Mick Fleetwood touring with his blues band

[michelej1]

Neal Preston Rock 107

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Mick Fleetwood Says His Blues Band Helps Him Reconnect with Original Fleetwood Mac Lineup’s Music


Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood‘s side project The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band kicks off a brief fall North American tour tonight in Aspen, Colorado. Fleetwood founded the group about 13 years ago with ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist/singer Rick Vito as an outlet for their mutual love of the blues, especially the music made by the group’s original lineup led by singer/guitarist Peter Green.

As Mick explains to ABC Radio, “It’s a four-piece band, just like the original Fleetwood Mac. Simple, straight-ahead, and we have a lot of fun
reconnecting [with that material].” Among the early Fleetwood Mac songs his Blues Band plays are such Green-penned tunes as “Love that Burns,” “Oh Well,” “Rattlesnake Shake,” “Stop Messin’ Round” and “Black Magic Woman,” which, of course, was famously covered by Santana.

“We’re certainly not gonna be playing ‘Rhiannon’ and ‘Go Your Own Way’ or any of the [band’s more contemporary songs],” Mick notes. “This is about me and early Fleetwood Mac, Rick and the boys in the band — four dudes that love playing blues.”

Fleetwood is used to playing arenas and stadiums with the current Fleetwood Mac, but he says his Blues Band gives him the chance to perform in more intimate venues.

“We’re playing, really, in the same way as I played when I was in my twenties…which was playing in clubs and small ballrooms and festivals,” Mick explains. “It’s a great reconnect for me, and I’m a player, so I’m happy playing anywhere, really.”

The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band’s tour stops in a variety of venues in the Western U.S. and Canada, and is mapped out through an October 2 concert in Victoria, British Colombia. Rounding out the group’s lineup are bassist Lenny Castellanos and keyboardist Mark Johnstone.