’s singing, he’s one of the best singers on the planet, one of the absolutely best singers there is. One of the best guitarists as well. So they knew he was one of the only guys that would fit. He’s like Steuart Smith, he’s one of the few that could have stepped into that position. He said he can’t think of anybody else who could have. He said he was surprised, that he’d thought of Vince as a bluegrass guy, and he brought these big, gigantic amplifiers with him. Two of them that are custom made. So it’s really loud on that side of the stage. It’s as loud as Walsh is on the other side of the stage. He said it balances things out. So Timothy and he will have to get used to it. Don continued - Vince is a hell of a musician, a really good singer, and a really nice guy. He fits in really well. He said they’re all very proud of Deacon as well. As he said before, for a 24-year-old kid to get up there and do that is great. He said that Deacon is really into it. He’s taking voice lessons. Working out with a trainer. He’s all in. They’re all very proud of him, and he knows Deacon’s dad would be proud of him.
    Last edited by Houston Baby; 07-29-2017 at 01:25 PM.

  4. #74
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    Default Re: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

    These are the final questions........
    Question #46: A lady from British Columbia, Canada. Don mentioned that British Columbia was awesome, and she agreed. She said his first album was her favorite. It was one she could go to through good times and bad times. His subsequent albums have done the same thing for her. She said that for the last year or so, she’s been dealing with some traumatic health news. A tumor in her neck, and MS diagnosis. She’s gotten a lot of support from family and friends (some of whom were there), but one great thing was that she’s always been able to fall back on his music. His voice has always been so soothing to her. She said that it this point, when it’s another bad test result, or she’s very tired, her husband will just tell her to go lie down and listen to Don. Sometimes it’s not easy for him. She said that his music has been such a help, that she’d not be doing as well as she is without her husband, her children, her friends, and his music. She thanked him for it. He was obviously touched. He said it was exactly the kind of thing he’d been talking about earlier. He said there are times he gets cynical, times he gets sick and tired of doing the songs. Times he thinks he’s just not going to do them any more. Then he hears something like that. Or he reads a fan letter like he did the other night, where someone has a similar situation. He reads a letter from a guy who was in the Iraq war, or Vietnam, and his songs have that effect on him. He said it brings it home to him what these songs mean to people. He forgets sometimes, he’s so close to it that he can’t see it. He said he doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it, because he’s just trying to be a normal person, especially for his kids. But, it’s good for him to be reminded once in a while. It’s also scary, it’s a big responsibility. When he hears something like that, or reads something like that, he’s reminded that these songs are much bigger…(he didn’t finish the sentence). It’s like he said in a recent interview, the songs are much bigger than the band or anyone in it. It’s the songs that are going to always be there. It’s good for him to be reminded how much they mean to so many people all over the world. It keeps him grounded, and gives him the enthusiasm to go out and keep on doing them. Not for himself, not for the money, but what they mean to so many people. He thanked her for her words, and said that they had no idea when they were writing them that they would be accepted the way they are. He went on to remind her that his wife has MS, and they are doing great things for MS these days, that it’s improving.
    Question #47: Richard stood up and just said his first name. Don said he’s known him since he was 6 or 7. He said they started making music in Richard’s parents living room, that’s where it all started. Richard just wanted to comment that it’s been over 4 or 5 years since they went fishing on Caddo. Don said he’s too busy saving Caddo lake to go fishing on it. He told Richard he was right, they’d go, but not in July or August. He said October was good.
    He asked if there were more questions, a couple more, that he needed to go eat more BBQ.
    Question #48: A guy from Spring Hill, FL. He said he saw him at Ruth Eckerd Hall this past January. He wanted to know Don’s take on NYM. Don said his take on NYM was that it’s a dark song. He said he had some good collaborators on it (Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar and Jai Winding). He said it was written before 9/11/2001, but it took on a new meaning after that. He said he didn’t play it for 2 or 3 years after 9/11. It’s simply about how things can change quickly, unexpectedly. That you should appreciate your friends and family while you have them, because in an instant they could go ‘kapuff’, with a hand gesture that indicated ‘gone in an instant’. It’s about a guy down on Wall St, and a lot of those guys are very unhappy, because it’s all they live for, especially the day-traders. He likes the song musically because of the trumpet solo and the chord progression. They didn’t play it the night before, they did Talking To The Moon instead since they were in Texas.
    He said they had time for one more question.
    Question #49: A lady from Chicago, IL. She was at the rained-out concert there from a month or so ago. Her birthday is the same as Don’s so she thanked him for having a concert for her birthday. He thanked her and wished her a happy birthday, then discussed others who had the same birthday, none of which I could hear except Rose Kennedy.
    Question #50: A lady from Richmond, VA. ( VA - With all these people from my neck of the woods, perhaps he should do one of these here. Or at least a concert… Jus’ sayin’…) She mentioned that she was the winner of a Walden Woods sweepstakes a few years ago. Don said he thought he recognized her. She then said she’d lived on a street named Linden in Richmond. Then decades later she spent her wedding night in a boutique hotel with the name Linden in it. She said she went to Linden, TX in Sept. 2015 with two friends from the UK, and met JD Souther there. She said she’s been nominated to board of the Linden Heritage Foundation. She said Linden feels like a second home to her now. She said it was the best way to thank him for all that he’s given her. He thanked her, and she interrupted to say she was almost done. She said something about not knowing what the world will be like in 20 years, and as he’s said, the whole world has gone bat-shit crazy. He said that it’s true, but in the small towns, at an individual level there’s a lot of hope. There are still a lot of good people out there. He’s not so crazy about the human race as a whole, but individuals are where it’s at. He thanked her for all that she was doing in Linden, and she said that all those in Linden want him to know how very proud they are of him. He said it was a great place to grow up. That so many there supported both he and Richard. He did gigs at the American Legion, their first show was at the Chevy dealership. Linden has the oldest continuously operating courthouse in the state.
    **
    He asked if there were more questions. People seemed surprised, and he said that we’d come all this way. He knew we’d paid a lot of money, and he wanted us to feel like we’ve gotten our money’s worth.
    **
    Question #51: A lady from Chicago. She wanted to know, when recording with the Eagles, how was it determined who got to sing the lead vocals. He said, “Ooh.” There was a lot of laughter at how he said it. He said a lot of times it was who brought the song in, or even just the beginning. He said Glenn had started Lyin’ Eyes, and it was natural for him to sing it as he sang most of the country-oriented stuff. He said Randy had started TITTL. Sometimes Glenn would decide who sang the lead. Sometimes there was some conflict, it’s been written about. It was usually whoever brought the song or whoever had the right voice for it. It was done that way most of the time.

