Your Stevie Nicks Story!

[76sparky]

I first heard Stevie Nicks with me knowing it was her in 1991, Timespace was just released and on UK television there was a TV ad for it - i caught this and was instantly beguiled by her appearance and the brief snippets of songs that were shown.

I bought the album and also the 1988 FM greatest hits album and played these to death - I then set to buying everything I could that had her on them.

The first time i played the Fm greatest hits - i set my bedroom up with candles and incense burning to create the right ambience and the first song i heard was Rhiannon - totally perfect.

1994 and Street Angel - this was the first new Stevie Cd i was there for and I loved it at the time - still have a soft spot for it even now.

1997 - The Dance - wow - this was shown in abridged form on UK TV and it mainly focused on Stevie's songs - amazing. At the same time i had started to collect some demos and live stuff but being internet phobic - wasn't hot on this

1998 - enchanted and disc 3 - just blew my mind - i had collected most of the b-sides but there were gems on here i had heard of but never heard.

2001 - TISL - i took the day off work when this was released and then spent all day listening to it thinking it was amazing.

2003 - Say you will - i loved the songs on this but still preferred some of the demos i had heard. Got to see them live in Manchester and it was almost a relgious moment for me - to be in the same space as Stevie herself.

2004-now - expanded my collection with Live/ Demos/ master reels etc and fell in love with new songs, old songs all over again.

Cant wait for In your dreams to be released to get that new music feeling all over again.

[goliath111]

well I came across Stevie by mistake...I was listening to Casey Kasem's countdown in about 1993 or so...and they had some kind of "top 40 extra" and I hit record on my tape player because I thought it was "Islands in the Stream" by Dolly Parton (lol,don't ask why) and when the song was over they went on to say it was "Leather and Lace" by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley....and I started looking for her albums/cassettes and then learned she was in fleetwood mac and so on...

[TakenByTheSky23]

I’ve made about 20 posts on The Ledge so far, after rabidly following along for a few years now. I still feel like a rookie here – because I am – but I, like everyone else on here, have a story that led to my adoration of Stevie and to my being a member on this forum. I’ve never written it down before, and figured that it might be a formal way to introduce myself to the board. It’s bound to be long; I’m a journalist and therefore a writer. Feel free to ignore it and to move along if you like, but if you’re bored and looking to come into someone else’s world for a few minutes, you’re all set!

I lived my childhood ignorantly unaware of who Stevie Nicks or Fleetwood Mac were, at least on a conscious level. I remember my cousin Shelley imitating Stevie’s vocal on Seven Wonders around the time when Tango came out (of course, she did no justice), and I can recall hearing my mother singing along to Little Lies on the car stereo as my sister and I sat in the backseat waiting for our father to return to the vehicle one evening. Strange how you can recall little things like that. But save for those two wispy remembrances, my education in all things Nicks had been virtually nil.

In 1996, when I was 16, I began working at a location of a Canadian record store chain. After about a year of employment there, that location was being shut down, and all the employees were being shunted to other stores in the area, as if from a sprinkler. I was transferred to a store in the far-east end of the city, and I can remember my boss, whom I was about to cease employment with, saying to me, “so you’re going to work for Mike now. I hope that you like Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. And if you don’t, you’d better start.” It seems that Mike had a deep and lifelong love affair with everything involving the lady from the mountain and her fireflies. And that’s putting it lightly. Mike had an addiction. And one that I would come to be bitten by.

Putting things into perspective here - what was happening around this time? In 1997? That’s right – The Dance had exploded onto the mainstream. This new store that I began working at was surrounded with TVs. I was inundated and overwhelmed (and in hindsight, treated) on every single shift with this magical reunion tour. Rhiannon rang like a bell through the night, and I was hooked. I couldn’t get away from that DVD – it became a fixture in my life. When I saw Stevie clutch that fringed microphone as if her life depended on it as she cried “never get away…” into Lindsey’s eyes during Silver Springs, that was it for me. Game over. This is my life now.

I spent the next little while pouring over that DVD and CD and memorizing it verbatim. It became my soundtrack. When I got to university in 1999, the advent of Napster came about. It was a new toy. I was fascinated by this Nicks woman, or what I knew of her thus far, and eagerly typed her name into the software. That’s when I first became exposed – and rapt – with her demos. I fell in love. Again and again. I burnt, among others, the cleaning lady version of Sara onto a disc and played the hell out of it. It remains, to this day, my favourite song.

By early 2001, she was musically defining my life. I was gobbling up she and the Mac’s catalogue as much as I could. But in addition to the old stuff that I was enveloping myself in, I knew that something bigger was afoot. This was going to be a big year. On May 1st, Trouble In Shangri La would be released. All of the press was making me giddy. This was the first solo album of Stevie’s where I knew who she was. I was hanging on every word of this new album, and I hadn’t even heard it yet. She performed Fall From Grace on the Blockbuster Music Awards, and I watched with an open jaw. It would be quite a summer.

And it was. I moved that August onto the 35th floor of the tallest building in town with my best friend. She and I had been flirting with the idea of becoming romantically involved. We were absolute kindreds, but I had always knew that something was wrong. Just after we moved in together, she fell in love with me just as I was figuring out that I was gay. Silver Springs was her song to me. Stevie leant a lot of dramatic music to our lives at that point, but she also helped us get through some delicate moments together as well.

On September 10th, 2001, my kindred and I went to see Stevie play at The Molson Ampitheatre in Toronto. Absolute bliss. At that show, we ran into Mike, my boss from yesteryear at that record store – the one who had exposed me to Stevie back in 1997. He got us up to the front row, and we touched Stevie’s hand during the Edge walk. Elation.

That elation still permeated through my little head the next morning when I awoke, until I turned on the TV and saw that in New York City, the World Trade Centre had been attacked. The skies were on fire. I felt guilty about my pleasure from the previous evening. Stevie had flown from Toronto that night into New York City, where she was scheduled to perform next. Some of her crew had stayed behind in Toronto to catch a later flight, and they had become stranded due to the NYC tragedy. Even in Canada, the streets and the skies were still that day. Everyone was devastated. Nobody moved. In the weeks that would follow, I’d follow Stevie on The Nicks Fix and read her journal about the experience. It seemed that we were all there with her, and in the tragedy…even from Canada.

Fast forward. I was 21 then. I just turned 31 last week. Stevie would come to absolutely define my 20s for me. She taught me how to write music. I taught myself how to play simple piano and guitar, replicating the songs that made me fall in love with her, and then later putting melodies to my own words. We all know that she is a poet. She brought out the poet in me, as well.

Personally, I’m finding so many parallels between the last album and this one. May 1st, 2001. May 3rd, 2011. 2001 was absolutely defined, for me, by Stevie Nicks. I am absolutely certain that 2011 will come to be as well.

And Mike, my manager from the record store? The one who singlehandedly, without knowing, gifted me with something so changing when I was all of 17? The one who delivered Stevie to me my mere chance and circumstance? The one who I have had countless Stevie listening parties with? And the one who I have to thank for all of the above? He is still a treasured and great friend of mine. And ten years later, I’ll see him in the front row when Stevie plays Toronto for her In Your Dreams tour. I’ll look over at him and, if he’s close enough, sing into his ear, “…and then I see someone standing at the side of the stage…”

And I’ll thank him.

And then Stevie will come out for her Edge walk.

And nothing else will matter…

[sorcerer999]

TakenByThe Sky, that was an absolute joy to read! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

[TakenByTheSky23]

Originally Posted by sorcerer999

TakenByThe Sky, that was an absolute joy to read! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

Wow - I was pretty certain that my tale would be ignored in favour of other more exciting threads. I know that there's a lot going on right now - that I'm totally into as well! - and I was almost sorry to bump this thread up. But thank you for that. We all have a Stevie tale...she's always said that her fans are so interesting, and I just wanted to try and contribute to that...in my own little way. I have been ensconced reading everyone else's! I love this club.

[J.Miller]

Originally Posted by TakenByTheSky23

I’ve made about 20 posts on The Ledge so far, after rabidly following along for a few years now. I still feel like a rookie here – because I am – but I, like everyone else on here, has a story that led to my adoration of Stevie and to my being a member on this forum. I’ve never written it down before, and figured that it might be a formal way to introduce myself to the board. It’s bound to be long; I’m a journalist and therefore a writer. Feel free to ignore it and to move along if you like, but if you’re bored and looking to come into someone else’s world for a few minutes, you’re all set!

I lived my childhood ignorantly unaware of who Stevie Nicks or Fleetwood Mac were, at least on a conscious level. I remember my cousin Shelley imitating Stevie’s vocal on Seven Wonders around the time when Tango came out (of course, she did no justice), and I can recall hearing my mother singing along to Little Lies on the car stereo as my sister and I sat in the backseat waiting for our father to return to the vehicle one evening. Strange how you can recall little things like that. But save for those two wispy remembrances, my education in all things Nicks had been virtually nil.

