Thursday, April 04, 2013

Q&A with Mick Fleetwood on the eve of Fleetwood Mac Tour

The modern rumor-mill media world, with its Twitter gossip
and screaming TMZ headlines, has nothing on the dramas of Fleetwood Mac.

By  Kevin Joy
The Columbus Dispatch 

Although its past is littered with divorces, drugs, lineup changes and lustful behavior — including a painful split between singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and free-spirited frontwoman Stevie Nicks — the ensemble hasn’t buried its missteps.

“We still choose to be more revealed than not,” said drummer Mick Fleetwood, the only player to remain a constant since his namesake band’s 1967 inception. “I think you’d find in any of our interviews, Stevie, and even Lindsey, are almost too open about things that are very personal, really.”

The enduring group is known just as much for refined pop-rock and blues music — in particular, the aptly titled Rumours, which was reissued last year.

Released in 1977, the album recorded at the height of Fleetwood Mac’s turmoil ultimately yielded four Top 10 singles (Don’t Stop and Dreams among them) and, today, spawns a tour kicking off in Columbus.

The Rumours-era unit, reunited since 1997 — with the exception of keyboardist Christine McVie, who retired one year later — has continued to go its own way.

That stamina, said the 65-year-old Fleetwood, “really is charged with some of the real principles of people who have worked at being able to be together.

“This is a journey that is unfolding as we speak.”

He spoke to The Dispatch before tonight’s show in Nationwide Arena.  

Q: What has it been like preparing for this tour?

A: We’re pretty much closing in on the last four to five days of rehearsal. We’ve been at it for about six weeks. No matter what you do, you’re always down to the wire.

We’ve done this a lot through the years. There’s some anxieties — tweaking the set and wondering: “Is that the best song to do there; what would make it different for the audience?” — but we’ll be up and fighting. We always are. The band’s playing beautifully.

Q: Rumours turned 35 last year. Was that motivation to hit the road again?

A: We do it when we feel that this is really a cool thing — something that’s worth a (expletive). That’s the state of the nation with the four of us. We’re all happy to perform. We don’t have to do it.

We’re all in our 60s. We can’t run this like a huge business, which is quite apparent. We have to know that everything’s OK as people — which, for all of our problems, . . . we are feeling really good about all being together.

Q: What are the dynamics of a Fleetwood Mac concert in 2013? Might we see laser lights — or Stevie Nicks flying across the arena in a gilded cage?

A: Unless I fell asleep during the ’70s, which is highly probable, we’ve never been the sort of band that had their production be the reason someone comes to see us.

Having said that, we’re blessed to be able to make a really good effort. It has become grander, the technology we draw on. We don’t have firebombs — simple lights, some bigger screens than we ever used.

It’s going to be really aesthetically tasteful, to complement the songs in a holistic way.

Q: Why do listeners still maintain such a close connection with Rumours?

A: It is extraordinary that the album seems to rebirth itself quietly all the time. And, now (with the 2012 reissue), it’s been really rebirthed in a quite profound way.

One has to say that it’s a body of work that, sonically, does not age. Thank goodness we did not put all those cheap ’70s and ’80s effects with plastic drums, that sort of stuff. You don’t really know where this album was made.

It’s just very pure. There isn’t a lot of hype in the way we produced that album, a lot of care with the layering. The songs and the scenes and the story really seemed to take on almost a part of a responsibility of representing a generation.

That album became an iconic signpost for a lot of things that have nothing to do with music.

Q: An allusion to the musicians’ chaotic offstage lives?

A: This album opened a door that is still wide-open. I think the songs were well-crafted: Just when you think this could be getting a little sweet and cute, whatever they call accessible pop music, you suddenly realize it’s not.

Fleetwood Mac inherently has a dark side — these five people, now four, in a life puzzle. We were probably fairly naive in many ways. I think people identify with that. They’re invested in our story as people.

Q: How would you describe the relationship among band members today?

A: It’s all good, and it’s always interesting. We don’t always see eye to eye on bits and pieces. One of the biggest misconceptions with all the ups and downs and inroads and so-called horror stories — the one thing people forget is that we actually really love each other.

