How Did The James Gang Reunion Came Together

How Did The James Gang Reunion Came Together | Society Of Rock Videos

via Seth Mandel / Youtube

The tribute show for the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins made ways for reuniting numerous bands. One of it includes the surprising reunion of Joe Walsh, drummer Jimmy Fox and bassist Dale Peters playing their first show together in 16 years as the James Gang.

The late Hawkins grew very close with the band. While Walsh, on the other hand, was spotted at many Foo Fighters gigs wearing a James Gang T-shirt or hat. The trio just recently finished revitalized the first of two shows in memory of Hawkins and will also be participating in the Los Angeles show later this month.

Following the tribute concert, they will be at the Walsh’s annual VetsAid benefit in Ohio this November. When Fox was asked on how did this current reunion started, he said:

“Well, we had been talking. This is, I think, either the third or fourth year in a row of doing Joe’s veterans charity show – and COVID kicked [in] and all of the sudden, there weren’t any shows. They were all being canceled. We just sat through them, basically. 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 year, when Joe called, he said, ‘You know, it looks like we might get it done. 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. 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. 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?’ [Laughs.] 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 [the message] that we were on. That’s really the long and short of it. I suspect that Dave and Joe had been talking. They were tight. As tight as I was with Taylor, Joe was that tight too. It just wasn’t shocking to hear that there might be a chance for us to do it. So we said yes and at the same time, Dave said yes to [playing] Joe’s thing. That put the plans in motion.”

Although the VetsAid show is being promoted as the band’s one last ride, Fox and Peters seem not to believe that it’s gonna be their last. Fox continued:

“I don’t think that either Dale or I believe that this is the last round though. You know, maybe that’s just us being optimistic. I like hearing that. Well, you know, listening to the way Joe is talking, it doesn’t sound like the last dance. It really doesn’t – but at the same time, we haven’t added anything. The crew, we used all Eagles people. We didn’t use a single outside person. It seemed like the easiest thing to do and it was also a guarantee that we would be getting quality people. Mark [Avsec] was just a carryover; he’s done [previous reunions]. [But] they’re like, ‘Aren’t you guys gonna do a few more shows? I mean, we’re ready and we’re out there!’ Well, of course, I don’t have an answer, but plenty of people have their own self-interests in seeing it continue.”

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