more than their music?

sure

good question. i'd like to think so, but if you take the need to be together to perform music, would any of them bother much to get together? if that's your question, I would guess the answer would be 'no.'

I doubt it. It would be impossible for Mick and Keith to not resent the other. Each one no doubt thinks that he is the catalyst behind the band and as such it would bug them that the other is given 50% credit for the band's success.

Surely had Mick's solo career been more commercially successful, the Stones would have ceased.

Regarding an earlier post and the question of why they would tour together if they didn't enjoy each other's company...I'll try to muffle my laughter.

As far as Charlie...I imagine he realizes he won the lottery when he got hooked up with the Stones and is therefore greatful for such a prolific and fortunate life.

I don't think any of them are the best of friends, but I'm betting they don't hate each other's guts either. There has to be a certain amount of admiration and respect there. At least among the original three. Their opinion of Woody might be somewhat lower.

lol..are they still friends .....too funny!!!!

by the by - you can certainly enjoy each other's company without really being what I would term "friends." I get along with dozens of folks at work on a daily basis and do enjoy their company at work - but I don't regard any of them as my friend. That's pretty normal. I would suggest the 4 Stones probably enjoy each other's company while working together (there are other compelling reason$ why they decide to work together, though).

Well, no doubt there is somehow a close friendship between them - even if they have diffrent interests, lifestyle, tempers etc......

Being on tour and making an album in a 2-3 year period, sure there is a need to split up for some time - they have gotten enough of each other / too close to each other for a long time..... who wouldn't ......

But then after sometime they surely talk on the phone / meet somewhere on the road - they travel around the world all the time - they don't forget 60 years of friendship....

T&A Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> by the by - you can certainly enjoy each other's
> company without really being what I would term
> "friends." I get along with dozens of folks at
> work on a daily basis and do enjoy their company
> at work - but I don't regard any of them as my
> friend. That's pretty normal. I would suggest the
> 4 Stones probably enjoy each other's company while
> working together (there are other compelling
> reason$ why they decide to work together, though).


I thought StonesTod was your only friend! Kidding, kidding, just kidding.

Don't think theyre friends just stuck with eachother. They dont have anything else really. Mick tried but it didnt work out.

Well, one thing is for certain. They DON'T do it for the money.








lol

while Bianca's snickering: you can also be good friends without particularly enjoying one another's company.
i don't imagine they make any point of getting together to spend time together outside of work, but that doesn't have anything to do with it either, as i define "friend".
(just curious: how many of us have known *anyone* for 57 years or whatever it is? i don't think too many of us can even imagine it, really.)


"What do you want - what?!"
- Keith

I think they have a special bond that dates back to the 60's that is very strong and cannot be disolved (ever). It is like sports teammates who win a championship together or military people who fight side by side.

Mick and Keith may not be the best of friends at the moment and probably have that "love/hate relationship" that can develop between family members. I am sure if they did not see each other for many years or if one were in a serious bind, the other would be there to help. They are connceted for life whether one pisses the other off or not.

I do think they are all more than just workmates and doubt they can do what they do for such long periods on the road without a friendship and trust. I know Mick sometimes dines with Charlie and Tony King; last tour he would dine with Woodie. Not sure what the dynamics are like this tour.

I think they're friends. Maybe not in the same way that we all define our friends, but then again none of us have lived the lives that Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ronnie have. Through the decades of writing music, recording, touring, partying etc., I'd have to say that some form of unbreakable bond has formed. Also, the fact that Keith asked Mick (albeit 20 years ago) to be the best man at his wedding counts for something.

I think that's very obvious; they seem to smile and grin at each other alot more this tour and I think that as they get older, they bond MORE and appreciate each other in different ways that they never did when they were young lads! Aging has a way of doing that to us!

Look at it this way. Because of touring, they spend more time with each other than most of us spend with any of our friends, right? I think that they share a love of music and they share a common experience. At the same time, they each have families (some have more than one!) that they want to spend time with.

drbryant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Look at it this way. Because of touring, they
> spend more time with each other than most of us
> spend with any of our friends, right?

that's beside the point. They don't spend any more time working together on the road than most of us do (probably less in fact) with our daily co-workers. That doesn't answer the original question posted here...

The point was that just because they aren't seen together off the road/outside the studio, doesn't mean that there isn't a friendship there.

I don't know about you, but even at work, other than my secretary, I don't have extended interaction with a group of people. Maybe 1-2 hours max. with any one person. When you are on the road, between meals, sound checks, rehearsals and performance, I think that they are in each others' faces up to 8 hours a day (?) The recording studio of course can be worse. Remember Charlie's comment on the 25X5 video about hanging around 5 hours, working 1 hour (or something like that). I know that there are exceptions (factory crews, flight attendants, etc.), but for a lot of white collar folks, much of your time is spent with clients or by yourself, not in a room interacting with your co-workers.

