Farewell to Frey, Cashing Out & Back to the ‘80s

by Chris Aaland

A big part of my childhood died Monday when Glenn Frey died from a decades-long and horribly painful combination of rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and, most recently, pneumonia. He was 67.

I grew up on a cattle ranch on Silt Mesa near Rifle and in the mid ’70s, the Eagles were local heroes. Frey and Don Henley, along with other similar musical souls like John Denver and Jimmy Buffett, called Aspen home … and Aspen was just an hour’s drive up the Colorado and Roaring Fork rivers. After serving as Linda Ronstadt’s backing band in 1971, Frey, Henley, Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon took up residence at The Gallery, an Aspen watering hole. Frey recalled in a 2010 Aspen Times article that about 40 people were in the crowd for their first set that October. It doubled to around 80 for the second set. By the end of the night, The Gallery was packed. They dropped by the Fort Lewis gym in 1974, decked out in hideous matching “Eagles” jersey T-shirts. (Finding the article and old photos in the FLC Independent archives was a score for me in the late ’80s!) A few years later, they’d sell out the Astrodome.

Rock ’n’ roll desperado Glenn Frey checked into the big Hotel California in the sky last Monday.

Frey had everything a growing boy could wish for: cars, guitars and women. He had the hair and mustache, looking something like a cross between a hippie, a cowboy and a Hell’s Angel.

The kids at Esma Lewis Elementary fell into two music camps: the shit-kickers, who listened to Willie and Waylon; and the rockers, who cranked Kiss and Queen. Both sides held a deep respect for the Eagles, as they fell somewhere in between.

The Eagles weren’t the first country-rock outfit. They weren’t even the best. The Byrds, the Burritos, Buffalo Springfield, Poco, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Stone Poneys, CSN and even Dylan plowed the ground earlier. They just polished it up by crafting timeless lyrics and melodies, combining Frey’s Detroit R&B with Henley’s East Texas country. There was a feel-good hippie sentiment and laid-back Southern California vibe to their music. The fans ate it up. The critics spat it out.

I remember my mom wearing out her vinyl copies of their first four albums and watching the Grammy Awards when “Lyin’ Eyes” won “Song of the Year.” I was 8 years old. Mom died a couple of years ago, but I’ll still occasionally pull out some of her scratchy old records to reminisce.

Snowdown officially takes us “Back to the ’80s” starting Wednesday (www.snowdown.org has all the details). Glenn Frey was there, too, scoring hits with tunes like “Smuggler’s Blues,” “The Heat Is On” and “You Belong to the City.” But I’ll take him in his mid ‘70s splendor, porn ’stache, greasy hair and all, dreaming of life in the fast lane of I-70 westbound, taking it to the limit.

One of the best tribute bands in the business dusts off its boots at the Animas City Theatre at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Cash’d Out is a San Diego-based quartet that channels the Man in Black better than anyone. In fact, they’re the only tribute band that Johnny Cash’s website sanctions and have been named the Best Tribute Band in San Diego six times. Our own Farmington Hill opens.

The ACT hosts “jamtronica” featuring Denver’s Greener Grounds and Philadelphia’s Tweed at 9:30 p.m. Friday. Greener Grounds follows in the footsteps of bands like Umphrey’s McGee and the Disco Biscuits; Tweed interweaves funk, rock and electronica.

Ska releases Bump ‘N’ Grind, the newest beer in its seasonal stout series, at 5 p.m. tonight (Thurs., Jan. 21) with live music from the Charlie Milo Trio. Weighing in at 5.8% ABV, it’s brewed with coffee from Durango’s Desert Sun Coffee Roasters. The flavor is rich coffee with hints of chocolate and a smooth-sweet, almost mocha-like finish. Bombers and drafts will be available.

In addition to usual highlights like DJ Kaztro at 9 p.m. Friday and DJ Noonz at 9 p.m. Saturday, Moe’s gets into Snowdown on Wednesday with the bartenders contest (4 p.m.), ping pong (6:30) and Klackers (9:30).

Elsewhere: Pete Giuliani plays Dante’s at Purg from 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Friday; The Crags bring surf, rock, psyche and spaghetti western to the Mancos Valley Distillery at 7 p.m. Saturday; and Carute Roma goes 2-tone for all you rude boys during Snowdown with a free show at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ska Brewing.

This week’s Top Shelf list recounts my 10 favorite Glenn Frey-penned tunes. He once commented that all the Beaujolais and blow from the ’70s was starting to catch up with him. I’m glad he lives on through these songs.

1. “Lyin’ Eyes,” from “One of These Nights,” 1975. The Grammy cemented the Age of the Eagle on Planet Earth.

2. “Desperado,” from “Desperado,” 1973. One of the Eagles’ most enduring songs and the first co-write between Frey and Henley.

3. “The Last Resort,” from “Hotel California,” 1976. America was changing and found itself halfway between Haight-Ashbury and Reaganomics. This seven-minute epic captured the moment.

4. “Take It Easy,” from “Eagles,” 1972. Jackson Browne lived with Frey in the early ‘70s and was working this up on the piano in the basement. Frey dropped the “girl in a flatbed Ford” line and the rest was history.

5. “Long Road Out of Eden,” from “Long Road Out of Eden,” 2007. Perhaps the most political song the Eagles ever recorded.

6. “James Dean,” from “On the Border,” 1974. Browne and J.D. Souther helped out Frey and Henley with this one, and Don Felder’s electric guitar signaled a change in their sound.

7. “Hotel California,” from “Hotel California,” 1976. Felder wrote the music, while Frey & Henley captured his Mexican reggae vision in words.

8. “Smuggler’s Blues,” from “The Allnighter,” 1984. C’mon, man. I couldn’t leave out the tune with the classic Telluride drug reference!

9. “Those Shoes,” from “The Long Run,” 1979. If it was good enough for the Beastie Boys to sample, it’s good enough for me. Felder and Joe Walsh’s double talk box guitar solo at the end simply rocks.

10. “Gypsies in the Palace,” Jimmy Buffett’s “Last Mango in Paris,” 1985. Buffett and Frey were neighbors up Snowmass Creek, where I used to fish for brookies as a kid. This one chronicles the essence of “Partytown.”

The only thing that got you off was breakin’ all the rules? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.