In a recent interview with UCR, former Eagles guitarist Don Felder described working with Joe Walsh and explained that there was no ego.
“Joe and I really felt that very, very comfortably to be able to jam together, whether it was in the Eagles or before he joined the Eagles or on Joe Walsh and Friends videos and stuff like that,” he recalled. “We just instinctually were able to do that by having just the sensitivity of how another person plays and knowing when to play and when not to play, when to be a support character and when to step in and be a lead character.”
The guitarist also talked about the chemistry between him and Walsh: “That’s exactly what Joe and I used to do all the time, every song. But we had enough grace to allow the other person to take the lead step and to hold hands going through it. It was never a, ‘I’m better than you.’ It was never an ego competition at all. It was just a fun challenge to have Joe play a lick and then, ‘Hell, I can beat that.’ And I play something and then he takes a step back and then he comes in like a bull. It was just fun to be able to play off of people like that.”
The tense relationship between Felder, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey, is well-known. The band’s past includes many arguments and even physical fights, with Henley and Frey openly saying they didn’t like Felder.
However, in a 2013 interview with Illinois Entertainer, Felder seemed less angry and more open to making peace. He talked about his wish to reconcile with his former bandmates and shared his condition for a possible reunion, saying: “I wish I could [make peace] with those guys in the band, and I’ve tried numerous times to get there with them, but I just don’t think that’s who they are, and that’s not what they want. Unfortunately, until they decide they want to reach out with an olive branch or friendship offer or something, it’s just at a frozen stalemate.”
Well, it’s all in the past now since Felder and Walsh will get a chance to show their shared energy when they tour together in 2025. They have played ‘Hotel California’ together before, but Felder warned that it’s not guaranteed to be in the setlist every night.
