This is a two-and-half hour tribute show, featuring classic songs from The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd and Meat Loaf.

The dates are all in January:

Fri, 13: Cheltenham Town Hall

Sat. 14: Leicester De Montfort Hall

Sun. 15: Birmingham Town Hall

Tue. 17: Plymouth Pavilions

Wed. 18: Cardiff St. Davids Hall

Fri. 20: Basingstoke Anvil

Sat. 21: Oxford New Theatre

Sun. 22: Shrewsbury Theatre Seven

Mon. 23: London Cadogan Hall

Tue. 24: Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Thu. 26: Gateshead Sage

Fri. 27: Aberdeen Music Hall

Sat. 28: Edinburgh Queens Hall

Sun. 29: Norwich Theatre Royal

Go here to enter the competition.

What songs can fans expect to hear on this U.S. tour?
“Mostly, I hit the new album pretty hard and I sprinkle it with some history. I do a few things from Poco, and I do a few things from The Eagles. And I’m still considering a couple of other songs. It’s strong on the new stuff, but not without some nostalgia.”

Can you talk about how you came up with the set list? Is that all you, or did it come together with you and your band?
“Actually, this is my thing, so I have been putting it together. It’s been interesting, because it’s different for me to be the alpha dog, although it’s very much a group effort when we’re on stage. But I make the decisions and the set list.”

On Expando you’ve diversified and it’s reflected in the music. It’s a mix of Americana, folk, country, rock and even some blues and a verified array of guests. What inspired you to keep musically expanding?
“Every artist wants to keep expanding; otherwise it gets dull, boring and meaningless. This album was my first attempt, at the risk of sounding corny, to find out who I am musically. I tried to be fearless on Expando, and I thought, ‘What are my roots? Where does this all come from?’. Well, it comes from folk music, and I’m still on this path while I’m writing a new album. It’s just me and an acoustic guitar, and I record that first. Everything else comes afterwards. I want the song to be able to stand on its own, as is, in its most naked state. So, as these songs develop, I just have a lot of fun experimenting with things.

“As far as having collaborations, only until after the songs are developed, do I think of who might be right for a certain song and what it needs. I was a big fan of Keb’ Mo’, but I had only met him once. So I got his number and talked to him and within a couple of weeks he came to my studio, which is at my home. That’s how it worked this time around.”

On Parachute, you brought in Graham Nash & Kenny Wayne Shepherd…
“As I was writing the song, it became really obvious that it was reminiscent of early Crosby, Stills and Nash. Rather than trying to take the song in another direction, I embraced it and called my friend Graham to sing on it. It was the right thing to do for the song.

“With Kenny, I wanted a blatant rock-n-roll bluesy guitar and that’s what he does best, and he agreed to come to come over. The studio is my little workshop. Most of the people I called were available to come down in-person and play. These days, you can send a file away and have someone overdub in their own studio; but I’ve never wanted to do it that way. I’d rather it be more personal.”

What would you like for people to take away from listening to Expando?
“I want as many people as possible to hear the record. I hope it brings some pleasure and joy into their lives.

“I’ve spent most of my career in bands, so there’s always give and take, trade-offs and compromises when it comes to songwriting. There are ideas you get in there, and some things you don’t. Working on my own, I decided I was just going to do whatever I wanted to without anybody else’s agenda. This is not a complaint in any way about band members past or present, it’s just a little more freedom for me. I was finally ready to embrace that freedom on this album. I’ve had solo albums in the past and for the most part, my favorite songs on all those albums are the songs I wrote myself. It’s all a learning process; an ongoing thing.”

What were the pivotal albums in your life, growing up?
“That’s a tough one. I grew up with music, my dad was a musician. That’s how he made his living — he played clubs mostly. The first record I bought was an Elvis record when I was 10 years-old; it was Hound Dog. I bought a lot of 45s when I was really young, single records; where you’d pile them on the record player and each one would drop to the next. I mean there was Elvis, Bobby Darin, The Everly Brothers, The Del Vikings, Little Richard, and the list could go on and on.
“Later on, I was into folk music. A bit more on the commercial side such as The Kingston Trio. They were a huge part of my life. I would call them my first Beatles. Then, I picked up electric instruments and at the time I was listening to a lot of surf music as well as anything on the radio, a lot of r&b; The Beach Boys and the whole British thing after that, The Beatles, The Stones and that whole scene. The Fulfillingness’ First Finale album by Stevie Wonder, that was a huge influence and one of my favourites of his. ZZ Top, Alison Krause. I try to listen to a wide range of music.”

“On the road I listen to jazz in the morning. At night after the show, I usually calm down with classical music. For one of the song’s on Expando called Downtime, I was able to get one of the top vibraphone players in the jazz world, Gary Burton to play on that song.”

Tell us about the players in your touring band.
“Hank Linderman is my friend and musical cohort in the studio. He’s an all-around talented guy. I originally hired him when I was building a home studio. I met him through my friend Gerry Beckley from America. After about a week, he became my engineer and we’ve been working together many years now. He is also a talented guitar player and he can sing.

