SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 ISSUE MMUSICMAG.COM INDIE SCENE antos m yriam s With his first solo project in decades, a former eagle soars again

It’s 9 a.m. on the west coast and multimillionaire, and from the values of the Felder has learned much from his don Felder is a bit drowsy. “too early,” he church to a life of sin.” years with the . “there were five says. “I’ll let you know how I’m doing after eventually Felder turned to music guys who could all write and sing and play,” my second cup of tea.” again, recording songs borne from his he says. “when you get that much talent tea? a far cry from the indulgent experiences and performing with a band and that many egos, there’s bound to be excesses of his near three-decade rock that includes his son cody on percussion conflict.s o I always took a great deal of that star tenure with the eagles—the band that and daughter Leah on backup vocals. “I’d be contentiousness with a grain of salt. Instead brought him fame, fortune and no shortage in the studio for three or four days and then of digging in and fighting for something, I’d of conflict prior to his abrupt termination go right back on the road, so production back off and make concessions. in 2001. that was a difficult time for time was limited,” he says. “I’d be writing “a lot of those disputes were for the Felder, who composed the music to the lyrics on airplanes and figuring out best of the band—for the best record, the group’s classic smash “hotel .” parts between gigs. the whole process best songs, the best singing,” he continues. “everything I knew just changed,” he stretched over two or three years. But it “when the motivation was to avoid says. “my career, my friends—or the was cathartic to take those life episodes, mediocrity, it raised the bar. In trying to people I thought were my friends—and write them into songs and play them for continue to raise that bar higher, the band my marriage, too.” people who might relate to those feelings.” reached a point that Glenn [Frey] called the For the next few years Felder endured his efforts yielded Road to Forever, ‘hardening of the artistry’—where it’s hard a protracted legal battle over royalties Felder’s first solo album in 30 years and to rise above what you’ve accomplished and an extensive period of meditation and only his second career solo effort. while and make that leap of faith to write, play or reflection, culminating with his revealing the songs are emotive and reflective, be creative. once I left the band and didn’t 2008 best-selling book, Heaven and Felder, 65, still brings the razor-sharp have the restriction to write for a specific Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974 – guitar licks he contributed to the eagles. cast of characters, I found I could write and 2001). “once I was in the eagles, I was he also enlisted an all-star supporting cast, play to my strengths.” ‘drugged’—not ‘dragged’—into all sorts of including tommy shaw, steve Lukather, these days Felder is happy to focus promiscuity and drugs and everything,” david crosby, Graham nash and stephen on himself, and plans to keep touring. “I’ve Felder recalls. “I realized how that had stills. It was a reunion of sorts for Felder and been out on the road for the last six or influenced my life, separated me from stills, who played together as teenagers seven years on and off, and now with the the morals and ethics I was raised with. with the continentals in Gainesville, Fla.—a release of this record, I’ll be pretty much I wanted to understand what took me group that also included future eagles working through next summer.” from being raised dirt-poor to being a bandmate Bernie Leadon. –Lee Zimmerman

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