Stevie Nicks article in NY TImes
 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/ar...?emc=eta1&_r=0

Stevie Nicks on Her Fleetwood Mac ‘Team,’ Solo Joys and the 2016 Election
By PHOEBE REILLYSEPT. 6, 2016

Stevie Nicks says that one of her favorite things to do is light a candle, sit at the desk in her Los Angeles home and write poetry. Ms. Nicks, the rock ’n’ roll mystic who constitutes one-fifth of Fleetwood Mac’s classic lineup and wrote several of its most beloved hits (including “Dreams” and “Rhiannon”), is so prolific that six years after joining that multiplatinum California band in 1975, she embarked on a solo career with “Bella Donna,” which featured the memorable centerpiece “Edge of Seventeen.”

“In the beginning, I actually sat down and said, listen, I am doing this because I have way too many songs,” Ms. Nicks said. “I get frustrated because one of you walks by me every time I sit at the piano and says: ‘Oh my God, there she goes writing another song. We only need three or four from you.’ So what am I supposed to do?”

Eight solo albums later, Ms. Nicks, 68, is preparing to go on the road in support of her most recent releases, “In Your Dreams,” from 2011, and the 2014 album “24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault,” a collection of tracks written mainly between 1969 and 1987. A 28-city tour with the Pretenders as special guests begins on Oct. 25 in Phoenix. “I just woke up one morning and said I have two years off before Fleetwood Mac comes knocking on my door [for another tour],” she said. “Why would I want to sit around and do nothing?”

Fleetwood Mac has endured despite drug addictions and multiple intra-band relationships (and breakups) during the late ’70s, and recently completed a 14-month, 122-date tour. (“I don’t twirl nearly as much as I used to,” said Ms. Nicks, whose past relationship with the guitarist Lindsey Buckingham provided a dose of drama.) When reached by phone, she was struggling to whittle down her set list. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

What’s the difference between touring behind your solo work and touring with Fleetwood Mac?

Fleetwood Mac is a team, and when you’re on a team everybody has the same vote — except in this particular team Lindsey has a little bit of a stronger vote than anybody else. I love being part of a team. We argue all the time, but we always have. In my band, there is no arguing. I am the boss. My solo career is probably the reason Fleetwood Mac is still together in 2016, because I was always happy to leave Fleetwood Mac, and I was always happy to come back, too.

You have said you thought Lindsey would like “24 Karat Gold” because so many of the songs are about him. What was his reaction?

Well, I don’t know. I don’t even know if he ever listened to the record and, honestly, I don’t care. I gave up caring about how everybody else in Fleetwood Mac feels about my solo work a long time ago. It’s not their thing. If my feelings were ever hurt, it was after “Bella Donna,” when I didn’t feel that anybody even listened to it. That was in 1981.

The ’80s have once again become a point of fascination in television shows like “Stranger Things.” Are you ever nostalgic?

I wouldn’t want to ever go back there. Yes, it was a lot of fun between 1975 and 1990 — until it wasn’t. I walk onstage every night now and do a three-hour show with Fleetwood Mac, and I have a great time up there. I wish I had known that I actually had the energy to do this entire set totally sober and get just as excited. On one hand, that makes me feel great and on the other it makes me sad that I ever did my first line of coke.

Your songs never lost the rawness associated with youthful emotion. Do you find that inspiration comes from your everyday life now, or is your imagination triggered by re-examining the past?

I would say both. Great stories inspire me. Some people have the ability to be extremely convincing, and other people can sing for 30 years and not convince you that they have lived a story. At 16 I could sing a love song well. My dad would go, “That’s a good song, honey.” And my mom would go, “That’s just beautiful, Stevie.” And they would be thinking, “We know for a fact that she’s only been on one date and she was back in two hours.”

“Don’t Stop” was the theme song of Bill Clinton’s campaign. What are your hopes for this election?

Of course I’m for Hillary Clinton. It’s hard to think of anything as amazing as that song was for Bill. He picked it out when he was driving around in a cab somewhere years before. When she wins by a landslide, I could gather together the Dixie Chicks, Billy Corgan and everybody who’s ever sung a version of “Landslide.” It’s not up-tempo, but it certainly would get the message across.

Are you a fan of Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga or any other major contemporary female artist?

I have so many favorites. I love Katy Perry. [And] I’m so happy for Adele right now. She’ll do what I did — she’ll figure out a way to stay in the business. The big difference between her and me is that she has a child, and that will change things for her, but I think Adele knows what she wants and I don’t think she’s in a hurry. And that’s great. If she needs to go away for three years, she doesn’t feel like somebody’s going to take her place. When you believe in yourself that much, you can take as long as you want.

