The Midweek
 Motivator

Audience Development Group

No Regrets for Life in the Fast Lane                        May 15, 2013 

 
Tim Moore
Tim Moore, Managing Partner Audience Development Group

Managing Partner

Audience Development Group

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Greetings!

When you go to a concert it's best to have moderate expectations. Some of my most anticipated events have been about as entertaining as the Gaza Strip, others where expectations ran low, the show became an indelible memory...an Instant Classic if you will. Of all the shows I've seen from Linkin Park and Incubus, back to Jackson Browne's Runnin' On Empty tour, nothing compares to The Eagles for consistency, solidarity and afterglow.    

From hell raisers to family men The Eagles have thrown punches and taken a few and most say have mellowed over the years; grateful for surviving the drugs and miles that fueled their existence as one of the world's mega-groups. Recently in London for a premier of their documentary "History of The Eagles Part One," the band remembers their foray into drugs, sex and rock & roll as a snapshot of those times.

 

CMU Hall of Fame football coach Herb Deromedi who coached Glenn Frey at Dondero High School in Royal Oak, Michigan says, "Glenn was a pretty good athlete, but you always knew he had something bigger in mind." (In his yearbook, Frey was voted "most likely to inhale," says his biographer). Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy Schmidt were the group's nuclear core though other players like Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner also drifted through The Eagles' reign of adoration that continues through present moment.

 

The real story of this epic collection of talent is their ability to scorch it every time they play. "For one reason or another, be it good genetics, willpower, or good fortune, we're all fine and we intend to stay that way...a great many people didn't make it," says Henley. Frey adds that retracing their lives for the forthcoming two-part documentary helped him and other members to accept their past. "History of the Eagles Part One" screened as part of London's Sundance film and music festival tells the story of the band's creation and evolution to fame, ending with the group's dissolution in 1980. The second film will pick up with their 1994 reunion event.

 

I can see it as clearly as I saw it 10 years ago standing there in sold-out Van Andel Arena. There were Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmidt (who they said couldn't replace Meisner) miked face-to-face on The Long Run. Like some indulgent emperor scattering gems among the multitude, after each song players changed positions, changed instruments. Henley to the standing congas, Frey to the Bosendorfer grand, touching the chords like tolling bells on I Can't Tell You Why, and, there was Walsh changing guitars from Fender to Gretch as they drove into the pulsing You Belong To the City. All the while Stuart Smith's laser sharp brass and sax back-line pulled it all together, giving the 3 hour show a studio quality seldom achieved in a cavernous auditorium.

 

"You have to look at yourself, look at your past and accept who you are, what you did, be thankful that no one got hurt across the miles and experiences, say you're sorry for the things you did that were wrong, and get on with it," adds Frey.

 

Back together for almost 20 years band members are still amazed people want to hear them play. Their days of conflict and personal rivalries have long since been under control. "We're a lot more mature, a lot more accepting of each other. Things changed for members of the band when we started having kids," adds Frey. Schmidt succinctly sums it up: "We've had a lot of fun."

Sincerely,

Tim Moore

Tim Moore

Managing Partner 

Audience Development Group

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