- 4/23/2025
Pierre x Nancy Wilson of Heart
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00It is such a great pleasure to welcome a founding member of Heart and a very talented player and vocalist in her own right, and she's got a brand new album out.
00:09Her name is Nancy Wilson. The record is called You and Me. Nancy, welcome to MMR.
00:14Good to see you here on this station, one of my old faves, this station. You've been here for a long time on this station.
00:22I've been here, yeah, in November, 40 years in my line of work, which is not known for its security. That's a long time.
00:30Seriously, I can relate. You know, I've been doing one thing basically for over 40 years, yeah.
00:36Well, you know, it's kind of funny, and rock and roll stations come and go, but, you know, thanks to our loyal listeners and the fact that we've always played new music in addition to older music, because it's all one moving, flowing entity, as I see it, and I've survived for 53 years, so it's pretty cool.
00:55I'm so brave of you guys to kind of mix the format a little bit, because that's kind of what's been missing, you know, ever since I grew up with radio.
01:03There were no compartments. It was kind of all one, you know, joyous celebration of various types of music.
01:12Well, isn't that what rock and roll is, though? All music. I mean, musicians don't know those boundaries.
01:17You don't think in terms of, you know, whether you're coming with Pearl Jam or the Foo Fighters, I, you know, I would never classify you as so-called classic rock.
01:26I hate that terminology, because it's music. It all bleeds together.
01:31What's worse than that is heritage artists.
01:34I totally get that, too. I completely understand.
01:41This is such a great new project. By the way, you actually stopped by our studios here, I think it was 99, live from McCabe's Guitar Shop.
01:50Oh, yeah.
01:50And we played some songs from that and talked. I would doubt you would remember being as you're a very busy person, but this new record just came out in May, and it's really exciting.
02:02There's some really wonderful songs. Before we get to the record, I wanted to ask you, as I've been asking others through this pandemic, for musicians like yourself who've been used to being constantly on the road, touring or recording, touring or recording, all of a sudden there's this enforced time where you have to stop and, for the most part, you know, be quiet or be secluded during this pandemic.
02:26How have you spent the time?
02:28Well, you're right. Exactly right. It's been a situation where I've wanted to do a solo, you know, a real solo album for a very long time. A lot of people wanted me to do one, too.
02:42And, like, when they kind of forced shut-in happened, it was like, hold on a second. I'm not packing my bag. You know, having, like, two weeks or something to read your mail and pet your dogs and see your family and do your laundry, pack your bags, cook a meal or two that's a decent meal.
03:06And then get back on a tour bus and start, you know, start rolling.
03:12And so it was the blessing in disguise of it all was just that we just recently, about a year or so ago, moved into a new house up in Northern California in Sonoma County, wine country, which also has a beautiful studio space.
03:34It's an apartment above a three-car garage that's like a two-room apartment with, like, a little powder room and a kitchenette and space for my own thing to happen.
03:47So I was like, wait a second. I don't think I want to keep doing that jig puzzle. I think I want to start writing songs.
03:53So it was a – I have one friend that was working the teching with the interface for me, and I purchased a few things like that and a few dudette, you know, items, a couple music stands and a couple things I couldn't dig out of storage.
04:11And I got all my good instruments out and my good amplifiers and amp heads and, you know, my auto harp and my mandolin and, you know, various cool favorite instruments, guitars.
04:28And I just started to write and I started to record and then I – the process was interesting because I would, like, get a song together.
04:41Then I would put it down like a demo with a tempo, like a click, you know, and then I would send it to my engineer, my first engineer in Denver, who would put it in the Dropbox, which I'm not good at knowing how to do.
04:55He would send it to Seattle where the drummer Ben Smith and Andy Stoller, the bass player.
05:02And so it was like one by one they would put parts on and send back through Denver to me to approve and then back through Denver to say fix this or next part and on and on.
05:15So we did it very – it like a big merry-go-round of file sharing.
05:21But it actually – because I play with these players a lot, you know, everybody's in heart basically.
05:28So we know each other's way of – it's like a – it's like – it was like – it was like the art of reading the other player's mind, you know, and knowing how they play.