You see Stevie and Lindsey up there, knowing they’ve had huge differences of opinion. But they’r e there. They have a huge regard and love for their journey.

Fleetwood Mac’s world tour starts tonight. Christine McVie may grace London stage

As Fleetwood Mac embark on a world tour, we look at the renewed love for a band that defined the 1970s.
Metro.UK
By Amy Dawson
@Amy_Rose_D

I’m as overawed to meet Mick Fleetwood, the towering drummer from legendary Anglo-American rock act Fleetwood Mac, as a hobbit greeting Gandalf – though this wizard sports a batik waistcoat and bright pink socks.

‘We had no concept of the enormity of what we were making with Rumours,’ he says, speaking of their legendary 1977 album. ‘But we did know it was something special and that helped us focus when we were all so desperately unhappy. I can’t think of any other band where all this s*** has happened.’

Earlier this year, an extended edition of Rumours, which had already sold more than 40million copies, went

straight back into the British charts at No.3. An epic world tour starts tonight and will hit Britain on September 24, with 2013 shaping up to be a triumphant reunion year. But it’s not just a nostalgia trip: people far too young to remember Rumours the first time around seem obsessed with the music and the story behind it.

Indeed, it now seems unbelievable that Fleetwood Mac’s 11th album, recorded amid the crossfire of three relationship breakdowns, was ever finished at all. The marriage between bassist John McVie and singer/keyboardist Christine was crumbling, while singer Stevie Nicks and guitarist/singer Lindsey Buckingham were going through their own messy split. Even Fleetwood was in the middle of divorce proceedings.

Everyone was strung out on veritable snowdrifts of paranoia-inducing cocaine, working in a room from which all the clocks had been removed, but it somehow resulted in one of the most flawless rock-pop records of all time.

‘The music was the biggest reason we became successful,’ admits Fleetwood, the only constant member of the group since it started as a blues outfit back in 1967. ‘But we’re fully aware that there’s a duality to it. You couldn’t have devised a PR campaign so clever but we were really pretty naive.’

The resurgence of Mac love has taken many forms in recent years: clubland reworks; a Rumours T-shirt in Topshop; and a covers album featuring the likes of Tame Impala and Haim (the BBC Sound Of 2013 winners, whose music has been compared to Fleetwood Mac’s melodic soft rock). The NME even dubbed Stevie Nicks ‘the ultimate rock goddess’. When talking about Rumours recently, Nicks said: ‘I think if I was 20 years old, I would definitely want to be in that band.’

Fleetwood is likewise thrilled and inspired by this continued popularity. ‘A lot of bands, including us, never know when the audience is going to finally disappear,’ he says.

‘But we have a whole influx of new fans, young people who’ve been brought up on us by their parents or picked us up on the internet. There’ll be people on this tour in their seventies and others seeing us for the first time, and that’s really cool.’

A major part of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours-era magic involved the complementary contrast between the two female vocalists – Christine McVie’s cool and smoky tone set against Nicks’s utterly distinctive voice, which could be a Californian twang or a Janis Joplin-style deep belter by turns. But Christine retired from showbiz in 1998.

‘If they wanted me to, I might pop back on stage when they’re in London,’ she says, gracing me with a rare interview, ‘just to do a little duet or something like that.’

That news is likely to set fans whirling like a batwing-sleeved Nicks during a performance of Rhiannon. And almost as exciting is the prospect of the first new music since 2003.

Buckingham, Fleetwood and John McVie went into the studio last year to record tracks that Nicks, who was mourning the death of her mother at the time, later laid down vocals on. Fleetwood hints there might be an EP in the pipeline and very possibly an album later this year.

‘I think people will let us know if they want an album,’ he says. ‘It could definitely happen, we’ve got the goods. We really want to shove some new s*** out there – it may not sell zillions but it’s an important thing to do artistically, we think.’
Whether or not they produce new music, the band who, against all odds, are still friends will always have a work of bittersweet perfection in Rumours. As Christine explains: ‘There was no bulls*** on that record – it was completely real and truthful. And that lasts.’

