I Think They All Have To Play

The picture above is from the 1998 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and it's of EVERY single person who was every in the band The Eagles (L-R, Bernie Leadon, Joe Walsh who looks like he's in a suit made of bricks, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmitt, Don Felder, Glenn Frey, and Randy Meisner, who's from Nebraska). There are stories about how all 7 hate one another. Look at how badly the years have been to poor Randy Meisner! Frankly, I still don't know how they got all 7 of these boys in the same room, let alone the same stage to take turns talking, and then somehow made all of them PERFORM two songs together. Leadon and Meisner were livid about not being part of the whole "Hell Freezes Over" reunion shit, the band wouldn't let Walsh be a part of any reunion until he seriously sobered up, and it's well documented that Felder and Frey literally have come to blows with one another. And legend has it, band manager Irving Azoff wouldn't confirm all 7 would even show up to the thing unless he got confirmation that the Eagles would be inducted and could perform last during the ceremonies (which also featured the induction of Fleetwood Mac). Oh and look at that, Henley's had the same sunglasses since 1974!

So there's already been the whole "awkward" precedent set at this little Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which this year wants to rival the whole Mark McGwire vote for Baseball's Hall in terms of interest. The big nominees for this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are REM, Patti Smith, the Ronettes, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and oh yeah, Van Halen. But you want awkward? The Eagles getting all 7 members on stage has nothing on what could happen this year:

• Sammy Hagar doesn't think Van Halen will even bother to perform. And despite the precedent set by The Eagles, Sammy doesn't think Gary Cherone should or will show up. In the Eagles, Schmitt came in at the end of their first incarnation for ONE album, had that one hit song ("I Can't Tell You Why") while Meisner, the band member he replaced, had been an original member and stayed with the Eagles until after the "Hotel California" album. But according to this release, Cherone is not only uninvited, he's not being inducted. I guess Gary Cherone and Van Halen NEVER HAPPENED. Damn, I was hoping for an all-out jam of Extreme's "More Than Words" to try and create some peace.
• Nevertheless, Sammy still seems quite bitter and seems content to be nothing more now than his generation's Jimmy Buffett. Oh by the way Yankee/Red Sox/Astros fans, look who spent New Year's Eve with Sammy. Is that a Rockett in your pocket, or are you just enjoying the show??? (And no, that's not Andy Pettite on the right, he doesn't go EVERYWHERE with Roger. I'm just glad Clemens found some time to be away from his family since all of his contracts since 2003 clearly state he gets his non-pitching days off to be with them. I'm not sure what the Boss would say about Clemens spending his off-season doing Cuervo Shots with Sammy.)
• Oh, evidently Eddie Van Halen thinks so much of his kid Wolfgang that he's now the official bass player in the band, replacing long-time member Michael Anthony. Damn, this is going to be fun. Everyone (including one of our posters below) says that David Lee Roth has already signed on for a summer tour with Van Halen, although there's no official confirmation of this. Although you can see from this clip, Roth could really give two shits about who his bass player is:

• No worries from REM, as I'm sure Bill Berry will come back and play drums with the band in what will more than likely be the highlight of the evening (Berry's been friendly with the band ever since having to leave and played with them as recently as late 2006). However, Michael Stipe has said in many interviews that he wouldn't participate in anything Hall of Fame related until the Monkees were elected. Maybe he'll show up with Davy Jones. But from the looks of this clip, from September, 2006, I'd say Berry will join the rest of the boys and they'll kill:

• Bob Lefsetz is really pissed off that Patti Smith got elected. Says Lefsetz, who will more than likely attend: "The only people who care are those who lived in Manhattan in the seventies, or maybe commuted from one of the other four boroughs to see a show on the rock hard island, the rest of the world DOESN'T GIVE A SHIT!"
• Uhm, wouldn't it be fun to see poor Phil Spector, who basically made the Ronettes, show up? "Be My Baby" was all that Spector "Wall of Sound". I'm sure he'll get some sort of mention at least, but his presence alone would create more tension than Sammy & Dave sharing a stage.
• Meanwhile, with all of these potential fireworks (especially from just the site of having Diamond Dave on the stage), somebody at VH1 forgot to renew the contract to televise the festivities. So who jumps in now? Spike TV? Maybe Youtube should just carry the whole damn thing.

Diamond Dave sharing the mike with tequila loving Sammy. Michael Anthony and his bigass Jack Daniels bass while Eddie jonesing for another pack of smokes. Michael Stipe giving a shout out to Micky Dolenz. Phil Spector's hair. How can this NOT be televised???