How a classic casino figures into the Eagles’ Vegas history

It wasn’t quite the Hotel California. But a member of the Eagles once jammed at the hotel Riviera.

It was the mid-’90s, when the Lon Bronson Band were lords of the manor and Steve Schirripa (yes, the “Sopranos” and “Blue Bloods” actor) was burning through the hotel’s $2 million-per-year lounge budget as entertainment director.

Bronson’s band performed well past midnight every Monday at the since-demolished hotel’s Le Bistro Lounge. On at least a couple of occasions, Joe Walsh showed up unexpectedly, alongside Drew Carey.

The two were friends. Walsh usually played Carey’s season wrap party for his network TV show in L.A. The guitar great occasionally joined Carey’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway” live shows at the MGM Grand.

And Carey was friends with Bronson, whose band opened for Walsh at his L.A. parties.

On these nights at the Riv, Walsh took the stage unannounced and grabbed Jimmy McIntosh’s guitar. McIntosh in turn took a backup guitar, and the two jammed for the thrilled late-night crowd.

“He and I had these little guitar exchanges, back and forth, and it was a lot of fun,” McIntosh says. “He was really nice, funny. He’s an amazing musician, and the Eagles are just an incredible band.”

This remains true. The Eagles are opening their residency at the Sphere on Friday and Saturday. The series continues on select weekends through Jan. 25, over 20 dates.

Walsh’s arrival

A highly regarded, veteran Vegas musician, McIntosh is also a longtime music educator, a history of rock instructor at UNLV since 1989. He co-authored the 2010 tome “Rock ’n’ Roll Origins and Innovators” with fellow UNLV College of Fine Arts Vice Dean Tim Jones, a former professor of music.

This book is such a rocker that Ronnie Wood’s artwork is the cover. The updated version is still the text for McIntosh’s course.

He teaches from experience when analyzing rock music. McIntosh is an Eagles expert.

“You start with wonderful songwriting, then add great vocals and some talented musicianship,” he says. “But you have to have the songs, to begin with. If you don’t have the songs, you don’t have anything.”

McIntosh recalls the Eagles’ distinct marriage of differing styles in their early 1970s development.

“They had their own kind of California sound, and worked with a guy who was kind of a footnote, but really important, Gram Parsons,” McIntosh says. “He joined the Byrds at one point. He introduced country music to the rock scene in those days. Grateful Dead had those influences, the Byrds, and the Eagles were influenced by him.” (Parsons was also co-founder of the Flying Burrito Brothers, who performed at the ill-fated Altamont Free Concert in 1969. He died of a drug-alcohol overdose in September 1973.)

The arrival of Walsh in 1975 gave the Eagles a more traditional rock sound. Their first album with Walsh in the lineup, “Hotel California,” is among the most acclaimed and successful in rock history. The album has sold 32 million units.

“At that point, they had been more of a vocal band, and they weren’t as strong in the rock sense,” McIntosh says. “When they added him, that gave them much more of a rock element.”

‘Hugely important’

Walsh, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Vince Gill and Deacon Frey — the son of the late Glenn Frey — form the Eagles’ lineup for the Sphere.

“They’ve added so much. They have Vince Gill on guitar, and he’s a wonderful musician,” McIntosh says. “I mean, that guy’s better than most people realize. He’s kind of a virtuoso guitar player.”

Having shared the lounge stage with one Eagle, McIntosh is not surprised to see the band taking over the $2.3 billion wonder.

“They are just hugely important. You could argue that the Eagles and Beach Boys, historically, are the most important American bands,” he says. “Their songwriting, their harmonies have influenced so many other bands. With the Eagles, you just feel the performance is going to be perfect.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.