Taking It Easy
One of These Nights honors the Eagles’ legacy while putting a slightly personal spin on the songs. (Photo courtesy of One of These Nights)
Retiree honors the Eagles with One of These Nights BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI John Waxman is a fan of the Eagles for two primary reasons: harmonies and guitar work. Waxman has the rare opportunity to pay tribute to his heroes with the act One of These Nights, who plays IronOaks at Sun Lakes on Wednesday, December 15. “The Eagles are a band that we’ve all followed for years,” says Waxman, who performs guitarist Joe Walsh’s parts. “I’m older than some of my bandmates. I’m from the Bay Area. I saw them in the early ’70s and Billy Joel was opening for them. “I’ve seen the transformations of the different members of the band.” At One of These Nights’ shows, the tribute act focuses on the Eagles’ hits, although the musicians do enjoy the legendary band’s deep cuts. “We only play 90 minutes,” says Wax-
man, of Mesa. “We want to play the songs that people are most familiar with. It’s so exciting. Nine out of 10 people like the Eagles — except Jeff Bridges in ‘The Big Lebowski.’ “Most people know the words and are singing along. Fans are so happy, and every show is a fun show for us.” Besides Eagles songs, One of These Nights performs solo Don Henley tracks like “Boys of Summer” and three solo Joe Walsh tunes. “We put a little bit of our own spin on the music,” says Waxman, who uses a Talk Box like Walsh. “We modeled this show after the ‘Live from Melbourne’ tour, the first one they did. We do stick pretty close, but we’ll throw some lead solos in that aren’t quite the studio version.” Waxman has been a fan of the Eagles since he first saw them in 1975 in Berke-
ley, California. “They had just come out with their first album with ‘Take It Easy’ and ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling,’” he says. “My brother was a musician. After that, I loved them. I was a fan from that day on. I saw them again at Day on the Green (festival in Oakland, California) when Joe Walsh had joined, and one more time on ‘Hell Freezes Over.’” One of These Nights was founded about seven years ago but lead singer/ guitarist JD Madrid of Phoenix has been performing Eagles songs for nearly 15 years. The band also includes bassist/vocalist Justin Brotman of Mesa; drummer Ross Brotman of Gilbert; keyboardist/vocalist Steve Shostak of Gilbert and guitarist/vocalist Clayton Bircher of Tempe. In January, Waxman retired from Honeywell and now plays music full time.
“It’s fun for us and the people enjoy it,” he says. “Some of them come up after the show and say, ‘You’re better than the Eagles.’ I say, ‘Well, thank you very much, but we’re not better than the Eagles. They wrote the music. We’re just copycats.’”
MORE INFO
What: One of These Nights When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, December 1 Where: IronOaks at Sun Lakes, 24218 S. Oakwood Boulevard, Sun Lakes Cost: Call for ticket information Info: 480-317-3600 When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 17 Where: Pub Rock, 8005 E. Roosevelt Street, Scottsdale Cost: Tickets start at $40 Info: pubrocklive.com
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DECEMBER 2021
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