Steve Miller doesn’t like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and he isn’t afraid to explain why.
“I don’t get along with the people running it,” Miller said during a backstage interview. “When I found out [I was inducted], I felt like I was in a fucking reality TV show. [….] You tell me what the hell is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and what does it do besides talk about itself and sell postcards?”
Those who agree with Miller’s sentiment are bashing Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, for comments he made
during in an interview with Rolling Stone about his uncomfortable experience inducting the 72-year-old musician.
“F— the whining Black Keys,” Steve Miller Band’s Kenny Lee Lewis said. “They will be day-old bread by next decade. But ‘The Joker’ will be playing in space stations into the next millennia like in [sic] Guardians of the Galaxies!”
‘The whole process was unpleasant,'” Auerbach told Roling Stone. “And for Pat [Carney] and I, honestly, the most unpleasant part was being around [Steve Miller].”
In the interview, Auerbach comes across as a whiny scorned fan who was upset that he left his kids — gratis — to induct Miller, who wasn’t familiar with the Black Keys. We understand Auerbach was really disappointed, but we also saw the lackluster induction speech.
“The guys who inducted me are nice guys, but they didn’t know a thing about me,” Miller told The San Diego Union-Tribune. “I was going to ask Elton [John]. He knows me and has probably knows my music better than most people… But they said: ‘We’ll pick who inducts you, and it will be a surprise.'”
Miller’s complaints against the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame seem reasonable:
-More women should be inducted.
-Inductees should choose who is going to induct them.
-Inductees should be given more than two tickets to the induction for their band members and their wives (and not be charged $10,000 per ticket).
-Contracts should be less restrictive and more simply written.
-The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should advocate for musicians’ rights, and do something to (help raise money) for poor musicians’ health and retirement funds.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame issued this statement Saturday in response to Miller’s comments:
“Rock and roll can ignite many opinions. It’s what makes it so great. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was honored to induct Steve Miller last night.”
“What Steve needs to consider is that he’s not the only person being inducted that night,” The hall’s President and CEO, Joel Peresman told Rolling Stone.
HBO will air highlights of the show on April 30.
Quotation above via rollingstone.com.
—via rollingstone.com
—via rollingstone.com
—via sandiegouniontribune.com
—via sandiegouniontribune.com
