Josh Imhof | staff writer

A local guitar instructor, a media professor, an IT director, a kitchen installation expert, a utilities auditor and disc jockey walk into a garage. They shut the door, and that’s when the magic happens.

With four clicks of his drumsticks, the IT director cues the rest of the motley crew in as they break into the opening chords of the Eagles 1979 song “The Long Run.” The ragtag group of professional musicians make up one of the nation’s premiere tribute bands, Desperado.

Don Maue, Monte Erwin, Kevin Goss, Dave Douglas, George Dorrow and Bill McWreath work their respective jobs during the day, but moonlight as Don Henley, Glen Frey, Randy Meisner and the rest of the Eagles band.

Their setlist features a slew of Eagles hits, from slower, more mournful songs like “Tequila Sunrise” and “Lyin’ Eyes,” to windows-down ballads like “Take it Easy” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”

Due to their small size, the tribute delegates multiple responsibilities to each member, with Erwin, Maue and Douglas taking turns on lead vocal and Goss, McWreath and Dorrow filling out the harmonies. Dorrow also serves as the band’s saxophone, clarinet and harmonica player.

Each musician also has a busy life outside of Desperado, which makes organizing rehearsals challenging.

“Trying to get six guys in one room is like wrangling kittens. It’s not good,” said Douglas, who plays bass and sings lead on their opener.

But before they jump into the music, the group gets into character.

To achieve complex vocal blending, the real-life 70’s rock stars would do something called the “Circle of Fear.” The gang sat in a circle with their acoustic guitars and practiced their harmonies, where no one could hide if they didn’t know their parts.

Desperado does their own version of this, dotingly called the “Circle of Doom,” something that took lots of practice to perfect.

“At the beginning when we first started doing it, it was a disaster,” Goss said.

Over time, the Pittsburgers became more familiar with their pitches, leading to a sound very close to their California counterparts.

The idea for the group was originally Goss’s, who played in a cover band with Erwin at the time and was looking for something new to do.

“I [was] tired of playing these same songs for different people,” he said.

The two spent two years looking for new members, until they found Maue, Douglas and two others, who have since left the ensemble. Thirteen years later, the core four have remained the same, creating tight performances.

“That’s a really rare thing for people in bands, but the moment we start singing, we know to separate from each other. We know to pick the note that someone else isn’t singing, and we harmonize,” Maue said.

Their orchestrations are highlighted by soaring falsettos and well blended five-part choruses.

They don’t just perform as the Eagles — some have performed with their songwriters, too.

Years ago, Maue attended a J.D. Souther concert in Ohio. Souther penned hits such as “New Kid in Town” and “Heartache Tonight.” As a fan since Souther’s 1976 album, “Black Rose,” Maue took the opportunity to help the artist out.

“I just started singing Randy Meisner’s harmony from the front row,” he recalled. “He’s looking at me, he’s singing, I’m singing and we just hooked up. We just played and sang.”

After that, Maue and Souther occasionally talked, giving Desperado a direct line to a crucial figure in Eagles history.

Last summer, Maue traveled to California to see the Troubadour, the iconic music venue and nightclub where Souther and Frey wrote multiple Eagles hits. During his visit, he sat exactly where they did when they wrote “Lyin’ Eyes.”

“[Suther is] who I followed. He was like my connection to the band,” Maue said.

Now, during their performances, Desperado shares Eagles history with concertgoers. From their band name, which is a nod to an Eagles’ album, to the documentary-style videos throughout their set, the tribute group gives audiences a glimpse into the musical era that they are recreating.

“I weave that through the show so people get an education, whether they want it or not, about the Eagles, and they freaking love it. They all love it,” Maue said.

Desperado plays the pivotal “Silver Dagger” intro, a deep cut, three-part a capella folk song that the Eagles occasionally played before “Take it Easy,” getting the band signed by producer Glen Johns.

The group even chooses their equipment methodically, with members opting to use tube guitar amps and other gear native to that era to get an authentic sound and not “an ’80s band playing Eagles’ songs,” Maue said.

This meticulousness separates them from generic cover bands and puts Desperado up there with the best tribute bands in the country, he said.

This status has sent them on multiple tours and allowed them to play at large venues like PNC Park, where they have performed three times. The group has even drawn interest from European venues in countries like England, where Maue hopes they are able to perform someday.

This is no easy task though, as the Eagles are notorious for not allowing artists to post their music, even in the form of a cover.

“They like their music, but they don’t like when other people do,” Douglas said jokingly.

This means that members cannot post videos or other recordings from their shows, relying primarily on word of mouth. Until then, Desperado’s next performance will be on Saturday, Aug. 9 at the annual Slickville Community Days festival.

“We do more than just play the songs,” Maue said. “We provide a full entertainment experience, and that’s what I’m committed to.”