THE FLEETWOOD MAC INTERVIEW

A B101.1 Exclusive!

They've had one of the longest and rockiest rides of any rock 'n' roll supergroup. They've gone through countless personnel changes and musical transformations. And now they're back in the saddle with their most durable and recognized lineup (Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks), a well-received MTV special, a new CD (The Dance), and a massive U.S. tour. On September 26, the legendary Fleetwood Mac storms into the Blockbuster-Sony E-Centre in Camden, NJ for one of the most eagerly anticipated concerts of this (or any other) year. We recently caught up with four out of the band's five members and talked to them about their past, present…and future.

B101.1: It's Fleetwood Mac on B101.1, I guess you guys will be tuning up a bit before you come to Philadelphia, eh? .

CHRISTINE: Mmmm…a bit of polishing.…

STEVIE: That's what we're doing now. We're in rehearsal to add a few more songs to the show that we did on MTV. …

B101.1: Any ideas what songs you might add?

STEVIE: We can't tell you! It's a surprise.

CHRISTINE: It's in debate. We're rehearsing more than we need so we can pick later on. We're sticking mainly to the material from this incarnation.

B101.1: What's it like to be back together after all this time?

CHRISTINE: This time around it feels really good. It seems to me that there is a stronger bond between us than we probably thought. We're getting on really well. We're enjoying the music, I think, more than ever. And that's the reason we're doing it, primarily, because it's been very rewarding.

B101.1: What kind of reaction have you gotten from people?

CHRISTINE: So far, it's been fantastic. We haven't actually done any concerts as yet, except for the MTV special. But everyone seems very excited. And, I think, above and beyond that, WE are excited, and I think that translates to the people around us.

B101.1: You'll have to keep that excitement together…at least through September 26.

CHRISTINE: Yes…at least for a week or two! (Laugh)!

B101.1: Stevie, we're playing "Silver Springs" right now on B101.1. A lot of us love that song from 20 years ago. How is that song different for you now? It's such a personal, emotional song and this is 20 years later. How do you approach that?

STEVIE: Well, the great thing about it is that as one of the Rumours songs; it got dumped from the record, so it was never done live. So unlike most of the other songs that we are doing now that we love, "Silver Springs" is an old song, but it's never been done live. So there's a part of it that makes it a very new song. If it had been played on stage a bunch, it would be hard to do it with this much emotionalness. (pause) Emotionalness?

CHRISTINE: Emotion? (The band laughs).

STEVIE: This is not the kind of song that you just do the end of over and over and over again. So the fact that it hasn't been done before makes it great to do as a performance thing with soul…and to mean it.

B101.1: How does it make you feel when you sing that song about something you were going through 20 years ago?

STEVIE: It makes me feel good that I get a chance to actually sing this song, because I gave up on ever ever singing this song. When it went off the record, it kind of went but of our lives.

B101.1: Whose decision was it to have that be the single?

STEVIE: It was not our decision.

CHRISTINE: It was Warner Brothers'.

STEVIE: We never really expected it. We were very surprised.

B101.1: What are your lives like when you're not getting back together after 20 years. Lindsey Buckingham…what's a typical day in your life?

LINDSEY: (laugh). Oh…jeeeeeez! (The band cracks up). Ummm…work. I'm overly focused on work. One of the reasons this thing came about was that Mick and I were working on a solo album of mine. And I'd been doing that sort of on an on-going basis for the last couple years. That's what I do…I write, I record. When I'm working alone at home, it's almost like painting. You know, it's like a one-on-one with a canvas, and it's actually very meditative. I don't think I could get through the day without doing a little bit of that.

B101.1: You're a workaholic?

LINDSEY: I would say.

B101.1: When you're working on your solo projects or other songs, do you have guys that you rehearse or play with or is it you just do it alone?

LINDSEY: It's a little bit of everything. When you're working with other people, it's more like movie making, in a sense, because it's kind of more outer directed. If you work on your own, and you're doing your own engineering and maybe you're building parts on your own, then it is more like painting. I think there's a place for both of those approaches. At least for me there is, definitely.

B101.1: What was it like working on the movie, "Twister"?

LINDSEY: That was a really great thing for Stevie and me, because it had been an awful long time. I don't think we'd done a two-part harmony like that even in the later years of Fleetwood Mac. It almost harkened back to Buckingham-Nicks. Her voice is really sounding great and that blend never went away. So it was kind of an eye-opener when we finally started overdubbing the vocals on that. It was really great.

STEVIE: Thank you!

LINDSEY: You're welcome! (They both laugh).

B101.1: Mick, you've been in the band throughout the entire history of the band-thirty years now.

MICK: Oh my God...

B101.1: Did you think 30 years ago that you would be here today doing this now?

MICK: No. No. It was all very much in the here and now and for the moment. We were certainly as young players had aspirations to absolutely be doing what we were doing in terms of Fleetwood Mac, and before that just as a player. This is just what I set out to do. But you would never have imagined…30 years is a huge chunk of a human being's lifetime. How could you?

B101.1: How do you see the next 30 years?

MICK: It's good. My whole private life outside of my professional life as a musician has changed. I was a raging crazy man. And you can attest to that. Yes. Yes. Yes. So, I'm enjoying life a lot, and I've sort of learned, and am learning, that there are actually things outside of Fleetwood Mac. Things like home life and married life. And things that I hope I am approaching in a more formed fashion. So this is a good period for me. And hopefully it will be 30 years outward. I would like another 30 years. Very nice.

CHRISTINE: We could make another album, maybe?

MICK: Yeah! 30 years from now! Very nice! What can I say…I've done what I dreamt of doing when I was 13 years old, and I'm still doing it. Playing. Playing drums. I love to do that.

B101.1: You are one of the great natural style drummers. It seems you play what you feel. Some of those fills that you do on "Go Your Own Way"…they're just thrilling because you know that someone is really there playing the drums and is into the song just like we are every time we hear that record.

MICK: Well, I thank you. That's how I play. Seemingly people like it. It took awhile for me to realize that I was worth a damn as a drummer. I do enjoy it, and it comes straight from the gut and from the heart.

CHRISTINE: You are an emotional drummer…

MICK: Yeah. I'm always listening to the vocals. I learned that a long time ago. It's a really healthy, vicarious thing that I go through when I play, and I love it.

B101.1: Fleetwood Mac…we'll see you in Philadelphia on the 26th!