Who do you think stole Stevie's demos?

David · #1 11-22-2003, 01:56 PM

Stevie told the DJ at WMMS (somebody correct my history if it's wrong) during a live phone-in interview in 1981 for "Bella Donna" that her so-called "Almanac" demos ("Cathouse Blues," "You Could Forget," "Designs of Love," "Goldfish & Ladybug," "Nomad," "Sorcerer") were stolen from her Hollywood Hills home in the late 1970s -- or at least borrowed & never returned. She said she thought she knew who it was because that group of demos was worked on at a particular time & she knew who was living with her or hanging out with her a lot at that point. Has she ever specifically said any of her other demos were stolen?

I think that two likely suspects are:

1. Tom Moncrief -- who played bass for Buckingham Nicks shows in 1974 & who played bass on & helped record many demos in the late 1970s & early 1980s with Stevie. Those "Almanac" demos predate Fleetwood Mac, so it's likely Tom had access to all those tapes. In fact, Buckingham Nicks even played "Sorcerer" in concert.

2. Hernan Rojas -- who helped engineer a number of Fleetwood Mac albums as well as Stevie Nicks studio demos, & who also had an affair with Stevie during the making of "Tusk," according to the latest Mojo article.

Listening to all the reel-to-reel transfers that are circulating now really clarifies the extent to which these two guys participated in Stevie's demo "sessions" through the years. Apparently, they were around a LOT.

So, who are your suspects?

dissention · #2 11-22-2003, 03:20 PM

Chris Nicks.

The Chain · #3 11-22-2003, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dissention
Chris Nicks.

Her own brother?!

gldstwmn · #4 11-22-2003, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David
Stevie told the DJ at WMMS (somebody correct my history if it's wrong) during a live phone-in interview in 1981 for "Bella Donna" that her so-called "Almanac" demos ("Cathouse Blues," "You Could Forget," "Designs of Love," "Goldfish & Ladybug," "Nomad," "Sorcerer") were stolen from her Hollywood Hills home in the late 1970s -- or at least borrowed & never returned. She said she thought she knew who it was because that group of demos was worked on at a particular time & she knew who was living with her or hanging out with her a lot at that point. Has she ever specifically said any of her other demos were stolen?

I think that two likely suspects are:

1. Tom Moncrief -- who played bass for Buckingham Nicks shows in 1974 & who played bass on & helped record many demos in the late 1970s & early 1980s with Stevie. Those "Almanac" demos predate Fleetwood Mac, so it's likely Tom had access to all those tapes. In fact, Buckingham Nicks even played "Sorcerer" in concert.

2. Hernan Rojas -- who helped engineer a number of Fleetwood Mac albums as well as Stevie Nicks studio demos, & who also had an affair with Stevie during the making of "Tusk," according to the latest Mojo article.

Listening to all the reel-to-reel transfers that are circulating now really clarifies the extent to which these two guys participated in Stevie's demo "sessions" through the years. Apparently, they were around a LOT.

So, who are your suspects?

They played Sorcerer? Oh my, what I would have given to have seen that. She also says in her Storytellers show that someone stole demos and copied and returned them. She was still working with Tom during the Bella Donna sessions, so if she did know it was him, she didn't seem to have any reservations about continuing to work with him.
As for Hernan, some of the Tusk stuff that has leaked is fantastic. It could be him, both him and Tom or neither.

gldstwmn · #5 11-22-2003, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dissention
Chris Nicks.

I have always wondered about that.

EnchantedSLN · #6 11-22-2003, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dissention
Chris Nicks.

Yyyyep.

Johnny Stew · #7 11-22-2003, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David
So, who are your suspects?

I think the butler did it!
Oops, sorry... been reading too many old-fashioned mystery novels lately. *blushes*

I guess either Moncrief or Rojas are good possibilities, though Stevie continued to work with both well after the demos would have been stolen.
Rojas was still working with her as recently as 1987, when she recorded "Silent Night."

If Stevie ever suspected either of these two men, she apparently didn't let it get in the way of their working relationships.
I wonder if she ever pin-pointed whodunit.

To answer your other question... I don't recall her ever mentioning that any other demos have been literally stolen. Everything else we have seems to have leaked from the studios where they were being recorded.
Then, of course, there are those "master reels," which have leaked because Stevie declined to buy them back, having in her possession the original copies of the tracks.