'Nice Guy' Steve Miller Talks Rock Hall Rancor, Who He Wishes Had Inducted Him and How He'd Fix the Whole 'Rude' Process

Inductee Steve Miller performs onstage at the 31st Annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on April 8, 2016 in New York City.
Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

"I looked out there and I didn't really see any friendly faces -- I basically saw people I had been suing and auditing for years."

Steve Miller is not a grumpy guy. Miller, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on April 9, has been at the center of a media cyclone ever since due to some rather inflammatory comments he made in an interview with Rolling Stone immediately following his induction by the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. In the interview, Miller not only called the induction ceremony "unpleasant," but went on to slam the whole music business. Sample sentence: "This whole industry fucking sucks and this little get-together you guys have here is like a private boys' club and it's a bunch of jackasses and jerks and fucking gangsters and crooks who've fucking stolen everything from a fucking artist."


OK, then. In another post-ceremony interview with Rolling Stone, Auerbach told the magazine that he regretted inducting Miller, adding that “the most unpleasant part was being around [Miller]." Hall of Fame CEO Joel Peresman also responded to Miller's comments, defended the Hall, and said he "felt badly" for Miller. So, this has been fun.

On a follow-up interview with Billboard, Miller is far from unpleasant. He laughs frequently, and doesn't back down.

Steve Miller Trashes Rock Hall After Induction: 'This Whole Industry F---ng Sucks'

However unpleasant his evening was, Miller's Hall of Fame credentials are undeniable. A native of Dallas, Texas, Stevie "Guitar" Miller became a pivotal figure in the late '60s San Francisco music scene that profoundly impacted rock and roll. By the '70s, the singer/songwriter/guitarist had evolved from a bluesy, groove-based sound that would fit seamlessly into today's jam band scene to a more radio-friendly pop rock style that produced a wealth of hits still ubiquitous on classic rock radio today, including "The Joker," "Livin' in the USA" and "Take the Money and Run." Miller is also contributing his time to serving on the welcoming committee of the Department of Musical Instruments of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, and as a board member of Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he curates and hosts shows at both institutions.

But, this past week, all of the talk surrounding Miller -- and there has been a lot -- has been centered on his take on his Hall of Fame induction. In an exclusive interview with Billboard, he explains that night, the resulting fallout, and what the proceeding week was like. Not surprisingly, he told us exactly how he feels about the whole thing.

  

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