Who was the first audition speculation
 

Just for fun, who do you think the other audition was and why? I’ll start with two.

Dave Grohl: Because he wants to be in every band he possibly can be in. And, he owns the Sound City mixing board.

Rob Thomas: Hey, if he could restore Willie’s faith in songwriting, who are Fleetwood Mac to not at least consider it? Plus, he knows Carlos Santana and the lyrics to “Never Going Back Again.”

There was already a thread about this here, however I still say Steven Tyler, he's a good friend of both Mick and Stevie and a big fan of the band, including the pre-BuckinghamNicks formation; Aerosmith's live setlist have often included Rattlesnake Shake, Oh Well or Stop Messin Around and he's a pretty regular FM concert goer. He has an house in Maui as well and frequently hangs with Mick at his restaurant with members of the respective bands along too if they're present. In late March his partner threw a big surprise birthday party for him in his Maui house and invited both Mick and Stevie, so he may have already been there for a while.

I can’t believe that people would think Stevie Nicks would, after just successfully ousting Lindsey, allow way bigger star than herself in the band. Grohl and Steven may be smaller names than Fleetwood Mac but they are way bigger names than Stevie Nicks. Plus, Steven is a good friend of Mick primarily. She wants to be the boss, she doesn’t want Mick to be the boss. And Mick knows this, it seems pretty clear. That’s why he brought his friend Finn in, to make sure he still has enough power.

Rob Thomas is an interesting thought.

Tru dat!!!! She would NEVER allow another (bigger) star in. It's all about her now. We get it, $tevie Nick$.

And, Steven is likely to take something from her wardrobe and wear it better. Which would beg the question how many outlandish dresser can one AOR/mainstream band have?

Guys...it was Billy, he was the one that leaked a lot of this in the first place. He was informed he lost out and let the cat out of the bag.

He might have heard through the grapevine about it. Some of us knew before Billy said anything, so it’s certainly not unimaginable that someone simply told him about it.

Didn't they say in the CBS interview that they auditioned people ranging in age from 26 to 60? (Christine teased Neil that he barely made the cut age-wise) Somehow it sounded like several people were considered.

No. They listened to people, as in on a stereo. Only two auditioned.

So perhaps several people were considered (in recordings), but only two made the final cut for an audition. Incidentally, you mentioned that several of you knew the Lindsey issue was coming down the pipe before Billy leaked the news. I was curious which grapevine had that information before that. I'm always the last to know everything! ;)

Steve Tyler is a good shout. I recently read an article that suggests Steve Tyler auditioned for the AC/DC singing role that went to Axle Rose. That would suggest he's on the look out for a new band.

I'd still maintain Brian Johnson (ex-AC/DC) is the other person. I know he left AC/DC due to hearing problems but I get the sense he was ousted rather than leaving of his own accord. It seems as if he's undergone successful treatment recently. He was singing with Mick at his restaurant just a few days before Neil Finn played there with Mick.

Another shout could be Steve Miller. Didn't Mick do some sort of event with him recently?

I've read Steven also auditioned for a Led Zeppelin reunion years ago.
I've only seen this recently about Mick and Steve Miller but I don't know the occasion:



However I still mantain that Brian Johnson would have been a terrible choice, can you imagine him trying to harmonize with Stevie and Christine?

What about Mick and Stevie's Adopted son...Harry??? I mean--he practically auditioned at Radio City with them

It was Billy.

Our ever confident friend Treacle Rat has spoken! It must be the truth.


Rob Thomas also sings part of The Chain in the NGBA cover, so he has that going for him. Although now I'm imagining the entire set being done in reverse keys--Dreams in major, Songbird in minor. :laugh:

The sources again?

Right absolutely preposterous ..Steven Tyler as well.I can see him replacing Jagger if he suddenly croaks but Lindsey hall no.

Yes. That's what I was told. My first choice would have been John Mayer who could have handled the vocals and the lead guitar and is young enough at age 40 to have really invigorated this lineup and also offer some top shelf songwriting.

I’d rather listen to Oscar Mayer…

You're an interesting chap ... The Mac got themselves an elite songwriter/lead singer and an elite lead guitarist with Neil/Mike but few individuals could have taken Lindsey's spot and done it well. John Mayer is one of the few. The guy is a great guitarist, can sing, and can write. But hey I'm happy with Neil/Mike.

I raise you Richard Thompson.

For the mouth?

I've never been able to get past the first Mayer's song I ever heard...'Your body is a wonderland' ..WTF??...I've never heard such awfully, cringy lyrics in my life.....he may be an excellent musician but I've not been able to give him two more seconds of my time since

isn't John Mayer still touring with Dead & Company? i guess like Axl, y'all think since he's fronting one band already he may was well a few more? :lol:

John Mayer owns and plays Turner 1 btw, and there's that red carpet interview of Lindsey and Kristen from few years back where Lindsey says how he's looking forward to see his performance and that he's a fellow guitarist.

of course, the person who could really step in is Keith Urban, the guy who did a pretty perfect rendition of Second Hand News at MusiCares and who cites Lindsey as his big influence as a guitarist. but Keith would never do that to Lindsey (unlike his fellow bandmates!), plus he's got a new album out and fully booked tour starting about now.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see Keith and Lindsey play together.

LB talking about John Mayer vid i mentioned -

either Keith or Lindsey mentioned recently that they've been talking about a possible collaboration on a song or 2. maybe that was from one of those MusiCares interviews, or a bit before, can't remember.

I recall that as well--feel like it was on the MusiCares red carpet or something. I think it would be fantastic.

Paul Rodgers: Oh, it sounded great, but he almost accidentally hit Stevie in the head with the mic stand, so he had to go

Rob Thomas? Jesus Christ - can we get any more bland?
John Mayer? Snoooze - boring...

But Richard Thompson? That would be amazing. He and Lindsey would make my top 5 guitar players of all time list.

Neil Finn is actually less bland and more inventive than Mayer or Thomas. I 'm a fan of his .Just not in the context of a replacement for Lindsey and under the circumstances of his departure.

and he also decorates his mic stand with ribbons and things. That could get confusing. :laugh:

I am 100% sure that one of the auditions was Billy Burnett.

I'm not sure why they would NOT audition Rick Vito, since he plays periodically with Mick's blues band side project. Perhaps Rick wasn't interested in travelling that highway again.

I'm sure both Billy and Rick could use the money.

Why are you 100% certain it was Billy?

A lot of people knew about what was going on prior to Billy saying anything and there was nothing in his comments to suggest he had even been offered an audition. He seemed angry that he didn’t get to have the job he had for nearly a decade, but beyond that, I never got the impression he was even considered this time out.

He wasn't considered that I know of but Roland Orzabal from Tears for Fears would have been interesting.

IA. Billy's post really sounded as if he had only recently found out about the whole thing, hence why he was mad he wasn't brought in.
I would be surprised if they had 'auditioned' him. He's not famous at all and wouldn't have brought with him much of a fan base and it's not like people today really revere or even remember the BTM/Time lineup.

The only way these children are going to sell this line up is if someone with some cache is stepping in. It's not Billy. Maybe they gave him a little courtesy but the second the blooms grew on TP grave, MC got the call. Then, they had to find someone to sing.

Wasn't Billy ill and later in a hospital? I doubt they asked him at all.
Has anyone heard about Billy, how is he doing?

Yess, we were talking about it here, however I think now he's doing better, his last update about his health was this about two weeks ago: