NOISE FROM THE EAGLES NEST
Longtime THE EAGLES guitarist Don Felder has sued the band’s founding members, Don Henley and Glenn Frey, claiming he was wrongly fired. The suit, filed February 8 in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that Henley and Frey abused their authority and acted unfairly on February 6 when they terminated Felder, who joined the band in 1974.
The suit seeks an accounting of all business transactions made by Eagles Ltd. since Felder joined the band, including record royalties and revenue from touring and merchandise. The suit also seeks to liquidate the company, which is the band’s business arm.
“Despite each being a one-third owner of Eagles Ltd., Henley and Frey have consistently treated Felder as a subordinate, with complete disregard for his rights,” the lawsuit states.
Lawyers representing Felder did not immediately return calls over the weekend seeking comment. Daniel Petrocelli, who represents Henley and Frey, said his clients had a right to terminate Felder. However, the attorney declined to say why Felder was fired. “The band is going forward,” Petrocelli said Saturday. “This was done in the best interest of the band”.
FRAMPTON COMES… AND WINS
Peter Frampton nabbed two nominations at the 2001 Orville H. Gibson Guitar Awards, which were announced on February 7. Frampton’s up for Best Rock Guitarist – Male and Best Guitar Performance for “Off the Hook” from 2000’s “Live in Detroit”, a category which pits Frampton against Joe Satriani for “Until We Say Goodbye,” METALLICA’s Kirk Hammett for “One,” and Brian Setzer for BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA’s “Caravan”.
Additional males in the Best Rock Guitarist category includes The Edge, Richie Sambora, John Frusciante, Walter Becker, and Dave Grohl. On the female side, the nominees are Sheryl Crow, Patti Smith, and Melissa Etheridge.
MACCA GETS ANTHOLOGIZED
Paul McCartney is heading for the studio to record his first full album of new material since 1997. Macca is soon to check into the A&M studios in Hollywood for a brisk series of sessions, lasting between two and three weeks.
What’s more interestimg is that long-awaited WINGS anthology, “Wingspan”, is slated to appear in May this year. It’s thought that the album will be a double-CD set and is likely to feature outtakes and rare recordings from the 70s supergroup’s archive. A documentary, made by McCartney’s daughter Mary and her husband Alistair Donald, will be released at the same time.