T&A Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> that's beside the point. They don't spend any more
> time working together on the road than most of us
> do (probably less in fact) with our daily
> co-workers. That doesn't answer the original
> question posted here...


I strongly disagee with this. They are on the road together for close to 1 1/2- 2 years. How many business trips have you taken with your colleagues that have lasted this long? If you are at work seven 1/2 hours a day, how many direct contact hours do you have with an individual co-worker?

It's not just the two hours on stage. It's the rehearsals, the meetings, traveling from city to city (planes, buses, limos), the writing, special effects, merchandising. If you are going to do something like this you need people you can get along with. Not just the band members but all the support people as well. You can't have someone getting on everyone's nerves or holding up the plane by sleeping in.

i don't think it's beside the point. if you've ever had the experience of starting a band or a business with friends, it's not the same as spending time with run-of-the-mill co-workers. and it doesn't mean you're no longer friends if after a few years (or decades) you stop seeking those same people's company steadily outside of work time.

georgeV makes a very good point. I travel constantly on business, and when I go on a business trip, you end up eating breakfast together, going to meetings together, and then having client dinner together. It can be pleasant, but if it lasts more than a couple of days, you basically are pretty tired of the others, and coming home is the best feeling in the world. The fact that M, K, R & C can pull off something like this tour is a strong testament to the bond that they share.

drbryant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The point was that just because they aren't seen
> When you are on
> the road, between meals, sound checks, rehearsals
> and performance, I think that they are in each
> others' faces up to 8 hours a day (?)


Not a chance. On non-show days, I would betcha there's little if any interaction amongst the principles in the band. On show days, probably 1-2 hours max aside from the show itself. I interact with my co-workers EVERYDAY much more than this.

after 40+ years of friendship, you'd have to be a pretty cold and miserable person not to love your friends of that long a time...money or no money...it's not like they've @#$%& each other over to the point that there were grudges...c'mon....wake up people

jhat111 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> after 40+ years of friendship, you'd have to be a
> pretty cold and miserable person not to love your
> friends of that long a time...money or no
> money...it's not like they've @#$%& each other
> over to the point that there were
> grudges...c'mon....wake up people


I don't anybody is suggesting that at all. The question is whether, aside from the required "together-time" that is mandated as part of being a band, are they really friends. Nobody's asleep here.....

Being bandmates isn't really like any other kind of friendship. So the whole question is sort of beside the point. They probably rarely see each other even offstage, but they have gone through experiences that, as someone else wrote, have bonded them for life. Even if the band were to end. I also agree that the 60s were probably the crucial period, when they really were in the same place together most of the time, so that ronnie might never get to that same level of relationship, even if on the surface he is friendlier with each one individually.

I'm sure that Mick and Charlie are very close friends, more now than 20 years ago.

bianca Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I doubt it. It would be impossible for Mick and
> Keith to not resent the other. Each one no doubt
> thinks that he is the catalyst behind the band and
> as such it would bug them that the other is given
> 50% credit for the band's success.

Why would this bug them ? Was Hewlett bugged that Packard got 50% of their collaboration ?


>
> Surely had Mick's solo career been more
> commercially successful, the Stones would have
> ceased.

Even Mick Jagger, the ultimate arrogant Leo couldn't fantasize that his solo career would even be a tenth of the Stones.... do you think Jagger thought he could fill up stadiums on a solo tour ??

Not disagreeing that maybe they're not bosom buddies when not on tour, but it's my impression that they do get along on a personal basis, as much as 4 guys can who each have extended families, live in different parts of the world, and live very different private lives.



"It's just that demon life has got me in it's sway..."

Again a stupid post if they did'nt have some kind of friendship they would'nt be touring together still. I'm not saying they hang out on a regular basis when there not touring but Im sure they are all still friends. Its not like they need to do this for the money they enjoy what they are doing as a band and enjoy doing it together.

The social structure of such a band always seems a bit complicated. I can imagine it being similiar to an old couple. It may not be too exciting anymore but you know you can trust the others because you know so much about them. Wyman's book has taught us a lot about the complex chemistry within the Stones and we have no reason to believe that this has basically changed very much. So I would not expect them to be close friends in a sense that they visit each other in their hotel rooms for hours after the gig but rather in a general sense. After all they know they are the Stones and in feect they need each other.

Salt... For how long has you been with your better half/-ves?

"It may not be too exciting anymore"... It sure as hell gets
more & more exciting the more you get to know her, in all senses...