Re-Steve Miller At The R&RHOF

Great post!

Given Steve Miller's reputation within the industry as a whole, I'm amazed he got in at all.

Nonetheless, I think it's worth pointing out that the initial fracas was posted on the NY Times site.
All the rebuttals I have read (admitedly, just two, The Black Keys and RRHOF President Joel Peresman) have been in Rolling Stone.

I think that says something about the legitimacy of it all.

Keith R. Higgons

__________________________________________

Thank you Bob. The sooner this travesty is dismantled ( in the name of rock n roll ) the better.

Nikki Sixx

__________________________________________

You are such a prince of the pen among thieves and the disingenuous. Thanks for your righteous and profound words about our beloved Joker. Fuck the whining Black Keys. They will be day old bread by next decade. But The Joker will be playing in space stations into the next millennia like in Guardians of the Galaxies!

Kenny Lee Lewis- Steve Miller Band

__________________________________________

As you know the reference to Les Paul as his Godfather is pure shit ... and you can quote me on that online. Bud Miller

__________________________________________

bob;
just luverly !
please continue to piss on the parade of wafflers !
and left turn into alexander hamilton ...
saw the lin-manuel miranda fellow on charlie rose last night.
like john & paul in hamburg ; like marc anthony in the streets of salsa this mr. miranda dug himself a reservoir in his trenches.
what a pleasure to behold his discipline and passion !
and thank you charlie rose.
very best, o

Andrew Loog Oldham

__________________________________________

Yeah, like any other self respecting set of corporate entities the music business is of course filled with "gangsters and crooks". In other news snow is cold.
I'm even gladder now that I voted for Steve for the HOF. I was a big fan and saw him many times early on. I saw him play in a high school parking lot in San Francisco
in '67 or '68 to what must have been all of twenty kids; dues and all...

Chris Stein

__________________________________________

Wow dead on about Steve. Only thing that counts is him going on stage playing that great guitar, singing like nobody else and writing some of the best songs in rock history.

Chuck Morris

__________________________________________

When I was fourteen years old and playing in a blues band in Dallas, Steve Miller invited me to play with him onstage. Since then he's continued to be a mentor in music, business, and bullshit detecting, and I've had the chance to play with the SMB a few nights and the change to have long, winding conversations with him on many nights. I'm by no means special. Steve has done so much in terms of helping and educating young musicians - taking them onstage, inviting them to the studio, giving workshops, giving life advice. For RS or anyone else to characterize him as a grumpy, out-of-touch old man is wholly bullshit. Steve doesn't suffer fools and is skeptical of show business types (hence, his success), but he's as warm as they come to those he loves and to those outside of the biz. I was so proud of what he did this week, and I think it was totally in character of the person I've gotten to know the last ten years.

Thanks for all the great fucking emails,
Max Marshall

__________________________________________

To me the most notable element of the Rolling Stone piece was how the guys from the Black Keys felt like Steve Miller owed it to them to know who they were! And they even admitted it! That's hilarious.

Timothy Bluhm

__________________________________________

And Dan's last 3? albums aren't even streaming. How does he expect to make new fans and make more money if you can't even hear his music where ALL THE OTHER MUSIC IS?

Justin Bartek

__________________________________________

Jann Wenner does not just fly private. He OWNs his Gulfstream.

Jan Burden

__________________________________________

I love the Black Keys so nothing against them.

I've certainly met my fair share of rock n' roll heroes who were disappointing in person and I'm sure Pat and Dan disappointed some fans themselves by not being present in the moment. Shit happens.

I met one particular rock star from a band that I absolutely worship on a comeback tour did two sold out shows in a row with on back to back nights. The singer thanked me profusely each night for promoting the shows, he was totally genuine in doing so, the second night we dorked out for a half hour on our favorite rock heroes and influences, and he even let me play his guitar and sing a couple songs together. It was a truly magical moment that I will never forget.

Next morning I randomly bumped into him in a bagel shop and he didn't even recognize me. It happens.

Granted not a direct comparable situation to Steve Miller not hiding his vexation with the Black Keys, but just goes to show our heroes are often disappointing in person, and Steve Miller obviously doesn't want to play the game anymore, and why should he?

Dan Millen

__________________________________________

Bob: Steve Miller was one of the first major rock acts to sell his music for commercials.

Check out the use of "The Joker" in the famed UK Levi 501 ads in 1990 that later came to MTV.

Levis piggy-backed on that music tip with those rock type videos for years.

So exactly how does an artist sell out, Steve?

Were you thinking 501s when you wrote "The Joker?"

I think not.

If you didn't like what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stood for and didn't like the way you were treated up to that night, you shouldn't have attended.

Larry LeBlanc

__________________________________________

Pretty funny quote from an interview he did a few years ago in the USA today, talking about young musicians needing to pay their dues.

"I want them to understand what it is you have to do when you want to do this. I want them to see the trucks drive up and (the crew) unload the grimy equipment."

Must've been tough.

