Unless otherwise
indicated, all pictures are of The Catt.
'So I'm back to the velvet
underground. Back to the floor, that I love...' --Stevie Nicks
~
Another of my impersonations...
I am a fan of several great female singers
and songwriters....but no one holds a candle to Stevie
Nicks. She is a ground
breaker for females in rock music. No one has a style like her...no one sings
like her....(well, there are those of us who can impersonate her...but it's
still her style). She has more than stood the test of time....and she is
successful on her own.
This page isn't 'about' Stevie
Nicks....there are tons of sites out there with lots of information on her, and
I have nothing new to add, only why "I" like her. So, for information on Stevie
herself, you can visit the thousands of sites out there that are made for
her.
Her songs transport you into her
world....though it's a familiar world when you arrive. She's the little girl in
all of us....the woman we are today, and the women we used to be....she
expresses the things we cannot say...and I believe that she has even created a
new emotion, somehow.
She guides us through a world that we have all created and
dare not live in.....she lets us escape into that world for a while.....twirling
in flowing Chiffon, gazing at nothing, breathing in the aroma of imaginary
flowers, embracing you with her gossamer shawls...then disappearing in the mist
of her own tears....leaving behind the gold dust that will keep you forever
enchanted. That's Stevie....the gypsy that I love.
'To the gypsy that remains, faces
freedom....with a little fear.....I have no fear, I have only love'.... ---Stevie Nicks
'To a room with some
lace and paper flowers....back to the gypsy that I was.... to the gypsy......that I was.' ---Stevie Nicks
~
As far back as the late
seventies, my goal was to work for Stevie Nicks. Obviously, that didn't happen.
My life took a different turn. But I will never forget where I was standing and
what I was listening to the first time I heard Stevie's voice. I was in a sub
shop in Rising Sun,
Maryland....and looking up at a stereo speaker as the song 'Rhiannon' filled the room.
'And if I was a child, and the child
was enough...enough for me to love...enough to love'.. ---Stevie Nicks
As I got to know more about her and
Fleetwood Mac, I discovered very quickly that I could really relate to
her....her style in clothes, her writing ability, everything. Here was this person
who, inadvertently, was telling me that it was 'okay' to like the
things I liked. She was a mirror image of the things that I liked and
appreciated.
The more popular Stevie became, the more I began to hear that I
resembled her. I had some of the same style of clothing as Stevie, long before I
knew she existed. I had taught myself to sew and I began to design my own
dresses. As the years went on I became more convinced that I could sew for her,
given the opportunity. Oh, and in these photos, attached to this paragraph,
I am not trying to 'dress up' like Stevie...I had just made this
costume and wanted it photographed....that's all. I also won a blue ribbon at
the county fair for this costume.
I never got the opportunity
to work for Stevie Nicks.....but I would still do it, without another thought! I never wanted
to be a star or have a career as a singer or anything, I like working behind the
scenes....messing with the wardrobe, the make-up, any of that. I still like
playing 'dress-up' every chance I get....as most of my pictures
show.
I impersonate her, and some
of the best times on stage has been while singing her songs. I love to sing
all songs, but hers has a certain 'life' to them that no other song
has. I love to sing and perform every chance I get.
But I do this for friends
now, not professionally or anything like that. I just like having a good time
and entertaining my friends.
'Well, lightening strikes...maybe
once, maybe twice. Ohhh, and it lights up the night..... and you see your gypsy....' ---Stevie Nicks
~
Having
come from Maryland, I was positioned in the perfect place for going to
concerts.....I was close to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington,
DC....and I went to more concerts than I can possibly count...and I went to the
concerts back when they were very good. However, I did go see Fleetwood
Mac seven times and Stevie Nicks, by herself, five times. I started seeing
Fleetwood Mac concerts when they were on the Rumours tour. I was blown
away.
'She is dancing away from me
now.....she was just a wish, she was just a wish. And a memory is all that's
left for you now....you see your gypsy...and it all comes
down to you...' --Stevie Nicks
~
Not too long ago, while
watching an interview on Fleetwood Mac, I learned that one of my favorite songs,
"Silver Springs", was named after Silver
Spring, Maryland. I lived
about 25 minutes from there.
Stevie said, in the interview, that her and Lindsey
Buckingham were driving through the state and she saw the sign 'Silver
Springs' and liked it, so she wrote a song and that was the title. When
they went on their reunion tour several years ago, the song was finally a hit. A
lot of people were under the impression that it was a new song....not so.
I
remember when the Rumours album came out... and this was back in the late
70's...the first single from the album was "Go Your Own Way" and I
bought the 45.....'Silver Springs' was on the B side of the 45, having
never made it to the album. I was so disappointed when I finally bought the
album, a short while later, and discovered that the song was not on the album.
Stevie explained the entire situation on the interview. What a bitter-sweet
story.
Recently,
I bought a Hammond organ and a newer P.A. system....and boy, what a great sound
I have in my living room now!! There's nothing like a good sound system.....and
there's nothing like the sound of a Hammond organ....with a Leslie
speaker!
So,
this is where I practice...in my living room. . There's another large speaker that goes with the organ, but you
can barely see it in the pictures...it's in a far corner across the room from
the organ. (yeah, I had the TV on...I always have the TV on)
In
the summer of 2001 I had a little show to do in Massachusetts. We were in our RV
at a nearby campground at Plymouth..... and this is a picture of me getting
ready for the show. I was still getting dressed....but Les wanted to take a
picture anyway.
