Fleetwood Mac is planning to be active again

March 25, 2008, 2:25 PM ET

billboard.com
Gary Graff, Detroit

Fleetwood Mac -- with or without Sheryl Crow in tow -- is planning to be active again.

Singer/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham -- who's just released a new concert DVD, "Live at the Bass Performance Hall," from his 2006-07 solo tour -- tells Billboard.com that the group is "looking at the idea of touring sometime in the first half of 2009," possibly with some new material to play.

In recent weeks Crow, who's friendly with Mac's Stevie Nicks, has talked about joining the band, which Buckingham acknowledges is a possibility, though he adds, "I don't think anything is written in stone yet."

"I think we were all a little surprised (Crow) was announcing that to the world with such certainty," Buckingham says with a laugh. "We have talked about the possibility of bringing another woman into the scene to kind of give Stevie a sort of foil and shake it up a little bit. (Crow) was certainly a name that has come up. We'll have to see."

Nicks has been the group's sole female member since Christine McVie retired from the band in the late '90s. Buckingham says that he has "a ton of new stuff" that could be used for a new Fleetwood Mac album, though he adds that he might want to step back from the production role he's had in the band.


"I don't think I want to produce again 'cause it takes so much," he explains. "Whatever happens we'll all sit in a room and make something work as a group. a little more like we used to, sort of try to open it up and get everyone sharing the activity a little more."

Buckingham, meanwhile, is also planning another solo album -- the follow-up to 2006's "Under the Skin" -- for this summer. Recorded with members of his touring band as well as Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, it "has a little more of a rock feel to it" than "Under the Skin," according to Buckingham. "It's just another group of tunes that hopefully will translate to stage, and hopefully we can get some more (solo) dates this summer."

Formerly signed to Reprise, Buckingham says he's a "free agent" now, without a label deal as a solo artist. "We're gonna figure out who wants to put it out," he says of the as-yet untitled album. "I'm keeping an open mind. People need to hear the music and we'll see what they think and what the best situation for it will be."