Don Felder details the “fun challenge” of playing with Joe Walsh

Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder admits playing alongside Joe Walsh was a “fun challenge”.

During a recent conversation with UCR’s Matt Wardlaw, Felder talked about his love of guitar solos, particularly those where he and another rocker trade riffs.

“Someone would be playing and you step back and give them that time. And then they step back and give you the opportunity to step forward,” Felder explained. “And then someone starts going up with their solo, and you go down and play in a lower octave to support them. And then it goes all over the place on the way up and down and back. They’re just things you can’t necessarily teach someone. It’s more of a feeling.”

Felder also noted the strong musical chemistry he enjoyed with his former Eagles bandmate Walsh.

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“Joe and I found it very, very comfortable to be able to jam together, whether it was with the Eagles or before he joined the Eagles or on Joe Walsh and Friends videos and stuff like that,” the rocker recalled. “We were able to do this instinctively because we had a sense of how another person played and knew when to play and when not to play, when to be a supporting character and when to step in and be a main character.”

“That’s exactly what Joe and I always did, on every song,” Felder continued. “But we had enough grace to allow the other person to take the step forward and hold our hands along the way. It was never an “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 be like, “Damn, 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 compete against people like that.”

Don Felder praises Tommy Shaw as a “talented triple threat”

Similar to his chemistry with Walsh, Felder feels a musical connection to Styx leader Tommy Shaw.

“Tommy Shaw is probably one of the most talented triple threats I know. I have the greatest respect for people who can write, sing and play,” said Felder. “Tommy is just a monster. And the fact that he has the skill and talent on the guitar and can play and sing all those solos at the end of the harmonies and so on (is impressive). “

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The rockers will have the chance to showcase their combined energies when they tour together in 2025. The two have jammed together on the Eagles’ classic “Hotel California” in the past, although Felder cautioned that this isn’t a guarantee of being on the set list every night.

“I’m not sure we’ll be able to do it this time,” he noted. “Perhaps. Maybe not. Maybe save it for special occasions. I don’t know, we’ll see. It’s just going to be a lot of fun stuff.”

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