"What's On" Vegas Article/Interview
 

This was posted on the nicksfix....

http://www.whats-on.com/ViewFeature.aspx?show=123

March 13, 2007
A Gypsy Lands In Vegas
Stevie Nicks Knows the Healing Power of Music
If there was a music industry award presented in a category called Most Touching Performance Given For A Deserving And Appreciative Audience, it would have gone last year to Stevie Nicks for an a capella rendition of “Landslide” performed at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Sitting on the floor of the psychiatric ward, surrounded by patients and their family members, Nicks sang the uplifting song to the soldiers just back from Iraq, a group of “kids,” as she described them, who were “not so much physically wounded, but mentally horrified” by what they’d seen in the war zone.

The song “Landslide,” written by Nicks in 1974 and recorded by Fleetwood Mac in 1975 and covered a few years ago by the Dixie Chicks, deals with life’s ups and downs and enduring the inevitable setbacks. Two lines in the song, phrased as questions, must have been especially poignant for the recovering soldiers—“Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?”—and Nicks recalls there were a few moist eyes in the room.

Visiting wounded servicemen and women at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital in the Washington area has been a life-changing experience for Nicks since she started making regular visits two years ago. The songbird and erstwhile member of Fleetwood Mac was brought to Walter Reed the first time by a group of friends and immediately she was hooked. The rock star has returned many, many times since then, always handing out iPods loaded with her own songs and those of other artists, spending as long as 10 hours at the hospital, meeting with 30 or more patients and their families per visit. Close friends have donated thousands of dollars to help Nicks finance the purchase of hundreds of iPods she’s given away to date at the military hospitals, she said.

The self-described gypsy of rock ‘n’ roll comes to the Caesars Palace Colosseum March 20-21 & 23-24. Nicks said in an interview with What’s On that visiting America’s heroes has “made my life richer” and become a top priority as she makes her schedule these days.

“Those guys, they need so much help and they are so nice. You go in and you just go from room to room and put on gowns and gloves, and go in and you sit on their bed. And you ask them what happened and they tell you. They want to talk about it,” she said.

Nicks has heard stories of IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blasts and other horrors of war from soldiers and marines who lost limbs and suffered other serious injuries, both physical and emotional. Nicks manages to cheer them up with a warm smile, a kind word and the gift of iPods filled with the kind of music she says makes her feel “100 times better” when she’s down. News of the singer’s commitment to helping America’s servicemen and women should come as no surprise to those who have listened carefully to her lyrics over the years. It was Nicks, after all, who penned the 1979 song “Sara,” which contains the line, “I’d go anywhere, anywhere. Ask me and I’m there because I care.” And it was Nicks who wrote a song for Fleetwood Mac, “Gypsy,” about a brave soul who “faces freedom with a little fear” but ultimately concludes, “I have no fear. I have only love.”

Nicks doesn’t show up at military hospitals to perform concerts, but when a soldier asks her to sing a few bars of a favorite tune she finds it impossible to say no, resulting in the occasional impromptu performance.

“Once you’re in there, it’s almost like you don’t want to leave. It’s very strange. You get every motherly, fatherly feeling that you could ever imagine, and you become very attached,” said Nicks, 58, who does not have any children—unless you count the young soldiers she has formed such close bonds with over the last two years.

“It’s been an amazing experience for me, and it has certainly made my life richer to really get to know these kids that could all be my children,” Nicks said. “They’re all pretty much of the age that they could be my children. They could almost be my grandkids.”

During visits to the military hospitals, Nicks tends to spend so much time in each patient’s room that the hospital staff on occasion has to chase her out. She remembers one time at Bethesda when agitated staffers asked her to quickly wrap up her visits “because the commandant [of the Marine Corps] is coming through with the purple hearts (the medal given to servicemen wounded in battle).”