Don Bartlett

__________________________________________

The Rock Hall of Fame is beyond pointless.
Most other halls commemorate people in a field to have a record of their contributions.
Rock (and all music frankly) already does that by existing. It's recorded! If it's any good, everybody knows about it and enjoys it.
Good music is its own timeless celebration that we all curate and keep alive every day.
Fuck Jann Wenner and the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Jeremy Segal

__________________________________________

Bob, thanks for this line:

"Listening to Steve Miller's music. And the prog rockers and hard rockers who have not been let in, because they're too out there and too scruffy to be involved. The whole thing is so p.c. as to be laughable."

I wasn't sure if you understood "our" hard rock heavy metal world. Been toiling in it since the '90s with BraveWords etc... But to the point. Why are we even talking about Steve Miller, Cheap Trick and of course Deep Purple? It's beyond embarrassing that these artists just got in. And you know the list who still AREN"T in which is a bloody travesty. And I'm not even talking about our key metal people like Motorhead, Maiden and Priest etc...

Let's respect our elders FIRST.

But really … ELO, Yes, Journey, Moody Blues, The Cars, Grand Funk Railroad. Weren't the latter one of the greatest live bands in the '70s? Sold tons of records and they were all over the radio. Isn't that enough? Really!?!

This is a slap in the face to all of us. All of us that LIVE by the riff!

And the Deep Purple situation is sad, as one of the greatest keyboardists of all time (Jon Lord) never saw the honour due to his passing in 2012. A damn shame he didn't leave us with it already in his heart and on his sleeve.

Maybe we can apply "smoke on the water" to another piece of real estate?

Thanks for being a voice of reason.

"Metal" Tim Henderson

__________________________________________

Amen!

Alex M. Bustos

__________________________________________

"He's Steve Miller and Dan Auerbach is not." Steve Miller acting like a rock and roll star at the rock and roll hall of fame and Dan Auerbach is acting like he's some kind of a bad, bad man for being rock and roll. Go fuck yourself, Dan.

And don't worry, boys, you'll have your plaque one day, I'm sure, you've stolen enough riffs. No need to suck up this early, though, it's a bit gauche.

Which leads of course to the fact that Auerbach is THE most calculating rock star. His image is all about which little known African guitarist he's going to produce this week, doing his good deed to help the struggling, get his write-up in RS or in Spin.

Why do I feel that it's never about the music for Auerbach? It's about the money, the image. He disses Miller in RS right after intro'ing him. Dude, if you really loved his music you would not care what Miller said. He could insult your kids and if you bowed down at the altar of Miller's music you would not care because he delivered the tunes, man, the joy. This shows both the Hall's and the Key's calculating behavior: get a hip band that doesn't really care to come up and intro Miller, they'll do it, they're already salivating to be obsolete and in the Hall.

You did it for the publicity, it's clear now. Miller's speech and comments didn't fit into your vision of how it would help your brand and now you're distancing itself. It's clear that for whatever reason you did it it couldn't have been about the music.

The Black Keys are the shittiest band to ever put on leather jackets. No one ever forget that.

- Dan Grgas

__________________________________________

Bwahhh!! It's an insult to Steve that the Hall asked two hipster stooges to introduce him.

The Black Keys are amongst the least talented, most derivative crap America has to offer, as fake as 2 Turntables Beck, and it makes me love Miller even more for letting on that he cares not one whit about them. Auerbach - claiming he gets inspiration from the Hall?

Complaining that he took 3 days out of his life without pay??

What a yahoo, what a toadie.

Dennis Pelowski

__________________________________________

SO glad you wrote this. 100% correct. These dudes were butt hurt that a legend didn't know who they were. Steve Miller achieved the status of master of freak flag psychedelic white blues by 1969, and he progressed, regressed, and kept on keepin' on for the next 46 years. More than likely, Black Keys will be forgotten within ten years, as their songs have very little (or in my opinion, no) longevity. They come across as entitled, pitiful, corporate lackeys in this article who appear eager to stroke the corporate dong. About as far away from rock n roll as one can get.

I worked the Big Day Out tour in 2011. Apparently, Black Keys cancelled due to 'exhaustion'; the truth was that they cancelled because they got higher offers, elsewhere. They were low on the bill in Australia, but they still upset MANY fans.

(if you print this, please don't use my name as the festival info is somewhat sensitive)

__________________________________________

I saw what the Black Keys said about Steve Miller and the thought I had was "Will anybody know who the Black Keys are 40 years from now?" I suppose they had the money to bring their entourage. Sorry, Bob, that Steve didn't remember you. Don't worry. You are very relevant. Maybe there is a place for you in a hall of fame. Music writers HOF?

J Kauchick

__________________________________________

The Keys probably got the call because jack White wouldn't do anything
like this.

George Sulmers

__________________________________________

What about the honesty exhibited by Danny Seraphine? What's your opinion? Did he shoot himself in the foot or did he absolutely say the right things to his former band mates?

NELSON DUFFLE

__________________________________________

Who the fuck is Dan Auerbach?

Mike Donahue

__________________________________________

Speaking truth to power is one thing, being an asshole is another.

