“I play the double-neck and trade solos with Joe Walsh on Hotel California. It’s a bit terrifying, but it’s the greatest thing ever”: Chris Holt landed The Eagles without an audition – but his gigs with Mike Campbell and Don Henley might have helped

Chris Holt’s passion keeps him busy – along with being the new Eagles guitaris alongside Joe Walsh and Vince Gill, he’s Mike Campbell’s sideman in the Dirty Knobs, and he’s also working on his solo career.

“Music was the perfect storm for me,” he says of how he started. “I was the right age to be reeled in by MTV. I got hooked immediately and I suddenly started noticing guitar players everywhere.”

While he appreciated the coolness, he knew there was more to it. “Everyone around me in Dallas was playing blues. I started digging into more complex stuff, trying to learn solos. I didn’t have formal training; I just played by instinct.”

Holt noticed that many of the players around were Stevie Ray Vaughan clones and Clapton devotees. And while Chuck Berry caught his ear, he couldn’t escape ‘80s shred, though he admits: “I’ll never able to shred in the Van Halen school.”

His lack of proper technique led him down another path. “I started loving players like Page, Townshend, Harrison, Walsh, Gilmour and Campbell – not hardcore shredders, but rather great melodic and textural players who were also composers.” It’s resulted in working with Campbell since 2022 and now taking over from Steuart Smith in the Eagles.

Holt releases his fourth solo album Across the Milky Way on May 9. After that he’s back on the road with his other bands. “Fingers crossed, all this stuff will continue for a while longer,” he says. “I’m having too much fun. I don’t want the train to stop.”

Is there a tone secret you’ve carried through your various gigs?

“I just try to keep it simple. I prefer tube amps with a lot of clean headroom, so I can start with a very clean, big sound. Then I just add simple effects as needed, with various overdrives without much gain – I stack them for leads – reverb, a little delay. Nothing’s ever too processed. I get a little crispier sound these days with the compressors, and it helps me balance out. I’m not nearly as loud as I used to be!”

How did you end up in Mike Campbell’s Dirty Knobs?

“That was very serendipitous. I toured with Don Henley for years with Lance Morrison on bass; Lance and I would talk a lot about Mike. Lance played with him in the Dirty Knobs for years. It was just a side project before Tom Petty passed away.

“I used to tell Lance that I loved Mike – he’s always been one of my very favorite players – and that I wanted to jam with them someday. When the Knobs’ other guitar player [Jason Sinay] left in 2022, Lance said he was gonna recommend me. Next thing I know, I’m in the band.”

Would you say Mike was the true sound of the Heartbreakers?

“Absolutely – or at least one of the key ingredients. Mike and [pianist] Benmont Tench really define the sound. But then, of course, you have to factor in the mastermind: Tom Petty’s voice and songs.

“Mike was such a huge part of the songwriting too. He’s an endless well of riffs and hooks. The dude just oozes songs all day, every day. It’s inspiring, but also intimidating; it’s like ‘Damn, how do you do that?’ He never gets blocked.

“The main thing about Mike’s playing is just how restrained and melodic he is – he never overplays. He can do more with one note than most can do with a dozen. I always felt the same way about David Gilmour. Just pure melody, simple, effective, and always playing for the song.”

You mentioned Don Henley; how did you end up with him?

“I met Don through a producer friend of mine, Salim Nourallah, in Dallas. After a short period he invited me to work on what became his Cass County album. He kept asking me to do more work. Eventually, he asked me to join his touring band, which I did in 2015. He sang a guest vocal on my solo album Stargazer, which was an amazing thing!”

Is the connection with Don how you landed the Eagles gig?

“The guys in the Eagles knew me from Don’s band. I’d played with all of them at various points before the pandemic, except for Vince. Steuart and I played together for years in Don’s band, and I guess they thought I’d be a good fit.

“There wasn’t really an audition. When they knew Steuart was going to step down, I think they had a shortlist. Somehow, luckily, I got the call. It was the highest honor – I immediately accepted! It’s the gig of a lifetime for a rock ‘n’ roll guitar nerd like me.

“Just being onstage with Joe and Vince is the most exciting thing I can imagine. They’re very different players, and I love that. They’re both capable of great spontaneity. But we don’t veer off script much in the Eagles. Those guitar parts are so iconic and integral to the songs, so we don’t go changing them up.”

How will you fit into the mix?

“Vince is probably the best guitarist of any of us on the stage, but he isn’t doing a ton of heavy-lifting guitar-wise, ‘cause he’s singing a ton of stuff. Steuart covered a lot of the trickier lead parts, so I stepped in to do that stuff. It allows everyone to keep doing their usual parts without having to rework the show.

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs - Dare To Dream (feat. Graham Nash) [Official Music Video] - YouTube

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“Playing with Joe is an absolute delight. He’s still got it, and you can still hear so much joy and swagger in his playing. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder and do our thing, and I still have to pinch myself. He’s been one of my favorite guitarists since I was a kid.”

Do you consider yourself a free-flowing player, like Joe, or more straight-ahead, like Vince?

“I’ve always been a lot like Joe in the way I play – my vibe is very rock ‘n’ roll. Vince is more of a hot-pickin' country player, though he really can do anything. I’ve got a lot of Joe’s style in my DNA; I think that’s why I filled that role well in Don’s band. I did a lot of the Joe guitar parts back then.

“Nowadays I’m covering the parts that Felder and Leadon played on the records. It’s different – some of them can be pretty tricky to navigate. It’s still rock ‘n’ roll, but with impeccable precision and some twang too. It’s a challenge to get the parts right, especially while singing harmony.”

What’s your favorite Eagles solo?

“Oh, man, there are too many! The solo in One of These Nights is a monster. I love doing all the lead fills in Lyin’ Eyes and Tequila Sunrise. The B-bender stuff in Peaceful Easy Feeling.

“All the Mike Campbell licks in Don Henley’s The Boys of Summer, which is an amazing coming-together of two worlds that have been a huge part of my life. And how can I forget Hotel California? I play the double-neck and trade solos with Joe. It’s a bit terrifying, but it’s the greatest thing ever.”

How will your rig shape up for the Eagles gig?

“I have two completely different rigs for the Knobs and the Eagles. For the Knobs, I have three amps that I toggle between: a Princeton, a Deluxe Reverb, and a custom Voltmaster combo that my friend Matt Iddings built. I get a gnarly fuckin’ sound out of that. And I have a big pedalboard with all the toys on it.

“My Eagles rig is considerably more stripped – a single Little Walter 50w combo amp, and just the necessary pedals for classic Eagles tones; overdrives, fuzz, delay and tremolo. It’s crazy in the Sphere because there are no amps onstage. My amp is in another room altogether and everything is in-ears. That took some getting used to.

“It’s definitely two completely different worlds! But in both gigs I have about a dozen electric guitars. It’s the usual suspects: Les Pauls, Teles, Strats, 335s and 345s, various Duesenbergs, the White Falcon. I love having lots of options.”

What’s next for you?

“The Eagles finished out our spring Sphere dates in April, then I have Across the Milky Way coming out. It’s my fourth solo album overall, but my first in quite a few years, so I’m excited about that. The Knobs will tour the US and Canada during the summer, and I’ll be back with the Eagles at the Sphere in September.”

• Across the Milky Way is available for pre-order now.