Holding true to classic rock-star form, Steve Miller attracted more attention Friday night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and concert in Brooklyn for what he did off the stage, not on it.
Miller, who was one of five inductees at the otherwise jubilant event at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, launched into an angry press room tirade over his purported treatment by the Hall of Fame.
In his rant, the Wisconsin-born blues rocker, famous for hits "The Joker" and "Fly Like an Eagle" ripped into the Cleveland-based institution for purportedly charging its own inductees thousands of dollars to attend and the way in which they courted the musicians to perform.
"The whole process needs to be changed from the top to the bottom," Miller said. "They need to respect the artists they say they're honoring, but they don't."
Miller claimed the Hall only offered him and his family two tickets and asked for thousands of dollars for any additional ones.
"I said 'I'm playing here, what about my band, what about their wives," he said. "They make this so unpleasant."
"This came this close to not happening," Miller continued, before being prompted to get off the stage in the press room. "We're not gonna wrap this up, I'm gonna wrap you up."
Miller's tirade came just moments after he delivered a mostly joyful acceptance speech, in which he touted his roots in Wisconsin (where he was born) and Texas (where he was raised) and the phenomenal connections his family had to the music world (Les Paul was Miller's god father, and he was good friends with Boz Scaggs and T-Bone Walker).
Miller's renditions of uber-hits "Fly Like an Eagle and "Rock'n Me" were enthusiastically greeted by the multi-generational crowd.
In a statement, the Hall said that "Rock and roll can ignite many opinions."
"It's what makes it so great," they added."The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was honored to induct Steve Miller tonight and congratulates him."
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