View Full Version : The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society to perform 'MIRAGE' in its entirety
TLBAS
01-02-2012, 04:56 PM
Hey Fellow Ledgies:
Patrick the drummer from The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society here. Just a friendly reminder that we'll be performing the 'MIRAGE' album in its entirety (along with some other Mac & solo Lindsey jams) Friday, Feb. 17 at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia and Saturday, Feb. 18 at Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY. More info about us, tickets, etc. on our website (http://tlbas.tumblr.com/). Thanks!
AliceLover
01-02-2012, 05:25 PM
Any Massachusetts dates being planned? Would love to see this show.
TLBAS
01-03-2012, 08:03 AM
Sorry, just Philly & Brooklyn right now.
poetinmyheart
01-03-2012, 04:22 PM
Wish there was something like this in the UK. Sounds great!
Spikey
01-15-2012, 05:09 PM
Wish there was something like this in the other half of the USA :P
But the reason I posted was, to TLBAS- good on you folks. Major kudos and hopefully someone will bootleg and put on DIME, maybe even organised by you guys?
TLBAS
01-18-2012, 07:04 AM
Hey Friends & Fellow Ledgies -
Patrick from The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society here.
Just a friendly reminder that we'll be performing the MIRAGE album in its entirety (and more) this time next month. We bring the show to Johnny Brenda's in Philly on Friday, Feb. 17 and Littlefield in Brooklyn Saturday, Feb. 18. Ticket info & more at our website (http://tlbas.tumblr.com/), Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lindsey-Buckingham-Appreciation-Society/307725391289) and Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/tlbas).
As for the (and more) portion of the show, following MIRAGE, we'll play another 30 min. or so of Mac & Lindsey solo gems. Some deep cuts, some hits - we think it's a nice balance.
The TUSK shows in 2010 were a mess of fun. Hope to see some of you this time around.
Thanks!
Hey Friends & Fellow Ledgies -
Patrick from The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society here.
Just a friendly reminder that we'll be performing the MIRAGE album in its entirety (and more) this time next month. We bring the show to Johnny Brenda's in Philly on Friday, Feb. 17 and Littlefield in Brooklyn Saturday, Feb. 18. Ticket info & more at our website (http://tlbas.tumblr.com/), Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lindsey-Buckingham-Appreciation-Society/307725391289) and Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/tlbas).
As for the (and more) portion of the show, following MIRAGE, we'll play another 30 min. or so of Mac & Lindsey solo gems. Some deep cuts, some hits - we think it's a nice balance.
The TUSK shows in 2010 were a mess of fun. Hope to see some of you this time around.
Thanks!
would love to see you guys, especially curious about LB solo deep cuts, but neither philly or brooklyn are nowhere close to me that weekend...:sorry: should've added DC date! ;)
michelej1
02-16-2012, 12:27 AM
Philadelphia Weekly, 2-15-2012
http://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/music/2012/02/15/the-lindsay-buckingham-appreciation-society-will-perform-mirage-at-johnny-brendas-on-friday-night/
Lindsay Buckingham Appreciation Society is a Philadelphia-based collective of musicians who obviously hold a deep connection to Fleetwood Mac and the glory of their late-’70s/early-’80s glam pop. On Friday, a group of six folks from a smattering of different bands will be performing their 1982 gem, Mirage. Let’s break down the musicians: the returning players are Charlie Hall (vocalist/multi-instrumentalist who’s played with The War On Drugs, Jens Lekman, and Windsor for the Derby), Patrick Berkery (drummer for Danielson and Pernice Brothers), and Birdie Busch (one of Philly’s finest). Newbies are Eliza Hardy Jones (vocals/keyboards for Buried Beds), Brandon Beaver (guitars/vocals for Buried Beds), and Dave Wayne Daniels (bass/vocals for The Capitol Years). It’s unclear if they’ll bring the whole package of sexual tension and mild to rampant cocaine abuse to Johnny Brenda’s Friday night, but it is most certain that they’re going to turn out one killer version of “Gypsy.”