05:43And so knowing how to play with them even though we're not in the same room, which was a really cool outcome, I thought,
05:49because since we know each other as players so well, it wound up sounding to me like we were all there together, which, you know, that was an accomplishment right there.
06:00You live in Sonoma County now, you just mentioned, and I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in Sonoma County in a little town called Petaluma, which is probably not too far from you.
06:12Oh, yeah, Petaluma.
06:13Yeah, it's cool.
06:15It used to be called the Egg Basket of the World a long time ago.
06:19Oh, that's why there's all those chicken statues everywhere.
06:24Yes.
06:26One of the songs you have a little vocal accompaniment on is a part – no, it's The Boxer, the Simon and Garfunkel song.
06:34And just up the road in Marin County is where the Red Rocker resides, that Sammy Hagar.
06:39It was a really cool choice to have him on, although you sing the bulk of the song, he sort of comes in towards the end.
06:50What was your thought process of using him, and was it easy to get him?
06:54Had you known him?
06:55Well, you know, we're buddies, obviously.
06:57I mean, who doesn't love, you know, Sammy, the Red Rocker?
07:01I was able – he's really old, long-time friends with my hubby, Jeff, and he's from the Bay Area, too, so they kind of were in the same circle for many years.
07:12And then Sammy does a benefit every single year for a children's cancer unit at UCSF.
07:24So there's some family history there that is a long story, but, you know, it's a really cool hospital.
07:33So I did a couple of benefits with Sammy for the benefit for that hospital a couple times.
07:39And, you know, he's just a hoot.
07:43He's a blast.
07:43He's funny as hell.
07:45His energy is so big and so great.
07:48So I figured he owed me a favor because, you know, I've done benefits for him.
07:53So I kind of texted him and said, hey, dude, I'm making a solo album, you know, so can you help me out somehow?
08:02And he's like, yeah, I'd love to help you.
08:04So what songs you got?
08:06So I'm like, well, I have this kind of big rocker here.
08:10And he's like, that's way too predictable.
08:14What else do you got?
08:15And I'm like, what about the boxer?
08:19You know, that's a really unexpected choice.
08:22And he said, I love that song and I'll do it.
08:27So I sent him the files and in the chorus parts, the la la la parts where there's no lyrics really to remember, you know, and try to match up with.
08:38He just added his big energy to that part of those parts of the song.
08:43And he also was a boxer, actually himself, as was his own father, I guess, too.
08:52So he comes from a family of boxers.
08:55He's been a boxer.
08:57And so in such a surprising kind of way, he turns into the character of the boxer in the song itself.
09:06Right.
09:06So he's got his fists up, you know, it's a real cool update on the song.
09:12Yeah, it just sounds great.
09:14I love it.
09:15Before we go further on the album, I love album artwork.
09:18And I must ask you about the center shot.
09:23And you're also on the front cover in this.
09:26And I'm guessing it's an old Ford, kind of a hot rod, like 40s Ford, but it's like cherry red.
09:32It's this wicked cool car.
09:34Might it be yours or is it a friend of yours that you did the album artwork with?
09:38That is that is my 51 Ford remod.
09:42It's a remodel, restored and remodeled, you know, convertible, which they never made, you know, in that kind of car.
09:54But it's a sweet, sweet ride.
09:59And it's power steering, it's power brakes, it's power top that comes up over the top of the car.
10:06So being in now, living in wine country, you know, it's the perfect, you know, tooling around in the back roads kind of a car.
10:15Do you drive it?
10:16You're out driving it?
10:18Not only have I driven it, I drove it on Jay Leno's garage show.
10:23But it was distanced.
10:25So we were each mic'd and, you know, being filmed in the two separate cars.
10:31He came out with a royal purple barracuda.
10:36And so we went, you know, tooling up through the hills on Mulholland and, you know, down Beverly Hills and came back around.
10:45But we had a great conversation in those two cars.
10:49You know, he told me the amazing story.
10:52Before there were, you know, security systems in houses like up in Beverly Hills.
10:58He, when people were gone on their summer vacations, he told me that he would just go pick a house and just go in and just like kind of live there for a few days.
