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"Billy Joel Slams Kiwi Music Reviewer"
By: Lois Watson
(August 10th, 2008)

When Sunday Star-Times music critic Grant Smithies called some of Billy Joel's music "sentimental rubbish" he didn't expect the rock star to read it. Much less respond.

But the "Piano Man," a former boxer, has come out punching writing to Smithies and suggesting that if the reviewer comes to hear him play in Auckland in December, he should wear a hockey mask for his own protection.

"I had no idea when you interviewed me that you considered much of my later work to be 'sentimental rubbish,' or that you thought songs like "Uptown Girl" and "We Didn't Start The Fire" were 'abominations.' And your back-slapping, buddy-buddy style of conversation betrayed no indication that you actually compared talking with me to 'sleeping with an inflatable girlfriend'," Joel fumed.

"You didn't bring any of this up during the interview, and I certainly would have welcomed the opportunity to discuss those kinds of things, person to person. I believe that it's always best to be upfront with someone when you have strong opinions about their work or their image, simply as a gesture of respect, or if the respect isn't there, then purely as professionalism.

"Had I known you felt this way, I still would have done the bloody interview, but your comments reveal you to be already critically predisposed and somewhat insincere. You are still welcome to attend our concert in Auckland, but just as a safety precaution, please wear a hockey mask."

Smithies, who has been a music writer for nearly 20 years and defends his right to express his personal opinion, says it is unusual for someone of such high profile to read his press, let alone respond to it.

"I've had letters before from the bass player in some local band who is pissed off because I said his record is crap...but I've never had a letter from someone in the big league before. It's actually made him go up in my estimation.

"He just wants respect for his work and I think good on him for making direct contact. He was great to talk to and no matter what I think of those songs, other people clearly love them because he's sold over 150 million records."

Smithies won't be attending the Auckland concert and says he is relieved he is safely out of the former boxer's reach.

"He was undefeated in 21 fights. So I do feel fortunate that I'm not living in New York so he can't come around and smack me one."

"Rock On, New York! Hall of Fame Goes On The Road"
By: Glenn Gamboa
(August 13th, 2008)

Billy Joel's lyric notebook for "The Stranger"; Bruce Springsteen's 1957 Bel Air Chevy Convertible, the first car The Boss ever owned; and the phone booth from CBGB are among the new items set for display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex when it opens in November.

The 25,000 square-foot building at 76 Mercer Street, in SoHo, will be the first outpost for the Cleveland-based museum and will include a standing "New York Rocks" gallery that will pay tribute to the area's rock heritage, as well as traveling exhibits from the main museum's collections, according to Joel Peresman, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation's president and chief executive.

Joel was on hand yesterday for the announcement of the annex, along with Sony BMG's chief creative officer Clive Davis and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but he couldn't hand over the piece from the final Shea Stadium concerts that the museum had asked him to donate. "I was supposed to be giving the jersey that I was given at Shea Stadium during the shows, but actually that jersey is in a road case on its way to Hong Kong," Joel said. "So this morning, I ran around my house looking for tchotchkes that I could give and I was pulling stuff off the walls."

Joel settled on a bat that had been given to him by Mets third baseman David Wright and a plaque he was given to commemorate his 12 sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden.

Though he is already a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Joel said being part of the annex in New York was also important to him. "New York gave me my words and my music," Joel said. "Rock and roll gave me a place for that music to live."

The Annex will be operated by Running Subway, the producers of the "Bodies" exhibit at South Street Seaport, and curated by the Rock Hall's museum staff. Items from the Cleveland museum's collection, including John Lennon's Record Plant piano, a motorcycle jacket from Elvis Presley and a handwritten poem from Jim Morrison will also be part of the initial display.