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Eagles bassist and vocalist Timothy B. Schmit, who will join the band at the bicoastal rock festivals Classic West and Classic East this summer, has opened up about the band’s decision to continue performing after the death of Glenn Frey in early 2016 during a new interview with Best Classic Bands.

Along with speaking on his new solo album and some songwriting memories with the Eagles and his former band Poco, Schmit addresses the Classic festivals this summer, which will also feature surviving Eagles members Don Henley and Joe Walsh.

“It’s all timing with decisions of that type,” Schmit says. “At first we said this is completely over, that we can’t do this without Glenn. But then we decided if we approach it with the understanding that Glenn is irreplaceable—that nobody is going to take his place, and that we’ll use guests to supplement it all—then that’s the way to do it. The other factor is that people still want to hear that music. So we’re going to try this out.”

Less than two months after Frey’s passing, Henley speculated that the Eagles would not be performing again, saying their tribute to Frey at the 2016 “was probably it. I think it was an appropriate farewell.”

Henly also recently confirmed that Frey’s son Deacon will be joining the band this summer for the Classic festival shows as one of several guests. Schmit speaks about Deacon’s involvement in the new interview, saying, “He has been diligent in studying what needs to be done, and we’re confident this will work out nicely. In fact, before we started playing a note, I asked him directly if he was up to the task, and he replied that he was. As far as other participants? I’m still not at liberty to talk about this. I assume all will be revealed soon enough.”

Schmit also briefly addresses the possibility of future Eagles shows, leaving the door open. “That’s yet to be determined,” he says. “No one’s ruling it out—we’ll see what happens.”

Read the full interview here.