Don Felder

By
March 2019 View more

Roots > music
I was raised by two very hardworking parents in the Deep South in pretty much poverty. And when you grow up with nothing, you really have nothing to lose, so I felt like I could go out and try to do anything I wanted in this world. But I didn’t get into music for the fame or the money—all I was chasing was the sheer delight of learning and playing. Fortunately, that pursuit and that love has kept me alive and happy and full of satisfaction, and has brought me the greatest joy in life, next to my children.

From concept to concert
Every aspect of being a musician—the writing, the recording, the performing—is a completely different world, and each one is rewarding in its own way. So it’s really refreshing to move between them at different stages, and it’s really fulfilling to watch a song travel from an idea in my head to a live performance in front of an audience.

Playing the hits
Those [Eagles] songs are really an embedded part of my musical career—from the 27 years I was in the band right up until today—and there’s an energy and an enthusiasm that comes from people hearing them performed live. When I bring out that double-neck guitar to play “Hotel California,” everybody in the place knows what’s going to happen, and it’s a challenge every night because you can’t miss a note on those—the audience knows them backwards and forwards.

March 29 at Arcada Theatre
105 East Main Street, St. Charles
Tickets: $49–$89 | arcadalive.com

Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty