"Crosby, further down the road "
About the CSN&Y reunion, those sky-high ticketROCK: In conversation with David Crosby
February 11, 2000It's ironic. The four legends Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are the sorts that would never believe that life is something that just happens to you. They would argue life is what you make it.
But life — or, rather, its unexpected twists and turns — just keeps happening to CSN&Y. Less than a year ago the quartet with the stellar resume (consider the four Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions among them) put out its first album in 11 years, "Looking Forward."
This from a group that has the swiftness of turtles, having issued all of three studio albums in three decades.
How did it come about? It just sort of happened. CSN was preparing a new release, and Stephen Stills brought in Neil Young to lay down some guitar. One thing led to another, and suddenly it's a reunion. These things can't be planned. They just happen.
Then this bunch of 50-somethings (Crosby is nearly 60) announced that — what the heck? — they would tour for the first time since 1974.
Boomers everywhere went wild, then prepared their checkbooks; rumors circulated that each member was earning $500,000 a show, a matter supported by the top ticket price: $200. (They go as low as $30, however.)
And then life really started happening. The album got mostly bad reviews and stiffed on the charts, an unexpected result for such a high-profile effort. A few months later Graham Nash suffered two broken legs in a boating accident; his first appearance after it saw him smiling from a wheelchair at a tour press conference.
Then came the ultimate: David Crosby, super sperm donor. Rocker Melissa Etheridge and her partner, Julie Cypher, revealed in a Rolling Stone cover story at the start of the year that Crosby — not Brad Pitt, not Madonna's baby-maker, not anyone from Etheridge's band — was the biological father of their two sons. Much head-scratching ensued.
All of it has detracted from the CSNY2K outing, which opened Jan. 24 in Detroit to mostly raves, perhaps because the three-hour show isn't limited to new and old CSNY material. Young's solo classics, as well as material he and Stills created in Buffalo Springfield, has found its way into the set. And there's still talk that some Byrds and Hollies tunes will be played at some point.
So there's much to discuss with one cheerful but slightly fatigued David Crosby, who called from a tour stop in Portland, Ore. Orange County Register: First things first. Isn't it a little unconscionable for a Woodstock generation band to charge $200 for good seats?
David Crosby: You know, everybody looks at the ticket price and goes nuts. I don't get it. They're charging a lot for the gold circle seats, yes, for the best ones — but, hell, I think we paid a lot more than that to see the Eagles. I did, anyway.
OCR: That doesn't make it right. The next tier tickets drop down to $75, sure, but you are charging a lot of money to see you.
DC: I'm not, the promoter is.
OCR: But doesn't it taint the idealism of the music in some way?
DC: Nah, man, I don't think so. My job is just to do the songs with conviction, and it's not hard to be who I am and sing these songs. The same things matter to me as they always did. Nothing's changed with me. At last night's show, in fact, I asked the crowd, 'Is this what you came for?' And they roared back. 'Songs, right?' Another roar. The truth is this is what people want. I spend a lot of time on the Internet at various sites and the comment I get back the most is that people are saying it's a concert they'll never forget ... and how can you put a price on that?
OCR: And you're getting a sizable paycheck in the process.
DC: Yeah, of course I am. I'd be silly not to. Nobody really good is going out cheap, and this is a one-time deal. Most of the people in the audience have never seen us like this, you know. You had to be about 18 years old about 25 years ago to even remember this. That's the bottom line: You haven't seen this in 25 years, and you're not going to see it again.
OCR: So the shows have been surpassing expectations? The reviews certainly have been good.
DC: It's unbelievable. ... We sort of laughed our way through making the album, and that spirit is continuing with the shows. ... It's not like we're trying to cover all the different periods or anything, but, you know, we've got another three hours of songs we could do. I mean, think of all the things we haven't played: "The Loser," "Deja Vu," "Wooden Ships."
OCR: You haven't done "Wooden Ships" yet?!
DC: No! Isn't that crazy? We'll get to it, I'm sure. We rehearsed close to 60, but we keep changing the set around. You know, how we've been doing it, it's been a case of, 'Let's ditch the arrangments and sing it like we just wrote 'em.' That was Neil's idea, and it's infected us. It's really affected me. You can't help but be overwhelmed by the amount of commitment and musicianship that this band puts out. The deal is, we never do the songs the same way twice.
OCR: Some people might argue that 30 years later, you simply can't.