Back in the early ’70s, Lindsay Buckingham was in love with Stevie Nicks. They made some demos and drove out to California to get a record deal as Buckingham Nicks. They did, and got dropped, but soon enough they met Mick Fleetwood who really just wanted Buckingham’s significant guitar chops. But they were a package deal, and soon Buckingham Nicks was swallowed up by the Fleetwood Mac juggernaut. And in 1977 they released Rumours, a record that would go on to be #1 for 31 weeks and sell 13 million worldwide copies by 1980. During the recording of Rumours, Buckingham and Nicks split up. After 1979’s Tusk, Fleetwood Mac took a little break; Buckingham produced some records and wrote solo material, Nicks put out the stellar Bella Donna, but they all reconvened to record Mirage and it was considered the biggest enough follow-up to Rumours to be considered a success.
“Hold Me” was the first single, and it’s a good place to start. It is, indeed, quite soft and radio-friendly, which is considered one of the factors for the record’s success. If Tusk was too arty or ambitious, Mirage was a direct shot at getting songs to tear up the radio charts. “Love In Store” came after the Stevie Nicks-penned “Gypsy,” the Christine McVie jam. “Oh Diane” was definitely Buckinham’s; it has his sad sack, soft-sung and sensitive love song approach with subtle but sophisticated guitar lines. “Can’t Go Back” was the last single and it’s as timeless and pleasant as Fleetwood Mac is as a band. The Appreciation Society is set to perform Mirage in its entirety but that doesn’t mean we wont get a “Rhiannon” bone thrown to us, or a “Gold Dust Woman,” or a “Go Your Own Way,” or a “Dreams.” Girls, break out your witchy dresses, and dudes, don’t cut off that weird beard. This is a night to celebrate the Mac.
PenguinHead
02-16-2012, 04:52 PM
I hope we can get to hear it. Looking forward to hearing live versions of the songs Fleetwood Mac never performed, which are the majority of the album.
Wish You Were Here
Only Over You
That's Alright
Straight Back
Can't Go Back
Book of Love
Empire State
Oh Diane
I always thought Wish You Were Here could have made a great alternate show closer to Songbird, especially with the extended ending that is heard on a demo recording.
vivfox
02-17-2012, 04:25 PM
Q&A: Charlie Hall Of The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society
The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society: (clockwise from top left) Dave Wayne Daniels (bassist/vocalist for The Capitol Years), Eliza Hardy Jones (vocalist/keyboardist for Buried Beds), Patrick Berkery (drummer for Danielson, Pernice Brothers, Bigger Lovers, Photon Band, I Was a King, Mazarin and others), Brandon Beaver (guitarist/vocalist for Buried Beds), Charlie Hall (vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who has played with Jens Lekman, The War on Drugs, Windsor for the Derby, Tommy Guerrero and others), and singer-songwriter Birdie Busch.
Tonight at Johnny Brenda’s, The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society will once again convene and pay homage to, well, guess who? After their critically acclaimed (and house-rocking) rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk in its entirety last year, LBAS — comprised, as you can see above, of some of Philly’s finest go-to indie rock musicians — turn their sights tonight on the Mac’s 1983 LP, Mirage. (You know, it’s the one with “Gypsy” on it.) After the jump, Charlie Hall explains why, for the love of God, why.
This is the second go-round for LBAS, with the first outing being your short multi-city tour of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk, in its entirety — a daunting task for any group of musicians. What brought you guys back for more?
Hah. Yeah. Well, I’m not sure any of us knew exactly what was going to happen last time. But it ended up being more fun than any of us imagined and was quite fulfilling musically. It was the first time I got to work with Tony and Sam Goddess, who are both amazing people and now dear friends. Pat and I basically MET because of our shared Mac obsession. Remember when you and I played with the Bigger Lovers at the Khyber back in late ’03 or early ’04? I was standing around while they soundchecked, and they played a spot on version of “What Makes You Think You’re The One?” and I said to myself, ‘Whoever’s playing drums, I gotta meet that dude, cause he’s more Mick than MICK.’ Sure enough, it was Pat (Berkerey). And, to be clear, when I say “Mick”, I mean “Fleetwood”. Not Jagger. Jagger’s too short, and Pat doesn’t wear football pants and Capezios. Where was I? Oh, Tusk. Yeah, it was a pretty tall order…but everyone brought their own very different take, taste, and perspective on things – Dave (Hartley), Birdie, everyone. It ended up being really cool. And family-like. I just thought, ‘Hell, let’s do this again.’ But we needed a reason. Picking another album that is deserving of more attention and taking a crack at it, warts and all, seemed like a pretty good mission. And I love ‘Mirage’. Like, really love ‘Mirage’. So here we are!
