One of my favorite drummers-slash-singers is celebrating a birthday. Don Henley is sixty-one years old today (July 22.) I’ve been an Eagles fan since their very first album in 1972. Their harmonies and the varied instrumentation used in the band really captured my ears. That may be the first time I ever heard a banjo used on a rock album. Back then it was called progressive country; now it’s rock.

I saw Henley on his Building the Perfect Beast tour in ‘85 and it was an awesome show, with probably ten musicians on stage. A most cherished concert memory because it’s the only show I saw with both my brother and my sister. After the show I went backstage and got his autograph. That album cover is now in a frame with the backstage pass signed with a gold marker. That’s a good day when I can meet one of my favorite musicians (and fellow Texan,) and rock out with my siblings.

Don Henley recently appeared as a special guest during Billy Joel’s tribute concert to New York’s Shea Stadium, which is in it’s last season and will be replaced by a newer stadium. Henley led the band through a rocking performance of “Boys of Summer.” By the way, that was the Grammy Award winning single and video from the Building the Perfect Beast album, released in 1984.

www.donhenley.com

I always liked the band Heart, not only because Ann and Nancy Wilson were both great vocalists, but also because they liked Led Zeppelin, and used those influences in their own music. My favorite Heart album is Dog & Butterfly because of the song “Mistral Wind,” which conjures up shades of Zeppelin from Physical Graffiti. I’m also very fond of “Barracuda” with it’s Bonham style drum rhythms and heavy guitar riffing.

My favorite memory is actually a concert story. I was ejected from the Heart show at the Austin Convention Center for snapping photos of Ann and Nancy Wilson. (insert exclamation here!) Yup, the ushers busted me big time. I guess it wasn’t too hard to spot me on the floor with an old school 35mm Olympus camera, with zoom lens no less! The guy walked me to the door and threatened to take my film, but somehow I got the camera back to my car without losing it. Wouldn’t you know it, the Wilson sisters pictures never came out.

But I did get back into the concert, sans camera, for the final encore. All is well that ends well. I was actually there for the opening act, Bourgeois Tagg, who was on Atlantic Records at the time. I had talked the local promotion guy into giving me tickets and a backstage pass to the show since he wasn’t going. It was the perfect opportunity to see a new band, plus catch Heart live in concert.

Bourgeois Tagg had formed in 1984 with Brent Bourgeois and Larry Tagg. “Yoyo” was their second and final album in 1987. Produced by Todd Rundgren, the album is remembered for it’s one big hit song “I Don’t Mind At All.” The band was opening for Heart on this tour, so I drove to Austin for the show, had to prove to security it was a genuine backstage pass, but eventually got in to talk with and hang out with Bourgeois Tagg, who was opening the show. We had a great time backstage and on their tour bus. Too bad they didn’t last, they were a pretty good band.

Now if I could only find those pictures…

Noteworthy…Ann Wilson released her first solo album last year. It’s called Hope & Glory, a collection of duets and cover songs. There’s the typical Zeppelin selection with “Immigrant Song.” More interesting though, is her collaborations with…Elton John on “Where to Now St. Peter?,” a favorite of mine from his early work Tumbleweed Connection; K.D. Lang on “Jackson;” and sister Nancy on Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Blue Sky.”

Passionworks, released in March of this year, is largely forgettable except for the fact it was Heart’s last album on the Epic label.

www.heart-music.com

Ann & Nancy Wilson still have Heart.

Which mutates faster? A virus, or news stories about celebrities on the internet?

A man recently posing as David Lee Roth was stopped by police for speeding near Brantford, Ontario and told the authorities he was suffering from an allergic reaction to peanuts. The man continued to pose as Roth at the local hospital where he was treated for his condition, and then later at a pub. That’s the story that was reported in the press at first. It was later reported the impostor was formerly a drummer in a local rock band and was often mistaken for Roth.

I thought the kicker to this story was the two officers who pulled him over did not recognize him, nor did they know who David Lee Roth is. Both of the two young officers, both in their twenties, were not familiar with the singer or Van Halen.

After the news reports surfaced out of Ontario, Roth’s publicist issued a statement…
“I was in Canada only from July first through the fourth for a performance at the Quebec City Summer Festival,” Lee Roth said in a statement. “I had no encounters or incidents with the police. The only thing I’m allergic to is criticism.”

It’s now reported that authorities are searching for the impostor, who may be facing obstruction of justice charges. It appears he has scammed alot of people. The real David Lee Roth was performing with Van Halen in New York City the same night as the incident on May 23rd.

Van Halen did play at Quebec’s summer festival, to celebrate the city’s 400th anniversary. The celebration spanned 13 days and included live music from The Musical Box doing early Genesis music, The California Guitar Trio, Linkin Park and Zappa Plays Zappa, among others. There’s more info on the festival website.

Finally…Van Halen’s website reports their 2007-2008 North American tour was the highest grossing in the band’s history, grossing more than $93 million. That’s enough to make you Jump.