Eight solo albums later, Ms. Nicks, 68, is preparing to go on the road in support of her most recent releases, “In Your Dreams,” from 2011, and the 2014 album “24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault,” a collection of tracks written mainly between 1969 and 1987. A 28-city tour with the Pretenders as special guests begins on Oct. 25 in Phoenix. “I just woke up one morning and said I have two years off before Fleetwood Mac comes knocking on my door [for another tour],” she said. “Why would I want to sit around and do nothing?”

Fleetwood Mac has endured despite drug addictions and multiple intra-band relationships (and breakups) during the late ’70s, and recently completed a 14-month, 122-date tour. (“I don’t twirl nearly as much as I used to,” said Ms. Nicks, whose past relationship with the guitarist Lindsey Buckingham provided a dose of drama.) When reached by phone, she was struggling to whittle down her set list. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

What’s the difference between touring behind your solo work and touring with Fleetwood Mac?

Fleetwood Mac is a team, and when you’re on a team everybody has the same vote — except in this particular team Lindsey has a little bit of a stronger vote than anybody else. I love being part of a team. We argue all the time, but we always have. In my band, there is no arguing. I am the boss. My solo career is probably the reason Fleetwood Mac is still together in 2016, because I was always happy to leave Fleetwood Mac, and I was always happy to come back, too.

You have said you thought Lindsey would like “24 Karat Gold” because so many of the songs are about him. What was his reaction?

Well, I don’t know. I don’t even know if he ever listened to the record and, honestly, I don’t care. I gave up caring about how everybody else in Fleetwood Mac feels about my solo work a long time ago. It’s not their thing. If my feelings were ever hurt, it was after “Bella Donna,” when I didn’t feel that anybody even listened to it. That was in 1981.

The ’80s have once again become a point of fascination in television shows like “Stranger Things.” Are you ever nostalgic?

I wouldn’t want to ever go back there. Yes, it was a lot of fun between 1975 and 1990 — until it wasn’t. I walk onstage every night now and do a three-hour show with Fleetwood Mac, and I have a great time up there. I wish I had known that I actually had the energy to do this entire set totally sober and get just as excited. On one hand, that makes me feel great and on the other it makes me sad that I ever did my first line of coke.

Your songs never lost the rawness associated with youthful emotion. Do you find that inspiration comes from your everyday life now, or is your imagination triggered by re-examining the past?

I would say both. Great stories inspire me. Some people have the ability to be extremely convincing, and other people can sing for 30 years and not convince you that they have lived a story. At 16 I could sing a love song well. My dad would go, “That’s a good song, honey.” And my mom would go, “That’s just beautiful, Stevie.” And they would be thinking, “We know for a fact that she’s only been on one date and she was back in two hours.”

“Don’t Stop” was the theme song of Bill Clinton’s campaign. What are your hopes for this election?

Of course I’m for Hillary Clinton. It’s hard to think of anything as amazing as that song was for Bill. He picked it out when he was driving around in a cab somewhere years before. When she wins by a landslide, I could gather together the Dixie Chicks, Billy Corgan and everybody who’s ever sung a version of “Landslide.” It’s not up-tempo, but it certainly would get the message across.

Are you a fan of Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga or any other major contemporary female artist?

I have so many favorites. I love Katy Perry. [And] I’m so happy for Adele right now. She’ll do what I did — she’ll figure out a way to stay in the business. The big difference between her and me is that she has a child, and that will change things for her, but I think Adele knows what she wants and I don’t think she’s in a hurry. And that’s great. If she needs to go away for three years, she doesn’t feel like somebody’s going to take her place. When you believe in yourself that much, you can take as long as you want.

.............................................

A few things I want to say about this interview:

1. It's yet another puff piece that glorifies Stevie Nicks's stardom and iconic status without full acknowledgment of her "Fleetwood Mac team."

2. No mention whatsoever of new music, within or beyond the context of Fleetwood Mac.

3. When the interviewer mentions "Don't Stop" as Bill Clinton's election theme song, she redirects the attention to "Landslide" and says she and all those who covered it could sing it for Hillary, should she win.

4. Another article in which she has been baited by the interviewer to gripe about Lindsey not listening to her solo work.

5. Another article in which she says FM is around today because of her.

........

I'm so angry lately that the new FM album has been officially shelved that reading this puff piece just sent me into temporary rage.


...........

Edit: I just noticed someone quoted parts of this interview already in another thread today. Should I delete this thread and send it all over to there?

No, because the article in its entirety should have its own thread, even if people are discussing it in another one. Thanks for posting.

