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| Graham Nash Image by Amy Grantham |
Currently on the road in
Europe after completing the first leg of his U.S. tour in May, Graham Nash
visits Long Island for a headline appearance on July 17 at the Great South Bay Music
Festival. The legendary
singer-songwriter is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee—with Crosby,
Stills, and Nash and with the Hollies. He was also inducted into the
Songwriter's Hall of Fame twice, as a solo artist and with CSN, and he is a
GRAMMY Award winner.
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| Image by Amy Grantham |
This
Path Tonight, Nash’s new solo
release, his first since 2002’s Songs
for Survivors, showcases an artist who sounds for all the world like a
20-something year-old singing songs containing wisdom that only time and
experience can inspire. This collection of
ten songs that deal with Nash’s personal journey through music, life, and
love has captured the imagination of a multitude of listeners
worldwide, as evidenced by the album’s respectable chart positions in America,
the UK, Japan, Holland, Italy, France, and Germany. Its Billboard debut at Number 93 for the week
ending April 21 was Nash’s highest charting solo album since 1974’s Wild
Tales.
Speaking with Nash
backstage after his May 14 performance at New York City’s Town Hall, I had a
burning question for him: How can I be, I wondered, that his voice sounded—to
borrow a phrase surely known to Byrds aficionados—younger than yesterday? Nash had no direct explanation for me, but
the light in his eyes, the smile on his face, and the energy that emanated from
his very being all bore testament to a man who has discovered the truth behind
the phrase “You are only as old as you feel.” For Graham Nash, these are truly
golden days.
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| Image by Amy Grantham |
I spent some additional time with Nash via transatlantic telephone
to discuss the present and future plans of one of popular music’s most
endearing figures.
Roy Abrams:
Long Island has played a pivotal role in your musical path. What are some
standout memories of that time?
Graham Nash:
That’s where we rehearsed the very first Crosby, Stills and Nash record. Our
friend John Sebastian had rented us a house on a lake in Sag Harbor, and, well
… I thought we were going to rehearse the album acoustically, but when I got
there, Stephen had assembled a band, with Harvey Brooks on bass, and other
people—Dallas Taylor, our drummer, of course. Yeah, many fond memories!
RA: You’re no
stranger to outdoor festivals, obviously, with Woodstock perhaps being the most
notable of them. How did your path lead to Long Island’s Great South Bay Music Festival?
GN: To communicate. The first thing writers do
when they have new songs (is to) communicate them to as many people as
possible, and that festival is reputedly great!
RA: You are
on the road with one other musician, guitarist Shane Fontayne, who also produced the
new album. The chemistry between you is as umbilical and unique as any formed
with your previous partners. Can you describe the collaborative process between
you, and how you developed such a deep bond of trust in him?
GN: I can
tell you exactly, Roy. I’m always a little uncomfortable writing with other
people. Writing is such a personal thing to every musician and composer, but
with Shane, I can only liken it to writing in a mirror. And that’s how close
this musical relationship is. It’s based on great respect; he’s a brilliant
musician. I realize that what his main job is, as a producer and as a musician,
is make the song come alive. Don’t play too much, don’t try and be smart; let the song come alive. That’s what
Shane is brilliant at doing.
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| Graham Nash and Shane Fontayne Image by Amy Grantham |
RA: You have
always been as much of a teacher as an artist, always reminding your audiences
that “everyone can make a difference.”
Your work with MUSE
(Musicians United for Safe Energy), the Cousteau
Society, UNICEF, the Bridge School, and countless other organizations,
offers living proof of that. What are some of the most important lessons you
would teach a classroom of today’s young people?
GN: Wow …
[pause] … I’m just thinking. Okay, I think we have to realize one very
important fact: although children are only 25% of our population, they’re actually 100% of our future. We
must take great care in bringing them up and feeding them and stuffing their
life with beauty. That’s one way we could change the world; a great way to do
it.
RA: Prior to
this year, you have spent several years undertaking vast archival
projects
for your former
partners and yourself.
The new album and tour is a continuation of a lifelong journey, yet it heralds a
new beginning. In conversations with you during the past few years, your view
of time and the aging process had more of a fatalistic air. This has been
entirely replaced with an energy, an attitude and outlook, of one fifty years
your junior, with fifty more years of creativity ahead.
GN: I can
only credit that to my girlfriend, Amy Grantham. Even though I’ve done a lot of
work with many, many CDs in the last ten or twelve years, (plus) 400 shows with
David and Stephen, in every combination, I was kind of pretty flat,
emotionally. Susan—my wife of 38 years—and I divorced, and I fell in love with
Amy, and now I’m back on fire. I’m back with a purpose in life, and I’m looking
forward to my future. I think it’s going to contain a lot of creativity and a
lot of beauty.
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| Image by Amy Grantham |
RA: Are
there any drawing-board plans for you after this current tour ends?
GN: I’ve
always got plans! [laughs] I’m in the process of several things. One of them
is, my girlfriend Amy Grantham is a wonderful artist and she does a lot of
collage work; we’re working on a book. I’m trying to help her get it to as many
people as possible. We have a book of her portraits of me, of our
self-portraits—it’s very, very interesting. And musically, of course, I’m still
writing. I still have seven songs left over from this project, and it won’t be
14 years before another Graham Nash record!
RA: With
Memorial Day just past, do you have any thoughts to share on life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness? Where does America stand, in your opinion?
GN: I
vacillate between it being one of the greatest countries on the planet, and
also the biggest purveyor of violence. The United States has promise to be an
unbelievably great country. I know a lot of people who think it’s great, but we
have done a lot of things (with our policies) that have been tragic and shameful.
That’s the process of growth in any major empire. I’m still very proud to be an
American citizen and I will continue to fight for what I believe in.
© Roy Abrams 2016
