Jeremy Spencer in Michigan Jan. 15

[vivfox]

Last Updated: January 14. 2010 1:00AM .Bluesman Jeremy Spencer headlines festival

Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
GuitaristJeremy Spencer is ensconced in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Fleetwood Mac in its early, bluesier era, his slide guitar influenced by Elmore James.

In 1971 Spencer left the band abruptly, joining the Children of God (today, the Family International). Spencer, 61, headlines the Anti-Freeze Blues Festival Friday night at the Magic Bag. The interview was by e-mail.

The wave of British music you were part of brought the blues to the attention of young Americans in the '60s. Has it suffered a decline in interest since then, and is another revival needed?

An interest seems to be bubbling under the surface among the youth, especially in Europe... in Norway, Sweden and the former Eastern Bloc. Such a revival isn't something that can be "forced"; you have to watch how the currents of interest and passion are flowing. I'm wondering if the worsening economic crises and so on (in the U.S.) could spark a deeper receptivity to this kind of music.

Is there any talk of a reunion of early Fleetwood Mac, i.e., you, Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green?

So far, we are all still "surviving" although that could be arguable...Personally, I'm not that excited about it because, although I do play blues in my sets -- including a couple numbers that I performed back in Fleetwood Mac -- I have no desire to tread a lot of old musical ground. However, to play with Mick and John -- which we did not so long ago, informally, could be fun.

What are your memories of playing in Detroit?

We in Fleetwood Mac would always heave a sigh of relief when we knew we were playing Detroit, because the crowds always received us with open arms.

A sad downturn to this, however, was some of the later concerts when we had to play for crowds who were wasted on Quaaludes and being subjected to Iggy and the Stooges, who were opening for us at the time. (We should have had a say in who opened for us!) But such concerts aside, we really did appreciate the response in Detroit, Dearborn, etc.

We spent a memorable Christmas and New Years' ('68/'69) here in Detroit. On Christmas night, we stayed here, gave presents to each other and watched "A Christmas Carol" on TV, the Alistair Sim version. Anyway, overall, I have good memories of Detroit and I'm glad to play here again.

http://detnews.com/article/20100114/...lines-festival