Friday, January 23, 2015

My condolences to Mick Fleetwood and family on the passing of Mick's Mother

Richard Dashut (Rumours Co-Producer/Engineer) posted to his Truth and Consequences Tumblr blog today his personal message of condolence following the confirmation that Mick's mother has passed away.

Mick with his Mother
Photo: Annabel Mehran
RIP Bridget Maureen Fleetwood (Biddy)

"I’m sorry to report that I have just received personal confirmation from Mick Fleetwood, that his Mother, Bridget Maureen Fleetwood, has passed away at the age of 98 1/2. If you want to know the origins to the character of Fleetwood Mac, you need look no further than Mick’s Mum for that answer. From all of the Punters on this blog and myself at the head of that list, we salute the life of one of the most extraordinary women to ever walk the face of this planet. This is not Biddy’s world anymore, but heaven has a new Mum and we still have Fleetwood Mac! Biddy, may you rest in the eternal peace of death, you have earned in life and I shall carry your memory in my back pocket, for the rest of my days."



So sorry Mick!

I don't know if this will affect the next few shows or not. I'll keep you posted if an official statement is made or if any shows are postponed.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Stevie Nicks '24 Karat Gold' Photo Exhibit runs at Morrison Hotel Gallery NYC

Morrison Hotel Gallery continues to exclusively represent and exhibit the 
stunning collection of hand-signed, fine art photography by
STEVIE NICKS
With Fleetwood Mac's popular tour coming back to the New York area beginning tonight, it's your chance to see and purchase these beautiful photographs.

We are making available a selection of photographs from our exclusive exhibition of Stevie Nicks' 24 Karat Gold, which debuted in New York City to large crowds in October 2014. Stop by our SoHo gallery @ 116 Prince Street, 2nd Floor, to view Stevie's limited edition photographs. 


STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"
Out Now! Order from Stevienicksofficial.com

Stevie Nicks Outtake Photos from January, 2015 Rolling Stone Magazine

Photographer Peggy Sirota has been posting outtake shots of Stevie on her Instagram page. These are outtakes from the latest edition of Rolling Stone Magazine where Stevie is featured on the cover with a nine page editorial inside. If you haven't picked it up.. Better get on it.  The latest photo she posted is beautiful. Notice Stevie's wearing the knee length boots which you rarely see her wear anymore.



 

STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"
Out Now! Order from Stevienicksofficial.com

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Review: Fleetwood Mac Grand Rapids, MI Jan 20, 2015

Photo: Chris Clark
VIEW MORE PHOTOS
Fleetwood Mac stirs up old emotions for strong Van Andel Arena show
By John Serba
mlive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The anguished interpersonal drama in Fleetwood Mac is long dead, but something that informed the songs and still defines the band. Judging from its performance at Van Andel Arena Tuesday night, the group’s driving force is now something resembling joy.

Playing in front of a sold-out crowd, a happy and reflective Fleetwood Mac were joined by keyboardist and singer Christine McVie, who’s participating in the group’s latest tour after an absence dating back to 1998. So consider the reunion of the band’s five core members another lingering dysfunction conquered, and celebrated early in the show. Opening number “The Chain” showcased the strong vocal harmonies of singer Stevie Nicks, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and McVie, who was then spotlighted for “You Make Loving Fun.” It was a grand re-introduction for McVie.

Taking the microphone later in the show, Buckingham discussed how Fleetwood Mac’s notorious ups and downs are key to its essence; he referred to a time when the band was swayed by the false idea that a certain lifestyle was necessary to create rock ‘n’ roll – a thinly veiled reference to his long-disintegrated relationship with Nicks, and the band’s past drug use. His subsequent solo rendering of “Big Love” swayed any accusations of insincerity, featuring an impassioned vocal and intricate, aggressive finger-picked guitar work.

The number was immediately followed by sentimental classic song “Landslide,” featuring only Nicks - gorgeous of voice - and Buckingham. As she sustained a note near the conclusion, she stretched her hand out to Buckingham’s and smiled with sad eyes. They then played “Never Going Back Again,” and as the song ended, she stood with her back to the audience as the guitarist hugged her sweetly.

Sure, maybe such drama can be a little corny in light of the infamous Fleetwood Mac soap opera, but it seemed warm, genuine and inclusive, the audience understanding the group’s complex dynamic.

Of course, that’s smack in the realm of expectation for a Fleetwood Mac live performance this deep into the 21st century. Same goes for the set list - 24 songs, you know all of them - and the production, which featured a towering high-definition screen.

Despite her mystical aura having faded over the decades, Nicks was still in vintage form - silk scarves and a tambourine, fringe for days, high heels you can see from the moon. And her voice was still as husky as it is sweet, slow like smoldering honey during “Dreams,” “Gypsy” and “Silver Springs.” During “Gold Dust Woman,” she held her head in her hands and shuffled from one end of the stage to another, as if possessed by the musical psychedelia behind her, then curtsied deeply at song’s conclusion.

Where Nicks’ voice and Buckingham’s guitar gave the group its flamboyance and star power, McVie’s strong vocal work, along with drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, were its musical foundation. “World Turning” featured Fleetwood playing a pointless drum solo, too long by half; at least he showed no signs of the stomach flu that derailed the band’s Saturday concert in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Last September, another boomer favorite, the Eagles, played on the same stage to the same generation of audience (both of whom can swallow an expensive ticket – Fleetwood seats topped out at $180, and that’s before the ripoff secondary market jacks up the prices). Where the Eagles were nearly perfect in performance but ultimately antiseptic, Fleetwood Mac was occasionally rough around the edges – a sloppy run through “Go Your Own Way” closed the main set – and mixed loud and a little distorted, a reminder that this is a rock ‘n’ roll band still capable of stirring up a little drama on stage.

