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<\/p>\nBy Nathan Weinbender
\nSept 22nd, 2016<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mick Fleetwood has perhaps one of the most prominent surnames in rock, having lent it to the enduring, platinum-selling pop outfit Fleetwood Mac. But the towering British drummer now has another namesake, the rootsy quartet known as the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, which stops by the Fox on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis tour is short and very busy, and we don\u2019t often do it,\u201d Fleetwood said from his tour bus, en route to California. \u201cIt\u2019s spotty. It\u2019s not a consistent thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not like Fleetwood has a lot of free time. Fleetwood Mac recently completed two world tours (one of which brought them to Spokane in June 2013), and four members of the band\u2019s most successful lineup have been working on new original material. Now that he\u2019s back on the road with his other band, Fleetwood admits that he\u2019s something of a \u201cglutton for punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just for the love of playing, really,\u201d Fleetwood said. \u201cWe\u2019re not out promoting anything. We\u2019re just getting up and doing what we do. I like to play, and this is a great little band.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band formed 12 years ago and frequently serves as in-house entertainment at Fleetwood\u2019s Maui restaurant, Fleetwood on Front St. Unlike Fleetwood Mac, which has had some major personnel shakeups over the years, this band\u2019s lineup has remained the same: Fleetwood on drums, bassist Lenny Castellanos, keyboard player Mark Johnstone and guitarist Rick Vito, who briefly replaced singer-guitarist Lindsay Buckingham during a hiatus from Fleetwood Mac in the late \u201980s.<\/p>\n
Despite being widely associated with melodic pop, Fleetwood Mac actually started out as a blues band in 1967, when Fleetwood founded the group with bassist John McVie and guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlues is my boot camp. It\u2019s where I really came from,\u201d Fleetwood said. \u201cThis is a band that is fairly similar to the early days of Fleetwood Mac. I just keep it swinging.\u201d<\/p>\n
After enduring several stylistic permutations and lineup changes (Fleetwood and John McVie are the only original members still present), Fleetwood Mac eventually settled into soft rock in the late \u201970s, with Buckingham, singer Stevie Nicks and keyboardist Christine McVie rounding out the group. The band became a radio juggernaut, and its bestselling 1977 album \u201cRumours\u201d is now considered one of the most significant musical statements of its decade.<\/p>\n
Fleetwood Mac still sells out arenas with its most famous lineup \u2013 Christine McVie recently rejoined the band after a 16-year absence \u2013 but when he\u2019s on tour with his blues band, Fleetwood says he can relax a little bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Fleetwood Mac, you\u2019ve got 150 people running around, and lighting directors and carpenters,\u201d Fleetwood said. \u201cAnd here we are on two buses, doing our own thing and keeping it lean. You don\u2019t expect certain things. For me, it\u2019s like going back to when I was 20 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have more freedom musically. You have to hit the mark when you\u2019re out doing the Fleetwood Mac stuff because there\u2019s so much at stake. But it\u2019s still the same thing. The music is freer, but the attitude of playing is the same. I can\u2019t play if I\u2019m not into it. I play from my gut. \u2026 So if I don\u2019t get there, I don\u2019t feel good about what I\u2019m doing. For me, it\u2019s pretty simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fleetwood says the band\u2019s set lists primarily feature traditional blues staples and some of Vito\u2019s original songs, but audiences can also expect to hear some early cuts from the bluesier iteration of Fleetwood Mac.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a blues band. We\u2019re not playing \u2018Rhiannon,\u2019 \u201d Fleetwood said. \u201cWe touch on a lot of the original Fleetwood Mac music \u2013 \u2018Black Magic Woman\u2019 and \u2018Oh Well\u2019 and \u2018Need Your Love So Bad.\u2019 \u2026 That\u2019s who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as for new music from Fleetwood Mac, it\u2019s supposedly coming soon, along with yet another world tour next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn and Christine and Lindsay, the four of us, are going to be finishing up some great music we\u2019ve been working at,\u201d Fleetwood said. \u201cThe music is really vibrant and really cool, and it\u2019s Fleetwood Mac, basically.\u201d<\/p>\n
The only drawback: Stevie Nicks, who\u2019s currently on a solo tour with the Pretenders, likely won\u2019t be involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnlike anyone else in the band, she really does have a complete career on her own, you know?\u201d Fleetwood said. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t want to spend time in the studio, and she\u2019s doing her own thing. You wish for something else, but that\u2019s not fair after 30, 40 years of doing what we do. Everyone\u2019s got to do what they feel they need at this point.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut never say never. Down the road, we\u2019re in a good position that we could add her songs and integrate her into some of the music we\u2019ve been working on for four years. So that\u2019s the state of Fleetwood Mac Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Nathan Weinbender Sept 22nd, 2016 Legendary drummer, Fleetwood Mac cofounder brings his blues combo to the Fox Mick Fleetwood has perhaps one of the most prominent surnames in rock, having lent it to the enduring, platinum-selling pop outfit Fleetwood Mac. But the towering British drummer now has another namesake, the rootsy quartet known as … Continue reading Mick Fleetwood: For the love of blues | The Sportsman’s Review<\/span>