Timothy B. Schmit Balances the Eagles and Solo Work

Many of bassist Timothy B. Schmit's bandmates in the Eagles have launched successful solo careers while in the confines of the band. Having recently released a new solo album, 'Expando,' Schmit now understands the appeal of stretching out alone on occasion.

"I decided I'm going to do what comes out of me and I'm going to treat these songs and record them however the hell I want and be free of any outside influences," Schmit tells Spinner of how 'Expando' came to be. "The other great thing is there were no deadlines, there were no other people to have to present these to. It's very satisfying for me to do this. Now I see why the other guys were doing it."

With the Eagles now back to being a recording and touring act, it takes up a lot of time. "The Eagles are an obvious priority. When it's up and running it really is all-consuming for everybody involved," he says. "It's a big organization, it's a big almost living and breathing sort of monster, so you gotta put all your energy into that when that's going, but we do take a lot of breaks and I'll just keep doing this."

Those hiatuses were what allowed Schmit to make 'Expando' in the first place. "I have a studio in my home and that's where this was recorded," he says. " I would come home between tours, whatever Eagles activities, I would get myself rested and oriented again and go to work on this."

Though the Eagles have some dates planned, Schmit is excited to follow in the footsteps of bandmates Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey and balance his "solo groove" with his day job. "I already have the first song on my next record. Just because you complete something, you still wake up the next day. Let's say you do a big show, eventually that becomes behind you and you have to look ahead," he says. "So yeah, I definitely look forward to doing more."