This Rock Across America segment includes an interview with Stevie by Kristen Davis on VH1. Thanks to Tiffany for transcribing it for the Nicks Fix.

KD (Kristen Davis): ...just released an album, Trouble In Shangri-La, and I hear that you start your concerts by playing Bootylicious!

Stevie: I do, I play it first, it's the 2nd to the last thing before I come on so I play Bootylicious and then it goes into a 60 second vocal arrangment of Trouble In Shangri-La and then into Stop Draggin' My Heart Around.

KD: How did you get together with Destiny's Child?

Stevie: Well uh, I think that Beyonce was on a plane one night and she was actually listening to Edge of Seventeen, and she just started humming along to that intro into Edge of Seventeen and she just wrote the song.

KD: And you're in their video...

Stevie: And I was in the video.

KD: How was that?

Stevie: It was very fun. (It was like like a whole 'nother world!) It was very fun. Yeah, so it's great. and I've never played guitar in front of anybody, so it was a very special moment.

KD: What does the title Trouble In Shangri-La mean to you?

Stevie: Trouble In Shangri-La is all about how interesting it is when somebody gets to Shangri-La. That it's very hard to stay there and it's very hard to handle it. The riches and the Shangri-La-lian thing does cause people to completely freak out. So if you are strong enough to achieve Shangri-La and then actually stay there then, then that's pretty cool.

KD: Were they all new songs that you wrote for that album or were some of them older songs that you just...?

Stevie: A lot of them were new, and 3 of them were old.

KD: Ahhh... how old?

Stevie: 1974, 1976 and 1971.

KD: Wow! And why hadn't... oh my God. How come they hadn't been on a Fleetwood Mac album before?

Stevie: Because when you're in Fleetwood Mac in 1975 and you're doing albums you can only get 3 or 4 songs on a record.

KD: Part of being in a band...

Stevie: Because you have 3 writers. That's the really only reason that I ever went away from Fleetwood Mac and had a solo career was 'cause I needed another, you know, some place to put these other songs.

KD: So your next single that you're gonna release from the new album is Sorcerer...

Stevie: This is one of the songs from 1974. So Sorcerer was in the group of songs that became the first Fleetwood Mac record. And uh, it was written about scary Hollywood, because when Lindsey and I moved to Hollywood in 1971 we were in our early 20's and Hollywood was very scary. Sorcerer was really written about just that sort of foreboding side of Hollywood when people come there... every generation, you know, there's a whole new bunch of people that come to Hollywood to be an actress, an actor, a rock star, whatever. So that was kind of my, my whole sort of premise on that.

KD: Wow, and you did a video...

Stevie: And we just did a video, and Sheryl Crow is in it, so... because she's singing, playing guitar in it, and produced it. So it's not done yet, but it's almost done and we're really excited about it, it's gonna be great.

KD: Now when you're on tour for this particular tour, and you look out in the audience, what do you see?

Stevie: I see lots of different ages of people

KD: And how do you feel?

Stevie: I think uh, what I always think of is I think when I joined Fleetwood Mac I was 27 and I know we had fans that were 50. I know we did. So then I think at this point in my life, there are some really ancient fans out there so that makes me laugh because I'm thinking you know there probably are some 75 year old people out there that actually were really into the Rumours record, say for instance.

KD: Right!

Stevie: So, and there's some really young kids too, so it's uh, it's a really interesting mixture of different ages.

KD: Rumours was my first album that I ever bought...

Stevie: aww...

KD: In South Carolina. There's like a whole generation of women who've grown up with you watching you first in Fleetwood Mac and then go out on your solo career... you've influenced our style, you've influenced our thinking in terms of you know, you were always so independent and there was no one like you. How do you feel about that?

Stevie: Well I feel good about that. I mean, you know, I wanted to... you know, give some good information out to the women of the world and so I, you know... through a lot of different things, through music, through poetry, through my own particular fashion. It's pretty wonderful, I'm pretty happy about it. You know, I think my life's been pretty great.

KD: So Fleetwood Mac a couple years back you guys did the tour, the album, I love the album, I have it... are you gonna do it again? It was so successful...

Stevie: Yes we are.

KD: Oh you are!

Stevie: Lindsey, and Mick and John, we've rented a house in Bel Air and they are working as we speak, I left them with 17 demos

KD: Oh my God! I didnt know this, this is great! I thought you were gonna say no, I'm so excited!

Stevie: Yea, it's happening.

KD: That's exciting! And you'll go out? You'll record and you'll... that's great!

Stevie: We are actually gonna make a record.

KD: This is kind of personal and you can tell me if you don't want to answer it, but you know how they did that live concert when you guys were touring? I watched this one a couple times and every time you and Lindsey would interact, they would cheer, like they wrere so invested. How do you feel about that? How do you deal with that?

Stevie: Well they, you know they love seeing interaction between Lindsey and I. And there will always be interaction between Lindsey and I because we will always be passionate towards each other when we are onstage. He's married and has 2 babies now so it's like we are not gonna go there again, but our life, our relationship, everything is so wrapped up that when we get onstage we are those people. We are, we are all still in that love affair. We never leave it when we're onstage.

KD: Right..wow. And that brings up another thing too... there were 5 of you in Fleetwood Mac, this wierd alchemy happened and you were like huge all of a sudden. You seemed so different and yet you came together in this amazing way. What do you make of that?

Stevie: I don't think it happens very often. You know, it's... it's like I feel very lucky to have been chosen to be in a great band and that's the only way I can answer that.

KD: I was in the makeup trailer working at Sex In The City and we were talking about our weekends and I said I was getting to meet you on the weekend and everyone was very, very jealous and upset that they couldn't come with me... so they gave me questions. Do you prefer recording or live concerts?

Stevie: That really depends... you know, you have to record before you can do the live concerts, so the making of the songs is a really wonderful part of it. But walking out onstage and be an entertainer, that's a whole 'nother deal you know? So I would have to say they're kind of equal... they're kind of equal but I'm not, I don't like to stay in the studio for years. You know, I like to go in, do the record, finish it, and leave.

KD: When you're writing which comes first, the music or the words?

Stevie: Uh, sometimes each. Um, usually I write first.

KD: The words...

Stevie: Yea, and then I go to the piano or guitar.

KD: Like poetry...

Stevie: But every once in a while I will sit down at the piano and just write a song.

KD: Who inspired you musically when you were young to lead you to think think that that's what you wanted to do?

Stevie: First, my grandfather because he was a country western singer and then... you know, I didnt need much inspiration.

KD: You had it...

Stevie: I just wanted to be in music, I wanted to be a rock singer...

KD: Wow

Stevie: Even in 4th grade you know, I wanted to be a singer in a band.

KD: That's amazing.