“I’m like an alumni”: The band Joe Walsh considered himself an honourary member of
Any band dynamic is bad enough trying to work around four to five different people. Everyone needs to feel included at some point, and even though that kind of democracy is easier said than done, the best albums ever made are when there is an equal contribution from everyone on the record. Then again, there’s a good chance that Joe Walsh could feel right at home in nearly every band that he decides to play guitar for.
Although Walsh is more than a capable guitarist for Eagles and his solo career, he was always looking to play with everyone he could. He had already achieved most guitarist’s dream of being able to jam with Jimi Hendrix when he was in the James Gang, so when someone hits the artistic ceiling that early, they’re going to want to see what other great players are out there that they can learn from.
That’s half the reason why Walsh was looking to join Eagles. He knew that he and Don Felder would have made a fantastic guitar team whenever they played, but he remembered being completely intimidated by Glenn Frey and Don Henley when he joined, knowing that nothing that he wrote for the group was going to come close to the level of ‘Hotel California’ or ‘New Kid in Town’.
But after the band broke up in the early 1980s, Walsh never stopped having fun on the road. It may have been a little too much considering how strung out he was half the time, but when working with someone like Ringo Starr, he could always deliver a fine solo in the All-Starr Band. If Walsh wanted to collaborate with everyone, though, he had a partner in crime when Dave Grohl started to make the rounds after Nirvana disintegrated.
Outside of being the frontman of Foo Fighters, Grohl had the same collaborative addiction Walsh had, having turned in time working with everyone from Mike Watt to Nine Inch Nails to Queens of the Stone Age. So when Grohl decided to have guests on Sonic Highways, Walsh’s guitar was a no-brainer when it came to capturing the soulful side of California on the tune ‘Outside’.
“They said to just do something in the middle and gave me free rein. I did and it worked out really good. So now I’m like an alumni Foo Fighter.”
Joe Walsh
Despite spending the length of an afternoon getting the tape down, Walsh knew the band well enough to consider himself an honorary member of the band, saying, “When the Foo Fighters were making that [series], they were doing the episode about L.A., and they asked me to play on this song. They said to just do something in the middle and gave me free rein. I did and it worked out really good. So now I’m like an alumni Foo Fighter.”
And considering Walsh’s pedigree, it’s insane that he became a core part of the band’s sound by only playing a handful of notes. While Walsh isn’t afraid to get flashy now and again, hearing him spend the first chunk of his solo leaving space before coming in with two notes is one of the greatest parts of the record, almost like he was painting a picture of the barren desert that Rancho de La Luna embodies.
Anyone can look at what Walsh did here and call it a case of him picking up a paycheck and going home, but it runs much deeper than that. Walsh wanted to make something that would leave an impact, and after spending time with the biggest names in music, he realised that sometimes the best way to keep the listener engaged is to worry about the notes that you don’t play.
