7/28/2019 Rhythms -- Eagles London Press Conference

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Then the band resumes, more successfulthan ever, spending the next twenty yearstouring, recording and making preposter-ous amounts of money playing its old hitsrepeatedly around the world in a business-like manner. Soon the band is commemo-rating its 40th anniversary by making adocumentary on its history.

History Of The Eagles premiered at the Sun-dance Film Festival in Utah last January and

the band attended the UK/Europe premiereat the London Sundance Festival on April 25.At a press conference that day, Don Henley,Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B Schmitexhibited little of their usual wry sarcasm.Wise, sober and thankful, they asserted thatthey take nothing for granted and are in factsurprised that so many people still want tosee them play all over the world. (Yes, Aus-tralia will get at least one more Eagles tour.)

The three-hour, two-part lm out on DVD(with a bonus disc of live footage from 1977)focuses its rst part on the most captivat-

ing time when the thrill was still there. From1972 to 1980, the Eagles enjoyed the kind ofride that the young dudes they were couldbarely comprehend.

Said a bearded, erudite Henley in London,Even though we were in our twenties, wewere kids then. Men grow up slowly, if at all.Especially in the entertainment industry.

The lm examines, warts-and-nearly-all, theearly ride from country rock wannabes torock n roll superstars. Its mainly the story ofHenley from the small town of Linden, Texas,

and Frey from Detroit, Michigan, and theirindividual journeys to Los Angeles wherethey met at the Troubadour club bar, joinedLinda Ronstadts backing band, and began

their ascent to life in the fast lane. The lmacknowledges Ronstadts role in foundingThe Eagles.

Archival footage on and off stage is plentifuland illuminating. Joe Walshs infamous hotelroom antics are almost painful to watch even for Walsh.

Its uncomfortable seeing me when I was amess, but I think its very important that thatbe in the documentary, Walsh admitted.

When we stopped, I didnt really have a life,and I didnt know what to do, and I was sad.So I pretended that we didnt stop and I keptgoing. And basically I ended up alcoholicand dependent on substances, and thosethings gradually convince you that you cantdo anything without them. And thats how Iwound up.

Don and Glenn came to me in 1993 andsaid, Were thinking about trying it againand we cant really do it without you and wecant do it unless youre sober. That was thereason Id been waiting for all those years.

Frey is acknowledged as the leader healone decided the band was over in 1980and it was his call the reunited the bandin 1994. In the interim, he learned how tohandle the interpersonal tensions that wouldinevitably arise. Even so, it was impossiblewith guitarist Don Felder still in the band;Frey and Felder had famously clashed in thelate 70s, and things did not improve in the90s. Felder was red in 2001. He gets plentyof screen time in the lm, as do Leadon,Meisner and Meisners post-Hotel Californiareplacement Schmit, who remarks, In my

experience all rock n roll bands are on theverge of breaking up at all times.

Since Felders departure, relations in theband have stayed on an even keel. Wevelearned a lot, Henley said. We have thatwonderful thing now called perspective,which we didnt have so much of then. Wehave more gratitude now for how fortunatewe are and weve learned to accept and tol-erate one another. Its not that we dont haveour differences, its just that these days itdoesnt become so dramatic.

I think the lesson to take away from this is

that we all survived, were all alive and well,weve been through the re. A lot of peopledidnt survive but for one reason or anotherwere all ne. And were grateful for that.

BIRDs OF PRAYthE LoNdoN pREss CoNFERENCE FoR thE RELEAsE oF hIstoRy oF thE

EAgLEs REVEALs thAt thE bANd WILL REtURN to AUstRALIA. AgAIN.

BY DEBBIE KRUGER

What does one of the worldsbiggest rock bands do after thethrill is gone?

It disintegrates, leaving four out ofve members bereft, then spends 14years on vacation, with two membersenjoying successful solo careers, oneout of control on a ride of alcohol andsubstance abuse, and the others quietlyworking on sessions and occasional solo

records.

hir ofte Ealeis available

throughUniversal.

ON RECORD

33JUNE 2013 www.rhythms.com.au 33 1/3 Revelations Per Minute