MacMan
03-27-2007, 01:34 PM
Buckingham's kids temper his career
Tuesday, March 27, 2007BY KIRA L. SCHLECHTEROf The Patriot-News
http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1175001903136580.xml&coll=1
Fleetwood Mac guitarist-singer-songwriter and solo artist Lindsey Buckingham became a first-time parent at age 48, an experience he has said profoundly affected him, not just personally but musically.
He spoke in a phone interview about the differences between raising son Will, 8, and daughters Leelee, 6, and Stella, 2, with wife Kristen Messner.
"I think girls are easier, which is what they say, and maybe that's just from a father's perspective," Buckingham said. "For a father, the girls, even a very, very young age, they just want you to be Dad. And there is that male-female dynamic that comes into it."
With his son, Buckingham says he's more cautious in some ways.
"When Will and Leelee were somewhat younger, they came out and saw Fleetwood Mac shows for a while," he said. "So they saw Dad playing in arenas and as Will said, 'Hey, I saw Dad showing off for all these people' -- which is about right. [So] I don't want to influence him too much in that way."
His greatest challenge, he says, is balancing the "self-involvement" it takes to be a musician with his equally intense desire to be fully involved in his children's lives.
"I'm not one of those dads who's going to go out and coach baseball," he admitted. "I mean, I go to the games, I do all of that stuff. But I just have to try to be 'Dad' and not 'Dad the musician,' and that's something I'm learning.
"It's actually pulling things out of me that I forgot I was from a long time ago. I really am forced to look at myself more and hold my son up as a mirror to myself and vice versa than with the girls, at least right now. And at 8, he's just going to start needing his dad more -- I hope anyway," he said.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007BY KIRA L. SCHLECHTEROf The Patriot-News
http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1175001903136580.xml&coll=1
Fleetwood Mac guitarist-singer-songwriter and solo artist Lindsey Buckingham became a first-time parent at age 48, an experience he has said profoundly affected him, not just personally but musically.
He spoke in a phone interview about the differences between raising son Will, 8, and daughters Leelee, 6, and Stella, 2, with wife Kristen Messner.
"I think girls are easier, which is what they say, and maybe that's just from a father's perspective," Buckingham said. "For a father, the girls, even a very, very young age, they just want you to be Dad. And there is that male-female dynamic that comes into it."
With his son, Buckingham says he's more cautious in some ways.
"When Will and Leelee were somewhat younger, they came out and saw Fleetwood Mac shows for a while," he said. "So they saw Dad playing in arenas and as Will said, 'Hey, I saw Dad showing off for all these people' -- which is about right. [So] I don't want to influence him too much in that way."
His greatest challenge, he says, is balancing the "self-involvement" it takes to be a musician with his equally intense desire to be fully involved in his children's lives.
"I'm not one of those dads who's going to go out and coach baseball," he admitted. "I mean, I go to the games, I do all of that stuff. But I just have to try to be 'Dad' and not 'Dad the musician,' and that's something I'm learning.
"It's actually pulling things out of me that I forgot I was from a long time ago. I really am forced to look at myself more and hold my son up as a mirror to myself and vice versa than with the girls, at least right now. And at 8, he's just going to start needing his dad more -- I hope anyway," he said.