How do we know that this is really all about Mirage, and that you guys aren’t just taking your time, building the base until you get to Rumors and this **** is televised and there’s chapters of the Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society in every major city in America? In short, sell the people who don’t know on Mirage.
First of all, dude, please…it’s Rumours. Second of all, I’m having visions of SPEBSQA chapters all over the country doing Fleetwood Mac. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should feel pretty good about yourself. But yeah, Mirage. It’s an album that even the band itself has disparaged at times in interviews. I realize that’s no selling point either, but the fact of the matter is – this album has some stone cold crushers on it. There are a few mega-hits (“Hold Me” and “Gypsy”), there are a handful of just completely amazing tunes that belong in the Fleetwood Mac canon along with anything off Rumours, such as “Love in Store”, “Book of Love”, and “Oh Diane” (it boggles the mind that they’re not), the requisite Christine slow burners that I could listen to all day (“Wish You Were Here” and “Only Over You”), a Stevie freakout involving ghosts and fog and dreams or something along those lines (“Straight Back”), and some total left field Lindsey stuff that, much like much of his Tusk experimentation, will reveal itself to be great upon repeated listens. There’s also a beautiful country-esque romp dating back to the Buckingham Nicks album era called “That’s Alright” which Birdie is going to freaking crush. There are loads of vocal harmonies on this album, which I think might be one of the things that really appeals to me, personally. I think they really did intend to get back a little bit of a BAND thing on this record after the very sprawling, Lindsey-screaming-into-a-mic-taped-to-the-bathroom-floor experimentation of ‘Tusk’. The lush harmonies throughout give it all a little bit of a unified feel, I think. It also sounds really great. Like, I’m sure whoever wrote the checks at Warners were a little more careful after the Tusk thing, but they don’t make records that sound this good anymore. Sorry, they don’t. And I bet it wasn’t cheap!
Two tributes in, is LBAS in any danger of becoming, you know, an actual band? A going concern on any level?
I’ll tell you what – if I WERE looking to start an actual band, these would be the people. And when people hear the pocket that Dave Wayne Daniels and Pat Berkery are creating, they’re gonna lose their minds. Honestly, it’s such an absolute honor and treat to be making music with these people. The goal all along was to bring people together who don’t usually get to play with each other, and do something special. Hartley’s out with The War on Drugs in Europe right now, and Tony & Sam are in up in Gloucester getting ready to have a beautiful kid, so Pat, Birdie and I’ve got Eliza and Beaver from Buried Beds in the mix now, along with Dave Wayne Daniels. It’s crazy how good these people are. If not a band, it could turn into a comedy troupe or something. These people are hilarious. It’s hard to get anything done because we spend most of the time laughing.
But “going concern”? For them, probably yes. How many records are there in the Fleetwood Mac catalog? You do the math.
The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society plays Mirage, Friday, Feb. 17 – Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA (tickets $10). Special guest: Pete Donnelly. Read more Philebrity interviews here.
This entry was posted on Friday, February 17th, 2012 at 12:26 pm.
http://www.philebrity.com/2012/02/17/qa-charlie-hall-of-the-lindsey-buckingham-appreciation-society/
michelej1
02-17-2012, 11:10 PM
Phawker, 2-16-2012
http://www.phawker.com/2012/02/16/rawk-tawk-five-tough-questions-for-the-lindsey-buckingham-appreciation-society/
RAWK TAWK: Five Tough Questions For The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society
The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society is: Charlie Hall, a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who has played with Jens Lekman, The War on Drugs, Windsor for the Derby, Tommy Guerrero, and others; drummer Patrick Berkery, who has played with Danielson, Pernice Brothers, Bigger Lovers, Photon Band, Mazarin, and others over the years; Birdie Busch, a Philadelphia-based singer and songwriter with several wonderful solo albums to her credit; bassist Dave Wayne Daniels of The Capitol Years; and vocalist/keyboardist Eliza Hardy Jones and vocalist/guitarist Brandon Beaver, both members of the highly regarded band Buried Beds. Reprising their standing room only performance of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk from beginning to end back in 2010, TLBAS will perform Mirage at Johnny Brendas tomorrow (Friday Feb. 17) night and Saturday (Feb. 19) at Littlefield in Brooklyn.