Sean E. McGowan

__________________________________________

"He's Steve Miller and Dan Auerbach is not."

Ha! So true.

David DiSanzo

__________________________________________

Agree with everything, Bob, but Auerbach did score one point - how can Miller call the RRHOF a boy's club when he's never hired a female band member? Choose your battles, Joker...

Michael Witthaus

__________________________________________

Great writing, Mr. Lefsetz!!!! Agree with everything in this one!!! Steve Miller is the shit!!!! He's still got it!!!

He has every right to tell it like it tiz!!!!

Disappointed in Dan. Upset because Steve Miller did not know who he is????

That's bullshit!!

Thanks for getting it right!!!

Charlie Feldman

__________________________________________

Steve Miller? Is that the abracadrabra shit? And black keys? Who?

Chris Lusher

__________________________________________

The RRHOF is such a fucking joke. Kudos to Steve Miller for not being afraid to tell the truth.

Tim Fricke

__________________________________________

The fact these clueless leaders at the RRHOF don't respect the artists that line their walls and pockets is very unfortunate. Every artist will tell you friends and family have shaped each artist with life moments and perspectives to influence the writing process.

To have the balls to ask for $10k a ticket is a slap in the face to these artists and the leaders really need to be taken out of that position and put somewhere on wall street, so they can play games with money. I 100% with Steve that a artist, WHO IS PERFORMING, should be given more than 1 ticket to the show. It's not like the revenue from adding more assets to the location, the sponsorships thru the tv shows and revenue streams all over the place are not enough to justify someones' pockets, it just comes down to pure greed and stupidity.

Also, no offense to the Black Keys, but for them to get 10 more seconds of spotlight to themselves, they are the ones who should be grateful to even be able to induct a living legend... and yes, like him or not, Steve Miller is a legend. When you look at Steve's ramp as a bitch fest, first find out WHY first.

After hearing his side, I agree 100% with Steve and back his position.

Richard Hofherr
7th heaven

__________________________________________

When you are being inducted into anything, you find out who's introducing you! In the history of baseball, football, name any sport, has an inductee EVER been clueless as to who was given the honor to introduce them? Can you imagine a lifetime achievement honoree at the Grammys or Oscars not knowing who was "standing up" for 'em and why? It speaks volumes about Steve Miller.

You are being very generous giving him a pass on common courtesy and common sense. Everything you said about the RRHoF may be true, and Auerbach should have just walked into the sunset, but it doesn't mean Miller gets a pass for boorish behavior.

Gregg Terrence

__________________________________________

I now regret buying the Black Keys album.

Todd Devonshire

__________________________________________

Bravo, Bob!

Tony D'Amelio

__________________________________________

#pussies

Bob Kranes

__________________________________________

"It's almost like he doesn't have respect for the younger generations and how hard it is in the business today. When he made his first record, he did it at Olympic Studios with Glyn Johns"

Yup, Steve had it made. I love Black Keys, but that statement is more disrespectful than what Mr Miller said the night of his induction

Chris Adams

__________________________________________

Bob,

Brilliant piece

thanks

Chris

__________________________________________

The RnR HOF is Bullshit. We all knew that from the start. Music is subjective and you can't have a club of the best of something subjective with no discernible rhyme or reason of inclusion. At the very core of Rock and Roll the premise of having a HOF is completely flawed. Steve's also right that the music business is more fragmented than it has been over the last 50 years. Artists that aren't at the very top are getting raped of their art now more than ever and that absolutely sucks. That said and while I highly admire Steve Miller the artist, Steve Miller the person is a dick. Maybe being a dick is part of being an American but I don't approve. Not here, not in an election or anywhere else. No one likes to be told to fuck off, especially in their own home. Auerbach had it right, there's a time and place for that. If he wanted to prove a point he should have done as the surviving members of The Sex Pistols did when they posted a note comparing the hall to "urine in wine" or his
fellow Bay Area inductee Jerry Garcia did when just skipped the event altogether and sent in a cardboard cutout of himself along with his band mates. Using the Hall as a bully pulpit to prove your point only makes him seem like an ass and didn't prove a point or solve anything. Either keep your mouth shut and act accordingly or pick the right venue to vent but not both. The Hall's still bullshit and always will be. He's just a member of the Bullshit Rock and Roll Hall of Fame now. And he looks like a dick.

Bob Bernstein

__________________________________________

The only thing that would make the Rock N Roll hall of fame "Rock n Roll" is if Keith Richards burned it to the ground.

Daniel Strohl

__________________________________________

It's a disgrace that the annual Rock Hall inductions are dominated by one side drama after another. KISS, Blondie, Van Halen, NWA, now Steve Miller. It's always some fake controversy that drives the headlines. This person won't play with this person. This musician hates Jann. This band member won't attend if another band member is allowed to attend. Do these musicians think that fans enjoy this kind of faux controversy?

I don't doubt that the induction process is very dysfunctional, because let's face it, every year this stuff goes on, but hey Steve, how about just putting your energies towards paying tribute to your influences, your band, and your fans, and get on with something else in your life? You're not speaking truth to power. You're just bitching at a moment when you're being lionized for your contributions to music history.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this type of absurd behavior doesn't seem to happen with the Baseball or Football HOF inductions.

