Longtime Eagles guitarist Don Felder brings show to Arcada
"There's something happening here …" observed Stephen Stills in the 1967 Buffalo Springfield hit "For What It's Worth." That sentiment rings true not just of the mid- to late 60s, but also of the northern Florida music scene from which he came - one that would produce a number of rock's most influential artists.
One of those musicians, longtime Eagles guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Don Felder, returns to the Arcada Theatre Thursday, July 14. Before the show, he looked back on his long history with some of music's greats.
Felder was only 15 when he formed his first band, The Continentals, with Stills, years before Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills & Nash or the Eagles would go on to become household names.
In high school, Felder learned to play the slide guitar from a pre-Allman Brothers Band Duane Allman and went on to give guitar lessons of his own to fellow Gainesville High School student Tom Petty.
But it was the formative experience of hearing rhythm and blues music on the radio that wound up having a profound impact on Felder's own desire to pick up a guitar.
"I used to listen to (B.B. King) at night on WLAC out of Nashville, Tennessee, my first exposure to the blues," he said.
As the writer of one of rock's most enduring guitar-based pieces, Felder's place in music history was secured upon the release of "Hotel California," which garnered the Eagles the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1978 and fueled album sales of more than 32 million worldwide.
"I got on the soundstage for rehearsal for the 'Hotel California' tour and I had to figure out, 'How do I play all these different guitar parts? The introduction is an acoustic 12 string and then I've got to play electric guitar solos and (then) back to the acoustic thing for the verses," said Felder of his quest to duplicate the hit record live on stage.
To do that, he drew inspiration from another guitar great.
"I saw Chet Atkins when I was 14 years old at the Daytona Beach Civic Auditorium. It was the first time I had heard a stereo guitar. I was just absolutely astounded - not only at his dexterity and ability to play - but to wire a guitar that way and play it that way was just unforgettable," explains Felder of Atkins' famous knack for not just playing a guitar but pushing the instrument itself forward.
The memory proved to Felder that his vision would be possible to perform live on stage. "If it weren't for Chet's early influence, there would be probably no 'Hotel California' or it would have been totally different."
Felder, who performed frequently with guitarist Joe Walsh for years before Walsh finally joined the Eagles in 1975, wrote the music for "Hotel California" with the specific goal of capturing their fiery, dueling guitar interplay on an Eagles record.
It was the type of friendly competition that would go on to thrill Eagles fans for decades to come.
"Joe is a lovely, delightful guy. I love him to death. I respect him immensely as a musician and a player. To be able to stand onstage with him, or in a studio with him, and push each other to a different height … It was a very friendly, loving challenge that we would put each other through every night just to be the best that we could be," muses Felder.
While that relationship would span only two Eagles studio albums, it would eventually resurface as part of one of the most successful reunions in music history following the "Hell Freezes Over" album and tour in 1994.
The Eagles reunion was powered by the band's dominance of classic rock radio upon its inception and the strength of songwriting by artists like Jackson Browne ("Take it Easy"), Jack Tempchin ("Peaceful Easy Feeling"), Don Henley, Glenn Frey and more.
Felder's split from the group in 2001 was a bitter one marked by both lawsuits and acrimony. His marriage of nearly 30 years dissolved around the same time, leaving the guitarist to look back upon his journey.
Following work on both his best-selling autobiography "Heaven and Hell: My Life in The Eagles (1974-2001)" in 2008 and second solo album "Road to Forever" in 2012, Felder finds himself at ease with both his career and the Eagles' legacy.
"I think there's some people that hold grudges their whole life. And I can't do that. It just starves your happiness," he said. "So I let it go. I think somebody wrote a song called 'Get Over It.' To quote a great lyricist, I've gotten over it."
Don Felder
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 14
Where: Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St., St. Charles, (630) 962-7000,
arcadalive.comTickets: Start at $49