Why is Joe Walsh selling a bunch of his old stuff?

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Joe Walsh is onstage astatine the Troubadour connected a caller day performing his opus “Lucky That Way” for an assemblage of astir 50 people. His guitar playing is bluesy and cool, his dependable a lovable honk. But this isn’t a gig by the 78-year-old stone star, astatine slightest not exactly: His instrumentality glinting nether the signifier lights, Walsh is showing a assemblage of reporters 1 of the much than 400 guitars helium plans to portion with successful a sell-off organized by Julien’s Auctions.

Set for Tuesday and Wednesday astatine the Troubadour, the lawsuit volition diagnostic astir 800 tons successful all, including cars, signaling gear, ham vigor instrumentality and rather a fewer garments — not slightest a red-brick-pattern Moschino suit — worn by Walsh implicit his years arsenic a solo enactment and arsenic a subordinate of the Eagles, the James Gang, Barnstorm and the All-Starr Band fronted by his celebrated brother-in-law, Ringo Starr.

So who does Walsh beryllium money? “No, nary — I’m not successful debt,” helium tells maine with a laughter successful the Troubadour’s upstairs bar. “I conscionable privation each of these things to person a bully location alternatively of lying successful a dusty retention country due to the fact that I don’t usage them anymore.” A information of the auction’s proceeds volition spell to Walsh’s VetsAid organization, which provides assistance to veterans of the equipped forces and their families.

“Veterans don’t get capable care, and that truly bothers me,” says Walsh, whose flight-instructor begetter was killed portion stationed with the Air Force successful Japan erstwhile Walsh was conscionable 20 months old. “To spot a full thoroughfare of stateless vets — it’s like, why?”

Why bash you think?
Because this state has a atrocious wont of forgetting. Whatever warfare we fight, erstwhile we’re done, we hide astir it and spell connected to the adjacent one. And to the guys that fought it: “Hey, acknowledgment for your service.” But those are conscionable words.

You’re fundamentally raising wealth for folks who shouldn’t person to trust connected radical similar you.
It’s ever been that way. Guys travel location and it’s similar they’re discarded. We person state successful this state due to the fact that of them, and idiosyncratic should wage attraction to that.

Your dada flew the archetypal Air Force pitchy utilized successful combat, the Lockheed Shooting Star. You ever get to cognize immoderate of the guys who served with him?
Not who served with him, no. But I’ve met guys who flew the aforesaid plane. They’ve brought maine lit and books astir it. I told them what I cognize astir wherefore my begetter died, and they said, “Yeah, determination were maneuvers it wouldn’t respond to.” But it was the archetypal operational pitchy — you didn’t cognize till you flew it.

I’ve got a mates questions astir circumstantial items successful the auction. What’s the communicative with the lime greenish zoot suit?
I ever loved it erstwhile radical wore them, truthful I had a mates made to spot however they’d enactment onstage.

Who’d you spot wearing a zoot suit? We talking Cab Calloway?
Sure, starting there. Lot of aged black-and-white movies. The set War had ’em on. Jim Carrey successful “The Mask” — I mean, wow, that’s cool.

How’d it spell implicit onstage?
Pretty good. It’s similar you’re getting dressed for a wedding — the hat, the shoes, the pouch watch. Takes everlastingly to get it right. But I had to effort it.

There’s a coating successful the auction by Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo. Does Mark cognize you’re selling it?
Probably not. Maybe helium does. I’m not definite helium cares. There’s immoderate Devo radical retired determination that would emotion to person that. I went to assemblage with Mark successful Kent, Ohio, truthful it’s OK.

I noticed there’s a acceptable of bedazzled sombreros.
Yes.

I would’ve thought 1 bedazzled sombrero was enough.
No. Every clip I went to Mexico, I came backmost with boots and a sombrero. I had to. I adore mariachi bands — they’re fantastic.

You’ve got mariachi horns connected your opus “A Life of Illusion.”
Kenny Passarelli, the bass subordinate from Barnstorm, wrote the euphony for that track. Kenny utilized to play trumpet, and truthful I had him enactment connected the trumpet parts. He had a buzz going — we’ll enactment it that mode — erstwhile helium did it. But that’s what the opus needed. It needed drunk trumpets. And it was cleanable — conscionable the close magnitude of drunk.

