![]() ![]() “In the old days when you played outside and you had three or four headliners, backstage used to be like that. “A lot of us had known each other for years and years and years, and the whole community got together in remembrance of Taylor.” The greenroom backstage was just full of everybody,” Walsh says. It was an organic snapshot of classic rock’s heyday in the name of a musician who deserved nothing less. He describes the experience backstage like it was a time machine transporting him back to rock and roll’s past. “And when Dave Grohl decided to do some concerts in memory of Taylor, I thought about it and said, ‘What if I get the James Gang together to be part of this?’ And he thought that was the best idea he’d heard in a long time.”įor Walsh, the event proved to be more than a simple reunion or run-of-the-mill tribute show. He told me that many times,” Walsh says of their performance at both the London and Los Angeles tribute shows. “Taylor Hawkins, his favorite band in the whole world was the James Gang. So, even though James Gang hadn’t performed together in over a decade, the opportunity to celebrate the life of Hawkins seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back on stage. Of those hardcore fans was the late Taylor Hawkins, who was often seen wearing James Gang merchandise during performances with the Foo Fighters or Chevy Metal. From essential tracks like “Funk #49” or “Walk Away” to deeper cuts like “The Bomber,” James Gang’s blend of funk, blues, and rock made casual fans of just about everyone and hardcore fans out of those in the know. The modest Cleveland power trio, while never hitting the sustained commercial heights of a band like The Who, went on to make an undeniable mark on rock history. And that’s the secret of a three-piece band.” We call it lead rhythm, where you play rhythm guitar and lead at the same time and just kind of wander back and forth. “In a three-piece band, it’s kind of hard to navigate. “Luckily, we played some shows with The Who, and that turned into a longtime friendship,” Walsh explains. But, with some help from another icon of the time, he was able to develop a style of his own. “I had some big shoes to fill and also had to learn how to sing lead and play lead at the same time,” Walsh says. Through genius, luck, or some combination of the two, the remaining members drafted Walsh into the gang to fill the vacancy. At the same time, a band from Cleveland by the name of James Gang parted ways with their guitar player. In the late ’60s, he lived in Kent and played guitar for a local act called The Measles (a band name he now “ like to brag about”). All of which explains the birth of VetsAid, but why these artists, why get the James Gang back together, and why, for the love of god, spotlight Ohio? “I think they should just put a billion dollars aside when they decide to do a war for when they come back because the transition back to civilian life is almost too much of a mountain to climb.”įrom his solo career to his time with The Eagles to the present day, Walsh’s actions of support towards American veterans are - and always have been - clear, passionate, and unobstructed. “I decided I could make a difference helping and there’s so many ways that vets need help,” Walsh tells Consequence over Zoom. VetsAid alone has raised over two million dollars towards such goals. “Everybody would be at school and their dad was there and mine wasn’t.”Įver since, he’s understandably felt a deep kinship with military families around the nation, doing what he can throughout his career to support veterans and their loved ones. “I had a stepfather and he had my back and I love him, but I grew up kind of without a dad,” Walsh remembers. At the age of two, his father, a flight instructor in the United States Air Force, died in active duty. ![]()
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