Mick Fleetwood - The Interview

[TrueFaith77]

I haven't even read these yet but I'm psyched!

Mick Fleetwood - The Interview

Mick Fleetwood - The Show

ETA: From HRH2F:

Deborah Chesher, "a rock'n'roll photographer back when the music business was about the music," set up a blog to let people know about what she describes as her "new book Everybody I Shot Is Dead, a collection of my photographs of the musicians who have passed, along with my personal stories." On this blog, Deborah Chesher chronicles a recent adventure: a spur-of-the-moment interview with Mick Fleetwood and Rick Vito and an impromptu shooting of a Mick Fleetwood's Island Rumours Band IN CONCERT! Apparently, footage from these shoots will be included in some kind of DVD release.

No Mac fan can afford to miss these tales! Nobody interested in the behind-the-scenes struggles to make good rock journalism should even think about not clicking these links:

Mick Fleetwood - The Interview

Mick Fleetwood - The Show

Deborah Chesher's book, Everybody I Shot Is Dead, is available at Amazon.com. According to Amazon.com, the following rock n roll legends, now passed, are included. Of note: no members of ANY line-up of Fleetwood Mac have died, but many of the below touched upon the Mac's history (Dennis Wilson and George Harrison especially). Plus who wouldn't want a book that boasts a photo of Rick Nelson!?!?:

Ron Aspery (Back Door), Peter Bardens (Camel), Ronnie Barron (Paul Butterfield, John Mayall), Michael Bloomfield, Marc Bolan (T-Rex), John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Tim Buckley, Paul Butterfield, Albert Collins, Papa John Creach (Jefferson Starship), Steve Currie (T-Rex), John Denver, Tom Evans (Badfinger), John Fahey, Tony Flaim (Downchild Blues Band), Rory Gallagher, Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead), Lowell George (Little Feat), Maurice Gibb (Bee Gees), Mike Gibbins (Badfinger), Keith Godchaux (Grateful Dead), Pete Ham (Badfinger), George Harrison, John Hartford, Alex Harvey, Donny Hathaway, Tony Hicks (Back Door), Hollywood Fats (Jimmy Witherspoon), John Lee Hooker, Waylon Jennings, Terry Kath (Chicago), Keith Knudsen (Doobie Bros.), Rick Nelson, Harry Nilsson, Gene Pitney, Billy Preston, Malcolm Roberts, Hank Snow, Darrell Anthony Sweet (Nazareth), Stanley Turrentine, Jane Vasey (Downchild Blues Band), Carl Wilson (The Beach Boys), Dennis Wilson (The Beach Boys), Jimmy Witherspoon, Peter Wood (Al Stewart, Pink Floyd), Tammy Wynette, Mighty Joe Young, Frank Zappa.

[michelej1]

Wow, an interview and video. Sounds like something to look forward to.

Michele

[TrueFaith77]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Wow, an interview and video. Sounds like something to look forward to.

Michele

I know I am. I really think Mick shoulda done an Island Rumours Band album a la The Visitor.

[Chesher Cat]

Thanks, True, for posting a link to my blog and all the extra stuff about my book.

I just wanted to add that my book is also available on my website (http://www.cheshercat.com) and are signed.

The Mick Fleetwood DVDs are currently being edited and I will post all the release and ordering information on my blog (http://everybodyishotisdead.blogspot.com) as soon as I have it.

The interview I did (which has some really great stuff in it that I hope they don't edit out) is going on the Blues Band DVD that was shot in the UK and the Island Rumours show that we shot in Palm Springs will be its own DVD.

Thanks again.

Deborah

PS. You mentioned a couple of people from my book that touched upon Mac's history but missed the most important one. Peter Bardens (keyboardist most known for his band Camel). He was out walking one day when he heard drumming coming from a neighbors house. He knocked on the door and asked the guy if he was interested in playing with a band. He said yes. That drummer was Mick Fleetwood, and it was PB that gave him his first professional gigs. The story is covered in my book and was thankfully confirmed in the interview I did with Mick (who is a very cool guy btw).

[OldTimer]

Welcome Deborah! Your blog became a regular stop for me after I googled "Mick Fleetwood Blues Band" and found you in December. What a great career you have! I'll try to get some $$ saved up to by the Everybody I Shot Is Dead book, fantastic title, BTW . That's one unforgettable list of dearly-missed greats. Thank you!

[TrueFaith77]

Originally Posted by Chesher Cat

Thanks, True, for posting a link to my blog and all the extra stuff about my book.

I just wanted to add that my book is also available on my website (http://www.cheshercat.com) and are signed.