It's an honor, supposedly, to be inducted to the Rock Hall. Right?

Greg Renoff

__________________________________________

Steve Miller earned the right to his bully pulpit. I often thought he was boxed out because of Scaggs' relationship with Wenner. When I contributed to Rolling Stone thirty plus years ago, I remember seeing Scaggs on the elevator on Fifth Avenue at least a couple of times.

Miller always had it right. As a true cypher of American gestalt, he should have been among the earliest inductees. Ocasek is getting in on the strength of one and a half albums and some of the worst live shows in history.

Right the hell on.

Mr. Gross

__________________________________________

well said Bob

Deborah Wilker

__________________________________________

It's so laughable when people dictate what they think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should be. That's the exact mentality that everyone railed against back in the day when rock music mattered! Should we be honoring the music? The spirit behind that music? The celebrity stars? The people who sold multiple units or the people who mattered and influenced others? To me, the whole Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is an oxymoron.

Great blog!

Dennis LeBlanc

__________________________________________

Thanks for the post about Steve Miller. Interesting to see how folks are reacting to his rant. Lots of haters out there who forget to just listen to the music and enjoy. I guess in the age of the internet, it is easier to be judgemental versus just dancing to the music. Oh well, it's only rock and roll. For those who doubt his virtuosity and his massive catalog, check out his show from Starlight Theater 7-8-89. Great show, killer band and song after song that takes me back.

Steve Katz

__________________________________________

When I read that they flew all the way from Nashville, leaving their kids for three days and Steve Miller didn't know who they were....so what? There was a time when the genius pianist Keith Jarrett would shush a room if someone coughed or sneezed before continuing to play and most journalists wrote about that instead of his genius. That's fine but it only means they don't get it. Most people know to be honest means they might hurt feelings and it's brave to be honest, perhaps a sign of wisdom.

bob wiseman

__________________________________________

I liked Danny Seraphine's (Chicago) little speech. Looked like ole Walt wanted to kill him on the spot......

Don Bartenstein

__________________________________________

Thank you, thank you, thank you Bob...after the Boss and Bryan Adams did what rockers used to do....this came off as wimpy ass self-aggrandizing with the whiff of status climbing for publicity juice by who??!...Black Keys....give me a break....Pat Britton

__________________________________________

Auerbach's comments appear mostly just sour grapes that Steve Miller never knew who the Black Keys were. That's perhaps a warning how forgotten todays version of 'rock' music might be even 20 years from now.
Great words Bob. Thank you and Steve Miller for calling a spade! Dante Canil

__________________________________________

Tell me again, who is Dan Auerbach?

Roger Maltby

__________________________________________

The saddest part of the induction ceremonies anymore is realizing that the folks making the introduction speeches will be inducted themselves by Wenner and crew. Bob Ritchie, Dave Matthews and this Black Keys guy. Not exactly Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan. Eeeek.

J. Holdren

__________________________________________

I was crazy mad about Space Cowboy and have the deep grooves in the vinyl to prove it.

They are ALL "alta kaka rockers."

I wrote the Cruisin' 70s record review column for my college newspaper. Thank you for bringing that feeling back.

Fran Denmark

__________________________________________

You are incorrect. "I love the wimps in N.C. who believe they're entitled to see Bruce, as if by buying the "River" and overpaying for a scalped ticket it's all about them." It is all about the fans period. I do not care about an artist's politics or religion...as long as they are not a member of a cult or the like. A commitment is a commitment and Mr. Springsteen broke it. Although I only care for one or two of his songs overall, if I did pay to go to a concert to see anyone, I want to hear to songs and be entertained. That is what they do...entertain. I do not want to hear any "artist" and their "views" at a concert for which I'm paying to attend.

Patricia Caffrey

__________________________________________

This was literally kinda startling. Dan Auerbach allowed himself to be USED by the man as a propaganda tool for purposes of damage control. Far and away one of the most UN-rock & roll things I've ever seen... and I've seen that "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" movie. The whole thing sounded a little sour-grapey to me: "Why didn't he know who we were? I'll show HIM!" In general, I prefer not to judge the younger generation because they, like all of us, have to make their own way in this world. But make no mistake: there has been a line in the sand for some time now, and Mr. Auerbach has firmly planted himself on the side that has Pat Boone singing "Tutti Frutti".

Keep 'em flying,
West Anthony.

__________________________________________

Miller's "Baby's House" (cowritten with the great Nicky Hopkins) is one of my most favorite songs of that era. Brilliant and moving. And nine minutes fer chrissakes.

Dave Curtis

__________________________________________

"I love the wimps in N.C. who believe they're entitled to see Bruce, as if by buying the "River" and overpaying for a scalped ticket it's all about them."