In 1996, when I was 16, I began working at a location of a Canadian record store chain. After about a year of employment there, that location was being shut down, and all the employees were being shunted to other stores in the area, as if from a sprinkler. I was transferred to a store in the far-east end of the city, and I can remember my boss, whom I was about to cease employment with, saying to me, “so you’re going to work for Mike now. I hope that you like Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. And if you don’t, you’d better start.” It seems that Mike had a deep and lifelong love affair with everything involving the lady from the mountain and her fireflies. And that’s putting it lightly. Mike had an addiction. And one that I would come to be bitten by.

Putting things into perspective here - what was happening around this time? In 1997? That’s right – The Dance had exploded onto the mainstream. This new store that I began working at was surrounded with TVs. I was inundated and overwhelmed (and in hindsight, treated) on every single shift with this magical reunion tour. Rhiannon rang like a bell through the night, and I was hooked. I couldn’t get away from that DVD – it became a fixture in my life. When I saw Stevie clutch that fringed microphone as if her life depended on it as she cried “never get away…” into Lindsey’s eyes during Silver Springs, that was it for me. Game over. This is my life now.

I spent the next little while pouring over that DVD and CD and memorizing it verbatim. It became my soundtrack. When I got to university in 1999, the advent of Napster came about. It was a new toy. I was fascinated by this Nicks woman, or what I knew of her thus far, and eagerly typed her name into the software. That’s when I first became exposed – and rapt – with her demos. I fell in love. Again and again. I burnt, among others, the cleaning lady version of Sara onto a disc and played the hell out of it. It remains, to this day, my favourite song.

By early 2001, she was musically defining my life. I was gobbling up she and the Mac’s catalogue as much as I could. But in addition to the old stuff that I was enveloping myself in, I knew that something bigger was afoot. This was going to be a big year. On May 1st, Trouble In Shangri La would be released. All of the press was making me giddy. This was the first solo album of Stevie’s where I knew who she was. I was hanging on every word of this new album, and I hadn’t even heard it yet. She performed Fall From Grace on the Blockbuster Music Awards, and I watched with an open jaw. It would be quite a summer.

And it was. I moved that August onto the 35th floor of the tallest building in town with my best friend. She and I had been flirting with the idea of becoming romantically involved. We were absolute kindreds, but I had always knew that something was wrong. Just after we moved in together, she fell in love with me just as I was figuring out that I was gay. Silver Springs was her song to me. Stevie leant a lot of dramatic music to our lives at that point, but she also helped us get through some delicate moments together as well.

On September 10th, 2001, my kindred and I went to see Stevie play at The Molson Ampitheatre in Toronto. Absolute bliss. At that show, we ran into Mike, my boss from yesteryear at that record store – the one who had exposed me to Stevie back in 1997. He got us up to the front row, and we touched Stevie’s hand during the Edge walk. Elation.

That elation still permeated through my little head the next morning when I awoke, until I turned on the TV and saw that in New York City, the World Trade Centre had been attacked. The skies were on fire. I felt guilty about my pleasure from the previous evening. Stevie had flown from Toronto that night into New York City, where she was scheduled to perform next. Some of her crew had stayed behind in Toronto to catch a later flight, and they had become stranded due to the NYC tragedy. Even in Canada, the streets and the skies were still that day. Everyone was devastated. Nobody moved. In the weeks that would follow, I’d follow Stevie on The Nicks Fix and read her journal about the experience. It seemed that we were all there with her, and in the tragedy…even from Canada.

Fast forward. I was 21 then. I just turned 31 last week. Stevie would come to absolutely define my 20s for me. She taught me how to write music. I taught myself how to play simple piano and guitar, replicating the songs that made me fall in love with her, and then later putting melodies to my own words. We all know that she is a poet. She brought out the poet in me, as well.

Personally, I’m finding so many parallels between the last album and this one. May 1st, 2001. May 3rd, 2011. 2001 was absolutely defined, for me, by Stevie Nicks. I am absolutely certain that 2011 will come to be as well.

And Mike, my manager from the record store? The one who singlehandedly, without knowing, gifted me with something so changing when I was all of 17? The one who delivered Stevie to me my mere chance and circumstance? The one who I have had countless Stevie listening parties with? And the one who I have to thank for all of the above? He is still a treasured and great friend of mine. And ten years later, I’ll see him in the front row when Stevie plays Toronto for her In Your Dreams tour. I’ll look over at him and, if he’s close enough, sing into his ear, “…and then I see someone standing at the side of the stage…”

And I’ll thank him.