Fleetwood Mac’s world tour starts tonight. Their British tour begins at London’s O2 arena on September 24. www.fleetwoodmac.com

Win Fleetwood Mac tix with 93.9 BOB-FM all this week! in Ottawa



Listen up Ottawa: Win Fleetwood Mac tix with 93.9 BOB-FM this week. Listen in at 7:10am and 4:10pm for the special Fleetwood Mac sounder - be caller 25 to instantly win a pair of tickets to see Mick, John, Lindsey and Stevie at Scotiabank!

On Friday, starting at 6am, BOB's got a Fleetwood Mac Ticket FRENZY! Win a pair of 100 level tickets EVERY hour from 6am to 6pm!

Listen Live online

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

STEVIE NICKS "In Your Dreams" Film in Winnipeg at Cinematheque 3 Nights May 2nd 3rd & 5th


The Winnipeg Film Groups Cinematheque Theatre in Winnipeg, MB Canada will present Stevie's "In Your Dreams" documentary across three nights in early May.  The dates have changed from the initial announcement PLUS they've added a 3rd Sunday Matinee showing.

Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 9:00 PM
Friday, May 3, 2013 at 9:00 PM
Sunday, May 5, 2013 at 2:00 PM

Tickets at the moment are not offered in advance online.  You should be able to buy advance tickets at the local box office.

WIN A Signed STEVIE NICKS In Your Dreams Movie Poster


WIN A SIGNED STEVIE NICKS ‘IN YOUR DREAMS’ POSTER
From Ultimate Classic Rock

To enter the contest for the poster, follow the instructions on the widget at Ultimate Classic Rock. Sharing your entry across Facebook and Twitter platforms will give you more opportunities to win. The contest will expire on May 2 at 11:59PM EDT.

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

TONIGHT! Once-in-a-lifetime-experience. Stevie Nicks "In Your Dreams" on the BIG screen - Fan Reviews



‘IN YOUR DREAMS’ – STEVIE NICKS 
ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE!
The film "In Your Dreams" hit U.S. theaters tonight for ONE NIGHT ONLY showings allowing fans from across the U.S. to finally get a glimpse behind the making of Stevie's last album "In Your Dreams".  If you were following along back in February, 2010 when that first tweet by Dave Stewart indicated they were working together and things were brewing, then you know that this making of documentary was always part of the long term plan to eventually have it screened in theaters... So glad it made it and from all accounts, it appears to have been a successful launch with most theaters selling well or selling out to the point where additional screens were added for tonight or additional screening days were added to the schedule.  Bodes well for the upcoming VOD and Digital release later this spring - and eventual (hopefully) DVD release.

If you happen to catch the movie tonight, for many of you it was your first time...Some of you were lucky enough to have seen it a second and third time... Some of you have yet to see it as it hasn't screened in your city yet... So for those that have seen it, what did you think?  Leave your "fan review" in the comments section.  Or you could leave it in the post on Facebook

If you haven't seen the film yet, you may want to avoid this post so not to spoil your experience. Post away! 

Check out the inyourdreamsmovie.com website for further screening dates of the film particularly this coming Sunday at all iPic theaters... Sunday Matinees!


NEW THEATER & DATE: Stevie Nicks 'In Your Dreams' Documentary Coming to Odessa, TX May 2nd


The Odessa Council for Arts and Humanities are very excited to announce that they will be bringing Stevie's documentary "In Your Dreams" to The Ector Theater in Odessa, TX for a ONE NIGHT ONLY screening on May 2, 2013 at 6:00pm.

500 N. Texas
Odessa, Texas
For more information call: 432-337-1492

BUYING TICKETS
Tickets will go on sale Monday, April 8th by calling 432-337-1492 or by stopping by the Odessa Council for Arts and Humanities offices at 119 W. 4th Street in Odessa.


