[The Nicks Fix]

John Tesh Interview
June 26, 2001

JT: Alright, if you’re just tuning in, you’re in for a special treat, because right now here on the John Tesh radio show, we have Stevie Nicks. Her voice and songs were such a huge part of the success of Fleetwood Mac. Her solo albums inspired fashion and feminism, and she’s phoning in from her home in Phoenix, Arizona. I don’t want to wait another second! Hi Stevie, how are you?

Stevie: I’m fine, how are you?

JT: Fine thanks! Now you have a new album in stores, which is called Trouble in Shangri-La, which is a pretty interesting title. What does it mean to you?

Stevie: Well the whole, actual concept of the record came from the last two months of the OJ Simpson trial. And it is NOT about OJ Simpson. It is about the situation, um, of how sad it is when people, you know, make it to the top of their field, whether it’s, you know, a doctor, a lawyer, an Indian chief, a rock star, a disc jockey, whatever it is, you know, when you kind of make it to the top of your field and how difficult it is to stay there and how hard it is to hold on to that. And I thought, well, you know this would be a good concept, because I know a lot of people who have made these mistakes, in a much lesser degree, but, nevertheless, similar. And so I just said, I’m going to call this record "Trouble in Shangri-La"

JT: What about you, though? Is it reflective of your life, as well?

Stevie: Well of course, my life has been in and out of Shangri-La constantly. But I really didn’t write it about ME, in particular, you know? I really wrote it about, more about the world.

JT: Well so many millions of us know you as a singer and really as one of the seminal leaders of Fleetwood Mac, and also as a great songwriter. Is it hard being such a huge star that crosses over in so many areas, is there anywhere you can go without people saying "Hey Stevie, sign this!"?

Stevie: Um, I have really great fans. I pretty much do what I want. I go to the mall, I’m in Phoenix right now. It’s like, you know, in three hours, I will probably be at Fashion Square. So it’s like, I refuse to be limited

JT: I hear ya. Now do you like to go shopping?

Stevie: I love to go shopping.

JT: Are you a girly-girl?

Stevie: I’m a VERY girly-girl. (JT laughs)And I, uh, my whole house is full of girly-girl things, and it’s like, I love being a girl. So it’s like, if I was gonna be confined, if my fame confined me, then I would really not like it.

JT: You know, all the fashion magazines a couple of months ago were talking about your style, and how you’re influencing, again, current fashion trends.

Stevie: Right…

JT: Do you see any of that stuff?

Stevie: Well I see it. And you know, this has happened so many times, that it’s like, really not new to me. I mean, every couple of years the designers come around and I’ll start, cause of course I get all the magazines every month, and I’ll be reading it, and it’ll say, "Well now there was a very Stevie Nicks hemline", you know, or "that was a very Stevie Nicks jacket". And it’s like, because my stuff doesn’t change. I pretty much stay with the same outfit that I’ve been wearing forever because it’s the best outfit! It makes you look tall, it’s very flattering, it covers your bad spots. It’s like, why change? You know, why change that? It’s not broken, it’s always worked. So why go and find something new? Um, I think it’s interesting that the designers pick up on me every once in a while, and will talk about me for a minute. It’s interesting to me that none of them have really ever called me up and said "You know, well we’re gonna like, we’re kinda following this whole Stevie Nicks kinda genre thing, and we’d like you to comment on it, or we’re gonna make you something and send it to you." See, I never have any connections with them. They just sort of talk about me from afar.

JT: Uh-huh. So, do you design your own stuff?

Stevie: Pretty much. I mean, I have a designer who makes all the stuff .So between she and I, we sit down, we do drawings, we go through a thousand fabrics, you know. And we talk about it, we work, we cut out stuff, we put them on, we, like, make little changes, you know, until its right. Um, and it’s the same lady who’s been doing my clothes since 1976. So, that’s a really easy part of my life, because I make sure that’s all done before I ever go on the road. So that I don’t ever have to worry about what I’m going to wear.

JT: OK, now lets take a break for just a second, and play a song from your Fleetwood Mac days, really my favorite days. Do you have a favorite?

Stevie: Um…(clears throat, pauses thinking), well you know, probably "Dreams" is my favorite. And that really is about Lindsey and I. And it’s the song that’s in the set today. It’s the one that never gets dropped. So it has that kind of staying power, for some reason. It’s always fun to sing, and it’s always fun to deliver to the audience, because I can see them being right with me when I do that song. It brings back so many memories for everybody that it’s really fun, it has STAYED really fun.

