'It's going to be a very constructive period for the band' - Lindsey Buckingham on Fleetwood Mac

Lindsey Buckingham interview on "The Big Interview with Dan Rather" will premiere Tuesday, April 28th at 8PM ET on AXS TV.  Additional air dates and times listed below:

Tue, Apr 28th - 8:00 PM ET - Premiere Wed, Apr 29th - 3:00 AM ET Wed, Apr 29th - 10:30 AM ET Fri, May 1st - 4:00 AM ET Fri, May 1st - 9:30 AM ET

Stevie Nicks admits she is still searching. (Young men are too dumb, older men are too, well, old!)

Living Legend Stevie Nicks
by Liz Smith
Quest Magazine
(Spring, 2015)

“I live in the world of romantic possibility,” says Stevie Nicks. Nicks is one of the most successful and iconic (overused word, but it’s appropriate here) singer-songwriters of the past fortysomething years. She was born in Phoenix, Arizona—but her millions of besotted fans know that cannot be true! Not only does Stevie live in a “world of romantic possibility,” she lives in a world of unicorns and benevolent magic; of flowing scarves and eternally windswept hair. She is a one-woman magical mystery tour.

Few artists have maintained the consistency of Stevie Nicks, in her presentation and in the quality of her distinctive voice (a compelling, keening sound: not quite beautiful, but seductive and soul-catching).

Stevie has been consistently linked—since her high-school days!—to Lindsey Buckingham. Both would be linked, this very moment, to the band Fleetwood Mac. Nicks and Buckingham joined the group in 1975, after several years of writing and performing on their own. The inclusion of the couple—romantically involved at that time—galvanized the group. Nicks’ songs “Landslide” and “Rhiannon” became instant classics, and drove the album to the top of the charts.  Her dreamy onstage look (created by designer Margi Kent) was at odds with her powerful, impassioned delivery. (The platform boots she favored gave her not only height—she’s tiny—but a certain grounded, solid quality. She still wears those boots!)

Yet success, as always, was a cruel mistress. Tension wracked the Nicks-Buckingham relationship and they parted, personally, during the recording of the follow-up album Rumors. This record, another hit, addressed some of the inside gossip about the end of their affair. But this was nothing compared to what came later, during the tour for that album. Nicks and Mick Fleetwood (who was married with children) began an affair. Nicks was horrified it had happened and anger from friends was a daily burden. The relationship would end, but, in a sick twist—it’s only rock ‘n’ roll!—Mick would eventually leave his wife for Stevie’s best friend!

Stevie, almost comically prolific—how much could a woman write and know and express?!—now began branching out. She appeared occasionally with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and in 1981 released her first solo album, Bella Donna. It was a smash. Her second solo effort The Wild Heart, came in 1983.  Another smash, more hit singles. Then came Rock a Little in 1986, which continued her streak of solo successes. Her lyrics were—and are—deeply personal but universal. “I write songs that people can’t write for themselves,” she has said.

Still working with Fleetwood Mac, Nicks faced a variety of issues, personal (i.e. cocaine, chronic fatigue syndrome) and professional. But the band played on, seemingly unstoppable despite the fact that Buckingham had left.

In 1995, Nicks and Buckingham reunited for the duet “Twisted” which is heard on the soundtrack to the popular tornado movie, Twister.

Stevie continued to split her creativity between Fleetwood and her own solo career, which she managed with apparent ease. When Fleetwood began a new album in 2001, Nicks was, for the first time, the sole woman in the band—Christine McVie had left, Buckingham had returned. The subsequent tour was successful but fraught.

Married only once, briefly to musician Kim Anderson in 1983, Stevie Nicks seemed to float above the gritty, grimy world of bruised egos, shattered dreams, and an industry that worships the new obsessively. Even when she’d speak of her once-upon-a-time drug habit, or about love or sex or growing older, there seemed to be a distance—great candor through gauze, so to speak.

I once sat in a room with Stevie, in the office of her press representative, Liz Rosenberg. I wasn’t there to interview Stevie, so I didn’t feel right about repeating, afterward, the conversation that poured out. There’s an old expression, “Ask a question, get a pageant.” Stevie definitely is a pageant. It’s almost stream-of-consciousness. She often asked and answered her own questions. She was quirky, fascinating, intelligent, and yet…the gauze was up.

As I write this, Stevie is back on the road with Fleetwood Mac. McVie has returned and—so far!—nobody’s backed out of the tour. One sophisticated woman I know fairly well took me by surprise when she told me she was a huge Stevie Nicks fan, and was rapturous after seeing her in concert. “A goddess, this woman is a goddess!” (The goddess also appeared on the popular and fabulously bizarre T.V. series American Horror Story: Coven. She played herself. Well, the fan fantasy version of herself, singing to a coven of witches. She was mesmerizing.)

