7 Bridges Road brings the songs of the Eagles to the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival

“You’re going to be in trouble. They will not let you out of the theater alive. There are songs you really have to play, like ‘Hotel California’ and ‘Heartache Tonight.’

“There are so many recognizable songs you can get away with not playing, like ‘Victim of Love,’ which most people recognize. But if you try to get out of there without playing ‘Witchy Woman’ or ‘Take It To the Limit’ or ‘Life in the Fast Lane,’ people get mad.”

Eagles fans can expect a lot of their favorite hits when Manning’s band, 7 Bridges Road: The Ultimate Eagles Experience (www.7bridgesband.com) performs in concert at 8 p.m. Friday as part of the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival, on the Main Stage on the Harrison County Courthouse plaza.

As Manning noted, the Eagles music, which dominated the 1970s radio airwaves and ranged from country to rock, appeals to fans of different ages who enjoy a variety of genres.

“Their music was a soundtrack to the ’70s,” Manning said. “They started in the beginning of the ’70s and went through the ’70s.”

The Eagles emerged in 1972 with the hit “Take It Easy,” written by Frey and the band’s friend, Jackson Browne, known in part for banjo segments played by early member Bernie Leadon.

These days, 7 Bridges Road closes out their show with the hit song, but like the Eagles, the banjo part is now done with a guitar.

“We don’t do the banjo,” Manning said. “Now it’s Joe Walsh who plays it and he does it as a guitar part.”

In addition to Manning as Frey on guitar and vocals, 7 Bridges Road consists of Keith Thoma as Don Henley on drums, percussion and vocals; Bryan Graves as Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmit on bass and vocals; Blake Hall as guitarist and mandolin player Don Felder; Tony Haan Jr. as guitarist Joe Walsh; and Vernon Roop as Joe Vitale, the Eagles’ “sixth man,” as Manning calls him, who plays keyboards and percussion.

The goal of the performers is to sound like their respective Eagles member, Manning added, not necessarily to look like them.

7 Bridges Road largely based their show on the Eagles’ 1994 Hell Freezes Over tour, when the members, known for their discordant relationships, reunited for the first time after breaking up 13 years before.

“We used that one as our big model,” Manning said. “And now the Internet really helps us out, watching the old ’70s versions of songs. When they first started, they were only a four-piece and as they added members, they added parts.”

For example, after guitarists such as Joe Walsh joined the band, Frey took a step back and plays rhythm or 12-string acoustic guitar as well as emcees the show.

7 Bridges Road was formed at the beginning of 2008 from another Eagles cover band, Tequila Sunrise. That band had been started and led by a musician, Paul Sidoti, who eventually left to play for, as Manning noted, “an up-and-coming country singer.”

That singer was Taylor Swift, and Sidoti still plays in her band.

“Last night, he was hanging out with Lisa Kudrow, Justin Timberlake and Beck,” Manning added.

Sidoti wanted the band members to come up with a different name, so they decided to take a cue from the Eagles’ 1980 song, “Seven Bridges Road,” a fairly well-known tune but not one of the band’s biggest hits.

“7 Bridges is a cool name for any band,” Manning said. “If we decided to stay a band and not do the Eagles thing, we probably could just get away with 7 Bridges and not play Eagles songs.”