    **
    That was the end! We all stood and gave him a standing ovation, then he went out a nearby door and it was time for us to line up to get pictures taken with him. The pictures went very quickly, and any discussion with him was greatly discouraged.

    In my opinion (VA), the concert the night before and the Q & A made the trip completely worth the cost and the time off work. Meeting up with friends as well. However, once again, I was not impressed with Runaway’s handling of the event at all. I absolutely would never consider paying this amount of money to see an artist who wasn’t at the very top of my list of favorites. I think they get away with a lot of poor planning because the artists they have do this make up for a lot. To me, it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be getting better at this. I realize that Don went way over the time they’d thought he’d take, but it wasn’t why the food wasn’t very good. It certainly had nothing to do with the fact they had around 300 people and only seating for about half that amount at the After Party. They served food that required the use of a knife and fork, and there was nowhere to even stand and put your plate somewhere where you could use the knife and fork. So we tossed our food and went to a hotel restaurant and paid for food and drink. There was a lot of standing in very long lines, to check in, to get into the Q&A, to get the photograph, and all that could be eliminated with smarter planning.
    I know it was a lot of photographs to be taken, but they rushed you through like cattle. I heard the shutter on the camera before I even looked at it. The lighting was very poor, in most you can’t even really pick out Don’s hair. My hair has streaks of red in it, and my old hairdresser sent me a Facebook message asking what I’d done to my hair. I had to explain that it’s as blonde as it’s ever been! We have access to all the pictures, and one unfortunate guy has wings sprouting from his head. They have the Runaway insignia all over the backdrop and it just so happened that where he stood, his head was over the heart in the insignia, and the wings or whatever they are, they’re the same color as his hair, and they come out from behind his head, and it looks ridiculous. I would be horrified if after that amount of money, that would be the picture I had to show for it. I guess it’s better than last year where they lined us up outside and then didn’t give us time to undo the damage from the wind. It just seems that for that amount of money, a little more thought would be put into the organization and pictures.
    I will end by saying again that Mr. Henley himself more than made up for it. Once again, he gave thorough and complete answers, he made each person feel welcome. He acted like he wanted to be there, and he did genuinely care that we felt we got our money’s worth. I felt the staff were not very happy at the amount of time and the number of questions, they wanted to herd us out of there much sooner. In their minds, an hour and a half was enough. Don didn’t feel that way, and it was very much appreciated.

  5. #75
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    Default Re: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

    I was the last question. Don was awesome about looking at the person that asked the question.

    I agree about the food. It was a little disappointing. We ran into people in the elevator that had gone out to eat after the event. We at least got cake. But I would recommend the weekend if you are a diehard of the Runaway artist.
    Attached Images Attached Images

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    Default Re: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

    Quote Originally Posted by WalshFan88 View Post
    Wow! I'd be curious which town in Cass County....
    I spoke to the couple after the Q&A. They were from Beardstown. I'm from Morgan County so I very surprised to hear from someone else from my neck of the woods.

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    Default Re: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

    Quote Originally Posted by AftertheThrill View Post
    I spoke to the couple after the Q&A. They were from Beardstown. I'm from Morgan County so I very surprised to hear from someone else from my neck of the woods.
    Oh my gosh, how cool!!!!!! I live 30 minutes away from Beardstown...

  8. #78
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    Default Re: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

    Eek! I know a couple from Beardstown that are huge Eagles/Don fans! I will have to ask them if they went! I really doubt it's them, but.......
    https://i.imgur.com/CuSdAQM.jpg
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  9. #79
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    Default Re: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

    Wow, small world!

  10. #80
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    Default Re: Don Henley Runaway Tour in Dallas, TX - July 23, 2017.

    I just wanted to add my thanks for writing all this down. It was a great read and I'm glad you had a wonderful time.

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