Since the 1980s, Hotel California has become known as the preeminent Eagles tribute band, but when they take the stage Friday at Weldon Mills Theatre don’t expect a copy and paste show.

“There’s a handful of tribute  bands on the planet that are considered exceptional that actually sell tickets and record,” George Dickinson said Monday.  “There are a bunch of tribute bands everywhere. Every region has got their own.”

Some tribute bands like to sound just like the bands they are honoring, said Dickinson. “We don’t want to do that. We want to sound great but we want people to remember Hotel California for being Hotel California. We’re playing an iconic catalogue. We’re playing great songs but people already know that. The artistry of presenting a song that people know is to give them the things they crave from the song while putting your own creative spin on it. If you listen to Vince Gill sing I Can’t Tell You Why, he nails the song, but it has his flavor as opposed to just trying to mimic what Timothy Schmidt did.”

(Tickets can be purchased at this link)

Hotel California also doesn’t wear the preeminent label on their sleeves. “I don't really think in terms like that. We do what we do. We do the best we can. We’re pretty lucky in that we get to do this so I don't really take it for granted. I'm kind of grateful because I get to play music.”

Why the Eagles?

“You’re talking about the best-selling American band ever. Their catalog is so vast. It’s so diverse. It’s not something many artists can do. When I call it the soundtrack to our lives, it really is. You think about some of the great artists and writers out there. It’s like there’s the Stephen Foster category. There’s the Irving Berlin category and the Eagles just happen to be that rock and roll band as opposed to an individual.”

Dickinson, a lover of what he calls solid country music, compares the decades of Eagles’ catalog to that of George Jones. “George Jones had a hit in every decade from the 50s all the way up until he died.”

Summing up why the Eagles, Dickinson calls it “the soundtrack to our misfit youth. We all had a great time, we listened to the songs and enjoyed them. We went to the concerts and enjoyed them and you know, that’s why the Eagles.”

As far as a defining song, that’s difficult, he said. “I really don’t know that I can answer that question. As a working musician, someone who’s done this my whole life, it’s different. If I get up in the morning and feel this way, it could be Wasted Time or Desperado.”

Hotel California became the obvious name for the band. “Probably of all the songs they wrote, everything in their catalogue, that particular song is probably the most iconic for them.”

Hotel California is a five-person band made up of Dickinson, who is in his late 60s, as well as three who are in their early 20s, virtuoso-level musicians who have been playing since they were children.

Dickinson didn’t start that early. “My musical life came alive with Hank Williams and The Beatles, the Grand Ole Opry and the Louisiana Hayride. That’s what triggered it all for me.”

He describes all the Eagles as craftsmen. “At some point they understood the craft or writing songs — whether it was for expression, or for pop, or for another hit on the radio.”

Hotel California had been scheduled to play at the theater last year but things didn’t work out. “This time around the routing worked and we were able to put the pieces together. I would encourage your folks to buy tickets and come on out and they'll have a great time. There are folks who haven't been to the Weldon Mills Theatre and for them it will be a new experience. It’s a nice place. They’ll enjoy themselves. It’s as nice as anything or anywhere that I’ve ever been in.”

Dickinson said he likes theaters in local communities because they do community-minded things.

The show will include the hits, some B-sides, and some of the solo works. “We try to touch a little bit on everybody’s solo careers.”

And then there will be some surprise medleys, anything from The Beatles to Journey to Alabama and gospel. “Mostly you'll have fun.”