11:11When people were gone, nobody, nobody ever knew the difference, you know, until alarm systems were installed.
11:19But he was like, this one, I liked this one better than I liked that one over there.
11:24Like, he was pointing out these houses to me.
11:27Pretty crazy.
11:28What a funny guy.
11:30We are speaking with Nancy Wilson, whose latest solo album is called You and Me.
11:34Some amazing songs on there.
11:36Some of them are covers.
11:37Some of them are songs that you have created as well.
11:40Like, for example, the opening track, You and Me.
11:44Tell us about that.
11:45Sue Ennis helps you out on this.
11:47Oh, yeah.
11:48Well, she's a longtime, you know, friend and collaborator, as you probably know.
11:52And we like to work on all kinds of projects together.
11:56We've done scripts and songs and, you know, all kinds of fun stuff.
12:00And she actually reminded me, she'd played me a song before that she'd written for her mom called Follow Me.
12:11You know, it was like when you lose your mom and you're close, you know, you have to write a poem or a song or something for that mom of yours.
12:20And I'd actually, she reminded me of that song she'd written a long time ago, which I had loved at the time.
12:27I was just on the road all the time.
12:28And I just had had a dream about my own mom.
12:33And my title was You and Me and Gravity.
12:37So I said, well, I do love the music in this so much.
12:41Let's make a hybrid mom song out of our two mom songs.
12:45And so that's kind of how that came about.
12:48And it turned into something really kind of a beautiful interior dialogue with someone who's that you love, who's not there.
12:59But you feel like they're still there and you've been with them and kind of in some zero gravity place.
13:08And I thought it was so kind of boldly honest and sincere that it might be kind of a brave act, you know, to put it first and to name the album after it.
13:21Love that.
13:22I love that.
13:22And that goes into a really beautiful cover of Bruce and the Rising, Bruce Springsteen, the Rising, which is one of my favorite Bruce songs.
13:32And the way you bring your energy to it, the song, when he does it, also builds.
13:37But you bring this building energy to it that I quite like.
13:41Why did you choose that song?
13:43Well, you know, because I recorded that at the beginning.
13:47I started writing and then I remembered that he did that song for 9-11.
13:52And, you know, the situation we were all facing ourselves in at the beginning of the pandemic was even scarier and more disastrously awful and terrible.
14:07And, you know, there was 9-11, at least a 9-11 every day as it was starting out.
14:14So I figured that song would be really perfect for hopefully an aspirational message to everyone out there, all of us, that we're experiencing so much fear and loss and, you know, shock at the whole situation.
14:35That it might be coming through a woman's point of view, might even be more of a nurturing, kind of uplifting somehow message to send just to, you know, instill some kind of, you know, note of support for everybody.
14:53With that in mind, given the year that we've had and the losses that we've faced, we now find ourselves at this point in our conversation about 50% of this country is fully vaccinated, which leaves a healthy percentage unvaccinated and some folks are on the fence.
15:10What would you say to fans of your music and fans of heart for those who haven't been vaccinated?
15:16I've been asking a lot of artists this.
15:18What words of encouragement would you give and reasons why you would give to get vaccinated?
15:25Well, I don't think it's brain science.
15:27When you put it in a perspective, like remember polio, the polio pandemic, remember the measles, remember the mumps, remember AIDS, you know, everything we all had to get.
15:44They developed vaccines to conquer those, you know, raging, you know, terrible diseases like COVID-19.
15:59So it's, it's just one in a series of global pandemics that should, should not have, I don't think any political context whatsoever.
16:11It's only about the wellbeing of everyone else on the globe, you know, and just narrowing the, narrowing the chances of the outcome, boomeranging back on the rest of us.
16:27It's a really important message.
16:30And, you know, for those on the fence, it's okay to be on the fence, but, you know, ask your doctor and, you know, and.
16:37We're just chicken about getting shots too sometimes.
16:41Yeah, that's, that's, that's fair enough.
16:43But if it's going to save your life and others too, then it's well worth, you know, one split second of fear or not even pain.
16:53It doesn't even hurt.
16:54So you've been vaccinated, I presume.
