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Rock Hall Induction … A report from Brooklyn
CHICAGO and Cheap Trick bring Rock and Roll pride to
Illinois
As it is every year, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction class is a hot topic of discussion that usually
goes in either or both of two directions.
The debate gets heated when the conversation becomes more about who is
NOT in the hall, rather than who is.
Those musical greats who have not yet been inducted are discussed,
defended and fought over reminiscent of those “My dad is bigger than your dad”
days in the school playground.
For me, I take it for what it’s worth. I am happy for those who ARE selected, and do
not spend much time complaining about who is not. I thoroughly enjoy my time when I go to
Cleveland to visit the Rock Hall, and there are plenty of inductees I am happy
for. Don’t get me wrong, there are many
groups I can plead a case for, and I could justify their place of honor as much
or more than many current inductees. But
really, in the end, it’s all entertainment, not very scientific, and like life,
a bit unfair.
If you have read my column before, you may remember last
year’s report from Cleveland as I attended The 30th Anniversary Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies (if you haven’t, go to dailyherald.com and
look it up, it was a VERY cool night). I
recently attended this year’s edition, and it was a very special evening. It was a quite emotional and long awaited
induction of three bands in particular that I not only have had the privilege
of working with, but also have been blessed by their friendship over the years.
CHICAGO, Cheap Trick and Deep Purple were honored this year,
along with Steve Miller and N.W.A.
Of the thirty-one past induction ceremonies, only four have
been held in the Hall’s home town of Cleveland.
The others, as it was this year, have been held in New York City, except
for twice in Los Angeles. This edition
was held at The Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn, and not at the semi-usual
location of Madison Square Garden.
Lars Ulrich, the famed drummer from the metal - supergroup
Metallica was the first to welcome the eighteen-plus thousand in
attendance. His job was to induct
English heavy metal band Deep Purple.
Taking full advantage of his opening spot, he spent all of twenty
minutes outlining all the reasons why Deep Purple was to be awarded this
coveted honor. He saluted keyboardist
Jon Lord, who passed away in 2013. I
really appreciated the fact that Ulrich congratulated all fourteen members of
the band that circulated through the band over the years.
Purple pioneers Ian Pace, Ian Gillian, Glenn Hughes and
David Coverdale all were there; however Hughes and Coverdale were not invited
to perform the three-song medley at the event.
And Ritchie Blackmore, the controversial guitarist who came up with that
famous “Smoke On The Water” riff, did not attend due to differences with the
band.
Blackmore not being there was a real shame, I thought. If you were a child of seventies’ rock, the first
lick you learned was that opening riff of “Smoke On The Water”. I was in sixth grade when the air guitar was
born for me, and that was the song that birthed it! And when the band played “Smoke” after
another megahit, “Hush”, I found my air guitar skills were thoroughly still
intact.
Steve Miller was next up.
I have never met the man, outside of being in the audience with him at
another awards ceremony for an organization I sit on the board for, Little Kids
Rock. I was interested to hear him speak
and try to find out what kind of guy he is.
I was excited because the very first 45 rpm record I bought with “my
own” money, was “The Joker” by the Steve Miller band.
I found out a few things I didn’t know about him, such as
the fact that he was from Milwaukee, grew up musically in San Francisco with
Boz Scaggs, played the famed Fillmore club one hundred and twenty nine times,
came to Chicago to learn the blues (the band was actually named ‘The Steve
Miller Blues Band’ until it was shortened for simplicity), and that guitar pioneer
Les Paul was his godfather and taught him his first chord when little Steve was
only five years old! He seemed humble
and laid back, as he challenged the Rock Hall to honor more women and to bring
more music to schools.
After the show, however, he strongly criticized the Hall for
its poor treatment of the performers, saying that he just did it so as not to
disappoint the fans. “They gave me two
tickets, for me and my wife. When I
asked the about my band and their wives, the said it would be ten thousand
dollars apiece. I was furious,” Miller said.
But man, when his distinctive voice and somewhat poetically
distorted guitar belted out “Fly Like An Eagle” “Rock’n Me” and “The Joker”,
the place went crazy! It was interesting
to note that “The Steve Miller Band” was nominated as a solo act rather that an
entire band, and that his Greatest Hits album sold over thirteen million
copies, more than The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album.
Next up, definitely a controversial selection, hip-hop
heavies, N.W.A. Rap superstars Ice Cube
and Dr. Dre (the first certified billionaire rap artist) led the group on
stage, recalling those formative years in Compton, a city plagued with crime near
Los Angeles. Their messages and music
were in response to the excessive gang violence and alleged police brutality of
the eighties, and reflected the racial strife of the time.