DC: I can see that. But with us, it has to do more with deliberately not trying to follow a formula on a song, to go the other way. And as for our voices, hey, people are telling me that I've been sounding better now than I have in years. It's all just so strong now, so directly about the music and nothing else, so completely without artifice. It's goes directly to the heart of the matter, and now it's so much fun for the four of us. It wasn't always like that.
OCR: The tension between the four of you is legendary. Has it crept in again at all?
DC: Well, there's always some creative tension. You can't avoid that. But, no, we're somewhow past all of that. ... We're growing up a lot more, and we have earned each other's respect. We've learned how not to make some of the mistakes that, well, I used to make anyway. I used to issue an ultimatum and stomp out, or hold a grudge for a few days, or throw a fit. Of course, I was slightly chemically enhanced at the time. (Laughs heartily.) That had a great deal to do with all of my behavior for a long time.
OCR: Your turnaround has been as discussed as your music. There was the "Behind the Music" special, too — not about CSN&Y, but about you. It gave the impression that at this point in your life you have this amazing capacity to love everyone, to see the goodness in everyone.
DC: Not everyone. (Laughs.) I don't think anyone has that capacity.
OCR: What is it, then, that makes you such a karmic papa to so many. You seem to draw people in need to you, whether it's Drew Barrymore or your son James (whom Crosby was estranged from for most of his life) or now Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher.
DC: Well, it's a lot of things that bring that out in me, I think. If you nearly die, it makes you treasure every moment you go through. You can ask guys who went through the Vietnam War. They are thrilled with every day they get. They love the fact that they are alive. I'm the same way. I love my life now. It's an ongoing process with me, and obviously I got a lot happier after I stopped getting loaded. But now I just try to live my life as I choose. And I'm just having a blast. I have this beautiful little boy (Django, 4), I've got great friends, my son turns up after all this time and turns out to be a genius, and after 22 years I'm still married to the same woman. And I have the best job in the world. Hey, man, my life is damn good.
OCR: And yet you've become the butt of a great many jokes because of the way you lived. Everyone seemed to have a line on you being the biological father of Melissa and Julie's kids, for instance.
DC: You can't take all of that seriously. There are people whose job it is to make fun of guys like us. Look at what they do to the president, you know? Forget about me. You just can't let that bother you.
OCR: Still, the Rolling Stone article in which Melissa and Julie came out about your identity ...
DC: That came out really well, don't you think? I thought it really said it all.
OCR: Yes, it did. But there's also a sense that it said too much, that maybe this isn't any of our business.
DC: I kind of feel the same way. I don't think it should be that big a deal. To me, it's a perfectly sensible thing: If a gay couple want a child, they should have a child. It's only been made a big deal because we are in the public eye.
OCR: Has the announcement had any unexpected repercussions?
DC: Well, look, there's obviously a segment of the population that is totally homophobic and slightly crazoid and you can't change that. There were some pickets at a few of our gigs, you know, and it showed me what I already knew — that homophobia is alive and well out there, just like racism. But I sort of thought, 'Hey, anyone who would dislike me for that, well, that's an honor.' It's an honor like being on the Nixon enemeies list is an honor.
OCR: With all of the hoopla — the coming out, Nash's accident — doesn't it affect the music at some point?
DC: No, we don't let it. Nothing's gotten in the way of the music, we don't think about all of those things when we're in the music. OCR: What about bringing Neil back into the fold? How does that affect it? It would seem that he tends to push the three of you to do more. Does he take the reins when he's involved? We have always had a chemistry, and Neil is very strong in that chemistry. But if you asked him, he would deny that he is any sort of leader. We all would. He's just a remarkable artist, man. He's very focused on the honesty of the music, on it being without contrivance. ... And he has an intensity that you have to see to believe. We all can have that, you know, but he's just a highly energized human being.
OCR: So, then, the obvious question: Will this continue? Before, you said it won't ever happen again.
DC: I really have no idea. If it's really fun, and we really make uncompromisingly good music, then I think it would be possible. We always have done that, I think, but it's hard to keep that up. We still have six or eight songs from the last album that didn't make it, so I wouldn't be surprised. But it's hard to have epxectations about this group, you know?
OCR: Some might say it's getting to the point where retirement makes sense.
DC: Wrong, nah, wrong, wrong. Look at Chuck Berry, man, he's about 10 years older than I am and he can rock anybody off the stage. If it stops being fun, then I'll stop. But I'm healthy and happy and strong. There's lots more left in me.