Interview with Jeremy

What made you want to play in India in the first place, and why are you coming back?

Jeremy: The first time I went to India, I was invited to help out with some charity concerts, & I felt good about doing that. That's the reason I went the second time as well. This time around in addition to doing benefit concerts, I've been inspired to also do some workshops and exclusive performances to hopefully gain more of a rapport with the people of India. I like doing this because I like the personal touch. That's kind of how we started as a band with Fleetwood Mac.

Playing live for a good cause is something I like to do. I like the response of the Indian people, I like their depth and the way they look beyond the surface of things.

Is it true that you jammed on stage with Fleetwood Mac in Tokyo in 1995?

Jeremy: Yes, that's true, I met Mick. He called me while I was at one of our video centers in Japan and asked if he could see me. So I went to visit him in his hotel, and John McVie saw me and said, "Oh, have you got your guitar? Bring it and play tonight!"

So I said, "Okay," and I brought the guitar along, and got up and played. It was fun. They are a very good band. Their drums and bass are so together and powerful. It was like stepping into a Mac truck or a Fleetwood cadillac, ha, or something, and we just kind of took off musically. That was nice. Mick Fleetwood, the drummer, and John McVie, the bass player playing together like that, they are tops in their field, and rightly so.

The lead singer at that time, said, "Oh, boy! I never had slide guitar playing behind me like that before!" That really made me feel good.

Rumor has it that you haven’t played music for awhile, is that true?

Jeremy: I have been very much involved in music for quite a few years. I traveled around doing outdoor concerts in Europe and Latin America. I've also recorded a couple of albums one for CBS, and one for Atlantic. Since then I've been recording & writing songs for various labels.

A lot has happened on the music scene in the last few years. What do you think about it?

Jeremy: Well, I've seen a shift from very stuffed recording (which, by the way, I personally am not into) with the advent of 32-track machines. Then there was a temporary reversal to simplicity with the bands and punk, notably Dire Straits, which I thought was a good band and played real well. Then there was an onset of very synthesized music, which was quite interesting and which was showing more creativity in a way, I thought. That is, the kind of sound where they were experimenting with the very basics of synthesizers and sequencing-really very good.

Then it got satiated and overstuffed musically. This was followed by a welcome backlash and a relief to unplugged music in the early 90's. I thought that was a welcome change from everything being so synthesized and overstuffed. I do not like overstuffed music, as I guess you can tell by now! I just like simplicity. I like simple songs, I like simple chords, simple vocals, simple lead guitar. I just like simplicity. That's just the way I like it.

But on a different plane, I feel the music is getting darker. A lot of bands are trying to out-attitude each other. Everything's got to be more shocking than the last, with what I sometimes think is the mistaken assumption that it's new, daring or different. Well, I used to shock people in Fleetwood Mac back in the early days under the name of progress, freedom of expression & artistic license so I guess really as far as that goes, it's nothing new.

I'm not saying it's all like that, I'm just saying that it seems to be going that way. Every once in awhile some real jewels pop out, some good stuff like Celine Dion-singers with real feeling, or a song that really stands out every once in awhile. Then there's Toni Braxton's song, "Unbreak My Heart," which is quite a touching song. There's a lot of catchy stuff too. Though that's just my opinion. It's a free world, isn't it?

Rumor has it that you haven't played music all these years since you left Fleetwood Mac. Is that true?

Jeremy: Well, contrary to popular belief, I've been very much involved in music since I left Fleetwood Mac. For quite a few years I traveled around doing outdoor concerts, sometimes playing in different festivals. I've played in France, Italy, Brazil & India. Sometimes somebody would want to put us on stage, and we'd play at a big stadium or something like that - usually outside of the formal structure of the mainstream pop or rock festival organizations.

I've also recorded a couple of albums one for CBS, and one for Atlantic, though that was quite a few years back now. Since then I've been recording & writing songs with friends.