Hm. What about the fans who cleared their schedules, maybe cancelled work (paid by the day) and were left bitterly disappointed who had nothing to do with governmental decisions? Even if they did vote Republican, should they be left disappointed? Are lefty rock stars going to stop playing states that vote Republican?

erpietri

__________________________________________

And to be fair. - old people say crazy sh@$.

Rob Max

__________________________________________

Although not an artist, I am human and thus grateful to everyone who helped along the way. Artists should be grateful too...and polite, respectful, etc.

Being an artist doesn't mean you have to act like an asshole....certainly not an excuse!

Jim Lewi

__________________________________________

Whoever thought Rock and Roll needed a Hall of Fame? Oh yeah wait a minute. Now I remember. Some guy who rode on the backs of everyone from The Grateful Dead and John Lennon to whoever today is willing to be a whore for some publicity. Not anyone who ever played it. Not anyone who ever made it. Yeah I'm still trying to forget that guy.

John Brower

P.S. I'm not finished...lol. The Barclay Center? $10,000 a seat. I don't smell teen spirit. RS It smells like Rotten Shit to me.

__________________________________________

While he was up there railing against the machine, he should have thanked Paul Pena for penning "Jet Airliner."

If the Rock Hall was worth a shit, they'd be recognizing more guys like him; the brilliant unsung heroes of the era.

dB

__________________________________________

Right on, Brother Lefsetz! Steve Miller hasn't done anything in decades that interests me and I think the Black Keys make fine music, but Miller is right and the Keys sound like crybabies. And WTF do they mean, how many women are in the Steve Miller Band? The same number inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, boys.

Margaret Moser

__________________________________________

Amen, so well put..

James Craik

__________________________________________

Time to delete all of my Black Keys albums. What a bunch of pussies. "The most unpleasant part was being around him." Give me a break, are you 7 years old???? I nominate Auerbach to be the first recipient of a lifetime achievement award in the Puss & Whine Hall of Fame.

Joe Weinstein

__________________________________________

Nice Bob. When done right music is dangerous and makes people uncomfortable and might even change shit. The G n R show at the ballyhooed T Mobile arena, here in the Entertainment Capital of the world was anything but dangerous. A threeunion, clean corporate cash grab. I'm embarrassed that I went. Live and learn. Rock on Bob.

Kurt Lambeth

__________________________________________

In honour of Steve Miller, I'm listening to Fly Like an Eagle, of course on vinyl and it sounds great!!!

Doug Gillis

__________________________________________

nice one lefty

Pete Anderson

__________________________________________

In response to your Steve Miller At The R&RHOF...Superb, spot on...I can hardly believe Auerbach made that play...it's going to burn him in more ways than one.

Best regards,
Mick

__________________________________________

The Black Keys inducting Steve Miller...what, was Kanye West not available!?

Thanks for touching on Boz Scaggs. This guy just keeps making great albums. Records like the soulful Memphis, Come On Home, and last year's dreamy The Last Tango on 16th St. have all three been essential listening for me the past few years. Yeah, he became overexposed with Silk Degrees (kind of like the Saturday Night Fever syndrome for the Bee Gees.) He was overnight success... on his seventh record.

I have him booked in concert in about three weeks. Ninety percent of the stuff that we book doesn't speak to my ears, but booking Boz Scaggs is an honor!! So many venue buyers don't even know who he is, as they're so much younger than his music career on the radio. You have to take them way way back to Silk Degrees, when he had only been making records for a decade, to remind them why he's relevant!

Fifty plus years into his career & I don't think Boz Scaggs is in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, but frankly it's been a joke for so long I don't keep up. I'm scared to even think about who they might have induct him. Mos Def?

Lavon Pagan

__________________________________________

How do the always changing personnel (and they do change a lot of their staff rather frequently) choose who will do the "inductions?' Shouldn't the act/ the inductee have some say who will be inducting him/her/them? That's how other honors work - at least ones I know about/have worked on.

Little Steven inducting the Rascals could not have been more perfect. You knew Little Steven loved this group - this was no bullshit. And then, when he (sorry to sort of quote Dion) "tore open his shirt" and revealed the original, dopey Young Rascals shirts… well… what could have been better for all of us who loved the Rascals.

Lou Reed inducting Dion? Could not have been better. Well, Paul Simon might have wanted to induct Dion, but the dark knight of the NY streets inducting the King of the NY Streets… perfect.

What do the Black Keys have to do with Steve Miller. Agree with you about Boz, but on his website, he doesn't even list himself as a former member of Steve Miller. He "played with Steve Miller", or some other euphemism.

So- Sir Paul ? Ben Sidran who is meaningless to the rock and roll community? Isn't there anybody out there but us who liked and still likes Steve Miller?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame so does not deserve to exist. I visited once, taken by a friend who was doing a show and then a Q&A about a movie. It's a museum to Jann and Rolling Stone.

If you want to see a Hall of Fame done right take a trip to Cooperstown, NY. Whether you like, love, hate or indifferent to baseball, this is a real museum, with a real reason to visit.

As for Hamilton… hey, I think I'd been sending you notes about it since I saw it when it was off-bway.

Great piece.

Amy Krakow

__________________________________________

Keep stirring the pot Bob! Love it!