16:57Quite a while back.
16:58Yeah.
16:59Twice with the Moderna.
17:01Yeah.
17:01Good.
17:02That's what, that's what I got too.
17:03Song five on the album is Party at the Angel Ballroom.
17:06And you've got the great Taylor Hawkins and Duff McKagan, who you've known for a long time, which brings up your connection with Seattle and so many other musicians that are, you know, present day musicians, very much in current thought and current conversation regarding music.
17:24Like, how did you get those guys involved in this song?
17:27Well, you know, both Duff and Taylor, we run across, you know, various situations, talk shows and benefits and different stages we've been on together.
17:39There's a community among musicians, you know, that is always like a great, it's like wearing a comfortable pair of shoes when you run into those guys.
17:52You know, everybody does the same job and we all kind of get it because we've been, we've worked too hard, we're on the road.
17:58We, we've been forced to eat too much bad pizza along the way, stuff like that, you know.
18:03So, um, Taylor, uh, I was in LA at the time, living there at the time.
18:09And he said, Hey, I'm making a solo album called Get the Money.
18:13You want to come and sing a song for me?
18:15You know, I've got Chrissy Hine, I've got some other singers on my album.
18:19And I said, of course, I'll just drive over to your studio and which by the way, is like a museum to classic rock.
18:27It's just iconography everywhere, all framed, big posters and really cool stuff and guitars and amazing stuff.
18:35But, um, so I sang for him and, um, and I thought it turned out really good.
18:41It's a really good album.
18:41Um, and, uh, when I moved up to Sonoma, I was like, Hey, Taylor, I'm making a solo album now.
18:50So, you know, you owe me one dude.
18:53And so what you got laying around in your back pocket, you know, you have any jams, anything whatsoever, lyrics, melodies, jams.
19:01And he said, well, as a matter of fact, I have this thing, me and Duff just jammed out one time, didn't even have a title.
19:09And, you know, I had a melody idea that might go with it.
19:13And so it's like, send it my way.
19:15So he emailed it to me.
19:19Uh, I sent it, uh, I learned it.
19:22I listened to it.
19:22I figured out how to edit the parts together into the arrangement I wanted because I had these words already.
19:29And then sent it to my guy in Denver.
19:32He, which he chopped up and put into the arrangement I liked and then sent it back to me.
19:37And I put the vocal on, sent it back to Denver.
19:40He fixed the vocal a little, then back to me to approve it, then back to Denver to put it in the Dropbox for Seattle guys.
19:47You know, so it's like, that's how the whole thing went.
19:50And then tailored back to Taylor in LA where he did all those cool background vocals for me.
19:57So, you know, it took, it took all the year.
20:01Usually it takes about three months, I guess.
20:03But, you know, this one was, it took an honest year to get this right.
20:09He's a fascinating guy.
20:11I love him.
20:11But that brings us to, uh, daughter on the record, uh, speaking of the Seattle sound, it doesn't get much more Seattle than Pearl Jam.
20:19And you have known them for a long, long time.
20:22You guys are very good friends.
20:23Uh, and I, I, it's a fascinating version of daughter because, and we're playing it on MMR here quite a bit.
20:29And, and, yeah, we, we love it and, and listeners are loving it too.
20:35What's interesting to me is the beginning part of it because there's, um, for lack of a better descriptive phrase, sort of an atonal keyboard part that comes in at the beginning before the song kind of kicks in.
20:49Uh, and, and it really, it really, um, captures your attention that atonal, I don't know if that's the proper way of saying it or not.
20:57Yeah, that's, that's the proper way to say it.
20:58It's also dissonance.
21:00Okay.
21:00It's a dissonant interval like the, that's the, that's called the devil's interval, by the way, the, um, diminished fifth.
21:10And then it goes up to the perfect fifth and then back down.
21:13So it kind of creates a mysterious, dark, you know, um, atmospheric thing.
21:19A darkness, a kind of a, it adds a moody to it.
21:23You can see the smoke coming in almost.
21:25It's kind of sinister because the reason, um, I did the song initially was before the pandemic.