Monday, January 19, 2015

7 things you need to know about the 'On with the Show' tour



GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Fleetwood Mac, one of the most volatile groups in rock history, is back on the road with its classic lineup.

For the first time since 1998, when the group was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, singer/keyboardist Christine McVie is touring with singer Stevie Nicks, drummer Mick Fleetwood, guitarist Lindsay Buckingham and bassist John McVie. Oddly, it was less the group's infamous in-fighting - between she and ex-husband John, and the very public battles between ex-lovers Nicks and Buckingham - and more her fear of flying that prompted her retirement.

That's great news for fans of of Fleetwood Mac's signature 1977 album "Rumors," one of the biggest-selling albums ever in the United States - 20 million copies, double-diamond status, something only nine records have achieved. More tracks from that album are being featured on the current "On with the Show" tour, which is among the key things you should know about the band's current jaunt:

1. The return of McVie is big. As recently as 2012, Nicks wasn’t hopeful McVie would return, telling Rolling Stone, “there's no more a chance of that happening than an asteroid hitting the earth. She is done. You know when you look in somebody's face and you can just tell? She doesn't want to do it anymore.”

Obviously, that changed, and we didn’t have to be obliterated by a rock from outer space to get there. McVie, 71, overcame her phobia, joined the band on stage in 2013, and agreed to participate in the “On With the Show” tour. Earlier this month, Nicks told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “When we went on the road, I realized what an amazing friend she’d been of mine that I had lost…I never want her to ever go out of my life again, and that has nothing to do with music and everything to do with her and I as friends.”

2. It'll be McVie's first Grand Rapids performance with the band since 1971. She was absent for Fleetwood Mac's previous local show, a 2003 date at Van Andel Arena, which drew 12,000. (Nicks has been to town since, co-headlining the arena with Don Henley in 2005, for 6,000 fans.) Prior to that, the band, then featuring McVie, hadn't stopped by since a 1971 gig at the Grand Valley Armory, replacing an AWOL Deep Purple. If you say you were there, there's a good chance you're lying.

3. The second tour leg is now in full swing. The first leg of "On with the Show" kicked off in Minneapolis in Sept., 2014, and wrapped in Tampa. Grand Rapids is the third date of the second leg, which will stretch to Europe and conclude with a pair of Dublin gigs in July.

4. Ticket prices are high. That should come as no surprise to anyone – they top out at $179.50 (because $180 is apparently 50 cents too much), with “platinum seats” ranging from $275 to $450. That kind of dough hasn't dissuaded anyone, considering the Van Andel show is close to selling out. Compare that basic-ticket cost to fellow fogies- er, classic-rock act the Eagles, whose 2014 Van Andel Arena date topped out at $149.50. Fleetwood Mac's 2003 show cost up to $127, a noticable increase over the 1971 concert, which cost $3.

5. The new set list. With McVie back on stage, songs with three-part harmonies – e.g., “Rumors” track “You Make Loving Fun” – returned to the set. Expect a show just like those on the 2014 tour leg, with 24 songs, counting a healthy chunk of “Rumors”; it stretches to roughly three hours.

6. The reviews are good. There's no shortage of praise for McVie's return - the Tampa Bay Times said a Dec., 2014 show was better than Fleetwood Mac's previous, McVie-less performances, saying "The lightness and sweetness that McVie brought to the table counterbalanced – perhaps even enhanced – the rest of Fleetwood Mac’s hit-loaded set." Of a Denver performance, the Huff Post gushed, "the stunning show was... blessed with the valuable missing piece of the puzzle that turns an already priceless picture into a beautiful work of pop art."

7. This may be the end. Buckingham said as much during a recent interview with PBS talk-show host Tavis Smiley. A new album, to be the band's first since 2003's "Say You Will," is in the works - long in the works, but still in the works - and won't be completed until the tour is over. If you believe this claim - and who can blame you if you don't, considering how difficult it is for the likes of Cher, the Eagles, Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue, KISS and other acts to retire - then this may be the last Grand Rapids show ever for Fleetwood Mac.

Source: MLive

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Drummer who inspired Stevie Nicks "For What It's Worth" has passed away

Dallas Taylor, former drummer for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young passed away Sunday at the age of 66.

Dallas was best known for his work with CSNY between 1969 and 1973. After parting ways with CSNY and leaving music all together he became a drug and alcohol interventionist in Los Angeles after having his own substance abuse problems.

His wife Patti Mcgovern-Taylor confirmed the news via a post on Facebook.

1990 Entertainment Tonight Profile:

In 1993 when Stevie Nicks admitted herself to the Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Venice Beach for her addiction to Klonopin, where it took her 47 days to detox from the drug, Dallas Taylor was there with her the whole time. - The Telegraph (2007)

In the "In Your Dreams" promo footage and "In Your Dreams" documentary Stevie talks about "the drummer" that saved her life while fresh out of rehab and on a tour bus for the first time during the Street Angel Tour in 1994. (advance the video to the 1:09 mark).

So this weekend definitely hasn't been the best weekend in Stevie's world with Mick being ill and now with Dallas' passing.  

Official Statement from Fleetwood Mac regarding last night's show


"Last night's Fleetwood Mac show in Lincoln, Nebraska ended a few songs early when the band's founder and drummer Mick Fleetwood became ill with the stomach flu. At this time, the band is still scheduled to perform in Grand Rapids, MI on Tuesday."