PHAWKER: Why The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society and not, say, The Alex Chilton Appreciation Society or Nick Drake or Fred Neil or Townes Van Zandt Appreciation Society? What’s so great about Lindsey Buckingham?
CHARLIE HALL [pictured below, in bow tie with thumb up]: Funny you should ask. Because the whole thing came about because of overall Mac appreciation, not specifically Lindsey. I mean, if you really wanna get down to it, Christine’s where it’s at. And Mick and John (let’s face it, those dudes are so locked in they count as one). Okay, and Stevie. I mean, Lindsey had a vision…and he pushed that band to go to some pretty far out places they never ever would’ve gone with any of their prior frontmen (but don’t get me started on Bob Welch…I love that dude). All five of them (Christine, Stevie, Lindsey, John, & Mick) are equal in terms of greatness. I think once Pat and I stopped just talking about it and actually started putting this thing together, Tony Goddess was our next stop. Tony, equal-opportunist Mac lover that he is, definitely has a particularly Lindsey-centric vibe. Tony’s an engineer, and I think he really digs the playfulness and adventurousness of Lindsey’s recording style and also his real classic Everlys/rock ‘n roll aesthetic (both in terms of his songwriting and in his mechanisms such as the echoed vocals, etc). Where was I? Oh yeah the name. I mean, I think it just kinda turned into the Lindsey thing. But it could’ve been any one of ‘em, really. We wanted a name that was reverent but kinda playful, I think. It seemed to capture what we are ultimately going for. To answer your question about what makes Lindsey so great…he really pushed that band and is firey and had a vision and damn he is one of the best guitar players of all time. I’m not sure he gets included in that conversation as much as he deserves. I mean, the dude’s really a mad genius. But yeah, for the record, this is “The Christine McVie Appreciation Society” as far as I’m concerned. And we’re gonna go heavy on the Chris cuts with our post-Mirage set this weekend.
As far as why the Mac in general, not Chilton, not Townes or Nick Drake…I dunno. I’ve been in love with this band since I first heard Rumours as a four year old. Hell, I used Rumours as a way to learn how to use a four-track…doing my own version of it. I’m sure there’s a million Fleetwood Mac cover bands out there wearing leather and lace and opening their shows with “The Chain” and the whole nine yards. No disrespect. I bet a bunch of ‘em are great. But we’re not trying to get a piece of that pie. We are trying to approach this thing less as doing an architectural drawing and more as a sort of watercolor impression of or homage to what we love about this stuff. If we were trying to recreate the records as they are, we’d have probably need three keyboardists, ten backup singers, and a couple extra guitarists hiding behind the amps. It would look something like ‘The Dance’.
PHAWKER: Last time around you guys did Tusk beginning to end, this time it’s Mirage. How Method Actor do you guys get when you are working on these recreations — like, do you twirl scarves and blow coke up each other’s asses, that kind of thing?
CHARLIE HALL: There are no defined roles in this project, aside from the fact that Dave plays bass and Pat plays drums. But we intentionally try to match songs with singers based on who’s inspired by what. We do a lot of shifting around of keys and gender roles at times. You’re not gonna see Pat with a set of wooden balls hanging from his belt and I don’t think any of us even drinks Coca-Cola, let alone, you know…what you alluded to regarding Stevie and an allegedly deviated septum. Birdie carries around this peppermint oil stuff that’s apparently good for your skin and smells good – that’s pretty far out, right? The only thing we actually do to get in the right mindset is we fight a lot right before we play. And then try to upstage each other and occasionally throw empty red wine bottles at each other mid-set.
PHAWKER: What makes Mirage worthy of a song by song cover/homage? Compare and contrast it with Tusk.
