Joe Walsh Is an Analog Man

The Eagles legend stopped by to talk about his new album, hanging with Ringo Starr, and sobriety

June 4, 2012
Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Joe Walsh stopped by to promote his new album, ‘Analog Man,’ saying it was written while sober–miles apart from his drug-fueled 70’s hits: “I made the mistake of thinking it was a winning formula.”

Joe said he’s since “made amends to a lot of people,” including a laundry list of exes: “Some people say, ‘Up yours.’ But the important thing is me. I’m better for it.”

Joe thanked his wife, Marjorie Bach, for saving him: “My wife is the little sister of Ringo [Starr]’s wife. It’s the part of me that was missing.” Her steady influence has kept him on the wagon: “Women are a great reason to drink.”

Asked if he and Ringo ever hung out, Joe nodded: “Yeah. We hang. He’s so down to earth. Paul too.”

Pro-Analogue, Not Pro-Tools

Photo: Landmark / PR Photos

Joe said his new album’s title, ‘Analog Man,’ referred to his pre-modern recording methods: “If we had ProTools while we were working on ‘Hotel California,’ we’d still be working on ‘Hotel California.’ … The great temptation with ProTools is to go ahead and fix everything–when you don’t need to.”

What Did Joe Do To Stevie?

Howard noted that Stevie Nicks often refers to Joe as the love of her life, so Joe recalled their time together: “She’s special. … She helped me do ‘The Confessor’ album. She rode shotgun with me.” Joe said Stevie wrote a song about it: “She wrote one about me, yeah. Uh…I’m trying to think–I don’t remember it. One of her solos.” Gary reported that the song was titled ‘Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You’, and, after reading over the song’s lovesick lyrics, Howard laughed: “Boy, what did you do to her?”

Trading Licks With Hendrix

Asked to name his guitar heroes, Joe first named Les Paul (“The grandfather of us all.”) and later recalled playing with Jimi Hendrix–backstage at a gig in Youngstown, Ohio. (The bill blew Howard’s mind: Hendrix, Sly & The Family Stone, The James Gang.) Joe said they’d traded a few secrets: “He showed me his guitar and I showed him mine. … He had an aura. I mean, he had feathers on!”