Who cares what Dan Auerbach says about Steve M anyway. Miller has watched the music he loves being co-opted by people who have little concern for anything but their own reflection........

If there is a cultural revolution on the way, I'm sure Bob Lefsetz will be on the front lines!.....could you say the same for the executive committee of the RRHOF?

or as the words go.......Do Do Do Do Do Do Do.....Living in the USA!

Steve Chrismar

__________________________________________

Fuckin pussies.

...Seriously, Bob.

I'm sick and tired of this unconditional entitlement adopted by the millennials.

What the fuck does Steve Miller owe Auerbach?

As if anybody owes this crowd of crybabies anything other than a good old fashioned ass whooping. Which is what would have happened back in Miller's time if you complained, or cried like a bitch. Shit, your own english teacher would draw blood in setting you straight.

Miller has balls of steel. And he's always been one of my favorite artists. And I've wondered, man, his music is so simple, most of his hits are on the verge of pop, and yet - he keeps on rockin me, baby!

Aaron Kelley

__________________________________________

Couldn't agree with you more on this one, Bob.

Steve Miller has lived it for decades, from the inside and that makes his opinions relevant. Wenner has merely written about it from the outside. And, as Zappa allegedly said, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." 'Nuff said.

Bob Kennedy

__________________________________________

Seriously, why were the Black Keys asked to induct Steve Miller? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy their music but what is the connection? Did Steve Miller influence and inform their work? If so, did anyone share with Steve Miller? Look, I'm not a big fan of Steve Miller but his music was unescapable in early seventies, I enjoyed it, and still do. But, I blame the RRHOF for the poor communication between the two artists. Unfortunately, a bitter and uniformed inductee chose the platform to take a well deserved swipe at an institution that maintains little credibility and the Black Keys were caught in the middle.

Andrew Paciocco

__________________________________________

Fuck yeah Bob! I'm with you on that one.

Michael Hardy

__________________________________________

The fact that Steve Miller doesn't know who the Black Keys are is strong indicator of how out of touch he is and how little he cares about what's relevant in modern music. There is nothing sadder than seeing a once great artist (although he's not part of my life's sound track, I still respect his work) slowly slipping head first into anger and rage as a result of no longer being relevant. Yeah, we all know the business sucks but all that misdirected animosity isn't going to inspire anyone to try and change it. Perhaps if he gave the Key's "El Camino" a listen he might lighten up and enjoy some very solid writing.
It ain't a simplistic 3 chord 4/4 time signature but I'm sure he'll still get it. Being obsolete... it must be hell on an artist. Cheers.

Tom Bjelic

__________________________________________

preach it brother bob!

Adrian Rice

__________________________________________

Right On!!!
Jeff Laufer

__________________________________________

You get it exactly right- there is absolutely no correlation between the real person and the persona. You never know what you're going to find. Especially with musicians. I've met plenty of huge stars, as probably a lot of your readers have as well. I can count the pleasant surprises on one hand. Came very, very close to meeting John Lennon, but didn't. (One of those strange stories...)

And I'm glad now, though the word is he was usually quite polite and tolerant to fans.

It's best to never meet your hero's in the arts. The risk is too great you will never be able to enjoy their work again.

Re the RR HOF: I tuned out the day they said "Cleveland" and haven't paid another lick of attention since. It's always been a phony, compromised joke to me.

Oh, and I keep Steve Miller's greatest hits in fairly regular rotation. Never met him...

Timothy Sullivan

__________________________________________

Bob, here's a little Steve Miller vignette from earlier in 2016.

I'd gone to the Met to see the event surrounding their acquisition of one of my friend Ken Parker's archtop guitars. After the official Met event, many of the attendees went across the street to someone's lovely 5th Avenue abode for an after party. There were five of Ken's guitars in attendance and, soon enough, a group of us commandeered an empty room to play the things. That's what they're for, right? So what if they start at $35K?!?

Well, as often happens when a group of guitarists who are more or less strangers to each other, the question "What are we gonna play?" rears its head. Steve Miller, there with no fanfare whatsoever, grabbed one of the guitars, sat down in the middle of the circle and said, "hell, let's just play a blues." "What key?" "B flat" says I, as if there was a horn player around the corner wanting a piece. "No, that's too hard. Let's do G" says Steve and off we go. Steve led the jam for the better part of an hour, smiling all the way, teaching us the lick to "The Joker" (as if all of us didn't already know it, hell, everyone else in the circle could play rings around him technically speaking, but of course not one of us has ever or will ever write a lick as memorable and widely known as that one, to say nothing of all those songs that were ubiquitous on the radio in my teens when radio MATTERED) and being simultaneously a Rock Star and just another guitar-addled geek. The assembled
crowd ate it up and every one of us, player or listener, went home happy to have spent that time in his presence.

Not only did I nail the riff, I sang the harmony part on "The Joker" with all my heart. And I rarely sing!

So yeah, he's Steve Miller and I'm not. And he's earned a big pass in my book. But then, I absolutely loathe the RRHOF, on all kinds of levels.