When she wasn’t visiting troops in recent months, Nicks was putting the finishing touches on a new combo CD/DVD, Reflections—The Best of Stevie Nicks, which includes 18 tracks, four of them live tracks, along with a 20-page booklet and a DVD containing all 12 videos she made. Those who purchase Reflections, which hit stores earlier this month, can also enjoy galleries of all of Nicks’ photo shoots through the years, and watch the dozen videos while listening to an audio track of her commentary.

“This is so cool. I’m so proud of it,” Nicks gushed over the retrospective CD/DVD that Warner Bros. Records put together. “This will be, I think, kind of a groundbreaking package.”

When Nicks goes on tour these days, her songlist is composed of roughly 60% solo material and 40% Fleetwood Mac songs. Nicks takes the stage with a band of seasoned musicians and three backup singers.

Fleetwood Mac will continue to regroup every once in a while for a concert tour, Nicks told What’s On, although her close friend Christine McVie retired from the band in 1998.

“We kind of feel that we never want to push our luck, so we take big breaks. And then when we do come back, it’s great and everybody’s excited about it, including us,” Nicks said.

Over the years Nicks cultivated her gypsy image with an exotic wardrobe that always seemed to make her the center of attention during concerts and on album cover photos.

Nicks said she would wear her trademark black boots during the Caesars Palace shows, along with some signature outfits fans will remember from her videos.

Regarding the current state of the music industry, Nicks said she’s been a little surprised that relatively few new bands today follow the Fleetwood Mac model of putting men and women together as equal partners in a band. Rock music, to a great extent, remains largely a boys’ club in the 21st century, she observed.

“Having a female touch in a band is always going to be great because there’s always going to be that mysterious love thing, even if there isn’t any,” said Nicks, who was involved in a long romance with Lindsay Buckingham before and during the heyday of Fleetwood Mac. “I think it just makes it ever so much more enticing.”




When a Gypsy Settles Down…

Make no mistake about it, Stevie Nicks loves to wander the world making music, but she also loves The Colosseum at Caesars Palace—which makes her fans wonder whether she might someday be willing to put down roots at Caesars as Celine Dion has done.

Nicks played a stint in the 4,000-seat theater two years ago when Dion took a vacation break and she looks forward to returning in mid-March during another Dion hiatus. Nicks told What’s On she enjoys the challenge of using The Colosseum’s enormous stage and gigantic LED screen “to build a world,” and might consider making it her semi-permanent home someday, if asked.

Dion’s “A New Day…” wraps up a 4 1/2-year run in December, and the rumor mill has it she’ll be succeeded by a revolving cast of divas, including Cher, Bette Midler and one other lady of song, plus Elton John.

Nicks, who is 58, said she still wants to be “on the move” a while longer, but might find the prospect of settling down at the Colosseum quite appealing “in another five years.”

“It’s absolutely something that, you know, down the road I might love to do, but right now I’m still a road dog,” Nicks said. “I want to be out there going through the country.”



By Charles Tatum

Don't fall for it, guys. It's a trap! :shocked:

You love to hate her, don't you?! :p

Go Stevie! It's great to get this little glimpse into her thoughts about the future. I'm so happy that we'll be getting at least another 5+ years of Stevie to enjoy in concert. However, by the year 2012, you would think she'd have to release something to keep her career going. She is basically blowing her final nostalgia wad with CV; there ain't nothin' left in the till, that is, unless she starts mining through her old demos.

Interestingly, if she yours this year and FM does one more tour even without a record to support - there is your five years :shrug:

Maybe a little BN project thrown in there, but yeah. I think everybody better get their tickets now, it won't last forever anymore.

Au contraire, hon'... that's just 2007 - 2008. :wavey: I don't think Stevie is going to sit at home watching talk shows and old movies after 2008.

I am currently of the opinion that BN will never get released officially on CD during Lindsey's or Stevie's lifetimes. I mean, what's the point? They are not as high-profile/relevant as they used to be. Although it's a brilliant collection, it appeals only to hardcore fans. It's not a "timeless classic," and it's not like they've even played songs off of it in concert, except for the occasional DLMDA. None of it is even represented on Crystal Visions.