There’s a saxophone up for sale. You play sax?
In precocious schoolhouse I tried for a while. I went done the woodwinds — played saxophone, past I played oboe. But that wasn’t gonna spell anyplace — not gonna get immoderate girls playing oboe. And you can’t travel yourself due to the fact that you can’t sing with an oboe successful your mouth. But it was intriguing: Oboists are treated with large attraction due to the fact that the full orchestra has to tune up to an oboe. The oboe is simply a treble reed and it’s the purest waveform.

Some of the jackets successful the postulation are existent connection pieces. Is determination 1 you bought specifically to irritate Don Henley?
The ceramic suit — that was a bully accidental to get Henley upset.

Did it work?
Pretty much. That was for the Eagles’ induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. What bash you deterioration to that? It’s stone ’n’ roll, man. What would each those radical that I grew up listening to privation maine to wear? What would Eddie Cochran do? So I saw that suit successful the store, and it acceptable — benignant of.

Take that, Henley.
Well, you know, he’d alternatively I didn’t deterioration it: “F—ing Walsh…”

The Eagles astatine the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's induction ceremonial successful 1998.

Do you expect folks who bargain your guitars to play them oregon bent them connected a wall?
Both?

You similar 1 destiny implicit the other?
There’s a guitar that immoderate radical from a winery successful Italy made for maine retired of the large large barrels they enactment grapes in. So it’s similar 200-year-old wood — sounds antithetic than immoderate guitar I’ve ever played. There’s mojo successful that one. It speaks to you.

What’s the champion riff you ever wrote?
Probably “Funk #49.” For a three-piece band, that’s a monster.

What’s the champion solo you ever recorded?
Oh, geez. Probably “Rocky Mountain Way” — the speech container solo. That’s thing I discovered successful Nashville. The state vocalist Dottie West, her hubby Bill was an inventor, and helium made this speech container that was utilized erstwhile by Pete Drake, the pedal alloy player. The opus was called “Forever.” But from determination it went backmost into Bill’s garage.

Dottie had a wont of inviting radical implicit to her location erstwhile they played successful Nashville. And truthful I showed up and Chet Atkins showed up, and we passed the guitar around. Bill said, “Wait a minute,” and helium came backmost from the store with this aged cardboard container each wrapped up successful tape. He took retired a portion of surgical tubing and said, “Put this successful your mouth.” Smelled terrible. But I did it, and past I utilized it connected “Rocky Mountain Way.” The full satellite said, “What the hellhole is that?” I lucked retired connected that one.

Joe Walsh photographed astatine The Troubador successful Hollywood, CA connected Monday, December 8, 2025. (Ian Spanier/For The Times)

Who were you reasoning astir erstwhile you wrote the reggae portion successful “Life’s Been Good”?
Bob Marley successful “Stir It Up.” And Johnny Nash: [sings] “I tin spot intelligibly now…” Johnny Nash blew maine distant with that song. Out of nowhere: Ladies and gentlemen, reggae! The feline who played guitar connected that album, Joey Murcia — helium was a workplace guy, played connected each those Bee Gees songs — helium was doing that part, and we grabbed it.

The net tells maine you joined the Eagles precisely fractional a period agone this month.
Feels similar it was a mates years. I’m 78, and I ne'er thought astir being this old. Seemed truthful acold successful the aboriginal that it didn’t exist.

The Eagles volition beryllium backmost at the Sphere successful January. What happens successful Las Vegas connected an disconnected night?
Not a lot. Go to meal — immoderate large restaurants successful Vegas. Pretty overmuch remainder and recharge for the adjacent show. Go to the gym.

What bash you bash astatine the gym?
Everything I can. It’s important to beryllium progressive and not beryllium around. At 8:30, I gotta beryllium 25 years aged for 2 hours.

You ever representation yourself arsenic a Vegas act?
No. I retrieve being successful Vegas and looking up astatine the billboards: Man, oh, antheral — however bash you get your sanction up there? It seemed similar you were truly idiosyncratic if you did that. Now I conjecture radical look up astatine my sanction and say, “How’d he get up there?” Nobody knows the reply to that.

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