CHARLIE HALL: Yeah, we did this a few years ago because it seemed like a pretty fun idea to pull together some pals and perform an album (Tusk) in its entirety that seemed under appreciated and worthy of more exposure. Turned out to be a blast. I mean, Tusk sold a boatload of copies, but among friends over the past decade or so, I felt like it was a really, really special record that didn’t have the acclaim it deserves. (Side note: I think that has changed over the past few years as well). So in thinking about doing this whole thing again, it was important to me that we had a PURPOSE, you know? Again, I’m not sure the world needs another group of people dressing up and playing the Fleetwood Mac hits. So I thought, based on how and why we came together the first time, that our sort of “mission” should be to take a whole piece of work, one that’s not ‘Rumours’, say, and give it some attention. I think ‘Mirage‘ is a widely ignored classic album in the Fleetwood Mac catalog. It was the fourth of the five studio albums with the classic Lindsey/Stevie/Christine/John/Mick lineup. I’ve read interviews with the band where even THEY dismiss the album at times. I know that Lindsey felt that the experimentalism and scope of ‘Tusk‘ really had people (the suits and even others in the band) reeling. Rumours sold what, like 16 million copies at that point (that number is well over 40 million by now)? ‘Tusk‘ something like four million, I think. There’s a lot to say about Mirage. It’s got some stone cold hits on it, like “Hold Me”…which I think for many is indelibly linked with the MTV era and that crazy awesome video in the desert. “Gypsy” is on there. “Book of Love” is an amazing Lindsey tune. “Love in Store”, the opener, is one of my favorite Christine tunes. There’s a song that dates back to the Buckingham/Nicks pre-Mac era called “That’s Alright” which manages to be at once a rootsy strummer and a totally typically crazy and unique Stevie tune. Compared with ‘Tusk‘, it’s certainly more concise and overall more polished, but I think pound for pound has a very similar ratio of big radio-ready hits and totally weirdoville oddities (see: “Empire State”). I think a more subtle commonality with ‘Tusk‘ is that as you get deeper into both of these records, it’s some of those initially inaccessible tunes which end up with the biggest payoffs. Songs that I used to be less into (often the Lindsey ones, truth be told) now are the ones that draw me to the records. Funny how that works.
PHAWKER: Does Lindsey Buckingham know about this and if so what was his reaction/response?
CHARLIE HALL: I doubt Lindsey’s too concerned about us. I do know that his niece is aware about it and has hit Pat up on the TLBAS tumblr site or FB or something. Maybe she’s told Uncle Linds about it, but I don’t know. Pat’s done a few interviews with Lindsey over the years, but I don’t think its ever come up. I would hope that he appreciates what it is – a group of friends doing a reverent, unique, and loving homage to this thing that he has spent a good part of his life crafting…and that we’re not out trying to do a Vegas knock-off or anything. And no one’s wearing a frizzy wig and acting like a lunatic and barking like a dog (see: “Holiday Road”).
PHAWKER: What do you say to people who say Fleetwood Mac began and ended with Peter Green?
CHARLIE HALL: I have some pals who say that Fleetwood Mac began and ended with Peter Green. And to them I say, “You’re half right!”. But if they really want to talk about it, I’d direct them to “Brown Eyes” on ‘Tusk‘, on which Peter Green played (uncredited). I also might try to keep them away from, say ‘Behind the Mask’. But I’d have them work backwards through the 70s making sure they hit on some of those great Bob Welch era jams (see: “Hypnotized”). And I would say this: “Albatross” might be my favorite Mac tune ever. That was Peter Green through and through. A/B that with “Sun King” off ‘Abbey Road’ and you will realize that The Beatles directly ripped off Fleetwood Mac. There’s not even a question about it. “Albatross” came out in January 1969…well before recording started for ‘Abbey Road’. So there you go…Fleetwood Mac influenced The Beatles. We could agree on THAT!
vivfox
02-18-2012, 12:56 PM
Last time around you guys did Tusk beginning to end, this time it’s Mirage. How Method Actor do you guys get when you are working on these recreations — like, do you twirl scarves and blow coke up each other’s asses, that kind of thing?
This was an excellent question and answer interview. Both people knew their FM history and the questions and answers were informative and funny. The question I quoted was my favorite.
TrueFaith77
02-19-2012, 12:33 AM
They played Mirage like a jam session. It was a blast.
Highlights (off the top of my head and from the album proper):
Hold Me
Empire State
Book of Love (killer guitar solo!)
They played Mirage like a jam session. It was a blast.