21:34I was, um, offered to come down to Austin to work on this guy, Eric Tesmer, who's an incredible guitar player there, um, for his EP, which we did some stuff for that,
21:48which we're still going to continue to finish, um, with this amazing producer, David Rice, who's got a clubhouse there where he records amazing stuff.
21:59Anyway, I'd also been asked to, um, record a song for a film, which is now out finally called I Am All Girls to record a song for the film.
22:12That is, um, it's, um, it's the film that's kind of, um, a true story about some human trafficking things.
22:20So I figured daughter would be perfect for that story because in the song, you know, it's very sinister.
22:27So it sets it up in the sinister, um, you know, tone that describes the terrible story of what's way too common in the, in the world,
22:38which is the young girls being trafficked and, and boys, um, as children.
22:45And there's line in the song that says she holds the hand that holds her down.
22:51So I thought how perfect for a film about this topic.
22:55And so, um, and the rage of, you know, a woman singing about it, it's also in line with the story because it's the rage of a woman who goes back for her predators later.
23:08After it happened to her early on.
23:10Anyway, a really complex answer to a simple question.
23:15Well, no, but I have, have, um, have the members of Pearl Jam.
23:18Have you talked to Eddie?
23:19Has he heard it?
23:20Have you heard their take or take of it?
23:23Yeah.
23:23They're, um, they're managers, like my one of dearest, oldest friends in the world and Kelly Curtis.
23:29Yeah.
23:29Yeah.
23:31We've known him for a long time.
23:32The guys really love it and they're so into it.
23:34So I'm going to see if, Oh, I hope when I go do this show in Seattle, maybe some, some Seattle people might come up on stage and help me play that song.
23:44You're playing the, with the Seattle symphony.
23:47I think it's July 9th at Benner Royal Hall.
23:49You got it.
23:50That's exactly what that is.
23:51And that sounds like an incredible gig.
23:53And if it's not an opportunity for a few Seattle musicians to pop by, I don't know what it would be.
23:58Well, if they're, if they're in town, you know, I guess if they're going to be in town, I mean, I, I hope a couple of guys might show up and, you know, sit in or something.
24:08That brings me to, um, uh, the story of Chris, uh, who was also a dear friend.
24:13And when I interviewed and when her record came out immortal, a couple of years ago, she was talking about Chris and she and Jerry Cantrell did this brilliant, um, version of black hole son.
24:24I think it was at the 2018, uh, hall of fame.
24:27And I was there and I watched it and Chris had been on my show many, many times.
24:32And I just loved him.
24:34But when I talked to her about him, uh, she actually hadn't seemed that surprised that he had sadly taken his own life because she knew him so well.
24:46And she'd been through his turbulent, um, moods and swings and emotions over the years.
24:53Do you share that?
24:54Were you not that surprised in a way when you heard the news?
24:56Well, I, I was, I was surprised because, you know, he was, he was a wonderful, I knew he had issues with, you know, personality kind of disorder stuff.
25:09And he was really off the graph up and down.
25:11He was, um, one of those, you know, um, but you know, the, the, the people that can't, they're all the way up or all the way down the disorder thing that he did have.
25:24So he was either really happy or really angry, you know, hardly ever in the middle balanced.
25:31And I, I thought that I knew he might get in trouble with his issues, but I, I never expected it to go like that.
25:39And I, you know, in the case of Lane Staley, even in the early nineties, when I wrote the song for that, for him called, um, the dragon that I saw that coming, you know, um, but I didn't see the thing with Chris coming.
25:55And I think that hit me almost the hardest because he was so shy around us because he was a bigger fan than I realized he was in Seattle times.
26:07We were all like hanging out together and parties and various parties in our houses and stuff.
26:13And I always thought he was kind of snooty cause he was quiet.
26:16And I'm like, when he inducted us into the rock and roll hall of fame in the most graceful and beautifully constructed way, I couldn't believe that he really had been a fan the whole time.
26:31Like he was just shy, you know, to speak up around us.
26:36And, and that, and that's probably one of the ways that hit me the hardest, you know, because he's a real rock fan and whatever happened to make him do what he did would, is such a waste, you know, it's such a shame.
26:53Yeah.
