classicrockmagazine.com
Former Eagles member Don Felder harbours no grudge with his ex-bandmates – despite being fired in 2001 and taking legal action against them.
He was pleased to be interviewed for their movie History Of The Eagles Part 1, and says that among his very few regrets is that they didn’t take a break in the 1970s when fellow ex-member Bernie Leadon wanted them to.
Felder tells Noisecreep: “I was contacted through my attorney’s office – the Eagles’ attorneys requested to find out if I would be part of this documentary.
“I felt this would really be a good thing for me to do, since it was a huge part of my history, as well as me being a large part of the Eagles’ history after 27 years in that band. So I was more than happy to do it.
“There’s no real hard feelings or grudges being held by me toward anyone, so I was very happy to go in and be interviewed for it.”
Looking back, he feels the important thing is that the present and past members of the band “created some really great music together.” He continues: “We wrote some amazing songs, and produced some great albums.
“We kind of hit a peak with Hotel California that none of us ever anticipated arriving at. There’s a great deal of pride in what we were able to accomplish together.
“Yes, it was difficult. Yes, it was a lot of years of sometimes 11 months on the road to make that happen. And anytime you work that hard, that long, under that kind of pressure, with so many people and under such intimate conditions, there’s gonna be friction and tension.”
Leadon suggested a solution, and Felder wishes they’d agreed with him. He recalls: “Bernie proposed – which no one listened to – that we take about a two or three month break. Everyone go to Hawaii, go skiing, take a vacation, re-charge your batteries, get some sun. Step out of the pressure cooker for a short while, rejuvenate yourself, and then get back together and resume.
“No one wanted to do that, and so Bernie actually got on a plane and flew to Hawaii himself, just as we were getting to go on the One Of These Nights tour. We had to plead with him to come back; he really felt that the pace and intensity of all that work was eroding his health, physically, mentally and emotionally. And he valued that more than anything.
“There was a great deal of wisdom in that perspective; yet we were young and enthusiastic and bulletproof in those years and so no one wanted to heed his advice. And he eventually left, that being one of the main reasons.”
Felder believes Leadon was right to want to escape, reflecting: “Your nerve coatings are only so thick. When they get worn really thin and frayed, that’s when people say things, do things, misbehave – especially when you add fuel to the fire with drugs and alcohol. It just becomes a very volatile situation.
“I think if we had heeded more of Bernie’s advice, we would have wound up in the long run having less strife and more longevity.”
Former Eagles member Don Felder harbours no grudge with his ex-bandmates – despite being fired in 2001 and taking legal action against them.
He was pleased to be interviewed for their movie History Of The Eagles Part 1, and says that among his very few regrets is that they didn’t take a break in the 1970s when fellow ex-member Bernie Leadon wanted them to.
Felder tells Noisecreep: “I was contacted through my attorney’s office – the Eagles’ attorneys requested to find out if I would be part of this documentary.
“I felt this would really be a good thing for me to do, since it was a huge part of my history, as well as me being a large part of the Eagles’ history after 27 years in that band. So I was more than happy to do it.
“There’s no real hard feelings or grudges being held by me toward anyone, so I was very happy to go in and be interviewed for it.”
Looking back, he feels the important thing is that the present and past members of the band “created some really great music together.” He continues: “We wrote some amazing songs, and produced some great albums.
“We kind of hit a peak with Hotel California that none of us ever anticipated arriving at. There’s a great deal of pride in what we were able to accomplish together.
“Yes, it was difficult. Yes, it was a lot of years of sometimes 11 months on the road to make that happen. And anytime you work that hard, that long, under that kind of pressure, with so many people and under such intimate conditions, there’s gonna be friction and tension.”
Leadon suggested a solution, and Felder wishes they’d agreed with him. He recalls: “Bernie proposed – which no one listened to – that we take about a two or three month break. Everyone go to Hawaii, go skiing, take a vacation, re-charge your batteries, get some sun. Step out of the pressure cooker for a short while, rejuvenate yourself, and then get back together and resume.
“No one wanted to do that, and so Bernie actually got on a plane and flew to Hawaii himself, just as we were getting to go on the One Of These Nights tour. We had to plead with him to come back; he really felt that the pace and intensity of all that work was eroding his health, physically, mentally and emotionally. And he valued that more than anything.
“There was a great deal of wisdom in that perspective; yet we were young and enthusiastic and bulletproof in those years and so no one wanted to heed his advice. And he eventually left, that being one of the main reasons.”
Felder believes Leadon was right to want to escape, reflecting: “Your nerve coatings are only so thick. When they get worn really thin and frayed, that’s when people say things, do things, misbehave – especially when you add fuel to the fire with drugs and alcohol. It just becomes a very volatile situation.
“I think if we had heeded more of Bernie’s advice, we would have wound up in the long run having less strife and more longevity.”