Highlights (off the top of my head and from the album proper):
Hold Me
Empire State
Book of Love (killer guitar solo!)
nice! what other songs they did (other than the Mirage in entirety)?
bangdrum
02-19-2012, 12:50 AM
I was there too! Great great show!
And I loved that they did EOTW like the Mirage video. :thumbsup:
bangdrum
02-19-2012, 12:51 AM
nice! what other songs they did (other than the Mirage in entirety)?
Blue Letter
Over My Head
Everywhere
I know I'm Not Wrong
Holiday Road
Little Lies
Farmer's Daughter
(I think that's the right order)
Blue Letter
Over My Head
Everywhere
I know I'm Not Wrong
Holiday Road
Little Lies
Farmer's Daughter
(I think that's the right order)
thanks! interesting, LB and CM songs, with holiday road the only solo song... i remember TLBAS promising to do some LB solo songs when they first announced this one.
vivfox
09-22-2013, 08:56 PM
Back in May of 2010, a mix of musicians from Philadelphia and Gloucester, Mass., joined forces to pay tribute to Fleetwood Mac’s sprawling cult favorite Tusk. From the sighing “Over and Over” to the spooky “Sisters of the Moon” to the timelessly weird title track — simply put, they nailed it. And now they’re back for a reprise performance. According to LBAS drummer Patrick Berkery, “If you’re going to put in the time and energy required to do something like this, you really need to be in love with the album you’re interpreting — borderline obsessed, really.” And fortunately for the group, this endeavor has never felt like homework. “We all love listening to [Tusk], and we love playing it even more, I think.”
Sat., Sept. 21, 8 p.m., $12, with Dave Hill, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 877-435-9849, johnnybrendas.com.
http://citypaper.net/article.php?The-Lindsey-Buckingham-Appreciation-Society-16199
vivfox
09-22-2013, 09:00 PM
One of the fun things about being a music fan for the long haul is seeing how bands can come in and out of vogue. When Bill Clinton basically ruined Fleetwood Mac by using “Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)” in order to secure the Big Chill/‘mom jeans’ vote during his 1994 presidential campaign, no one could have guessed that the Mac would be hipper 20 years later than perhaps they ever were in their prime. Somehow through the magic of time, Stevie Nicks has become the patron saint of indie queen fashion, Lindsey Buckingham is a cooler guitar player than Jimi Hendrix (who was, on the other hand, everywhere in 1994), and Fleetwood Mac’s double album Tusk, panned at the time of its 1979 release, has somehow become more talked about in record-head circles than Mac’s epochal 1977 break-up album, Rumours.
Fleetwood Mac’s current touring edition is never going to play the sprawling, diffuse, chaotic Tusk in order – and nor should they. But thankfully, the Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society (TLBAS) will step up to the challenge tomorrow night at Johnny D’s in Davis Square, Somerville.
TLBAS brings together folks like guitarist Tony Goddess of Papas Fritas (who understood cool Mac during the Clinton years) and drummer Patrick Berkery (of Mass-rooted bands the War on Drugs and the Pernice Brothers) who chatted with Vanyaland about all things Tusk and the upcoming performance.
This edition of TLBAS also includes guitarist Charlie Hall (Jens Lekman and the War on Drugs), guitarist Birdie Busch (a Philadelphia-based singer and songwriter), bassist Dave Hartley (the War on Drugs, Nightlands), and keyboardist Eliza Hardy Jones (Buried Beds).
Jonathan Donaldson: Knowing what huge fans of Tusk you must be, do you guys at least begrudge that Rumours is a better album? Or do you refuse?
Tony Goddess: I think in terms of arrangement/production, Rumours is “perfection” and Tusk is “process.” Both are completely valid. Both are pretty emotionally draining and exhilarating listening experiences. I also gotta say Rumours sounds a lot more expensive than Tusk to me, though I know that’s not the case. Tusk was kind of the Water World of its day — insanely expensive and considered a flop.
Patrick Berkery: Rumours is Fleetwood Mac at their most universally appealing. I’ll bet if you looked at the iPods of Sarah Palin, Kanye West, and a dude from Vampire Weekend, you’d find Rumours on there. Tusk would probably just be on the Vampire Weekend dude’s iPod.
