10 Questions for Don Henley
Mojo Magazine
1996

 

Q: One got the feeling that The End of The Innocence was a turning point in your career. You'd found your feet, the music assumed more of an edge.

A: Precisely. When The Eagles broke up, I'd never really thought about a solo career. I was sort of thrust into that position unexpectedly. And lucky for me, Danny Kortchmar came along--he, more than anybody else, helped me to define myself as a solo artist. We went through the '80s together, a musical brotherhood of two, a sometimes blissful, sometimes stormy bond that we had. I was floundering there a bit at the beginning. I had a good time making Innocence because there was less of the turmoil, less of the doubt, because I'd established myself with Perfect Beast

Q: Both during and especially since The Eagles, you've demonstrated a knack for writing state-of-the-art songs that possess lasting impact.

A: Yeah, I think about them a lot--too much probably. I believe one has to do a certain amount of living in order to write about anything. As the old cliché goes, the well has to fill up. I pretty much drain the well every time I make a record. So I believe in taking my time.

Q: You seem a picture of middle-aged good health, one would have to conclude that you're a serious survivor.

A: I guess I am. Actually, we joke about it in The Eagles. It is something of a feat to have a band from that era with no dead members, to be blunt. So I take some sort of perverse pride from that. And I'm stubborn, and I'm ornery, and I intend to outlive all my detractors. I actually intend to dance on their graves...

Q: Is it harder playing live now, does it take more out of you than it used to?

A: I don't think so. I think I'm in better shape now that I was during parts of the '70s. But it's hard work. It's a three-hour show and I play drums for at least half of it. But I enjoy the exercise, I like the sweating.

Q: Geffen has just released your greatest post-Eagles hits on Actual Miles. Do you have any favourite tracks?

A: My favourites are the public's favourites. "The Boys of Summer" and "The Heart of the Matter", they're the two that stand out for me.

Q: Tell us about your involvement with the Walden Pond Endeavor.

A: It's come a long way--we just celebrated our fifth anniversary and we've done extremely well, in the face of some adversity in the media and a lot of doubting, finger-pointing and skepticism. We raised about $15 million, largely through the generosity of my friends in the music business. We've purchased over 100 acres of environmentally sensitive and historically significant land around Walden Pond. Our efforts will continue until the millennium at least.

Q: You're two days away from coming off the road. How would you put in a typical day at home?

A: My days are very full. I work on the Walden Woods Project every day. We've got a full-time office in Boston with a staff of four or five people. Every morning when I get up, we fax each other. I have a Scholarship Fund and a Wetlands Institute in Texas, founded in '94. There's a lake that crosses the Texas/Louisiana border which is where I grew up and where I caught my first fish. It's my personal Walden--one of the most important wetlands eco-systems in the southern USA. I've projects in Colorado. I'm always fighting with someone up there. I'm always a troublemaker. I'm a crusader and I'm always making trouble for what I perceive as ignorant corporate America. Deep down, I really always wanted to be--besides in rock'n'roll- a teacher. This gives me the opportunity to do that. The songs and the success of this tour give me the money to be able to do it.

Q: What's the word on the follow-up to Innocence?

A: I'm going to start on it soon. I'm building my own studio, which is something I've been trying to do for 20 years without quite getting around to it. But I think now would be a good time. I've got lots of ideas; plenty of stuff to write about. I do quite a lot of writing in the car. I think you'll start seeing my productivity increase because I'm signing a new record deal--one door closed, another one opened. There could be a great burst of creativity from me now.

Q: What of the current crop of contemporary music have you found inspiring?

A: I always go blank when anybody asks me that. Radiohead I like, and a Canadian girl named Sarah McLachlan--she's wonderful. I'm somewhat interested in those English groups that are all the rage-Oasis and Blur. And Joan Osborne is interesting. When I get home, I usually put on Chopin or stick with silence. I just can't think about rock'n'roll all the time. I'm too old. It's a wonderful thing and I'm so grateful for what I've been given...but I get bored.

Q: What about The Eagles' future?

A: Well, we've ended on an up note this time, instead of a negative note like we did before. So it's nice to come back just for our own conscience. Deep down inside, we all really respect each other. Our little personality quirks and stuff are annoying to each other at times. But you can't go through what we've been through and not have an abiding love and respect for one another. Some days, I want to kill every fucking one of them, but I get over it. After the European leg this summer, we'll all have to sit down and take a look around and see in fact if we want to continue., We'll see--if not, we've had a good run. We're still in a pretty good mood, considering.

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