Teen Invited to Play with Mick

[michelej1]

[Click to see picture of Mick in a Santa suit. Hey, that kid doesn't seem all that thrilled]
Times Columnist

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/lo...hawaii-1.33409

Duncan teen invited to jam with Mick Fleetwood in Hawaii

Sandra McCulloch , Times Colonist December 22, 2012

young musician from Duncan has been asked to jam with Mick Fleetwood of the iconic band Fleetwood Mac next week on Maui.

The chance of a lifetime happened when Connor Head, a 17-year-old Grade 12 student from Cowichan High School, ran into Fleetwood at the Maui airport and then had a followup encounter at Fleetwood’s Lahaina restaurant, Fleetwoods on Front Street.

Fleetwood Mac, with Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the release of the album Rumours — which sold 40 million copies — with a 2013 tour that includes a May 19 stop at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

It was a thrill for Head, who already had the band’s song Never Going Back Again programmed as the alarm on his smart phone. His own band, the Royal Canadians, formed a year ago and opened for Chilliwack this summer at the Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan.

Head ran into Fleetwood at a cabaret show in Lahaina on Thursday night.

“I ran into him in the hallway and he recognized me from the airport,” said Head. “He poked me in the chest and said, ‘;Hello.’ ”

Head approached Fleetwood’s manager and asked if he could pass along a copy of the Royal Canadians’ first CD, Lonely Whale. Fleetwood agreed to take the CD and they had a chat.

Fleetwood told Head that he and former Fleetwood Mac member Rick Vito were part of a Maui-based band that’s having a concert on Friday.

“I just threw it out there as a joke saying, ‘;If you need a guitarist, I’d like to play,’ and he just got the idea he’d invite me over to his vacation home the day before to come jam with all of them,” said Head.

“It was his idea. I was kind of shocked. I can’t really believe it’s happening.”

Head’s mom Cathy called the chain of events “pretty exciting.”

“I think jamming with Mick Fleetwood would be quite a highlight of Connor’s life,” she said.

Rehearsing with the band, which plays a lot of Fleetwood Mac hits, could lead to more good things, she said.

“Who knows? Maybe he’ll get up on stage [during the concert] on Friday.”

She laughed at the idea that Fleetwood Mac might need another opening act at Rogers Arena: “You never know!”

The Royal Canadians album is available on iTunes and on the band’s website at theroyalcanadians.com.