They acknowledged the presence of diversity within the Rock
Hall, and encouraged more. Ice Cube sent
out a message to KISS band member Gene Simmons who was quoted as saying, “Rap
doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. It’s
not rock.” “Rock and Roll isn’t a
specific genre,” Cube said. “It is a
spirit, a combination of all forms of music.”
In subsequent interviews, Simmons begged to differ.
Sheryl Crow then performed an acoustic rendition of the
Eagles’ classic “New Kid In Town”, remembering Glenn Frey, the Eagle who had
recently passed away. It was a serene
moment.
“Matchbox Twenty” frontman Rob Thomas had the honor of
inducting CHICAGO which was for me, the moment of the night. CHICAGO was MY band. It was the first band that I really got into,
listening and learning every cut on every album, from seventh grade until
today. “Their first three albums were DOUBLE
albums, and they had the guts to name themselves after a city that was the
center of the Blues, and Rhythm & Blues.
That takes guts,” Thomas said.
Actually the moment started earlier that day for me. Original drummer, Danny Seraphine, asked me
if I was available to join him and his family for breakfast at the
Waldorf-Astoria. What a cool thing to
do! Danny and I have been close friends
for a long time, and he was one of the main reasons why I attended the
ceremonies. You see, he was excused from
the band over twenty-five years ago, citing irreconcilable differences. When the band welcomed Danny to be a part of
the ceremonies, he became very emotional.
Five of the seven original members were in attendance. Rob Thomas and the band itself acknowledged
guitarist and vocalist Terry Kath, who died of a gun accident in 1978. Kath’s daughter Michelle was on stage with
the guys, another classy move. The other
band member conspicuous by his absence was former high-pitched lead singer,
Peter Cetera. Band differences kept him
from attending, another heart breaking moment of the evening.
It was nice to hear sax player Walt Parazaider thank veteran
Chicago disc jockey Dick Biondi, and also credited Doc Severinson, the former
“Tonight Show” band leader for helping to keep the band together after Kath’s
tragic death. Jimmy Pankow thanked the
Hall for “Welcoming them into their home”, and Lee Loughnane thanked his three
ex-wives for “Making it necessary for him to keep working!”
All the guys got to say a few words, but when Danny took the
mic, he was not short on emotion, or on expletives, for that matter. “I’ve been waiting twenty-five years to play
with my band,” said a choked-up Seraphine.
After a long acceptance speech, the monitors started saying “wrap it
up”. Danny hoisted the trophy above his
head and proclaimed, “Screw you, I have been waiting too long for this
moment!’ (I THINK he said, “Screw
you”.)
I was so happy for him.
I knew how important this was for him, and I wouldn’t have missed being
there for the world. It was incredibly
cool to be on “the inside” of that whole emotional rollercoaster. The band then played “Saturday In The Park”
“Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is” and “25 or 6 to 4”. It was magical as I ripped a vocal chord or
two.
Certified southern rock star Kid Rock then took the stage to
induct the boys from Rockford, Illinois, CHEAP TRICK. He described the band as “A garage band with
punk, soul, a pop heartbeat and Beatles ambitions.” It was fabulous to see all four original
members together, probably for the last time, as drummer Bun E. Carlos has been
out of the band for a few years now, with legal battles coming in between him
and his childhood friends.
Vocalist Robin Zander, another good friend of The Arcada, entered
the stage in a white zoot-suit and big hat, and Tom Petersson did nothing but
grin while speaking about his organization benefiting autism. Guitarist Rick Nielsen, in his own animated
fashion, presented Steve MILLER with a guitar shaped like a MILLER BEER
logo. “I’ve been waiting years to give
this to you,” He said.
They commenced with the final set of the night, aptly so
because their songs “I Want You To Want Me”, “Dream Police” and “Surrender”
literally brought down the house.
David Lettermen Show alum Paul Shaffer led the finale, as he
does almost annually. All the inductees,
except N.W.A. (never really found out why they didn’t perform at all) came
back on stage for the final number. As happy of an occasion the ceremonies were
for all in attendance, I thought it was ironic that the finale was Trick’s hit,
“Ain’t That A Shame”. Maybe it was a
subtle message regarding the absence of band members that should have been
there, founding members who had passed away, and inductees less than enchanted
with the honor.
-- Ron Onesti
President / CEO of The Onesti Entertainment Corporation
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