"What's On" Vegas Article/Interview

[MacMan]

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

[danax6]

Originally Posted by MacMan

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.

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

[The Catdancer]

Originally Posted by danax6

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

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

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by MacMan

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.”

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.

[strandinthewind]

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

[danax6]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

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

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

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

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

Au contraire, hon'... that's just 2007 - 2008. 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.

[danax6]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Au contraire, hon'... that's just 2007 - 2008.

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 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 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.

[strandinthewind]

This tour is 2007.

LB said his new record is coming out in 2008. If he can be believed ( ) - 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.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by danax6

. . . 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.

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

[danax6]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

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'.

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by danax6

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

omg. this totally just made me tear up.

[Kelly]

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.

[GardenStateGirlie]

Originally Posted by danax6

Maybe a little BN project thrown in there...

...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

[GardenStateGirlie]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

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

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