And then Stevie will come out for her Edge walk.

And nothing else will matter…

Isn't it great to be a Stevie/Fleetwood Mac fan. I am very excited about the new music too.
My story? I have been seeing a psychiatrist over the last several months. She asked me about my hobbies. She asked me to write about my hobbies in a notebook between sessions. The Stevie/Fleetwood Mac story I wrote end up being 30 pages long in a spiral bound notebook. She said I was a good writer. I like to post this but as only a whole. If I do a rewrite it probably end up being longer. The psychiatrist diagnosed me with having Aspergers Syndrome. It is a mild form of Autism. My eight year old son has been diagnosed with Aspergers also. It is a wonderful story but I am not a typist. A clue: My love for Stevie Nicks sort falls between Taylor Swifts 'Love Story' and Lady Gaga's' Bad Romance'. Typing this took an hour. Thanks again

[Nathan]

yup, good post. welcome and thank you
you

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by mezzoforte

Groovy idea for a thread. And Dave--I can't believe how long you've loved Stevie! Almost your entire life; it's pretty amazing. My story is much shorter.

I think I've always loved the sound of Stevie's voice. For years, every time GDW or Eof17 or the Chain would come on the radio, I remember thinking "I love this song." What stopped me from becoming a fan? Mainly, the fact that as those songs were playing, my mother would invariably say, "I hate this song." And normally mutter something about ridiculous spinning in chiffon. My mother has unimpeachable taste in almost everything, but she loathes la Nicks. And because I have a terrible habit of trusting my mother's opinions more than my own, I'd always shrug, decide she was probably right about the song, and forget all about it. Until a couple of years ago, Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac were only vaguely familiar names to me.

Actually, when I finally got into them last summer, I found my way in more by the drama than the music. Confession time: my name is G.G., and I'm addicted to other people's drama.
I don't want it in my life, but hearing about it in others' is my crack. Eh, blame it on having spent way too much of high school and college in drama club.
Anyway, the Mamas and the Papas are my other all-time favorite band, and I'd always kind of loved all of their crazy, screwed up relationships (note: this is before the incest came out in the open--I may love drama but that devastated me). I loved how John wrote it all into their songs. To me, the stories gave their music that extra something to latch onto. I loved other bands, but I was fascinated by them.
There was a sudden flood of articles about the group following High on Arrival, all of them mentioning the tumultuous history, and most of them describing the Mamas and the Papas as "rivaling Fleetwood Mac" in that regard. I remember reading comparisons between John reveling in making Denny and Michelle sing about their affair, and Lindsey making Stevie sing about "shackin' up."
Now that got my attention. I knew literally nothing about FM, but after hearing that they made an entire record about all breaking up with each other? I was so completely sold. Honestly, Rumours probably could have sounding like dying cats and I would have listened to it.
So I listened to Rumours straight through, and of course, it didn't sound like dying cats. I remember being amazed--most of the songs were familiar to me, but I'd never known who sang them or the stories behind them. I fell in love immediately.

A little off topic:

Both Fleetwood Mac and The Mamas and Papas are my favorite groups, and they very much share a lot similarities, including: the drama, the infidelity, the drugs, the indulgence. And, they all released solo albums.

The obessesion I have with both groups is equal, save for the fact that The Mamas & Papas couldn't manage to overcome their issues, and only existed for 3 1/2 years. What's really frustrating it that while fans get to enjoy lots of live shows from Fleetwood Mac, the Mamas and Papas only performed about 30-40 shows. The only recorded show that exists is their Monterey Pop show, where they didn't have time to rehearse, they didn't have their regular touring band, and there were numerous technical isssues, primarly because Jimi Hendrix performed right before them and decimated the stage set up. It was, by their own admission, their worst show. And that sucks for fans, because they were hugely influentual.

I feel proud that my name is in the book "Go Where You Want to Go." I'm credited for an image from a tour program that the author included in his book. My prized possession is a very rare 1967 Monterey Pop poster.




For t

[jellyman10]

Originally Posted by TakenByTheSky23

I burnt, among others, the cleaning lady version of Sara onto a disc and played the hell out of it. It remains, to this day, my favourite song.

Mine too! Hello, and thanks for sharing.

Loz