Michele

I too am none to thrilled that Stevie is hitting the road to tour behind a 2 year old album. She should be in the studio with Mac. THE GOOD NEWS: It looks like the tour will be a short 2 month trek, ending in December. This will allow Stevie to go out and sing "Mabel Normand", get that out of her system, AND be in the studio with The Mac by early 2017. I'm quite sure that's what she's planning.

other outlets picked up the stand-out excerpts from NYT article -

Stevie Nicks and Pretenders Announce New Tour

By Michael Gallucci September 6, 2016 11:41 AM

Matthew Eisman / Rick Diamond, Getty Images

Stevie Nicks will hit the road next month in support of her most recent solo album, and she’s bringing the Pretenders with her.
They’ll launch the tour on Oct. 25 in Phoenix and play more than two dozen shows through Dec. 18, when they’ll wrap up in Los Angeles. In between, the tour will hit cities like Denver, Boston, Detroit and Toronto. You can see the list of dates below.
This will be Nicks’ first round of solo concerts since Fleetwood Mac came off the road last November. The shows are tied to her latest record, 2014’s 24 Karat Gold – Songs From the Vault, a collection of newly recorded but previously unreleased solo songs that date back to 1969.
Nicks told The New York Times, “I just woke up one morning and said, I have two years off before Fleetwood Mac comes knocking on my door. Why would I want to sit around and do nothing?”
Even though the Pretenders haven’t issued an album since 2008’s Break Up the Concrete, leader Chrissie Hynde released her first solo record, Stockholm, in 2014. She published her autobiography, Reckless: My Life as a Pretender, in 2015.
For her part, Nicks seems excited to play a new batch of solo shows, her first since 2011-12 in support of 2011’s In Your Dreams.
“Fleetwood Mac is a team,” she said in The New York Times interview. “When you’re on a team everybody has the same vote — except in this particular team Lindsey [Buckingham] has a little bit of a stronger vote than anybody else. I love being part of a team. We argue all the time, but we always have. In my band, there is no arguing. I am the boss. My solo career is probably the reason Fleetwood Mac is still together in 2016, because I was always happy to leave Fleetwood Mac, and I was always happy to come back too.”
Stevie Nicks and Pretenders 2016 Tour
Oct. 25 – Phoenix – Talking Stick Resort Arena
Oct. 27 – Denver – Pepsi Center
Oct. 29 – Houston – Toyota Center
Oct. 30 – Dallas – American Airlines Center
Nov. 2 – Tampa – Arena
Nov. 4 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – BB&T Center
Nov. 6 – Atlanta – Philips Arena
Nov. 7 – Nashville – Bridgestone Arena
Nov. 10 – Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena
Nov. 12 – Columbia, SC – Colonial Life Arena
Nov. 14 – Washington DC – Verizon Center
Nov. 15 – Boston – TD Garden
Nov. 19 – Bethlehem, PA – Sands Bethlehem Event Center
Nov. 20 – Philadelphia – Wells Fargo Center
Nov. 23 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
Nov. 25 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
Nov. 27 – Detroit – The Palace of Auburn Hills
Nov. 29 – Toronto – Air Canada Centre
Dec. 1 – New York – MSG
Dec. 3 – Chicago – United Center
Dec. 5 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
Dec. 6 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
Dec. 9 – Vancouver, BC – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
Dec. 11 – Seattle – Key Arena
Dec. 13 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
Dec. 14 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
Dec. 18 – Los Angeles – The Forum


Read More: Stevie Nicks and Pretenders Announce New Tour | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/stevi...ckback=tsmclip

This article definitely annoyed me. What a big head Stevie has sometimes. (All the time?) I get that the rest of the group figures they wouldn't sell as many records with a new album without Stevie, and I do love her, but it is mind-boggling she doesn't join them first to put some songs together and add her harmonies to Christine and Lindsey's songs. And sometimes it's better to have just three or four of your songs for an album as the other six or seven (or twelve) may not be as strong. You can put your heart into making the smaller amounts even greater.

God I hope it bombs. But it probably won't because of the double bill. Bi$ch!

Her show in DC is right next to me in Baltimore, and I am tempted to go, even after this article, but I'd prefer it be The Pretenders opening for Fleetwood Mac.

I love the Pretenders.. Such a beautiful voice.

I want Rick Vito and Billy Burnette to do a Fleetwood Mac early years tribute set as the opener.

Steve Winwood tours by himself in 3000 seat venues.. sometimes opens for Petty.. played with Steely Dan...

These are the concerts I want to go to now. I'm over big arenas... His show blew away most shows I've been to. Plus, unlike Stevie .. his voice isn't nails on a chalkboard.

I agree with you

she doesn't do arena shows well and they have changed a lot since her last sols arena tour the big stages the videos the largeness of it to justify the price .

a theater show just her her fans , new songs - acoustic set in the middle Perfect

I wish they included the full interview rather than just the edited/condensed version!

IMHO all news is good news... I'd rather a fluff interview than no interview. Every once in a while we get new tidbits that make it worth it.

The NYT was a good paper years ago.Now I dont know If I can trust them anymore with some of the crap they've been printing the last few years.

Some were good questions and some were recycled . .