JT: Well stay on the line and listen with us.

DREAMS PLAYS.

JT: I don’t know about you, it’s so spooky for me to be listening to that song and actually have Stevie Nicks on the phone. It’s very cool. >From her Fleetwood Mac career, that’s Stevie Nicks’s favorite song. I’m John Tesh, and we are fortunate enough to have Stevie on the phone with us. What is going on with Fleetwood Mac? I’ve read all the books that were written about your group and some of the stuff is just amazing. And everybody wants to know, is there another album in the works?

Stevie: Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

JT: Really? Now is Lindsey going to be involved?

Stevie: Absolutely.

JT: How are those plans being made?

Stevie: Well they’ve been made. We have already, we’ve had several meetings and I gave Lindsey a bunch of my old demos that he actually never heard. And I think he’s heard everything I ever wrote, but he actually hasn’t, since we really haven’t lived together since, like, 1976, you know! So I went through and I pulled about 17 songs, and I gave them to him and he likes them. So that’s a key thing. When we have songs that we all like, that’s an immediate thing that we can start working. So, you know, as far as I know, he’s working as we speak.

JT: Now everybody here is all a titter around the office on the radio show and, you know, people handing me questions for you. And here’s one that I didn’t want to ask myself, so I’ll put it off on somebody else. You think you’ll ever get married?

Stevie: You know what? I don’t think I ever will get married. Sometimes I think, you know, well, maybe I’ll be like Gloria Steinem and I’ll meet somebody when I’m 67, you know? Um, I don’t think so. I think that my life is so much the way it is now that it would be very, very hard for me to change my life, and to accept somebody else into my life. That does not mean it can’t happen. It just means that right now it seems to me like it would be very difficult. I’m so busy, you know? I’m never in town. I’m in Phoenix three days, I’m back to LA, I’m on tour, I’m going to do press, I’m going to Canada, to New York It’s like how can you really have a relationship under those circumstances? Nobody likes to be left behind.

JT: It’s true, and it sounds smart.

Stevie: You know, it is NOT fun to be the one that is standing on the step waving as the limousine drives me away, and I’m like, gonna be gone for a year. It’s not fun to be that person. So I don’t really want to do that to anybody, you know?

JT: I understand completely. I’m John Tesh, our special guest today, Stevie Nicks. Stevie, I want to talk about your fans for just a second. What is the most amazing thing a fan has ever done for you?

Stevie: Well the most amazing thing a fan has ever done is sent me a $50,000, incredible diamond bracelet.

JT: Come on! You’re kidding!

Stevie: That was many years ago, and I have this bracelet. I wear it. And I told this woman, "You know, really, you need to take your bracelet back. Because this is like a family heirloom." It is like, about an inch and a half thick wide. And it’s all diamonds, and about five beautiful blue sapphires. And she just sent it to me. And I tired to get her to take it back, and she wouldn’t. And I said, "Well, it’s always here for you. Anytime you want your bracelet back, it’s here. All you have to do is call and I will have it back in your hands by the next day." So that’s the most incredible. And it’s SO beautiful, this bracelet. So that’s really my most incredible fan gift.

JT: Great story…so what about the weirdest thing?

Stevie: You know what, I don’t really get any weird stuff, because my fans are all, like, unicorn, stuffed animal people. So all the things that they send me are really nice.

JT: Well Stevie, you are truly one of the most talented singers around, and, uh, I separate this because there are really two careers, singer and songwriter. And the songs that you have written, that you have done on your own, and also Fleetwood Mac has performed have really made a huge statement in our society. So, thank you so much for being with us.

Stevie: Thank you, thank you.

JT: And I also want to wish you luck on this record. It is a FINE recording.

Stevie: Well, I appreciate it. I just can’t tell you. I am so thrilled about this record. I’m thrilled that everybody else sounds like they’re excited, you know. It’s like, I can’t even tell you, this makes my whole day, you know, so thank you.

JT: You bet. We’ve got your new song the new album, Trouble in Shangri-La. This is Every Day…enjoy it.

EVERY DAY PLAYS

 

Thanks to Josh Williams for sending this to the Nicks Fix.


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