![]() We wanted to be at the same level and we didn’t want to spread out. We wanted to be as close to face-to-face as we could possibly be. The risers are all three feet high and there’s a reason for it and the reason is TV." We took a little walk and went, “Shit, man!” We based our whole concept on the way we used to play at JB’s in Kent, Ohio, in the bar. "Look, this is television, we call the shots. We fought a major battle with the producers to get that lower drum riser. We wanted to be tight, together and we wanted to be low. ![]() But the reason we set up the way we did is because we had an idea of how we wanted to be on that stage. I said, “Do you realize that there are 90,000 people out there? I am the only person in this venue who can’t see Dave.” It drove me nuts. Here’s the interesting part and I mentioned it to the band. We worked like dogs.ĭave joined in to play drums with you on "Funk #49." But he was behind you and you couldn't see him. It was, let’s get into a room, let’s get face to face and let’s get right to this. That was as much rehearsal as it was when we were all kids. We did it every day and I don’t think we took a day off, but we did start late one day. We wound up rehearsing usually at noon, for four or five hours. Once we got to Los Angeles, we had arranged five days of rehearsal. “Walk Away” and “Funk #49” were no-brainers, so where’s your third song? “The Bomber” seemed to be the one. ![]() So we thought, “Well, let’s do the best we can to kick ass at three." There wasn’t much question as to which three. It came back to us, “three songs it is.” Joe wanted to take a stand and say, “No, we’re not doing that.” We talked about it a lot and decided that’s not the place to make the stand. ![]() All of the sudden, the decisions shifted, from everywhere they were being made specifically to the TV people. As confident as Joe was that we could have the time that we needed, TV took over. But as the time approached, it started to look more and more like time was going to be crucial. The fifth one at that point would have been “Funk #49” which we would have used as an encore with Dave had it gone that way. We knew it would be between three and five. We had to be a little bit flexible with the songs that we learned. You know, we weren’t sure how much time we were going to be allotted. That put the plans in motion.Įveryone started on their own. So we said yes and at the same time, Dave said yes to Joe’s thing. It just wasn’t shocking to hear that there might be a chance for us to do it. As tight as I was with Taylor, Joe was that tight too. I suspect that Dave and Joe had been talking. You know, there’s two Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts coming up and he wondered if we would be interested in doing that.” I said, “Are you really asking that question?” I said, “Yeah, it would be an absolute thrill.” He said, “Well, I think we can do it!” I just put it on the waitlist to hear the results and back came that we were on. So if we’re good, let’s work towards that.” I said, “Of course we are!” He said, “While we’re on the subject, I’ve spoken with Dave Grohl. Plus, we’re looking at Columbus, so it ought to be a little bit special for Ohio.” He said, “I’m sort of thinking of an Ohio-centric lineup. This year, when Joe called, he said, “You know, it looks like we might get it done. Every year we would talk and say, “Are you going to do this?” “Yeah, let’s do it, man! If there is one!” And then there wasn’t one. This is, I think, either the third or fourth year in a row of doing Joe’s veterans charity show – and COVID kicked and all of the sudden, there weren’t any shows. How did this current James Gang reunion come together? 13.įox spoke with UCR in the days following their return to action in London to discuss the initial performance and what's ahead for the James Gang. Finally (at least for now), they'll headline Walsh's annual VetsAid benefit in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. They'll reprise that moment at a second star-studded tribute in Los Angeles later this month. The revitalized trio just completed the first of two shows in memory of Hawkins, as part of an all-star lineup in London.
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