Interview: Eagles Cofounder Bernie Leadon

by Zane Ewton

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Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bernie Leadon releasing first new solo album in more than 20 years. "Our creative licenses never expire. It's only ourselves who put limitations on us. I own the studio. I'm having fun and that's all that matters."

It's as simple as that as to why Bernie Leadon has prepared Too Late to Be Cool, his first solo album in 21 years. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer finished up the 2013-2015 tour with The Eagles feeling great. His chops were up, the songs were coming fast and he had built a studio in his home with analog equipment he had collected over the years. After a call to celebrated engineer and producer Glyn Johns and a few skilled session players, Leadon has prepped a bright record that will make the listener feel like they're sitting in the room with the band.

Too Late to Be Cool is the sound of two men - Leadon and Johns - who are responsible for some of the most formative, and successful, rock and Americana records going back more than 50 years. Leadon is a founding member of The Eagles, a multi-instrumentalist who's also been a member of The Flying Burrito Brothers and a session musician for Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Stephen Stills, Alabama and more.

Johns goes back a little further as the engineer and producer for the likes of the Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and more.

The pair went back to their roots recording Too Late to Be Cool, live to analog tape with live musicians playing together in the studio. Not an overdub or auto-tune in sight. It's a throwback to an old school recording ethos. And it sounds brilliant in a pair of headphones.

With the first single out now ("Too Many Memories"), Leadon shared a glimpse into the making of the project, his songwriting approach, the best rooms for live music and more.

antiMusic: I'd love to just jump in and ask what sparked Too Late to Be Cool, your first solo album in more than 20 years. What got the ball rolling?

Bernie: I went out with The Eagles in 2013 through 2015 and we did more than 175 shows. That experience got my juices flowing. My chops were up and I was writing more. Through the years I've also collected a lot of recording equipment. So in the couple of years following the tour, I built a new studio to put all my recording gear in.

The next step was inviting my friend Glyn Johns to record with me and. We had a bunch of songs to pick from. It's an analog studio, like the peak of 1970s, 80s and 90s analog recording. We recorded it to 2-inch tape, 16 tracks. Which sounds fabulous, right? Because it's a fatter, wider track. But it forces you to work quickly and make decisions as you go. You can't keep seven vocals and 53 guitars and sort it out later.

Making decisions as you go, the mixing is much faster, and it gives us a fresher take on everything. You bring in great studio musicians and let them play. Many of the songs were first, second or third takes. You know when we got a good take right away.

It sounds like four guys playing live in a room because it's four guys playing live in a room. And Glyn Johns is so experienced at doing this. That's how he started with those early records with The Who and the Stones. And all those early records with the Eagles.

It's an entirely analog project made with great players on great gear, so it sounds great. I'm really happy with it.

antiMusic: It's a beautiful sounding record. I'm curious with such a focused recording window and a large batch of songs, how much space do you give yourself to experiment in the studio? What does that look like?

Bernie: I've had some of these songs for a few years, and I did a lot of the initial arranging myself. I have a guitar style where I'm playing the bass note with my thumb and strumming lead at the same time on the same guitar. That means I can play the arrangement of the song in a way that demonstrates to the band what's going on.

These guys are great players, so it's like falling out of bed for them to fall in with a song. Glyn and I chose the songs, narrowing them down from about 100 to the 11 on the record. It was a lot of fun, too. I think you can hear how much fun we had. There's something about four or five musicians in a room that's a lot of fun.

antiMusic: Q: Absolutely. You are a celebrated musician (having done session work with some of the greatest songwriters and performers of the past 40 years), but also an accomplished songwriter in your own right. I feel like those are two different things sometimes. What is your approach as a musician versus what is your approach as a songwriter?

Bernie: I'm writing on an acoustic guitar and my style developed because I wanted to play the bassline but also hit the strings with the back of my fingernails to play a percussive rhythm. With that, I can play all the parts and the arrangement comes together as I'm writing the song.

I'm already picking the key and singing the melody. I can make changes early as the arrangement is coming together so by the time we get into the studio with the guys, they can make a chart and off we go.

