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Old 09-24-2016, 02:01 AM
michelej1 michelej1 is offline
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Mick Fleetwood back to Mac’s roots with blues band

http://www.sfchronicle.com/music/pop...es-9237757.php

By Aidin VaziriSeptember 21, 2016 Updated: September 23, 2016 3:34pm
San Francisco Chronicle

Mick Fleetwood can’t help it. Even though Fleetwood Mac is on another hiatus and he’s got a nice little spread in Maui — house, restaurant, art gallery — he’s back on the road, giving fans a rare opportunity to see him play intimate venues with the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band. The outfit, which features guitarist Rick Vito, revives the raw sound of the group’s formative years working the London pub circuit, long before the years of drug addiction, wife swapping and personal upheaval. Fleetwood spoke to us from his home in Hawaii shortly before the tour kicked off on Sept. 16 in Colorado.

Q: You live in paradise. Why would you ever leave to play anywhere else?

A: You’re right. It’s not for everybody, but I’ve spent my whole life traveling, and I’m always quite happy doing it. I don’t often stay in one place very long. This is my home, and it’s my only home. I’m sure there will be those times when I go, “I’m not leaving.” That will probably have something to do with a form of age acknowledgment.

Q: In the meantime, you’re 69 going on 16.

A: You look at Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, even Elton John — they never stop working. Why? I think we’re quietly addicted to what we do. It’s really straight ahead. I’m not promoting an album. When you go out and woodshed — this is what we used to do when we didn’t have 200 roadies and carpenters and makeup artists — you just get off the bus and you play and hope a few people turn up. That’s the world we came from. The only reason Fleetwood Mac stops is because we’re all dysfunctional, and the five of us are trying to find things to do together.

Q: Is it a relief leaving things like “Go Your Own Way” and “Don’t Stop” off the set list and going back to your roots?

A: It’s a lot of fun playing original, old Fleetwood Mac material — “Oh Well,” “Rattlesnake Shake” and a few other songs. That’s what we do. I was a party animal for far too long. During some of those periods when we would have years off, I look back on it now and think, “What did you do?” I forgot I was a musician, which is a terrible thing to admit. It suddenly dawned on me: This is what we did to put bread on the table. We weren’t planning to be famous rock stars. If I never made it, I would still be turning up in San Francisco at the back of the bus. It’s the only thing we know how to do.
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