RUMOR MILL
"The important thing is for us not to let the politics or landmines get in the way of us having a good time, especially for Stevie and me.”
——Lindsey Buckingham
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
BIG MAC WILL BE BACK IN 2013
Buckingham and Nicks Agree to Reconvene With Fleetwood and McVie for North American Jaunt
Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks have become accustomed to going their own ways in recent years, but that will change in 2013.
Fleetwood Mac will come together next year for a tour, the band’s first since leaving longtime label Warner Bros. Records. Tickets for the first run of dates on the 34-city jaunt, which begins April 4 in Columbus, OH, go on sale Dec. 14 at LiveNation.com.
"We are a cast of characters who never really belonged in the same band in the first place," the 63-year-old Buckingham told USA Today’s Edna Gundersen. "But the synergy works, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the mines lie in the field this time. It wouldn't be a band without that tension. All the same things kick in. I know what I'm supposed to do. I know whose face to get in to make things happen. All those roles are so familiar. I'm ready to pick up the dice and roll again."
Opting to extend her solo tour, Nicks was a holdout when the band wanted to hit the road early this year. "I had to put my foot down and say, 'I'm not touring with you in 2012,' and it wasn't a very popular idea," she recalled. "I always think it's good for Fleetwood Mac to be away for three years. Two years is like, ‘Well, I just saw you.’ My feeling was, let 2013 be the year of Fleetwood Mac and make it an exciting event."
The “big machine,” as Buckingham has taken to calling it, last toured in 2009 and hasn't released a studio album since 2003's Say You Will—but that could change in 2013, he hinted. "There were some tracks John, Mick and I cut with Stevie in mind while she was on the road," he revealed. "It's the most Fleetwood Mac-sounding stuff I've heard in a long time. We've been talking about releasing an EP, but I don't know how these moving parts will fit together yet."
But Buckingham is well aware of the fact that the Mac fan base isn’t exactly clamoring for new material—it’s the band’s deep catalog that inspires people to peel the big bucks for ducats. "People do want to hear that body of work and be transported to a certain time,” he acknowledged.” The older you get and the longer the band has been around, you come to terms with the fact that no one's particularly interested in hearing anything too new. It's about what you do with what you've got."
Nicks told Gunderson that she envisions performing hits, rarities and maybe a couple of migrants, particularly the war-themed Soldier's Angel, a duet with Buckingham from her 2011 solo album, In Your Dreams. "It's become a standard in my set, and I get a standing ovation every night," she said. "Fans might like seeing Lindsey and I sing it. And it gives me a chance to ask people to help veterans who are so young and so messed up. I turn into an eighth-grade teacher."
Nicks, the most commercially successful Mac spinoff, finished a two-year tour supporting In Your Dreams, co-written and co-produced in her home with Dave Stewart. Since last year's release of Seeds We Sow, Buckingham has been touring with his band and in solo acoustic mode.
Her solo outing "renewed Stevie's spirit," Buckingham offered. "I'm happy she had a couple of great years. If it means a more complex political landscape, so be it."
Buckingham's solo foray "has been good for him," says Nicks, 64. "Playing [one-man shows] can't help but give you a certain compassionate softness. It's very different from Fleetwood Mac."
And while she described the Dreams project with Stewart "the best year of my life," Nicks is eager to return to Mac and determined to establish harmony.
"I'm going to be very clear about what I want," she said. "What I want is for this band to get along and have a great time. So I'm demanding that. We are going to have a great collaborative working relationship. We're always great on stage. I don't say that from a conceited place. We've been playing since 1975. We know what we're doing up there."
Buckingham seconds that emotion: "The important thing is for us not to let the politics or landmines get in the way of us having a good time, especially for Stevie and me. There's been a subtext of competition and animosity, which is the flip side of love, for a long time. I think it's driven both of us. Now is an appropriate time for us to acknowledge the context of our relationship and see what's left for us to do. If this is the beginning of the last act, let's wind up in a place that dignifies what we started."
Fleetwood Mac will come together next year for a tour, the band’s first since leaving longtime label Warner Bros. Records. Tickets for the first run of dates on the 34-city jaunt, which begins April 4 in Columbus, OH, go on sale Dec. 14 at LiveNation.com.
"We are a cast of characters who never really belonged in the same band in the first place," the 63-year-old Buckingham told USA Today’s Edna Gundersen. "But the synergy works, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the mines lie in the field this time. It wouldn't be a band without that tension. All the same things kick in. I know what I'm supposed to do. I know whose face to get in to make things happen. All those roles are so familiar. I'm ready to pick up the dice and roll again."
Opting to extend her solo tour, Nicks was a holdout when the band wanted to hit the road early this year. "I had to put my foot down and say, 'I'm not touring with you in 2012,' and it wasn't a very popular idea," she recalled. "I always think it's good for Fleetwood Mac to be away for three years. Two years is like, ‘Well, I just saw you.’ My feeling was, let 2013 be the year of Fleetwood Mac and make it an exciting event."
The “big machine,” as Buckingham has taken to calling it, last toured in 2009 and hasn't released a studio album since 2003's Say You Will—but that could change in 2013, he hinted. "There were some tracks John, Mick and I cut with Stevie in mind while she was on the road," he revealed. "It's the most Fleetwood Mac-sounding stuff I've heard in a long time. We've been talking about releasing an EP, but I don't know how these moving parts will fit together yet."
But Buckingham is well aware of the fact that the Mac fan base isn’t exactly clamoring for new material—it’s the band’s deep catalog that inspires people to peel the big bucks for ducats. "People do want to hear that body of work and be transported to a certain time,” he acknowledged.” The older you get and the longer the band has been around, you come to terms with the fact that no one's particularly interested in hearing anything too new. It's about what you do with what you've got."
Nicks told Gunderson that she envisions performing hits, rarities and maybe a couple of migrants, particularly the war-themed Soldier's Angel, a duet with Buckingham from her 2011 solo album, In Your Dreams. "It's become a standard in my set, and I get a standing ovation every night," she said. "Fans might like seeing Lindsey and I sing it. And it gives me a chance to ask people to help veterans who are so young and so messed up. I turn into an eighth-grade teacher."
Nicks, the most commercially successful Mac spinoff, finished a two-year tour supporting In Your Dreams, co-written and co-produced in her home with Dave Stewart. Since last year's release of Seeds We Sow, Buckingham has been touring with his band and in solo acoustic mode.
Her solo outing "renewed Stevie's spirit," Buckingham offered. "I'm happy she had a couple of great years. If it means a more complex political landscape, so be it."
Buckingham's solo foray "has been good for him," says Nicks, 64. "Playing [one-man shows] can't help but give you a certain compassionate softness. It's very different from Fleetwood Mac."
And while she described the Dreams project with Stewart "the best year of my life," Nicks is eager to return to Mac and determined to establish harmony.
"I'm going to be very clear about what I want," she said. "What I want is for this band to get along and have a great time. So I'm demanding that. We are going to have a great collaborative working relationship. We're always great on stage. I don't say that from a conceited place. We've been playing since 1975. We know what we're doing up there."
Buckingham seconds that emotion: "The important thing is for us not to let the politics or landmines get in the way of us having a good time, especially for Stevie and me. There's been a subtext of competition and animosity, which is the flip side of love, for a long time. I think it's driven both of us. Now is an appropriate time for us to acknowledge the context of our relationship and see what's left for us to do. If this is the beginning of the last act, let's wind up in a place that dignifies what we started."