The Mick Fleetwood DVDs are currently being edited and I will post all the release and ordering information on my blog (http://everybodyishotisdead.blogspot.com) as soon as I have it.

The interview I did (which has some really great stuff in it that I hope they don't edit out) is going on the Blues Band DVD that was shot in the UK and the Island Rumours show that we shot in Palm Springs will be its own DVD.

Thanks again.

Deborah

PS. You mentioned a couple of people from my book that touched upon Mac's history but missed the most important one. Peter Bardens (keyboardist most known for his band Camel). He was out walking one day when he heard drumming coming from a neighbors house. He knocked on the door and asked the guy if he was interested in playing with a band. He said yes. That drummer was Mick Fleetwood, and it was PB that gave him his first professional gigs. The story is covered in my book and was thankfully confirmed in the interview I did with Mick (who is a very cool guy btw).

Thank you for stopping by! How cool. I will update my blog to include the info you provided here. Wow. I knew that Bardens story but didn't pay attention to the name! Thanks for the 411 ... and for verifying with Mick in your interview.

Mick seems great. I'm glad he always keeps working and refining his craft. He's a genius drummer and these Blues Band and Island Rumours projects really exhibit that. That's why I can't thank you enough for your role in making sure there's a record of these particular branches of the Mac family tree.

Can't wait for the DVDs (plural)!

[snoot]

Originally Posted by Chesher Cat

PS. You mentioned a couple of people from my book that touched upon Mac's history but missed the most important one. Peter Bardens (keyboardist most known for his band Camel). He was out walking one day when he heard drumming coming from a neighbors house. He knocked on the door and asked the guy if he was interested in playing with a band. He said yes. That drummer was Mick Fleetwood, and it was PB that gave him his first professional gigs. The story is covered in my book and was thankfully confirmed in the interview I did with Mick (who is a very cool guy btw).

Interesting anecdote. Pete was quite a musician, having joined his former Them bandmate Van Morrison to contribute keyboards on Morrison's Wavelength project (1978-1979) after leaving Camel. Barden's later solo works like Seen One Earth, Speed Of Light and Big Sky are a pleasant mix of new age instrumentals, rock n roll, and synth pop songs. He also teamed with drummer Andy Ward and other Caravan alumni to form the band Mirage in the mid-nineties. Call it a full circle departure from his first solo project, The Answer (1970), where he sounds like the second coming of Greg Rolie and Carlos Santana (reminiscent of those great pre-Perry Journey releases).

There's a guest appearance by Mick Fleetwood on Whisper In The Wind from Speed Of Light (1988); also on the tracks China Blue and Puerto Rico from Big Sky (1994). Mick provides all the drumming on The Art Of Levitation, Barden's last effort before his untimely death in 2002 in Malibu, California.

[Chesher Cat]

Originally Posted by OldTimer

Welcome Deborah! Your blog became a regular stop for me after I googled "Mick Fleetwood Blues Band" and found you in December. What a great career you have! I'll try to get some $$ saved up to by the Everybody I Shot Is Dead book, fantastic title, BTW . That's one unforgettable list of dearly-missed greats. Thank you!

Thanks, O.T. Not sure how great my career is overall...but I'm definitely lucky to have been dropped into some amazing rock'n'roll opportunities over the years.

Let me know when you are getting the book, and your real name, so I can personalize it to you!

[Chesher Cat]

Originally Posted by TrueFaith77

Thank you for stopping by! How cool. I will update my blog to include the info you provided here. Wow. I knew that Bardens story but didn't pay attention to the name! Thanks for the 411 ... and for verifying with Mick in your interview.

Mick seems great. I'm glad he always keeps working and refining his craft. He's a genius drummer and these Blues Band and Island Rumours projects really exhibit that. That's why I can't thank you enough for your role in making sure there's a record of these particular branches of the Mac family tree.

Can't wait for the DVDs (plural)!

I'm really hoping the footage turned out. The few minutes I looked at before I had to send it off was pretty cool - it was shot from behind the drum kit but the operator reached up high enough that you can see Mick playing from above. I wish we could have done the editing here but it needed to be done overseas. I did bring in a really great sound guy who recorded 52 channels and did an onsite mix, so hopefully what ends up on the DVD will be what I heard at the show. Which was awesome, btw.

[Chesher Cat]

Originally Posted by snoot

Interesting anecdote. Pete was quite a musician, having joined his former Them bandmate Van Morrison to contribute keyboards on Morrison's Wavelength project (1978-1979) after leaving Camel. Barden's later solo works like Seen One Earth, Speed Of Light and Big Sky are a pleasant mix of new age instrumentals, rock n roll, and synth pop songs. He also teamed with drummer Andy Ward and other Caravan alumni to form the band Mirage in the mid-nineties. Call it a full circle departure from his first solo project, The Answer (1970), where he sounds like the second coming of Greg Rolie and Carlos Santana (reminiscent of those great pre-Perry Journey releases).

