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Visiting
the Old Hometown
October 2, 1992
Detroit Free Press
Aspen’s
a long way from Royal Oak, but rocker Glenn Frey hasn’t lost touch
with his home burg.
Thanks
to his satellite TV dish, the ex-Eagle still catches Detroit Tigers
games.
His mom—who these days spends more time in Florida than in
Michigan—keeps tabs on what the local media say and write about him,
dutifully sending copies of favorable notices.
And his buddy Bob Seger—who used Frey as a backup singer on his 1969
hit “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man”—keeps Frey apprised of hometown
doings.
This weekend, however, Frey himself will get to check out the North
Woodward strip and his other old haunts. Saturday’s concert at the
Palace marks his first performance in the Detroit area since happened
for Tina Turner in 1985 at Joe Louis Arena
“I really enjoy being out there now,” says Frey, 43, whose tour
follows the June release of “Strange Weather,” his fourth solo
album. “Touring is different than it was six or eight years ago, or
even back with the Eagles. Nowadays I’m more interested in sleep and
gold, and less interested in staying up late and making a name for
myself.”
This year Frey has been touring Europe steadily, taking in two his Mad
Dog Band, a 12 piece ensemble that’s capable of playing everything
from Eagles tunes to his solo material—including his soundtrack hits
from “Beverly Hills Cop,” Miami Vice” and “Thelma and Louise.”
“I do everything,” Frey says. “I think a fair portion of it is
Eagles, about five songs. I feel people want to hear those songs, and I
don’t think it’s fair to be so self-indulgent as to say, ‘I’m
not in the Eagles, I don’t want to do Eagles songs now.’ To be
honest with you, people always ask me, ‘How do you feel being tagged
with this ex-Eagle thing?’ I say, ‘Well, it’s better than being an
ex-Cowsill or an ex-Rational.’ It could be worse.
Frey
almost became an Eagle again last year, when he and former writing
partner Don Henley got together to work on some new songs and talk about
reuniting the group. It didn’t come to pass, and Frey says he’s
happy enough doing his own music, spending time with his wife and
1-year-old daughter, and helping underprivileged children visit the
wilderness through the Grassroots Aspen Experience.
“A lot of good things are happening for me,” says Frey, who next
plans to record a country album in Nashville. “It’s taken me about 3
1/2 years to reorganize my life and more up here and get this new record
made. It’s worth it. I feel like over the next 10 years I’ll produce
records in abundance, and that they’ll be good ones too.”
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