Walsh co-founded VetsAid back in 2017 to raise money for military veterans and their families all across America.
Theyve raised nearly $3.5 million.
I just went through the rest of my life without a father.
Joe Walsh says performing at the Sphere can be disorienting. “I was looking up at the screen, I’m going, ‘Wow, look how big my nose is.'“Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
And in those days it was, Too bad.
Sorry about your father.
He started VetsAid after traveling across America and coming across countless veterans who had fallen on hard times.
And I wanted to make a difference in that.
I mean, a homeless veteran drives me nuts.
Thats why I decided that this was a place where I could make a difference.
Some of them just in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest.
You come home from a war and youre in Iowa, nobody understands it.
Youre in this small town and you have nightmares, and theres nobody there that even comprehends whats wrong.
And we put together some great evenings of music.
That group right there, we would never come across each other backstage unless there was something like VetsAid.
Weve all heard about each other, but we dont know each other.
And the camaraderie that happens is everlasting after that.
Do you think youll jump onstage and play with any of them?Yeah.
Ill sneak out there.
You havent done a solo gig in a while since the Eagles have been so busy.
And I borrow the Eagles band.
Musicians are another group of people that really showed up.
The halls are very, very helpful.
Theres no definite curfew.
The unions are all in.
They dont go, Oh man, after midnight its going to cost you triple scale.
Theres nothing like that.
A lot of the union guys are vets.
And its just a wonderful feeling for all of us to be part of.
The veteran families come and meet each other.
Gold Star families meet each other and everybody networks.
Its such a good feeling at the end of the show.
Were little now, but were mighty.
And the feedback from the people we helped and the musicians is nothing but encouragement to keep going.
I dont think we need to get much bigger than we are.
Do you plan on doing one of these next year and every year going forward?Yeah.
Every year I say, Well, its work, Im not doing that again.
And then here I am doing another one.
And Ive had no problem with that.
Im getting pretty good at asking now.
And its a new thing.
Its a new thing for us.
Its a new thing for music.
Its a new thing for the people that work at the Sphere.
So its getting better and better all the time, but its amazing.
I saw U2 there a couple of times and the experience was so radically different than most other concerts.
How different does it feel onstage?Its very different onstage.
Weve had to learn how to do it.
At first it was maybe a deal-breaker, but weve learned how to do it.
U2 said, We didnt have a clue, but weve learned how to do it.
What non-musical things did you have to worry about?Technical things.
On the Sphere theres 160,000 speakers behind the screen.
To do that, computers have to delay it a little bit from what were doing.
If were aware of that, we cant play.
Its like singing The National Anthem at a baseball stadium.
Theres three of you and you dont know which one you are.
How do you deal with that?The new technology we have is the in-ear headphones.
Theyre actually our monitor system and they seal us from the stage.
Its all there, and everybody hears everything at the same time.
And adjusting to what we do is different than 30 years of touring that we know about.
Every song has its own unique visuals attached to it.
Were you involved in the creation of those?Oh yeah.
This started probably a year ago by now.
We meet with the Sphere people, who are brilliant, and its a new science for them too.
Its profound when you see it.
Did you talk to them about Rocky Mountain Way and In the City?Yeah.
I did all my songs, and we all jumped in a little on Eagles songs.
This took place a year ago.
Its an ongoing thing.
Ive tried to watch a bit, and it doesnt work.
And then I realized Im not playing the same song the rest of the band is playing.
So none of us can do that.
I have great plans for the future, but for right now, the Eagles is a full-time job.
And thats what Im going to do for the foreseeable future.
To answer your question, absolutely.
The James Gang is going to play again.