Glyn has all the sounds together. When we start playing he doesn't have to adjust a thing. It actually is pretty simple once you get a system together like Glyn has and I can come in with songs ready to go.

antiMusic: I enjoyed the lyrics. They were clear and direct, beautifully sung, but also really playful. I'd love to hear your perspective on lyric writing and how you approach it.

Bernie: Well honestly, sometimes I have no idea how it happens. Other writers would tell you that some of their best songs, those best received or that they highly regard themselves, were written in 20 or 30 minutes. Which sounds counterintuitive to people that don't do it, and it's hard to explain.

First, you don't get all intellectual about it before you start. If you have a guitar and a chord progression you're working off, it has a certain rhythm to it which suggests the rhythmic meter to the lyrics. Let's say you got your chorus or your first verse. What I've started doing lately is I don't worry about the second verse.

I'll put down the first thing that occurs to me. Let's say your rhyme scheme is the second line and the fourth line. I don't work ahead, worried that the fourth line needs to rhyme. By the time I've put a few lines down it starts to flow as if it was waiting for me to get there.

I learned from Joni Mitchell that you don't have to have a perfect rhyme. In fact, you don't even have to rhyme or it can be a false rhyme. Don't get all hung up about that. Just write the thought. The feeling that it needs to be. If you come up with something later that's a little more elegant or flows better, then great. If not, stick with the feeling and the idea you have because it needs to hit people emotionally and intellectually.

You can't engineer that. It's funny about creativity. If you begin, and don't worry too much about it, the creativity shows up along the way.

antiMusic: Yeah. It's that snowball effect. You mentioned touring with The Eagles got the ball rolling on this album. So that begs the question if we can expect a tour behind this album?

Bernie: We're nearing the end of the year. I'm doing a showcase for Americana Fest September and the album comes out October 10. It's getting late in the year to be booking stuff but we're talking about the spring touring season next year.

antiMusic: You've been at this for a while. I'm curious how your influences and interests may have changed from when you started as a young man learning your instrument to today. Is there any uncharted territory you're looking to explore?

Bernie: I'm always interested in bringing in new things harmonically, but if you start getting too complex harmonically you're no longer playing pop music, folk music or rock. You're playing jazz, you know? I love jazz but it is a very specific thing that can become intellectual and abstract.

Your mind can run away with you and then you can overdo things. I'm always trying to pair it back but also do things that are harmonically complex and interesting without alienating an audience. The goal is always to create something interesting that pulls you in and tells you an interesting story.

antiMusic: Well, you're certainly guilty of doing that a few times. I'd probably be remiss if I didn't ask if anything was happening with The Eagles in the future that you're allowed to say.

Bernie: Thank you. Well, I stay in touch with them. We have talked recently and they did a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. It's pretty wacky looking and there's 160,000 speakers in the room. They're all behind the stage. They can't use monitor wedges on the floor because it causes feedback and everyone on stage has to wear two inner ear monitors. The whole thing is a TV screen. I've not been out there, but it looks bizarre and fascinating at the same time. I think it's good for the band.

antiMusic: That prompts the question of what's your ideal space or room that you think your music fits best in?

Bernie: There are some venues out there that I've always really loved. One is the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, which I think is a 3,000 seater. It has a balcony, so it may be 2,500, but for a bigger show, that's a really nice size. I think when you get beyond two or three thousand it changes. It's not as intimate. People love the Beacon Theater in New York City, which was an old vaudeville theater, and that seats far fewer. It's a lovely place to play. All those old theaters. I actually liked the early part of The Eagles career where we were playing 3,000 seaters, larger than that it becomes a detached experience in a way.

antiMusic: One last question for you. If you could say one thing to help people understand where you're coming from with this new album, what would you say?

Bernie: We don't have to stop being creative. Our creative licenses never expire. It's only ourselves who put limitations on us. I own the studio. I'm having fun and that's all that matters. I'm having fun and if people like the record, great. If they don't, hey, there's plenty of other stuff for them to do.

Pre-save Too Late To Be Cool here

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