There's a guest appearance by Mick Fleetwood on Whisper In The Wind from Speed Of Light (1988); also on the tracks China Blue and Puerto Rico from Big Sky (1994). Mick provides all the drumming on The Art Of Levitation, Barden's last effort before his untimely death in 2002 in Malibu, California.

Wow...you are really well-versed on all that is Peter Bardens. I shot him on a Camel tour - it was a great show and the band was a lot of fun to hang out with...like all British bands tended to be. I didn't realize that Peter had moved to Malibu and wish I'd run into him again. There are a couple of shots of him on my website if you care to check them out: http://www.cheshercat.com/store-eisid-prints.html.

[snoot]

Originally Posted by Chesher Cat

Wow...you are really well-versed on all that is Peter Bardens. I shot him on a Camel tour - it was a great show and the band was a lot of fun to hang out with...like all British bands tended to be. I didn't realize that Peter had moved to Malibu and wish I'd run into him again. There are a couple of shots of him on my website if you care to check them out: http://www.cheshercat.com/store-eisid-prints.html.

Very nice pics. Some folks felt Peter left his blues and R&R roots for a slice of synth pop as time went on, but I never agreed. He simply metamorphosed into the ranks of the New Age genre to rediscover what was left of that burnt-out and often left-behind audience he once called his own years earlier. Most of his 80's and 90's projects were pretty good, and always melodic to the core. Not as gripping or virtuosic perhaps as much of his earlier stuff, but very pleasant with a beer or glass of wine at sunset. Try Speed Of Light as a starting point if nothing else; just kick back with a brandy or scotch and let it flow.

[OldTimer]

Originally Posted by Chesher Cat

Let me know when you are getting the book, and your real name, so I can personalize it to you!

Thanks, Deborah -- I'd love to have it personalized! I'll send you a PM through this site, and I suppose I can order the book through your website? It'll be treasured not only by this old rock-n-roll gal, but also by my two thoroughly classic-rock-savvy spawn.

BTW, ALL THE BEST to your beautiful daughter, may her recovery be quick and full of joy.

[michelej1]

This interview reminded me of the Pete Bardens talk a few months ago, so I thought I'd post it here.

Los Angeles Times, January 28, 1989



Section: CA-Calendar

Fleetwood Pitches In for Pal Bardens
WASHBURN

Along with a bride of 8 months, Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac has been sharing his Malibu digs with Pete Bardens, one-time leader of a band called Camel, and that's just for openers:

Fleetwood also is sharing his manager with Bardens, lent his drumming to tracks on the keyboard player's "Speed of Light" album, and now is sandwiching 11 far-flung Bardens concert appearances (including one at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano tonight) between new Fleetwood Mac recording sessions.

It's only fair, perhaps, since Fleetwood credits Bardens with giving him his start in the music business some eons ago, in pre-Beatle Britain.

"We do go back rather a long way," Fleetwood recalled. "When I was 16 I lived next door to him in Nottinghill Gate in London, and he had heard me playing drums. I'd never played in a band at all, only sat at home and played with the radio. He came over and asked if I'd like to play with this band. He wasn't in it then; he was playing manager because he was the only one with a suit."

Before long, Bardens was more aptly seated behind the keyboards and the pair performed together in a number of early '60s British bands, the last of which, Shotgun Express, also sported a young Rod Stewart. Fleetwood sojourned briefly with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and then, with bassist John McVie, founded the unkillable Fleetwood Mac in 1967.

Bardens, meanwhile, had played with Van Morrison's Them before becoming the principal member of Camel, a '70s progressive rock band that never enjoyed an American following to match its success in Europe. Bardens didn't find a footing in the popular market until 1986 when his "Seen One Earth" album connected with new age radio markets.

Fleetwood and Bardens had remained friends through the years, Fleetwood said, "and because I really liked ('Seen One Earth') and started hearing it on the radio, I became really anxious to see something happen with him. I'm committed to doing all I can to help him out."

The tour dates--which also include a show at the Roxy in West Hollywood Monday night--mark not only the first time in about 20 years that the two have performed on stage together, but also Bardens' first live outing since he toured with Van Morrison a decade ago.