I doubt the FM thing is going to happen in 2008. Lindsey still has a few more tricks up his sleeve, he's not ready to get back to FM just yet.

I have to admit, I was hopeful for a sec, but then Lindsey's tune once again changed. At this point I doubt it also, but you never know.

This tour is 2007.

LB said his new record is coming out in 2008. If he can be believed ( :laugh: ) - then FM cannot possibly tour until 2009 and that tour will end in 2010. This assumes no time off for any of them and no new FM record, which I assert is a big assumption.

For what I have picked up over the years, LB is the one blocking this.

I agree. But my hope was derived from a few comments in interviews during the start of the tour and what he said to us during the Falls Church show back in October, about how they were working on it. Now we're back to 'don't hold your breath'.

omg. this totally just made me tear up. :(

I think the BN release could happen at the end of their careers...meaning that they both know it would be awesome to go out the way they came in. I personally, think it could a brilliant move on their parts. It certainly would be full circle.


As for her comments about being a road dog for the next five years..once she completes this CV tour and FM goes back out...five years is almost up. :shocked:

...she says with such optimism. i don't know -- the more i think about it, the more i think there's no way in hell it'll happen unless the two can see eye to eye on the subject at hand. it seems to me, they haven't thus far. it's always spoke about in a very circular way :shrug:

see, and i tend to think it's the other way around.

Great interview. Thanks. Wow, could you imagine Stevie sitting on the side of your bed singing "Sara" a cappella. I will forever think of the soldiers now, when I listen to Landslide, Sara and Gypsy :nod:

I think he wants to tinker with it. To me, that is stupid because neither one sounds anything like they did when they recorded it.

Also, she has flat out said it is LB in some interview in, I think, the 90's.

Finally, she released one of the songs on her box set - so she is not opposed to it at least that much.

But, who knows.

Optimism that went out the window recently. I agree, I now doubt it will ever happen also.

Really? I don't. I think Stevie's the more sentimental fool of the two and would like this project come to fruition, but Lindsey keeps finding ways to put it off. Some remastering has obviously already taken place, with LDW being on Enchanted. And who wanted it on there? Right. :p

^^^

Plus, at the Madison show at the start of the last leg of the SYW tour, LB clearly was not charmed about playing DLMDA. I think he is just adverse to that record.

see, but you also have to look at the context of what was happening at the time. in the 90's pre-fleetwood mac reunion and their recording of twister, as far as stevie was concerned, he could take a flying leap and **** himself, so it would seem.

then you have their reunion -- things are going great. the dance is very successful -- they're appealing to a worldwide audience and gaining new fans. they ride the train all the way into the rock and roll hall of fame and the grammy awards. they are enjoying being together again as a band (though i can't imagine there was drama on the road).

no buckingham nicks.

then we have stevie doing her enchanted collection and touring for a short period of time followed by random shows now and again and then trouble in shangri la -- stevie and lindsey are speaking to one another but.

no buckingham nicks.

nothing much is going on with everyone else -- they're in limbo. lindsey works on gift of screws for the billionth year and then suddenly the queen calls and his songs for a solo album morph into say you will. the album isn't commercially successful but does alright. however, they tour with the album for quite a while. people are calling it a buckingham/nicks reunion. stevie then goes into the gold dust tour.

no buckingham nicks.

rumors and speculation of a final fleetwood mac tour are discussed on this board -- but stevie is in australia and doing her thing with petty as well. fast forward to fall of last year -- lindsey finally releases an album of his own and tours. i'd imagine when it was decided that fleetwood mac would not be reuniting at this time, it was decided lindsey could add more legs to his tour. stevie is set to release yet another compilation. she will tour again -- with another artist -- without new material. it would seem fleetwood mac is shelved for who knows how long.

no buckingham nicks.

from a sales/marketing/publicity standpoint, in order to make selling the album lucrative to both stevie and lindsey as well as the record label that decides to reissue it on cd, the release would have to come at the tail end of a fleetwood mac tour -- and quite frankly, the best time to have re-released it would have been after say you will, imo. i feel like stevie holds the keys to the reissue -- and i don't think she intends to use them anytime in the near future.

fans have met him on this tour and asked him about buckingham nicks. if memory serves, he said he'd love to do it.

so who's the liar?? :shrug:

But, I believe she said after The Dance that Mr. Buckingham was responsible for not releasing BN - I am too lazy to look up the interview.