Fleetwood Mac somehow strangely became a retroactive Pitchfork band. For example, Cut/Copy did a remix of Tusk’s “Never Forget.” How do you think that happened? Is their music really that appealing? Your average Urban Outfitters shopper might think they love Mac, but would want nothing to do with “That’s All For Everyone.” What’s going on here? And do you think Stevie Nicks’ wispy mystical flakiness makes her an inspiring role model for kids today?
Goddess: That and her coke/Klonopin problem. Definitely! I think people are getting a bit more omnivorous in their listening and thus opening themselves up to more mainstream stuff. The Mac are like the Beach Boys—lots of hits we all know, sounds good on the surface, but the catalog has a lot of ****ed up ****. It just took people a while to realize it.
Berkery: I hear a lot of ‘nods’ to Mac among younger bands—both Nashvillian country-pop bands and indie acts. Have you heard that Pure Bathing Culture song “Pendulum?” It sounds like the lost fifth single from Tango In The Night – it’s brilliant! Tusk, in some ways, has the feel of a lo-fi-ish indie pop record (especially the Lindsey Buckingham tunes) years before that template was even a “thing.”
Coming off an album with like five hits, is there a real hit off Tusk?
Berkery: “Sara” and “Tusk” were Top 10 hits. I think “Think About Me” was Top 30. But, no, those songs aren’t as ubiquitous as the songs of Rumours or even the first Lindsey/Stevie Mac album (1975’s self-titled LP). I really don’t think Tusk is that “weird” at all once you get past the diffuse production – particularly the drum sounds. Yeah, it’s weird stacked against its predecessor, especially sonically. But a lot of those songs are beautiful pop rock songs in the vein of things that came on the records before it — with the exception of the title track. That’s weird. I’ll give you that.
What side of the album do you guys think is best?
Berkery: Best side? Good question. Side 3, maybe? But “Walk a Thin Line” is probably my favorite song on the album. So I change my answer! Side 4 is my favorite.
Goddess: Wow, I don’t know about that… I quite dig Side 1 kind of has it all. Side 2 is the tits also but there’s no Christine (McVie) on there, and “Sisters of the Moon” is not my fave. I love “That’s All For Everyone” though.
“That’s All For Everyone” is bat **** crazy, Beach Boys Love You kind of ****. It sounds like the record is skipping…
Goddess: Yes, exactly on the Love You tip — which previously held the title of most ****ed up record by a mainstream band until Tusk.
There’s another weird one on Side 2, “Not that Funny.” It sounds like a more respectable nod to punk than that thing the Stones did, “Shattered.”
Berkery: Yeah, “Not That Funny” is Lindsey trying to be Talking Heads as channeled through Phil & Don Everly. It works on record. But, man, you ever see the 10-minute version with a drum solo from the Mirage tour? You Tube that ****. Very unfortunate.
When I first heard Tusk, I only liked the weird ****. I had to learn to be a Christine fan. Until eventually, she became to me the soulful Dennis Wilson of the band. Still waters run deep.
Berkery: You have no idea how close this thing came to being called The Christine McVie Appreciation Society. No idea…
What is Christine’s shining moment on Tusk?
Goddess: I love “Honey Hi” and “You’ll Never Make Me Cry.”
Berkery: Shining moment for Chris? “Never Make Me Cry” as well.
What is it like performing an album from start to finish that was never written or performed in that spirit? Do you guys add cohesion where it wasn’t there, or do you guys revel in the chaos?
Goddess: Revel in the chaos! I find it hard in that it’s so loose. There are not a lot of specific parts to cop. There are tons of guitars hidden in the either so I just try and play in the moment. Though Mirage (which TLBAS did without me) would have been a bitch too.
What’s the highlight of the set?
Berkery: Probably “Tusk.” It’s just so maddening. And when we played it before, people really went nuts during that one. That’s not really a song you “nail.” If you nail it, you’re probably doing it wrong!
What you guys have learned from all this?
Goddess: Don’t do drugs and don’t get a perm!
THE LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM APPRECIATION SOCIETY + BOB PERNICE :: Thursday, September 19 @ Johnny D’s, 17 Holland St., Somerville, MA :: 8:30pm, 18-plus, $12 :: advance tickets http://vanyaland.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/LBAS-Tusk.jpg
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