“I needed a unique drummer. I auditioned a few folks and I found a soulful drummer named Herman Matthews, who’s an all-around great guy. Then I found Chris Farmer, who has done a lot of work with The Beach Boys. He plays keyboards, bass, and he sings.

“I brought in Bobby Carlos, who is my tech on the road with The Eagles and a bass player himself. I first brought him on the road as a tech, but there are a few songs where I need another player, so he comes up and plays bass when needed.

“I hired three women – -two of them sang on the song White Boy From Sacramento. I hired them just for one show, my first, in Los Angeles. It was so fun I kept them. Mortonette Stephens, ,Marlena Jeeter and Lynne Fiddmont. They’ve performed with everybody; Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and many others.”

What has surprised you most in your career?
“To this day, it still amazes me that this has actually all worked out for me. What it has brought me emotionally, spiritually and financially — all of it amazes me. I get to travel the world and have many adventures. There are so many people that want to do this and it’s not just talent, there are other things involved. Mysterious things, elements that come into play to push you forward. There are a lot of talented people out there that won’t get the chance. Why did it happen to me? I don’t know. I just try to not take it for granted.”

Find out more at www.timothybschmit,com

The solo record is to be called Analog Man. Due out in February, it was produced by Jeff Lynne. As for The Eagles, they will be going on tour doing a retrospective show and might include some of their more obscure album tracks.

Although there are no confirmed plans for the James Gang, it now seems like that they will not only do more live dates but also record a new album.

Find out more at www.joewalsh.com

According to the latest Forbes list of the most highly paid artists, U2 made $195 million, thereby topping everyone else, with Bon Jovi second, having brought in a ‘mere’ $125 million. The Eagles are ninth with earnings of $60 million. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers came in at number 16 with ($38 million), while AC/DC and Muse are joint 18^th with $35 million each.

The celebrated American arena rockers will be one of the main attractions at the Hop Farm Music Festival 2011. This happens on July 1 and 2 in Paddock Wood. Bryan Ferry and 10cc will also be on the bill.

Find out more at http://www.hopfarmfestival.com/

As yet untitled, this will be the man’s first since Songs For A Dying Planet in 1992. Half of  the new album has been produced by Walsh himself, with the rest being done with Jeff Lynne. This should be released in the spring.

“I’ve been working on it for a long time during the Eagles downtime,” Walsh told Undercover.fm. “I’ve got new stuff after about 18 years that I haven’t done an album”.

Find out more at http://www.joewalsh.com/

The single, Bottle Of Whisky, is rather special, in that it’s a demo recorded in 1993, a year before the Scottish rocker suffered a brain haemorrhage which has left him unable to sing or play guitar. You may pre-order it now for 79p right here.

There’s also a Facebook campaign, which hopes to get Miller into the charts for the first time since 1992. Join up here.

Rock Radio actually kickstarted the release of this single, when Billy Rankin played it on his show. The response to it was so strong that it was regularly played at 9.15 every Friday morning.

During the Frankie Miller day, the station will not only be playing loads of his songs, but also tracks from artists he’s inspired. These include Aerosmith, Free, The Quireboys (currently performing Bottle Of Whisky on their European tour), Procol Harum, Ten Years After and Cher.

If you’re wondering what makes the man special, this is what Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh says:

“The first time I heard his amazing voice it made the hairs on the back on my neck stand up. I heard this incredible soulful, almost spiritual voice. I’ve never heard anybody sing like that.”

Find out more about Frankie Miller at www.frankiemiller.net

Check out the Frankie Miller feature in the new issue of Classic Rock.

These happen at:

March 26: Manchester Academy II

March 28: Birmingham Glee Club

March 30: London Cadogan Hall.

Tickets go on sale from 9am on Friday, February 12. They’re priced at £35 (Manchester and Birmingham) and £40 (London).

Schmit is promoting his album Expando, which was released last year.

For further info, go to www.timothybschmit.com

(All we can say is… Schmit, have you see those ticket prices?!)

Apparently, the politician is using the musician’s song Walk Away to promote his campaign, but has added his own lyrics. Naughty, naughty. The Eagles man has responded in a slightly eccentric manner by sending the would-be congressman a legal letter, explaining to him copyright laws:

“It (copyright) says a lot of things, but one of the things it says is that you can’t use someone else’s song for your political campaign promotion unless you get permission from the owner of the copyright in the song. As far as we can tell you didn’t do that. Maybe you got so busy with the campaign that you just forgot. But that’s not OK.

“Second, under that same United States Copyright Act, you’re not allowed to take someone’s song and change the lyrics. This is not to say you’re not allowed to write silly lyrics, you just have to write them to your own music. Now, I know why you used Joe’s music – it’s undoubtedly because it’s a lot better than any music you or your staff could have written. But that’s the point. Since Joe writes better songs than you do, the Copryright Act rewards him by letting him decide who gets to use the songs he writes.”

The response from the campaign manager for Joe Walsh (politician) slightly misses the point: “Obviously, it’s not using the original Joe Walsh lyrics or anything”.

This could turn into the sort of battle that ends up as a concept album, featuring both Joe Walshes!