26:53He, um, that ceremony actually turned his whole perspective on the hall of fame.
26:58He hadn't really been into it until he went there to do that induction.
27:01And he told me that that experience completely shifted how he viewed the hall of fame in general.
27:07And it was a beautiful speech and a rightful induction.
27:11I would say, in fact, long overdue, but at least it happened with you guys.
27:16And, and I'm thrilled about that.
27:18That brings me to another great moment that you shared, uh, with your sister and with none other than Jason Bonham on the drums in a very prestigious setting, uh, in Washington, D.C.
27:29The president's, uh, honors, uh, every year, uh, in, at the Kennedy Center honors.
27:34And, uh, there among several other luminaries being honored were the members of Led Zeppelin and you guys did this blistering version of Stairway to Heaven.
27:47And when the camera would flash to the three members, uh, you know, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, clearly, you know, welling up with tears in their eyes, that was nothing short of stunning.
28:01Uh, I don't know what it was like for you playing that.
28:03To me, I would be so flummoxed, even if I was as, as experienced as you, um, the fact that you guys not only pulled it off, but did so flawlessly.
28:13And so clearly moved not only the audience, but those three members, you know, and the president's there with his wife and everything else.
28:19Yeah.
28:19No pressure.
28:20Right.
28:22A bunch of dignitaries and the president and the first lady and Led Zeppelin.
28:27Jesus Christ.
28:28But yeah, but, um, well, it went viral like twice over, you know, it was like, wow.
28:33But we didn't see the reaction as it was happening, luckily, because we, you know, we were, they were up in that big balcony up there and we could see a few front of the front rows.
28:47People like Yo-Yo Ma were just grooving out, you know, but, uh, but it was really, uh, it was a moment to, uh, collect ourselves, take a really deep breath and walk out.
29:03Um, even though if your knees were shaking, you had to just get it right, you know, and, and I had to start the whole thing alone, you know, with the intro and I was like, you know, like, but, but when you do music for pretty long time, like we've done, you know, you kind of, you fall back on your experience and you, you, you fall back on all the times you, you, you, you thought you were thinking too hard.
29:32Just like, Oh shit, I'm going to blow it. Oh yeah. I blew it. You know, and you can't go there in your head. You have to keep your head on screwed right on straight and keep your experience talking to your inner self.
29:44And it's like, I'm not going to go too fast. I'm not making mistakes. Cause I know how this goes. I practiced it. One rehearsal yesterday.
29:55That was my question. You just had one rehearsal.
29:58Me one rehearsal.
29:58Come on with Jason on the drums too. Right. Although you had played with him on tour before he was part of heart for a while. And, um, but yeah, I think also once we saw, um, their reaction, you know, when it was cut together, we saw it on TV later.
30:16It was like, um, the, the emotion they were experiencing, I think was a lot more, it was a double whammy. It was the fact that it was so beautifully revealed kind of tier by tier as the song went out on, you know, the, the, the reveal of the smaller choir and then the orchestra and then the horn section and then the big choir.
30:38And then the bowler moment, like the John Paul or John Bonham, you know, signature bowler moment.
30:46And then also having Jason Bonham on the drums, who was the little kid that was like knocking around, you know, from the beginning of Led Zeppelin, he was knocking around at the rehearsals in their studios and their recording sessions and probably traveled with them.
31:03And so, um, um, probably that was one of the biggest impactful things emotionally for them to see him up there doing that Zeppelin song in that way as a surprise to them.
31:18It was a surprise that being honored, they didn't know how it was going to go down.
31:23So, you know, it was a well-kept secret, even though we saw John Paul Jones at the restaurant at the hotel the night before.
31:30And he's like, Oh, wow. What are you doing here? It was like, Oh, we just, uh, we're just doing some, uh, some stuff, some work.
31:37I don't know. You know, we were totally like, you know, trying not to let the cat out of the bag.
31:44I think he got an idea that you might've been there for that, but, um, cause we've always been called little Led Zeppelin, you know?
31:53So I'm sure he probably put the two and two together.
31:56Um, that brings us back to your record. Uh, if you're just joining us, we're speaking with Nancy Wilson.