Reached before the opening show of the tour in San Francisco Wednesday, Bardens said, "I've felt there was a big chunk of something missing from my life; playing in front of an audience (had been) very much a part of my existence, and then to be starved of it for a long period of time, I really felt a loss. I'm glad to be having a second crack of the whip, and very glad to have Mick helping me."

Bardens, 40, describes his largely instrumental music as "breaking the boundaries between new age and new progressive"; he notes that "Speed of Light's" instrumental tracks have garnered WAVE play while its rockier vocal tracks were picked up by the album-oriented KLOS and KMPC. While Fleetwood knows his presence on the tour will draw greater attention to the shows, he's also being careful to not let his celebrity draw away from Bardens and his four-piece band. Rather than install himself on the drum throne, Fleetwood is augmenting the group as percussionist.

"It's Pete's band, and his drummer, Jethro (Foxx), a good friend of mine, is a very, very good drummer. So I thought it would be more correct for me to add to that, to be one more part of the band, than to come in and kick someone off the drum kit."

Fleetwood's hands won't be wanting for work, as he's bringing an array, including timbales, tom-toms, bell trees, African talking drums, shakers, rattlers, rain sticks and his legendary waistcoat, loaded with synthesizer drum pads he triggers by slapping himself moderately silly.

Fleetwood admits that it isn't only altruism that is motivating his participation: "I like any chance to play. When I go to a club, if someone asks me to sit in--it doesn't matter who they are or what type of band--I'll invariably get up there and do it."

Despite Fleetwood Mac's stadium-level success, Fleetwood is no stranger to the small club stage. During the band's long hauls in dry-dock, he hits the road with his own group, Mick Fleetwood's Zoo (which also features current Mac member Billy Burnette).

"It's a lot more relaxed doing the clubs. You don't have the military aspect which is necessary when you have 40 odd people traveling with you on the scale Fleetwood Mac does. When the Zoo goes out, we decide we want to do some gigs, just get in a bus, help set the equipment up, and do it."

While he plans to still slip some Zoo dates in, he anticipates that Fleetwood Mac will occupy most of his year. The group will enter the studio in a few days with producer Greg Ladanyi; Fleetwood hopes to emerge in 7 months with a new album and plans for a tour late in the year. It's a crucial album for the group--the first since its breakthrough 1975 "Fleetwood Mac" to be made without Lindsey Buckingham. Fleetwood doesn't seem worried, though.

"Everyone's feeling good about it. We've got a good starting block section of songs. . . . I think the band as it is now (with Burnette and Rick Vito replacing Buckingham) is going to be more reminiscent of the kind of flavor of our early days. That's already started, I think, just from digesting how the band was working on the road. I suspect there's going to be a sense of more freedom and more involvement.

"I think Lindsey's influence was a very important part and I'm not diminishing it in the slightest, but the way Lindsey worked, and increasingly so near the end, was a little bit insular, where sometimes you felt like you couldn't partake in some of what was going on. I think the band is going to feel very much more of a unit than it has felt for a long time."

Throughout the band's 11 lineups, Fleetwood said, a constant has held the group together. "I think it's fair comment that throughout all the incarnations of Fleetwood Mac, basically John McVie and I have had a built-in desire and need for a band to play with, so it sort of takes care of itself.

"The drummer and the bass player don't want to be sitting there without a band, so consequently we've been very intent on never even for one moment allowing the thought of giving up. There would always be us two sitting there saying, 'Well, we ain't going anywhere, so who's next?' That's certainly not negating the importance and uniqueness of the people that are in the band, but that is the thread that goes through all the years and years."

Fleetwood is still at work on an autobiography ("I like the unhurtful tone of David Niven's books; I won't be opening the private Pandora's box of Fleetwood Mac") and is anxious to do more acting work, having appeared in "The Running Man." But his prime professional commitment, after Fleetwood Mac, is aiding Bardens' career, he said.

"I like everything he does, the space in his music and the way he plays . . . as a friend, I want him to be as successful and accessible as possible. By the time we make the next album I think that will be the case."

Both performers claim that the disparity between their fortunes has never strained their friendship, and Bardens says he isn't dissatisfied with the modest success and the opportunity to play music that he's had. He is, however, looking at properties in Malibu, and wouldn't mind if Fleetwood's prediction for his next album came true.

"I haven't had the kind of success Fleetwood Mac had," Bardens said, "but Camel was a pretty successful band for the time in Europe, and that was satisfying, as is what's happening for me now. It's not 'Rumours' or anything, but it is growing, and I'm really hoping the tour is going to spark a bit of a fire. Maybe the next album will be my 'Rumours.' Why not?"

Mick Fleetwood and Pete Bardens play tonight at 8 at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Tickets: $18.50. Information: (714) 496-8930.