Video: 20 Minutes With Stevie Nicks in Los Angeles (Q&A After "In Your Dreams")

Q&A with Stevie Nicks The Landmark Theatre Los Angeles
March 31, 2013 after the 7pm screening.
Thanks to Jamie for capturing the night!
More Photos by Erin Braswell at The Landmark Theatres Facebook page

Monday, April 01, 2013

Stevie Nicks on her new 'In Your Dreams' documentary and Dave Grohl's pivotal role

Why she and Fleetwood Mac mate Lindsey Buckingham are getting along better than ever
by Melinda Newman
Hitfix Music

When Dave Stewart first suggested to Stevie Nicks that he film the making of her 2011 solo album, “In Your Dreams,” which he co-produced, her blunt reaction was “I think you’re nuts.”

However, the Eurythmics co-founder convinced Nicks by simply reassuring her “If you don’t like it, we don’t use it.” And in the end, she not only liked it, but she saw the documentary as a way to extend the shelf life of the critically-acclaimed album, which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, but did not have the high-profile run Nicks hoped it would.

Nicks screened the 100-minute film last night (March 31) for fans, as well as held a Q&A at Los Angeles’ Landmark Theater. “In Your Dreams” will play in theaters in more than 75 cities in North America on April 2. Virgil Films will make the film available on Video on Demand and Digital Download shortly thereafter.

Stewart and co-producer Glen Ballard recorded much of the album in Nicks’ Los Angeles house and working with Stewart gave Nicks great joy, she told an adoring audience at the theater. Upon their first meeting about the album,  “I’m thinking this is going to be such a trip because he’s such a trip. He’s trippy. He gets up happy every day,” she said with a certain amount of astonishment. “I rather like suffering a lot.”

As the documentary details, Stewart is the first person Nicks has ever written with in the same room. She gave Stewart 40 poems of hers (she calls them "poetry", not lyrics), culled from her many, many books of poems, and he showed up at the house to start to write a song. “He doesn’t really think we’re going to write in the same room,” Nicks recalls. But they did, eventually penning seven songs for the album together.  She credits Stewart’s lack of arrogance as the key to making their co-writing work. “Dave watched my face. Whenever he’d go to a chord I didn’t like, he’d go a different way.”  (One of the film’s best scenes flashes back to video of Lindsey Buckingham criticizing Nicks’ lyrics on 2003’s “Destiny Rules. She snaps back that he wouldn’t criticize Bob Dylan).

The documentary will find its greatest appeal with the legion of Nicks’ faithful. It goes through the creation of each of the 13 tracks, her 30-year plus relationship with her back-up singers Lori Perry Nicks and Sharon Celani (which could be its own film), and the great time they had making the album. In fact, the biggest drama in the entire film comes when Nicks correctly note that the Stewart solo she hears on a song is not the one she originally heard and favors. Other than that, it’s a complete love fest that becomes somewhat redundant at times, though given how fractious the making of some of the Fleetwood Mac albums was, it's nice to see her have an easy time of it.

Dave Grohl, with whom Nicks worked on the “Sound City”  documentary, served a vital behind-the-scenes
role at a pivotal time. A few months ago, she was telling Grohl that she was “heartbroken” by the album’s lack of success, especially after she felt that she had “done every TV show known to man” to promote it, including “The Voice” and “Dancing With The Stars.” Grohl asked her if she filmed the making of the album. She said yes. He suggested finishing the documentary, adding “‘this will give your record another run for your money”,” she said. “I called Dave Stewart and said ‘We have to finish this...it’s the only way to save this record.’ Had it not been for Dave Grohl, I’m saying that I don’t know what I would have done.”

“In Your Dreams” documentary bows as Fleetwood Mac kicks off a new tour on April 4 in Columbus, Ohio. Nicks said the year-long tour comes at a time when she and former boyfriend Buckingham are “for the first time in 30 years, we’re getting a long really well. We had a little talk a year ago and he had a year to think about it. He’s understanding that it’s really good to be my friend.”