32:02You and me is the latest album. It's so great. Uh, there are 12 songs on it. Uh, there are some covers and some originals,
32:10and there's a beautiful song that closes out the record and it's called for the number four, Edward.
32:16And it deals with, um, the story of your connection with one Edward Van Halen.
32:23And you met him as I understand. And, um, uh, he was not a player for the most part of acoustic guitars.
32:32Is that correct?
32:33Yeah, that's, you know, we toured with those guys a bunch of different times and we, you know, we, we hung out and we bonded and me and Eddie particularly bonded because I think both of us felt kind of like novelty guitar players,
32:47like a chick that can do that, you know, and a guy that does that like nobody else does.
32:53And, um, so he complimented me on my acoustic playing one time and I said, Oh, you know, coming from you. Thank you. That's everything.
33:02And, and I said, why don't you play more acoustic on stage? He's like, I don't really have one out here, you know?
33:10So it's like, well, here's one right now. Take this now. It's yours.
33:14What kind of guitar did you give him? What, what brand, what model?
33:17I probably was an ovation at that time before I started getting into more, the Takamani and the Martin later, but I'm pretty sure it was probably the ovation, one of the ovations, the backup ovation.
33:31Um, and then he called me the next crack of dawn morning on the telephone, the actual analog telephone in the hotel and, uh, played me this piece that was so gorgeous.
33:44And so when I was asked to, to create an, an acoustic instrumental for this album, I said, yes, I will do that.
33:54And I will dedicate it to Eddie. And then I'm like, did I just say that? What, what am I going to do? How do I do that?
34:04You know, how do I live up to that assignment? But it was a good thing I did. Cause I really liked,
34:10you know, it was really like difficult to approach the actual doing of it. I avoided it for a long time. I avoided it for weeks.
34:21And then I said, okay, I can't do hammers on, on coup stage. It just doesn't work. So that's, that's out.
34:29So I can do something simple and pretty, just beautiful, sweet, and a little bit heavenly, a little bit rock. So I took pressure off and I did something simple, which I like a lot.
34:43It's just beautiful. Um, did you ever get a copy of the recording of the song that he made that night when he called you in the hotel the next morning and had created a song on the very guitar you had given him?
34:55You know, no, I don't know. I'm not sure he ever recorded that. I don't know that. But, um, somebody told me that later the next day, when I saw him again, you know, he'd obviously been kind of up all night partying. And that was the last thing before he passed out or something. And, um,
35:19um, those were the eighties, of course. And so, um, you know, remember. And, uh, and it's, so the next day I was like, thank you so much for what you, this thing you played to me on the phone was beautiful. And he was kind of like, uh, yeah. Okay. What?
35:39So I'm not sure he remembered it, you know, but I think hopefully it's recorded somewhere.
35:46It's greatness. Uh, what a pleasure to speak with you. Um, you are going to be playing that Seattle show. I mentioned it. Are there any plans to take any of this material in any form on the road on your own?
35:59Yes, absolutely. Um, there's a few, uh, there's a few heart songs that, that are going to be there for the symphony show too, because I'm bringing, um, Liv Warfield with me from my road case band. So, um, she's going to do some heart songs and some of the new songs too. Um, so it'll be a 75 minute program with some heart hits, you know, with full symphony as well.
36:26And Liv Warfield as well as some of the new stuff from the you and me album as well.
36:33So I hope you record that. I'm sure that you will, but, uh, streamed and recorded too.
36:38Oh, sweet. Uh, but any plans to do any touring, uh, on the solo front or do you think there must be maybe a one-off here or there?
36:45I'm kind of hoping that doing the symphony show, um, might pan out because we're going to have these charts so we could take these, you know,
36:56on string charts along to other performance art centers. If, if it becomes, if the thing becomes a thang, that would be a really good, that'd be really fun, you know, do a West coast tour or whatever, you know, just go to those places.
37:13Um, but, uh, you know, as it gets closer, there might be more excitement. There might be some more people that they're going to sell actual physical tickets to go in probably with proof of vaccination cards, but all that, but, um, those, there's going to be a live audience in there.
