Bekka Bramlett at CMA FanFest

[PsychCat]

FINALLY got to meet Bekka today! She was partaking in part of the CMA FanFest here in Nashville, TN... a tractor driving contest to be exact.
It was HILARIOUS! Let's just say that for a tractor driver, she's a great singer.
She is also one of the most incredibly kind and genuine people I've ever met (especially in this town), with personality to match her amazing talent.

I agree with various other posts that say her stay in Mac was way too short!

[Miss Vicky]

Lucky you to get to meet her! I'm jealous.

And it's great to see someone else who appreciates her talent. It seems we are too few in number.

[strandinthewind]

I think she has a fab voice and liked her covers of the FM material and the other stuff. I think that, sadly, at that time FM was not in a very good place and she suffered for it because she certainly has the talent.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I think she has a fab voice and liked her covers of the FM material and the other stuff. I think that, sadly, at that time FM was not in a very good place and she suffered for it because she certainly has the talent.

I very much agree. FM was attempting to recreate a past, that it possibly couldn't live up to. Bekka is an awesome talent, IMO. I'm jealous of Psychcat's meeting.

[aleuzzi]

She has a great voice and I thought she was a good replacement. Billy Burnett once said in his q & a that FM never let heer be herself. That's too bad. "Winds of Change" and "Nothing Without You" are great tunes.

PS: tractor driving contest? I lived in Louisiana for a few years and was privy to "women's nail driving contests" at the Cajun festival in Mamu. That was "interesting."

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

a good replacement

let's say she was a good addition, not replacement.

I love her voice and her songwriting is amazing.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

She has a great voice and I thought she was a good replacement. Billy Burnett once said in his q & a that FM never let heer be herself. That's too bad. "Winds of Change" and "Nothing Without You" are great tunes.

Yes they are. FM had a new future on the horizon, and dropped the ball, which is too bad, IMO. Instead, they chose the golden oldies band, milking a 30 yo album til the freakin' cows come home(notice that I didn't make a Stevie joke there! ).

[PsychCat]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Yes they are. FM had a new future on the horizon, and dropped the ball, which is too bad, IMO. Instead, they chose the golden oldies band, milking a 30 yo album.....

I would have to go along with this.... as well as referring to Bekka as a "good addition" over a "replacement". I've really come to appreciate "Time" and how it is an entity of it's own. Of course, when it came out Bekka and Billy were seen more as a replacement Stevie and Lindsey.... which no one could possibly match up to that! It really would have been interesting to see where Mac could have gone with this, granted preferring Rick Vito in Dave Mason's spot (IMHO) for some consistency between BTM and Time.

Bekka and Billy seemed to add a new something that was actually not too unlike what Stevie and Lindsey added at their time of joining FM. But like it was said, those two don't need to be spending the next ?? number of years singing Gold Dust Woman and Go Your Own Way.

[Murrow]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Yes they are. FM had a new future on the horizon, and dropped the ball, which is too bad, IMO. Instead, they chose the golden oldies band, milking a 30 yo album til the freakin' cows come home(notice that I didn't make a Stevie joke there! ).

According to the recent John McVie Q & A, they did NOT get rid of the Time line-up in order to reform with Lindsey and co... he says Billy and everybody had moved on by then anyhow. Having said that Billy's Q & A would seem to support the above quote - he says he left because they decided to reform the Rumours line-up.

Don't dig Time but was disappointed that the Nicks/Vito line-up didn't last for another couple of albums.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by Murrow

According to the recent John McVie Q & A, they did NOT get rid of the Time line-up in order to reform with Lindsey and co... he says Billy and everybody had moved on by then anyhow. Having said that Billy's Q & A would seem to support the above quote - he says he left because they decided to reform the Rumours line-up.

Don't dig Time but was disappointed that the Nicks/Vito line-up didn't last for another couple of albums.

Well, they didn't even tour to support Time, which is ridiculous! I think they heard too many negative comments about, "where is so and so"?". But, that's their own fault, for playing most of the material from the now(then) missing members.
I believe 100%, that if they'd given the Time band a chance(minus Mason, as far as I'm concerned-let's bring back Vito), it could've been big.

[David]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

I believe 100%, that if they'd given the Time band a chance(minus Mason, as far as I'm concerned-let's bring back Vito), it could've been big.

Sure, they could have doublebilled with Nirvana in 1994. I mean, all the teens on crack I knew back in '94 were just waiting breathlessly for an adult-contemporary pop band with 55-year-old faded rock stars in it, like Mick Fleetwood & Dave Mason, who were playing "Say You Love Me" & "Don't Stop" in concert. Man, "Time" would have just blown the grunge & the hip-hop right off the charts!

My problem with Bekka is that, when I was a kid, I saw an old lady with a little girl toddler who was ugly & bratty. She was eating a banana & her nose was running & even though I was just a kid myself, I found myself almost vomiting when I saw the contents of that kid's nose. And the old lady called out "Bekka, come here. I need to wipe your nose. And finish eating your banana!"

So ever since that time I psychologically link the name "Bekka" with this grotesque memory. I am repulsed by the name "Bekka." I think it's ugly. It's a good thing Bekka herself was so cute--seeing her with Fleetwood Mac did a lot to help me combat this painful memory.
Although I think once I did happen to see into Bekka's nose & I'm not sure what I found there.

[SteveMacD]

I think the big problem from the 87-90 bands is that they had four singer/songwriters. That’s too much. While I love Rick Vito, and have said numerous times that he was the best guitarist, from a technical standpoint, the Mac ever had, and that he had the song that had the biggest potential for a hit, it may have been a mistake to add him to the fold (especially as he was not used to his potential).

Billy coming into Fleetwood Mac was inevitable. He mixed very well with Christine and Stevie. Even if Lindsey had stayed, Billy would have been on the tour. So, what the band needed was a big name lead guitarist who wasn’t a vocalist. (Maybe somebody like Jeff Beck…Which would have put “For Your Love” and “Train Keep-A-Rollin’” in the set). Now, for the kicker, have Billy only cover “Oh Well” and GYOW and have the rest of his set be his own material.

Also, I do think it could have worked in 1994-95 (though, admittedly NOT with Dave Mason). Sure, there was Nirvana, but it’s not like it was ALL grunge back then. Sheryl Crow, Collective Soul, and Hootie & The Blowfish were on the charts, too, while Smashing Pumpkins were getting airplay with “Landslide.” Plus, they could have tried playing the country card a little harder. The bottom line is that Fleetwood Mac really didn’t have any direction, and chose to rest on past glories, much like they did when Bob Welch was in the group (at least in terms of live shows).

[PsychCat]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Plus, they could have tried playing the country card a little harder. The bottom line is that Fleetwood Mac really didn’t have any direction, and chose to rest on past glories, much like they did when Bob Welch was in the group (at least in terms of live shows).

Good point. I read somewhere where Bekka and Billy were considered almost "too country" for FM. Makes sense with what Billy said about them being held back at the time. I really like the "Bekka and Billy" cd... by far some of the most original stuff to come out in country, especially at that time. WHAT?! Artists writing their OWN material?! At least Faith Hill made them some $$ by covering "Better Days" on her biggest cd... even tho it can't hold a candle to the original.

Interesting in an earlier comment when John said by the time they were ready to rev up FM again, the "Time" folks were into other stuff. Hmmmm... so Stevie and Lindsey weren't?
Just as well... since Nashville seems to be where former FM members more or less come to settle, it's nice to be able to see them perform on a smaller, approachable scale.

[chiliD]

Considering that very little of what is played on country radio stations these days (meaning, since the early 90's) is what *I* would classify as "country", if Fleetwood Mac would've marketed themselves as a crossover act at the time (1994/95), I think they would've had some major success in that area. Would've just opened up whole new doors of opportunity. I doubt that anyone would've consdered Fleetwood Mac a "country band" despite being marketed through country radio. After all, it was country radio that put the Eagles back on the map. And, FMac definitely had a plethora of material that would've fit perfectly on a mid-90's country radio playlist:

Blue Letter
Monday Morning
Landslide (duh!)
I Don't Want To Know
That's Alright
Can't Go Back
Do You Know?
When The Sun Goes Down
I Got It In For You
Talkin' To My Heart
Dreamin' The Dream
Winds Of Change
Nothing Without You
I Do

[BlackWidow]

Originally Posted by Miss Vicky

Lucky you to get to meet her! I'm jealous.

And it's great to see someone else who appreciates her talent. It seems we are too few in number.

Who is Bekka Bramlett????