Lindsey himself has said that, "Stevie calls me up from time to time about it [Buckingham Nicks], but it's never felt like the right time."

Didn't I recently read an interview with LB where he says that as far as BN goes, the ball's in Stevie's court, or something to that effect? Am I insane? Someone? Anyone?

nope, you're not insane. he did. if i wasn't pretending to work on a paper right now, i'd look on the lindsey board for it :laugh:

^ Well, I'm just pretending to work right now, so I had time to look for it. :D From the Guitar World Acoustic 10/06 interview:

yep. that's what i thought :nod: she can hold it over his head for whatever reason she sees fit at the time.

Well, I'm guessing that would be why Stevie calls him up from time to time about it!

Just because she has it, doesn't mean she's hoarding it.

So, basically they're both saying the ball is in each other's court. I do think it's all still a matter of, like Lindsey said, being available to do it at the same time and I think they tried to work out something at the end of last year but when Lindsey realized, hey, the album is well received, the tour is well received, I'm getting a green light from the record company, I can keep doing this for a while... he shelved the BN thing again. It's a matter of priorities and both have other priorities right now. But I do think that had it been up to Stevie, this thing had been released eons ago. Heck, she starting talking about back during RAL days already.

and it doesn't mean she isn't, either ;) i don't think i'm reading into the whole "power play" bit either.

That in no way suggests it is Stevie. It merely says she has them. he specifically states "everyone also agrees that it needs to come out at a time when there can be some kind of event to promote it, and no one knows what that is," which means it is no one's fault - at least according to him.

Moreover, I agree, if Stevie calls him about it, she is more anxious to put it out than he is.

What amazes me is they think they can tour to promote this when they sound NOTHING like that anymore :eek:

sorry, i guess it's someone in stevie's camp that is doing the "powerplay" and lindsey should just let them fight it out.

I don't think Lindsey is interested enough in it, for Stevie to even be able to "hold it over his head."

And from a logical, business standpoint, it wouldn't make sense for her to hoarde it. For one thing, just by browsing eBay, people are willing to pay insane amounts of money for CD copies of it. Secondly, various anniversaries have gone by (20th, 25th, 30th), that would have marked perfect occasions for its release. And, finally, it has built-in publicity, based on its reputation as being one of the most oft-requested albums to never be released on CD.

Also, Stevie made the first move towards releasing it on CD, by including "Long Distance Winner" on 'Enchanted,' when she could have just as easily left it off.

So this is the second article that has said theres 18 songs on the CD and only 12 videos.....Whats up with that!

The article also says 'Reflections', so I wouldn't pay too much attention to what they are saying.

Do you really believe LB when he says that :laugh:

Again, she is calling him. She released one of the songs. She says it is up to him. All of that points to LB being the one.

Btw, I would like to remind people that we received news not long ago that the BN Sound City sessions will be released in May. One is probably not related to the other, but at least the whole BN thing will garner some more attention then.

Why the hell not? They don't sound anything like they did on Rumours anymore etiher, but that doesn't stop them from playing damn near the entire album to this day. :shrug:

True - but this material will be marketed as a fresh product to the majority of the people. When they go to sing it live and LB screams it and La Nicks is at least an octave lower and singing three notes, I just think that will not go over very well. Then again, maybe they could pull it off - look at what she did with Circle Dance and Rock and Roll :shrug:

You know they will still end up singing Rumours songs. There are only so many pre-FM songs to sing. In conclusion, the crowd will be pleased....due to NGBA and Dreams.