Graham Nash talks about his relationship with Joni Mitchell and how ordinary things i their lives would inspire his music. He then discusses the unique personalities of the other members in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
The Conversation
what I like to do is celebrate the
ordinary moments in life and I'll give
you an
example I took Joanie Mitchell to
breakfast once in Los
Angeles we left the restaurant we pass
an antique store she looks in the window
she sees a beautiful vase in the window
that she wants to buy now I mean I know
I haven't been with Joan for you know
over years but she probably still has
her first dollar she doesn't spend a lot
of money on herself but she did buy this
bars and so we went back to her uh house
in Laurel Canyon where we were living
and I said you know something our light
of fire why don't you put some flowers
in that vase that you just and all of a
sudden that incredibly ordinary moment
that you and I as men have experienced a
thousand times you know okay love you do
that and I'll do this and then te you
know dinner will happen and the kids
will be fine you know that's a perfect
example because when Joanie was in the
garden trying to find flowers for the V
she wasn't at her piano which means I
was and our house was written incredibly
quickly what an interesting concept
about writing you say you like to write
about the ordinary moment my life is
made up of ordinary moments well tell me
how does a a British young man become
part of a group that's so synonymous
with American culture American rock and
roll music when I first heard Buddy
Holly and the Ely brothers and Elvis and
Fat Domino and Jerry Lee
Lewis my life was over I knew what I
wanted to do the Beatles were successful
of course and they opened up giant
enormous doors that every single band
wanted to run through you know when they
first had their hit record and conquered
America that's what we wanted to do well
the holl were tremendously successful
British
band uh what was it like when you first
played in the US we thought that we were
going to do our minutes of dynamite
you know we we got to the Paramount in
Time Square in New York City in Easter
of on the sup sales Easter show and
the uh stage manager says okay what two
songs are you doing two songs we came
all this way to do two songs yeah but
it's six six times a day and there's
other people on the same act you know so
it was very strange we had to let go we
thought we knew what we were doing in
our English way but when we came to
America we had to let
go why did you leave the music I had
heard me and David and Steven sing it
was completely a unique sound to me we
you know the Birds and the Buffalo
Springfield and the Hol were very decent
Harmony bands but this was something
different when David and Steven and I
put our voices and Blended them together
before they hit the microphone we knew
that it was something very very unique
and very different so it's the power of
that vocal blend that we got to within
seconds of singing with each other
seconds incredible is that yeah nobody
sounds like us when we when we're on it
nobody in the world when did the drug
use start did you start with marijuana
yes yes and about when did that start
for me mid when I first came to La
Canyon and uh we had a a dear friend
Cass Elliot who was the singer with the
masas and Papas and she was the woman
that changed my life completely she was
the one that introduced me to Crosby
David Crosby is one of the most unique
people I know and I know a lot of people
he's an unbelievably unique rare
musician is very Jazz influenc strange
chords strange tunings things I I
personally would as a writer would never
think of Steven Stills who is he Steven
Stills is a leader Steven Stills is a
tremendous tremendous musician a great
arranger
stubborn
um won't quit until he thinks it's right
which I love about him and what about
Neil
Young Neil Young is as I said in my book
he's one of the strangest friends I have
completely dedicated to the Muse of
Music completely a slave to good music
um Neil Young dedicated to his family
dedicated to making the world a better
place who and what are
you there's a part of me that is still
waiting to get found out I'm years
old now I've been doing this
successfully a long time but there's a
part of my soul
that doesn't quite believe that I should
be here you know I'm this poor kid from
the north of England who had the wisdom
to follow his parents advice about
following his heart in my passion for
music um who am I I want to get the job
done if we're going to commit to doing a
tour or commit to doing an album or
commit to singing a note I want to get
the job done the best way we
can I personally think that time and our
family are all we
have when my father died at and the
clouds didn't stop scurrying across the
sky and the birds didn't stop singing
and I I realized my God you have to fill
your life with the best you can for
every second of your life