Stevie Nicks: an Inspirational Artist

Another band Nicks Joined in high school was the Frizz Robbery Memorial Band. Frizz was given the opportunity to open for celebrity musician, Janis Joplin. Nicks recalls, muff couldn't have pried me away with a million dollar check... L was absolutely glued to her. It was there that learned a lot of what I do onstage... L said, 'If ever I am a performer of any value, I want to be able to create the same kind of feeling that is going on between her and her audience" (Steve Nicks Biography). Sure enough, Nicks did accomplish what she set out to do and much more.

Steve Nicks' educational career continued when she decided to enroll at San Jose State University as a speech communication major. Steve planned on becoming an English teacher but the enrollment was short-lived and she eventually dropped out of San Jose to pursue her musical aspirations In Los Angels. Steve moved to L. A. With her musical partner, Lindsey Bucking, who eventually became her romantic partner as well. Together they signed a record deal with Polygon Records and created the Bucking Nicks album. Unfortunately, the public did not respond and the duo was unable to produce a significant profit from the album. Nicks decided she would to let this setback end her musical career. Little did she know, she was about to the land the opportunity of a lifetime, My favorite part of Settee's career, her Journey with Flatfooted Mac, could not have come at a better time In Steve Nick's life. She was struggling financially and desperate to have a career breakthrough. I believe "The Chain", by Flatfooted Mac, is without a doubt the front-runner of all the songs Steve has participated in writing.

Her collaboration on this song with Lindsey Bucking, Mimic Flatfooted, Christine Mimic, and John Emcee showed Steve has the ability to work well with others. The Chain" Includes Settee's preferred Instrument, the tambourine, as well as another percussion Instrument, the drums, and a string instrument, the guitar. One similarity this song has with most of Settee's other songs is that it falls in the rock music genre. The upbeat and dramatic tone of this song captivates the audience from the beginning and holds their attention until the end, leaving the listener with a desire to hear more.

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Another one of my favorites performed by Flatfooted Mac Is the song "Ruination", a song Steve states was written In only ten minutes, This musical creation Is about a haystack woman won Tints It very Nora to De tale down (Keller) . Settle wanted t song to be uplifting. I believe the song does have a mystical quality about it, however, not much of an uplifting one. In "Ruination", Steve Nicks crosses over from her traditional musical genre, rock, to a separate musical genre, pop.

Once again, you can clearly hear the drums, played by Mimic Flatfooted, and two guitars, one played by Lindsey Bucking and the other by John Mimic. There is another instrument that is introduced in this song and that is the keyboard, which is played by Christine Mimic (Pillar). The combination of these musical instruments sounds beautiful, and Nicks did a remarkable Job putting this piece together. I also enjoy the song "Dreams," which Steve Nicks wrote concerning love affairs and relationships ending. It was very personal to Steve, as she was going through this experience herself.

After an eight year relationship, Steve Nicks and Lindsey Bucking had decided to go their separate ways. Although "Dreams" addresses a more difficult topic than "Ruination," I think it has a more positive energy and uplifting beat. Steve says she likes to offer hope in her songs (Killer). Nicks chose to incorporate percussion, strings, and a keyboard instrument by using the drums, an acoustic guitar, a base guitar, and the keyboard itself. "Dreams" is yet another song in Steve Nicks' career that climbed the charts when it was released in 1977 and is still popular more than thirty years later.

All the songs discussed previously have excellent music and vocals, but there is one song in which the music overshadows Settee's voice and that song is "Gypsy. " Without watching one of Flatfooted Mac's live performances, the instrument that I thought stood out was the piano. However, it is actually a guitar. This song is similar to "Ruination" in that it reflects Nicks' mystical side. The music in "Gypsy' is refreshing and relaxing. This is the type of song I would want in the background when I had friends over.

It sets up a pleasant atmosphere and is delightfully entertaining. The last song I like, written by Steve Nicks that comes out before her solo career, is "Landslide". This song is filled with overwhelming emotion and intrigue. It is about Nicks' decision to continue in her musical career when she was standing up against all odds. The guitar is the predominant instrument in this piece, and it is all the song rule needs. Steve repeats the same theme over and over again through the course of this piece. The music in "Landslide" is surprisingly simple yet very powerful.

Throughout Steve Nicks solo career, I would have to say that her most popular composition was "Edge of Seventeen. " I still hear it on the radio today. Nicks wrote this song after John Lenin and an uncle she was very close to passed away. There is irony in this because "Edge of Seventeen" strikes me as particularly happy song. The cymbals are an instrument unique to this musical piece. In addition, there are three efferent types of drums being played: the snare drum and the bass drum, which are played with sticks, as well as a hand drum, which is obviously played with the hands.

The piano Joins these other instruments as the song develops. "Edge of Seventeen" is a gripping and enchanting song which, not surprisingly, comes from Settee's album Enchanted. Another catchy song from Nicks' album Enchanted is "Blue Lamp. " Like many of her other pieces of work, "Blue Lamp" has a musical introduction that highlights the melody of the song. Steve Nicks stands on the genre border between rock and pop tin tons one-or-a-Kink place. In near own words, seen says tons song symbolizes "ten light that shines through the night" (Killer).

Typical of Settee's character, she uses the drums and the guitar as the musical foundation for the song. If I had to choose one song that I did not like from Nicks' output, it would be "Rock a Little. " This song does not draw me in the way her others do. The tone color of the instruments sounds dull and the music is relatively boring. This is only my personal opinion, and over the course of Steve Nicks' extraordinary career, I found this piece of work to be simply ordinary. Although Steve Nicks' career began with a commercial failure, her successes as a musical artist are what she is known for.

Steve Nicks has influenced a wide variety and record number of singers and songwriters including Kelly Clarion, Collie Cyclical, Madonna, the Dixie Chicks, and Vanessa Carlton. She has collaborated with many well-known artists including Tom Petty, and mentored others, such as Sherry Crow (Dunn). Her 2001 solo album, Trouble in Shanghai-La, included fellow musicians Mac Gray, Sarah McClellan, Sherry Crow, and Dixie Chick Natalie Amines. Nicks has toured all over the world from Sydney, Australia, to SST. Petersburg, Russia, and from Dublin, Ireland, to Dallas, Texas.

I cannot say that one country likes her more than the other, given the fact that all the reviews describe her sold out concerts and devoted fans (Kinney). In an article from an Australian newspaper, music editor Kathy McCabe reports, "The veteran band [Flatfooted Mac] who ushered in the west-coast sound has lost none of its fire but gained the self-awareness afforded by survival in the music business, using their legendary tensions, relationship breakdowns and drug problems to introduce so many great songs from Rumors and beyond" (McCabe).

Sean Flynn, writer for the Irish Times, says, "This time around, there is no new album to plug and no new songs to roll out. Yesterdays gone, but those golden sun-drenched songs roll on forever" (Flynn). I could not have said it better myself. Steve Nicks is a legend. Her music has thrived for decades and she will go down in history as an exceptionally talented songwriter and performer. In addition to the musical imprint Steve Nicks has left on society, her humanitarian efforts have also impacted the world. She has performed at benefits for the Arizona

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