37:31I'm not sure how distanced it might end up at that point, but, uh, hopefully not too distanced. And, you know, that's why more vaccines, the merrier. Cause it, it gets you into the rock shows. If you're vaccinated, another big motivation.
37:46And heart scheduled to come back in 2022, uh, heart had been, uh, apart for a little while. And then you guys came back together and I always love, people love the unity of a band. Uh, when, when, you know, particularly when a reunion comes about, when the band hasn't been playing for a while, I don't care what band it is, what style of music, all those members take the stage.
38:11And the audience is there to greet them. The first time heart came back from the break. What was that like stepping on stage together again?
38:21That, that was a really successful tour. I think because of what you just said, it was, there was kind of a vacuum out there for like a couple, three years. And then wait, there's a heart tour coming out and people all showed up. I mean, they were almost always sold out. It was like 50 plus shows, 53 shows.
38:41Um, all over the country and Canada. And, uh, we, we had a blast. I worked on the stage production with our guy. Um, and we, we just, we went out, we went all out on the stage production.
38:57And we had lasers and like for the song alone, there was a cone of a laser that's just and standing inside at the beginning of the song, you know?
39:06And then I said, I got my, finally got my bubble machine for the, for the encore, you know, like when we came back out for the encore, there were already bubbles coming down and, um, you know, had to have my mirror balls as well.
39:21So dreams, we had mirror balls and we had really cool effect. You know, we didn't have any pyrotechnics, you know, or anything like that, but, but it, it was a good looking, um, beautifully crafted stage set.
39:37And I think the set itself was really gratifying and satisfying to do because it was nice, big stages, gorgeous lighting, you know, all these beautiful things happening. It wasn't just a video wall, you know?
39:55Right.
39:55So it was a great thing. Projections were good.
39:58A friend of mine, Gary Hartung, uh, from sound image.
40:01Yes.
40:02Yeah.
40:04He's been a buddy of mine.
40:05He's amazing.
40:07He's an amazing front of house guy.
40:09Yeah. And he, uh, yeah, I knew him from, uh, my friendship with Crosby, Stills and Nash over the years. He's just a lovely guy, but he, he does a great mix on your sound.
40:17I think, um, last thing I would ask you then is, um, so there might be some dates with the solo band, but Hart, uh,
40:25we could maybe count on a summer tour for 2022. Does that seem like a likely possibility or any recording with Hart or just a tour? Or do you have any ideas on that front?
40:35I would imagine the next Hart, um, outing would be 2022. There's a, there's an offer already an offer on the table by Live Nation to do that. Um, they're, they're routing as we speak.
40:49So I think, you know, if I could do a couple of my solo things around at least the wand and, and then, you know, gear up for the big heart tour, because that takes, um, stage set planning.
41:03That takes rehearsal, like individual rehearsals before a few weeks of actual rehearsal before that actually happens and planning, you know, there's a lot of planning and hiring and, um, routing and stuff like that.
41:18So it's a big show. It's a big, big show. And, uh, I'm, I'm looking forward to all of the above. I want to go do some solo stuff and then I love to get back out with Hart as well.
41:31We can't wait to see you in either form. I'd love to see the solo show personally, but, uh, here in Philadelphia, we'll see how long it takes you to get out here.
41:39But this is a very warm audience, as you well know, having played, uh, for a long, long time.
41:45And, uh, we're thrilled to be able to support the new record. Uh, we've been speaking with Nancy Wilson. It's called you and me.
41:51There's some great songs and a wicked, wicked automobile.
41:57That is 60 51. Not which decade. Wait.
42:01Yeah. Yeah. 50, 51 Ford.
42:05Cruising through Sonoma County some Sunday afternoon. You never know in the hills of Sonoma County. If you might see, uh, Nancy Wilson and that, uh, that beautiful Ford driving around.
42:16Yeah. You can't miss it.
42:19It's been a great pleasure talking with you.
42:22I thank you so much for your time and, uh, wish you all the best in all of it.
42:26It was really fun talking to you too. And yeah. Say hi to Philly for me.
42:31Definitely will.
42:32Okay.
42:32Okay.
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