Genesis Comments On Gabriel's Non Attendance For The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction

From Billboard:

Peter Gabriel's Genesis bandmates are giving him the benefit of the doubt for bowing out of next month's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Gabriel will not attend the March 15 affair because it conflicts with orchestra rehearsal dates for his upcoming European and North American concerts to promote his new album, "Scratch My Back." "(Gabriel) rang up and said, 'Look, everyone's going to say I'm trying to snub you and all the rest of it,' " Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks tells Billboard.com. "I said, 'Well, just tell them we didn't want you to come, so we're snubbing you!'

"No...I mean, it's a fair enough thing. It would've been lovely if he could've come, but I understand his problem," Banks adds.

Guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford says Gabriel was "very keen" about the induction and feels the singer's absence is "a very legitimate excuse. I know he would (come) if he could, but it's just the wrong timing."

Gabriel's decision has effectively scuttled any hopes of Genesis performing at the ceremony, though a full complement of Genesis members will be there, including: drummer-turned- frontman Phil Collins, who's still rehabilitating from spinal surgery and is unable to play; guitarist Steve Hackett, who left the band in 1977; and longtime touring members Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer. "I think at my age, any accolade is enjoyed," says Rutherford, who turns 60 in October. "It's nice to be inducted into something."

Neither Banks nor Rutherford expect the induction to inspire any sort of renewed Genesis activity, however. The group last toured in 2007 and has not discussed anything further, although Banks notes that "we never rule it out." But he adds that he "can't see us doing any writing again, but in terms of just (playing live), it's always a possibility. "

Rutherford, meanwhile, says that "the last tour was a nice kind of moment; it made us appreciate the band and each other as human beings. It kind of reminded us how much fun we'd had. And you never know what will happen; it depends on who's standing in five years' time or something like that."

The Genesis members are staying busy on their own, however. Besides Gabriel's project, Collins is recording an album of Motown songs that's due out this fall; he's also slated to receive the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriter's Hall of Fame on June 17. Hackett is collaborating on a project with Yes bassist Chris Squire, while Banks, who issued a remastered and expanded version of his 1979 solo debut "A Curious Feeling" last year, is working on a classical piece. Rutherford, meanwhile, has reactivated Mike & the Mechanics with British singer Andrew Roachford, among others, and expects to have a new album finished by May.

Peter Gabriel Says He Won't Reunite With Genesis at Rock Hall Induction

From Rolling Stone Magazine:

In two months Genesis will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but fans hoping to see Peter Gabriel sing with his former band for the first time in nearly 30 years are probably in for a disappointment. “As far as I know, I’m definitely not going to sing,” Gabriel tells Rolling Stone. “I learned at our last reunion [in 1982] that you can’t just get up there. You have to rehearse.” Gabriel is actually not even positive he’ll be able to attend the March 15th induction ceremony in New York, since he’ll be in the midst of rehearsing for a European solo tour. “I’m trying to find a way to do it,” he says. “It’s not easy. If I can work it out, I’ll go.”
Chapter & Verse: photos from Genesis’ oral history.
Five years ago Gabriel held a meeting with the classic Genesis lineup of Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett to discuss a possible staging of their 1974 prog-rock epic The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. “Initially I was open to it,” Gabriel says. “But then it seemed to be growing. I know what it’s like once you’re in it — these things tend to expand. I always describe it as going back to school, since this was a school group for me. It’s a fun place to visit and see your old friends, but its not a place you want to live.” Might he be open to a reunion show at some point in the future? “Phil has had trouble with his wrists and his back, so it’s pretty unlikely,” he says.
The group is actually more likely to collaborate on a possible movie project, Gabriel says. “The only thing that might happen is that some people talk about a film of the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. If it is to happen, we might work together on that. We’ll see.”
For more from our interview with Peter Gabriel, including info about his upcoming solo tour and his new covers album Scratch My Back, check out the next issue of Rolling Stone, out February 3rd.

Peter Gabriel To Release CD Of Cover Songs

Written by Tom Breihan at http://pitchfork.com
Peter Gabriel fronted Genesis when they were astral prog travelers. He also did time as one of the weirdest, least likely pop stars of the 80s and early 90s, looking like a bank manager but cranking out hallucinatory art-funk videos like "Sledgehammer" and "Shock the Monkey". More recently, he teamed up with Hot Chip to cover Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"-- a song that namechecks Gabriel himself. Suffice to say, Gabriel's weirdo credentials are fully in place.
Early next year, he'll reemerge with an orchestral covers album that will include Gabriel's versions of songs by Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, and the Magnetic Fields, as NME reports.
According to The Guardian, Gabriel's Scratch My Back is part of a "song-swap project" in which Gabriel will cover other people's songs, and they'll cover his. That means there's at least an outside possibility that we could hear Bon Iver take on "Red Rain"-- which would be awesome. According to NME, Scratch My Back, due January 25, is the first release in a planned series, so maybe the other folks covering Gabriel will come later.
Composer John Metcalfe tells the BBC that the album will be recorded acoustically, and that Gabriel will stick with orchestral instruments rather than drums or guitars. Says Metcalfe: "The songs are not simply covers. They are major reinterpretations of some famous stuff. It's quite radical ..."
NME has confirmed the tracklist, and it'll be fascinating to hear what Gabriel does with these songs:
Scratch My Back:
01 Heroes (David Bowie cover)
02 The Boy in the Bubble (Paul Simon cover)
03 Mirrorball (Elbow cover)
04 Flume (Bon Iver cover)
05 Listening Wind (Talking Heads cover)
06 The Power of the Heart (Lou Reed cover)
07 My Body Is a Cage (Arcade Fire cover)
08 The Book of Love (Magnetic Fields cover)
09 I Think It's Going to Rain Today (Randy Newman cover)
10 Après Moi (Regina Spektor cover)
11 Philadelphia (Neil Young cover)
12 Street Spirit (Radiohead cover)