LISTEN: Full Stevie Nicks 'In Your Dreams' Los Angeles Q&A Provided by Landmark Theatres


Stevie Nicks Q&A Los Angeles
The full podcast of one of the two Q&A events that Stevie took part in following the Los Angeles showing of "In Your Dreams" at The Landmark Theatre has been generously provided by Landmarktheatres.com
Click through and listen or download

'In Your Dreams,' documentary on making of latest Stevie Nicks album, to play at Ross

By L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / Lincoln Journal Star

Stevie Nicks spent most of 2010 making “In Your Dreams,” her first solo release in a decade. Collaborating with former Eurythmic Dave Stewart, they wrote and recorded much of the album in her old mansion high atop the Hollywood Hills.


Stewart, who has been shooting video since he bought a camera out of Australian pawn shop decades ago, convinced Nicks to film the sessions.

The result of that multiple camera, monthslong shooting is “In Your Dreams,” a revealing 1 hour, 40 minute “making of” documentary that’s playing Tuesday only in theaters across the country, including the Ross Media Arts Center.

Directed by Stewart and Nicks, “In Your Dreams” follows the writing and recording process in Nicks’ home, where a stairwell became a vocal chamber, and in a couple of Los Angeles studios. It ventures into the past  briefly to sketch her life, writing and beliefs.

It’s a pretty fascinating journey with some moments of insight.  An old clip of a disagreement between Nicks and Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham over one of her lyrics captures the end of their writing relationship because she didn’t want to be told what to do.

Back in the house, she shows her studio acumen when hearing the playback of a song and finding Stewart’s original guitar solo missing. Stewart and producer Glen Ballard claim that it is the same. Playing the first version of the solo found deep in ProTools, Nicks is proved correct, and the mix is changed.

Early in the film, Nicks talks about how she’d like young people to see the movie to learn how to make a record the old way, with heart and feeling.

That’s a fine sentiment. But Nicks’ old way is far different from anything a new band or artist could do. She’s got a lineup of musicians that includes guitar master Waddy Wachtel, her Fleetwood Mac mates Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone and guitarist Mike Campbell, who co-produced the record with Ballard and Stewart.

The documentary is framed as a song-by-song journey through “In Your Dreams,” with some music video-like segments for some of the songs. If it had been released at the same time as the album dropped last year, it likely would have, and to some measure rightfully, been seen as the world’s longest promotional video.

But it takes a different feel a year later. It does provide a knowing, if authorized look inside the elusive Nicks, who remains a spectacular rock singer. It’s a nice glimpse of how a big-star record is made and therefore a must-see for Nicks fans.

LOS ANGELES PREMIERE: Stevie Nicks "In Your Dreams" Photos | Video

STEVIE NICKS
The Landmark Los Angeles
"In Your Dreams" Premiere
Q&A Moderator: Jim Ladd




Above 5 photos by Mindy Harris | Pastel Photography | Facebook
(Thank you for sharing Mindy!)

"I am the Easter Bunny" - Stevie Nicks



Above photos by Maria (left) and Louise Palanker (right)
Below two photos by Jason Sywak


The Next 7 Days:
Big week ahead... Stevie's documentary opens wide beginning Tuesday across the U.S.  Try and see it in a theatre if you can... It's an event, an experience that likely won't happen again.  Check the cities down the right side of this page or visit inyourdreamsmovie.com to see if it's playing in your area. Some theaters are showing it numerous nights, like iPic, so if Tuesday isn't a good day for you, there might be others to choose from.  If none of these cities and dates suit you, you'll have to hang tough like the majority until the VOD and Digital release which is reported to be in late Spring... Hopefully a DVD release will follow that.

FLEETWOOD MAC
The World Tour begins this Thursday in Columbus, OH... and the waiting is killing me... I'm so excited to know what the set-list will be.  From what I've heard, the fans will be very pleased with what the band had put together for this tour.  Let's hope so!

4/2  - Tuesday:  Stevie Nicks "In Your Dreams" opens wide in Theatres across the U.S.
4/4  - Thursday: Fleetwood Mac World Tour begins in Columbus, OH
4/6  - Saturday: Fleetwood Mac play Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia