No Cage on MTV, 1992

[michelej1]

New Jersey Record

August 21, 1992:

STARTING OVER: Mick Fleetwood, a Seventies superstar as front man/drummer for Fleetwood Mac, now grouses that he can't get a video on MTV.

Fleetwood just set off on his first U.S. concert trek with his new band, The Zoo. He says he likes the excitement of a fresh beginning and doesn't mind "starting at the bottom again." But it's clear he's having to make adjustments as he presses forward with the new group.

"What bothers me is that we're sitting here with a great rock-and-roll video of 'Shakin' the Cage,'" says Fleetwood in reference to The Zoo's debut album and single, "but we can't get it on MTV. But then, bands like Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers had to have hit records before they got play on MTV."

Meanwhile, Fleetwood reports it still looks like a Christmas release for the much-anticipated 80-song Fleetwood Mac retrospective boxed set - despite the fact "we're behind schedule." Fleetwood has been rushing to wrap up recording two new Mac tunes (with Christine McVie singing lead) while preparing for his tour. He reports that Stevie Nicks will cut an acoustic number to go out with the Mac collection as well.

"John [McVie] and I have spent about a year on this retrospective," Fleetwood notes. "It's been good for me - a letting go process. Right now I very much feel that I'm laying Fleetwood Mac to rest with it."

[michelej1]

Virginia Pilot and Ledger-Star (Norfolk, VA), September 11, 1992

Section: PREVIEW

SAVED FROM ANOTHER MAC ATTACK MICK FLEETWOOD FINDS A NEW LIFE IN THE ZOO

Jim Morrison, Special to Preview

IT'S AMAZING what the offer of a trip to Tasmania can do for you.

Just ask drummer Mick Fleetwood. It gave him a fresh start, a reason for life after Fleetwood Mac. And a chance to turn The Zoo, a nonchalant side project, into a real rock band, Complete with a rowdy radio hit in ''Shakin' the Cage.''

''We owe this all to Tasmania,'' Fleetwood cracks in his fading English accent. ''This is a true story.''

The one thing he doesn't owe to Tasmania is his newfound sobriety. That came thanks to a trip to Hawaii.

But more on the joys of being chemical free in a moment. First, a little aside for you geographical illiterates: Tasmania is an island off the southeastern coast of Australia. A long way off, especially if you're planning on playing just one gig. But that's why Fleetwood put together the current lineup of The Zoo: for one festival gig more than half the world away. He never thought it might become a full-time deal.

''The lovely part was I wasn't planning on this at all,'' Fleetwood says from Boston on recent Saturday afternoon. ''I don't want to get too carried away, but it's like a new love affair. Things like that happen when you least expect them to.''

Fleetwood's new affair started in November 1990, when a promoter called from Australia offering Fleetwood and The Zoo a shot to play a festival in Tasmania. Fleetwood Mac's future was - once again - up in the air, since Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and relative newcomer Rick Vito had just turned in their resignations.

So, Fleetwood figured, why not? The Zoo had been his pet party band for a decade, featuring a foundation of Fleetwood, Little Feat's Kenny Gradney on bass and sometime Fleetwood Mac member Billy Burnette on guitar, with a revolving door of guests including Eddie Van Halen and Bob Seger.

For a singer to join Burnette this time around, Fleetwood's manager suggested Billy Thorpe, an Aussie best-known for his 1979 hit ''Children of the Sun,'' who had retired from rock to score films. The two knew each other because their daughters attended the same schools, and Thorpe quickly agreed to the trip. Then Burnette unexpectedly pulled out.

So Fleetwood, who showed his nose for talent assembling the various incarnations of Fleetwood Mac over the years, called up belter Bekka Bramlett, a young singer he had seen a couple of years earlier. ''I just thought she was an incredible talent,'' he recalls.

Bramlett comes with certifiably soulful rock 'n' roll genes. Her parents are Delaney and Bonnie, a duo best-known for playing with Eric Clapton in the early '70s.

''She sings from the gut, and that's how she is as a woman,'' Fleetwood says. ''She's just a really gutsy, down-to-earth kind of lady. Very refreshing, actually.''

All that organizing done, the deal in Tasmania fell through. But the band still played a six-week tour through Australia in early 1991, mixing a couple of Thorpe tunes, a few Fleetwood Mac oldies, some blues and even a Little Richard number.

It was so different from Fleetwood Mac that Fleetwood was hooked. Gradney had Little Feat obligations, but the three principles decided they didn't want to stop thinking about tomorrow. As The Zoo.

They eventually signed with Phil Walden's reactivated Capricorn Records. A revised version of a tune they played in Australia, ''Shakin' the Cage,'' was the first single and the album's title. It rocks as hard as the name suggests. Throughout the disc, Bramlett's vocal gymnastics, reminiscent of Tina Turner's shout, mingle with Thorpe's searing leads, especially on tunes like ''Reach Out,'' the album's best, and ''Night Life.''

''We were intent on keeping the bulk of the album real ballsy,'' Fleetwood says.

Thorpe wrote the tunes. And most of the band, which was expanded to include former Dixie Dregs bassist Tom Lilly, ex-Michael Jackson guitarist Gregg Wright and David Lee Roth keyboardist Brett Tuggle, played live in the studio. Recording and writing took about five months.

''So it was pretty quick for me.'' Fleetwood said. ''Work with the Mac and you spend like 16 months on a project.''

Ah yes, the Mac. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the group has evolved - or devolved, depending on how you view it - from a white British blues band (they played with Willie Dixon and Otis Spann) into pop hit makers (''Fleetwood Mac'' and ''Rumours'') and eventually pop experimenters (''Tusk'').

Through the years, the only constants were Fleetwood and bassist John McVie. McVie recently released ''John McVie's Gotta Band with Lola Thomas,'' a smooth blues disc produced by Dennis Walker, Robert Cray's producer and songwriter. Lindsey Buckingham went his own way, too, recently issuing ''Out of the Cradle.''

So what's up with the Mac?

''We've got a boxed set (80 songs) coming out at Christmas with four new songs that we've recorded,'' Fleetwood says. ''The whole purpose of it is to celebrate our 25th birthday. We've gone way, way back to old BBC stuff, a lot of old blues stuff which to a large extent people don't know anything about. Fleetwood Mac to most people is 'Rumours.' ''

But will the group ever get together again? After all, they're back in the spotlight with the theme song for the Clinton-Gore ticket, ''Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow.'' Fleetwood says he is loathe to say no, but then he says almost that.

''I have basically let go,'' he says. ''And that for me is a first. I'm usually the one rallying the troops around every three years saying we've got to make another album. I no longer feel compelled to do that. It's been good for me in my own spirit and mind to let go of something which may well have come to an end. And if it has, then so be it. We've had a wonderful run.''

The latter years of the band, Fleetwood says, weren't exactly pleasant. ''It just got really hard to get anything done to point where it was like pulling teeth,'' he says. ''I suddenly realized - especially being involved with The Zoo - I realized things don't have to be like that. You can actually enjoy yourself.

''I don't want to paint this sinister picture, 'cause it's not. It's just a very different animal. And it's sort of on permanent vacation, which is a nice way of putting it.''

It was a vacation in Hawaii with his daughter six months ago that Fleetwood credits with making him feel better than he has in 30 years. One morning there, he was scheduled to play tennis with her. It was a beautiful day, but he felt downright ugly thanks to a two-day bender with the brandy bottle as featured performer.

''The sun was shining and the wind was blowing and it was like a revelation,'' he recalls. ''I literally stopped overnight.'' Stopped the bottle and a half of brandy a day, the occasional line of cocaine.

''I feel,'' he says, ''very, very lucky I was able to stop.''

Fleetwood, who says he is 45, though the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll claims he is 50, says the first Zoo gig he played after Hawaii was the first time in 29 years he went on stage sober.

''I feel like I've shed myself 10 years. My whole face has changed. I have to say it's a very fashionable anecdote, but I have no regrets. I'm loving it. It's great.''

It's great, too, he says, back playing small clubs. Even clubs that sometimes haven't been filled despite the airplay for ''Shakin' the Cage.'' ''It's like starting again. Absolutely,'' he says. ''It reminds me of how we got going (with Fleetwood Mac). Doing a helluva lot of radio, just getting out there and showing our wears and tears. Wanting to do so, knowing the need to do that. That's exactly where this band is at. We're so anxious to get people to hear about us.

''It's vibrant. It's a good feeling. I wasn't expecting it to happen.''

[Neb-Maat-Re]

All that organizing done, the deal in Tasmania fell through. But the band still played a six-week tour through Australia in early 1991, mixing a couple of Thorpe tunes, a few Fleetwood Mac oldies, some blues and even a Little Richard number.

Thanks, Michele.

This explains why "The Zoo" that appeared in the film clip playing Thorpie's "Most People I Know" I posted last year was so different from the line-up from the album - it was probably before the album was cut.