A few years back, contemplating her enviably long career, Nicks said, “I never wanted to be just some ‘girl singer.’”

Stevie has talked now and then about writing her memoirs. On the one hand, she says she wants to wait until everybody who could be hurt “is too old, no longer cares,” about what she might reveal. On the other hand, she demurs on the basis of sex—she won’t write about her sex life, she insists! Well, why not keep up that mysterious quality? (Madonna she ain’t!)

Personally, Stevie Nicks admits she is still searching. (Young men are too dumb, older men are too, well, old!) But professionally, Stevie got her wish. She never was, never will be, just some “girl singer.”

READ THE DIGITAL VERSION OF THE MAGAZINE ON-LINE:

STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Out Now! Order from Stevienicksofficial.com

Lindsey Buckingham to speak at USC on his life in music and Fleetwood Mac - April 29th

Lindsey will speaking with at USC on Wednesday, April 29th.

Register to attend at usc.edu/esvp; code rockandroll. 

Pre-Order LIMITED EDITION "Crystal Visions…The Very Best of Stevie Nicks " Double Vinyl

LIMITED EDITION CRYSTAL VISIONS VINYL BUNDLE

Previously out of print, Crystal Visions…The Very Best of Stevie Nicks is available in a one time limited pressing in transparent “crystal clear” double vinyl. Vinyl includes live versions of "Landslide" and "Edge of Seventeen." Half-speed mastered by Stan Ricker.

 

Vinyl Messenger bag is 14” x14” x 3” with a 54” adjustable strap. 11” x 17” Limited edition portrait poster printed on heavy stock paper.

 

Pre-order item – release date: May 19th, 2015

Bundle Includes:

• Stevie Nicks 11x17 Litho
• Stevie Nicks Vinyl Messenger Bag
• Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks

STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Out Now! Order from Stevienicksofficial.com

PHOTOS Fleetwood Mac Live in Los Angeles 4/14 + North Little Rock 4/19

Fleetwood Mac Live in Los Angeles, CA - April 14, 2015
141 Photos by Alex Kluft Photography
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Fleetwood Mac Live in North Little Rock, AR - April 19, 2015
46 Photos by Brian Chilson
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Review: Fleetwood Mac North Little Rock, AR - April 19, 2015

Fleetwood Mac fans flames of past in NLR
By JACK W. HILL
Arkansas Online

Sunday night proved better late than never for Fleetwood Mac fans, who had been waiting since March 11 to see the legendary band of men and women who have somehow managed to keep their long-running band afloat, despite what the group's guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham, described as their "well-documented ups and downs."

Before the 12,844 fans who came close to packing Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Fleetwood Mac showed over the course of a 2 1/2-hour show that its members can still rock with the best of anyone, past or present. Postponed on March 11, due to an undisclosed illness of an unidentified member, the "On With the Show Tour" -- arrived in Little Rock, finally, for the 81st and final show in the United States before a break followed by the European leg of the tour.

Though the band had played at Verizon in June 2013 and 15 of the 22 songs they performed Sunday night were also performed at that 2013 show, there was one major difference between the two shows: singer/keyboardist Christine McVie ended her 18 years of retirement and rejoined the band, giving them the lineup that had been responsible for hit after hit.

McVie soared on "You Make Loving Fun," "Say You Love Me," "Little Lies" and especially, "Over My Head" and even played accordion on "Tusk." Stevie Nicks, seeming to be in better condition or spirits than two years ago, served up fine versions of "Rhiannon," "Sisters of the Moon," "Landslide," "Gold Dust Woman," "Gypsy," "Go Your Own Way" and "Never Going Back Again."

McVie, Buckingham and Nicks, who were all wearing black outfits, provided vocals, and drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, though more colorfully attired, provided a firm foundation for the singers.

Buckingham's guitar skills were again on display as he prowled the stage like a feral cat. Indeed, Buckingham, who has a fine voice, could have almost been the show all by himself. Whether he was playing acoustic or electric guitar, Buckingham delivered perhaps the finest display of guitar prowess ever on display in Verizon Arena, and threw in some body language that could have originated in the worlds of athletics or dance.

Fleetwood showed off his drumming skills throughout the show, especially on "World Turning," the first of three encore songs that also included "Don't Stop" and "Silver Springs." The concert was further enhanced by some of the best light show and camera work ever seen in a rock concert this side of Pink Floyd.

Savoring the moment, after the last note, Fleetwood promised that "The Mac is back," perhaps hinting that more new music would someday emerge from the talented songwriting triumvirate of Buckingham, Nicks and Christine McVie.