Kingsley Durant

__________________________________________

I feel like the Black Keys' reaction is like our Instagram society where everything has to be "positive" and tries to look successful.

Like the corporate world actually.

Opinions used to be key, now it's considered dangerous if they don't follow the herd.

The Kardashian's are the new paradigm and you better not talk crap otherwise you'll be excluded.

"Kill your idols" used to be written on Axl Rose's shirt at the time I discovered them, I was 13 in 92.

Now it would read "kneel harder, bow lower".

Music started for me as a way of raising the middle finger without uttering a word.

Now it's an advertisement platform for big companies and the likes, they don't invest but just reap benefits from the "culture".

How long will there be a culture anyway? Will millennials build on the TMZ era we live in to create a lasting movement?

Ben The Glorious Bastard

__________________________________________

When I was going to San Francisco State college in the 60s I saw Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs play at a famous, at the time, small club on Fillmore Street, called the Matrix. They had a 4 man jazz combo, drums, bass and the two of them alternating vocals and lead guitar. Boz had a song getting some air play on local radio called "We were always Sweethearts" or something like that. They were great together. I also saw the Airplane one night in that club with Signe ?, a attractive blonde lead singer, that preceded Grace Slick. All the new San Francisco sound bands played there.

Around the same time 65/66, before Carol Doda, I saw a great R & B group called the Checkmates at the Condor. They had a fantastic lead singer Sonny Charles. I lost track of him and many years later I was staying at the run down Sands Casino in Vegas attending the Consumer Electronics Show. It was the only place I could get a room. I came back to the hotel about 1am and had to pass by the cocktail lounge on the way to my room. I heard this great R & B song and a vocalist that sounded familiar. It was Sonny Charles with a group very similar to his old Checkmates. He was in his mid to late 60s, but hadn't lost a step in his performance and sounded great. But the lounge was nearly empty and when he finished one song, I was the only one that applauded. It was a sad scene. And it bothered me that a guy this talented had to end his career this way. Well, a few years later I received a promo CD of Steve Miller's latest blues album "Bingo" to review for "The Reader" a weekly San Diego
magazine. I loved the new CD and was wonderfully surprised that Miller's new lead singer was none other than Sonny Charles.

So what ever one says negative about Steve doesn't register with me since there is I'm sure a great story to be told about Steve's resurrection of Mr Charles who now tours with him. At 75 Sonny still sounds great, is fun to watch perform and finally gets some love from the fans. A rare happy ending in the music business.

best, alan segal san diego

__________________________________________

I know no act likes buying tickets for the RNRHOF induction ceremony but that's how they have always done it.

Bottom line though, it is like a (career) breath of fresh air for any of the people who get in. It revives careers like a new hit song or album. They are NEWS again, instead of just being great vintage rockers or whatever. I love that there is a Hall of Fame and I am glad to see people get their just acknowledgement. It is a huge badge of honor. Yes everyone in the business, promoters - are rip offs – ask any act - so are the record companies and I guess the hall is too, but let me ask you something…

WHERE WOULD THESE ACTS BE WITHOUT THE RECORD COMPANIES AND PROMOTERS WHO SIGNED THEM AND PROMOTED THEM WHEN THEY WERE NOTHING?

That is no excuse to take advantage of artists but there are literally a million bands out there BEGGING for attention from me and everyone else, just to get on a show. They will PAY for it, (not that I charge them) and there just aren't enough shows to go around. And radio…how about radio, they won't play NOTHIN anymore unless you are one of those lucky ones who got on board years ago! We have been complaining for years the radio doesn't play anything, LOOK AT IT NOW!!!

So for anyone who bitches about getting in the hall of fame, I think you should rethink using this as a platform to bitch about all the assholes in our business. It aint like you are broke, and not getting paid a ton of money all along. You could always turn it down. So you gotta pay for the band members to come. I have to pay to go there too when I want to see one of my favorite acts get in there, because it is a special feeling and moment you can't get anywhere else. I am so proud of these guys and that I get to work with them for all of these years.

I look forward to seeing the show I couldn't attend this year on TV in a couple weeks. I am so happy for my friends Cheap Trick and Chicago, who I am promoting shows with in July, (especially my friend Danny Seraphine who should be invited back into the band), the mighty Deep Purple (Roger and Ian are 2 of my prize musician friends, like royalty) and Steve Miller (and I miss Norton Buffalo SO MUCH who helped shape the sound).

Steve Miller's early albums, the sound that introduced me to the great Ben (Space Cowboy) Sidran and Boz Scaggs who I got to work with after and since…all bands I have promoted for the last 40 years. I love them all—what an HOF class! Come on you guys, celebrate the fact we have this unbelievable right to make money doing this for living…yes I would PAY to do it, and I do. Think of what the rest of the world has to do to buy our concert tickets and are (mostly) happy when they do!

Danny Zelisko

P.S. Bob – don't take it out on Steve that he doesn't remember you. I have been bringing him checks for decades and he never remembers me.

__________________________________________

THAT'S rock and roll.

