60 SECOND DRILL with Lindsey Buckingham (Interview)

With Nui Te Koha and Lindsey Buckingham 
Sunday Herald Sun - Australia (June 16, 2013)

Lindsey Buckingham is a singer-songwriter and guitarist in Fleetwood Mac.  Buckingham, 63 joined the classic rock supergroup in 1974 with his then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks.  Their split, and the separation of married couple John and Christine McVie, defined the band's iconic 1976 album Rumours.  Christine quit Fleetwood Mac in 1998.  The band's hits include Go Your Own Way, Dreams, Tusk, Sara and Rhiannon.  Their 2013 tour has sold out across the US and won rave reviews.  Fleetwood Mac will perform in Australia in November.

1. HOW DO YOU REGROUP A BAND LIKE FLEETWOOD MAC AFTER 10 YEARS APART?

A year or so ago, John and Mick and I got together and we cut a bunch of tracks.  Stevie was still coming down from doing her solo album and was not really around.  We are thinking about an album down the line.  Stevie would obviously need to come to the table with some material.

2. WERE YOU DISAPPOINTED THIS MEETING DID NOT YIELD AN ALBUM?

It would be unrealistic to be disappointed at this point.  That would mean at some point in the last six months Stevie would have come in, magically, with four or five new songs, and be willing to engage in the process of recording them, and work on them for a while.  That just didn't seem realistic.  We did this as an early foray into the three of us getting back and playing together without any agenda.

3. IS FLEETWOOD MAC A DIFFICULT BAND TO CONTRIBUTE TO? IS IT A PICKY AND CRITICAL COMMITTEE?

No, because you just write what you write.  It is possible in the editing process for Fleetwood Mac, certain things will be gravitated to, if you compare it to what I would do for a solo album, which is more inherently to the left and represents a more esoteric side of what I do.  In Fleetwood Mac, you run the gamut.  You also have to consider the other writer.  some of the songs on the far edge of the left side of my palette don't always work with Stevie's writing.

4. YOU'VE SAID THAT THE PERSONALITIES IN FLEETWOOD MAC DON'T BELONG TOGETHER.

I mean that in the best way possible.  I'm not saying we don't belong together, I'm saying we are an unlikely group of people to have come together.  Our tastes are quite disparate and yet it is that cast of characters, that very push=pull dynamic, that... creates the synergy.

5. YOU'VE ALSO SAID YOU WISH FLEETWOOD MAC WAS MORE LIKE THE EAGLES.  IN WHAT WAY?

Over time, I've come to admire the fact that they - even though, their reputation is such that they don't get along, or hang out together - they're able to cut through that, do the business they're able to do, and get done what they want to do as a group, and see their way clear to what the common objective is.  That seems to be something difficult for Fleetwood Mac because we've got people going in all sorts of directions all the time.  Fleetwood Mac is something you might liken to a political minefield.  It needs to be navigated.

6. FANS ARE STILL INTRIGUED BY THE STEVIE AND LINDSEY LOVE AFFAIR OF THE 1970'S - AND YOU PAY TRIBUTE TO THAT IN THE NEW LIVE SHOW.  WHAT PERSPECTIVE DO YOU HAVE ON THAT NOW?

When Stevie and I were a couple, we were very close.  But by the time we got to Rumours, Stevie had both feet out the door.  She was the one who took off.  It was difficult to be the guy who had to go back to the studio, produce the band, produce her songs and make the choice to do the right thing for her professionally, even though it was painful to be around her personally.  But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  It's sweet that Stevie and I are somehow acknowledging that (past romance) from a distance.  I think people are quite intrigued by that.

7. DID IT AFFECT YOUR LATER LOVES?

There was an interim period where I had long-term relationships with women, which were somewhat dysfunctional.  I finally met someone when I was in my mid 40's and had my first child when I was 48.  I waited long enough to get that emotional garbage out of the way.  I have a beautiful wife and three beautiful children, 14, 12 and 9.

8. YOU'RE A VERY PRIMAL PERFORMER.  HOW DOES THAT FEEL ON STAGE?

I don't get nervous.  I feel the same level of physical energy as I did 30 years ago and that has come from the choices, where I've shunned what was expected of me in favour of what I thought was important as an artist.

9. HOW DO YOU STAY REAL ON THE ROAD?

I try to get out and walk for several hours every day, wherever we are.  There is a transformative aspect to getting out of the room and feeling like you've been somewhere.  You've got to keep your balance.

10. HOW HAS MARRIED LIFE AND PARENTHOOD CHANGED YOU?

It has deepened the whole idea of being an artist.  I think there was a point in time where we all had this notion that children and family like meant death to the artist.  That turned out to be complete dreck as an idea.  You need clarity to be a parent, you need clarity to be a spouse, you need authenticity, too - which are the same things you need to be an artist.  That informs not only your sense of reality, but what's important in the bigger picture.  That can be quite productive.