Rock and roll used to be about sticking it to the man. Now it's about licensing deals and featured artists and collaborations and earworms.

"Rock and Roll Hall of Fame"??? Give me a break. It's a Hall of Sales Achievement.

They induct this man -- whose music is still being played on the radio (terrestrial and satellite) and at college parties and sports arenas and in commercials today -- into a supposed guild of greats, and they won't reserve a few extra chairs at the ceremony to allow his band and their supportive spouses to attend.

Guess what?? The songs that built Steve Miller's career were recorded and performed by The Steve Miller BAND. Without the other members and their contributions, you've simply got another guy with a guitar who knows how to write good songs. Plenty of those around. But without the band to back him up, Steve Miller doesn't necessarily achieve the greatness which qualifies him to be inducted in the first place.

Instead, extra seats are billed to the band members and their wives at ten grand apiece!

The Rock Hall is a joke. It exists as a tourist attraction, a convenient way for Big Music to appear to pay homage to Their former indentured servants...while raking in $23.50 a ticket from Joe and Joan Schmoe.

N.W.A. didn't even perform at the ceremony, as is customary when an artist is inducted. According to Ice Cube, the group "didn't feel like we were supported enough to do the best show we could put on."

(BREAKING NEWS: Big Music unsupportive of controversial artist.)

The thing is, N.W.A. are now one of only five rap artists in the Hall -- and the only reason a "crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube from the gang called Niggaz With Attitudes" gets inducted is because of the coincidental success (read: $160 million domestic gross) of the film Straight Outta Compton. N.W.A. proved to be undeniable, so Big Music couldn't actively deny them any longer.

Make no mistake, there was a heyday in music. There was a time when the artists were the millionaires and called the shots. When music helped shape and define the culture, not the other way around.

Music used to be the best platform for expressing social and cultural discontent, moving millions to seek truth and become one with humanity.

And then They shut it down. "Stop, in the name of...money!"

It's all about sales. All the time. That's why it's major news when a bill gets introduced to pay producers, mixers, and engineers royalties for their respective roles in the creation of hits. Because They don't want to pay anyone except Themselves.

Jann Wenner is revered by Big Music now, but when he created Rolling Stone he was anti-establishment. He was on the same side as the artists.

And now...he's charging them ten grand to sit in his building, at an event honoring the music which they were an integral part of creating?

Piss on Rolling Stone. And you too, Jann Wenner. You used to stand for something. You made the magazine whose cover aspiring artists wished most to grace. Now you recycle the same drivel about the same artists issue after issue, and cater to Big Music's priorities.

Because Big Music pays. And They pay well those who do Their bidding.
Steve Miller did enough of Their bidding to earn a Hall of Fame performance, and I'm glad, because it afforded him the platform and opportunity to cry "BULLSHIT!!" for everyone to hear.

But he's a dying breed. Today's artists are afraid to take a position on anything, lest they potentially lose a single fan.

And that doesn't just apply to the famous and well-known artists. I just left a touring band in which saying anything that could potentially be interpreted as offensive or alienating to anyone was off-limits; potential social media posts had to first be approved by the group.

It's as if everything today has to be homogenized and pasteurized for the masses. Soft. Safe. Easy. Inoffensive.

Because the offended minority has a voice now: the internet. And the internet allows them to connect with each other and express their particular opinions and thoughts.

So what ends up happening is, enough of these offended individuals connect and become a group voice. They stoke the fires of the negative and fuel the flames with posts and comments, throwing their vitriolic pearls into the great ocean of cyberspace.

Because they know there are no rules on the internet, nothing governing what is actually truth and what isn't. (There's a reason Snopes is incredibly popular.) "WWW" may as well stand for "Wild Wild West". Anyone can literally post anything about anything. And a negative social campaign which goes viral can crush almost any business.

If you're mad enough, and enough people agree with you, your voice may be heard.

So artists play it safe, staying in their lane, only posting positive things, smiles, show updates, etc. Everything is rosy in their world. They play the angles, secretly hoping for that call from Big Music someday, and they know they need to be squeaky clean in order to get it.

But we all know it's bullshit. Life isn't perfect. Everyone has issues from time to time. Everyone has opinions about this or that social or cultural happening.

Where are the artists??? Where are the ones who speak out against injustice??
Steve Miller just did. So did Bruce Springsteen. They are 72 and 66 years old, respectively.

What do you have to say, Justin Bieber...?

http://noisey.vice.com/blog/its-time-to-start-taking-justin-bieber-seriously

John Kay

P.S. I've never liked the Black Keys. Bought two of their albums and played them each three times. Took them to Salvation Army.

__________________________________________

As I played on or cowrote all your favorite Steve Miller Band songs - Seasons, Space Cowboy, Baby's Calling Me Home - I feel compelled to remind you that there is something called the Stockholm syndrome where you identify with the people who are abusing you, and your saying that it's ok for a pop star to be abusive because they're a pop star makes me think you - and a lot of other people - might be suffering from it.

Ben Sidran


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25

To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25




-- powered by phpList, www.phplist.com --