Q 6

PLAYBOY: What compromises?

Stevie Nicks: My interest in the music and everything else would have to drop off a little bit. But I don't fall in love that often, because it's sad when you fall in love and it doesn't work out. I know it's better to have loved, because otherwise I wouldn't have anything to write about. And there are different kinds of love. But if it were the big love, I'd drop everything. I'd still have my job, of course, but I'd get in my car and drive across town in the middle of the night--which I will not do under other circumstances, because I don't have a license. I'd go crazy, I suppose. It's probably the most wonderful feeling in the world.

Q 7

PLAYBOY: It sounds as if your job would get in the way.

Stevie Nicks: It invades it. You can call up your boyfriend and say, "I'm sick; I can't go to dinner." But you cannot call in sick to Fleetwood Mac. So a certain number of my relationships are ruined, not because of the people involved but because of my other commitments. And so, every time, I'm just a little less interested in starting something up, because what has happened before is probably going to happen again. It's not a lack of interest on my part; it's a lack of time to be interested.

So maybe it's good that I haven't fallen deeply enough in love to give up a good half of what I do. I wouldn't want to be a bad mother. And how could I be a good one when I don't even have time to go to the dentist? So forget the child. And forget the boyfriend. I have so many commitments that he would have to come fourth--and I don't like making anybody feel he's fourth.

Q 8

PLAYBOY: Yet love obviously means a lot to you. In Sara, you wrote, "Drowning in the sea of love, where everyone would love to drown."

Stevie Nicks: : Yeah, but I'm at the point where I realize that if my job is what I want to be doing, I'd just better stay out of the sea.

I've been going with someone since I was 18 years old. I think I had a month between Lindsey [Buckingham] and Don [Henley, of The Eagles]. There has always been someone in my life. And I want my freedom at this point, because I really need to get to know Stevie again. I need to be able to paint all night without making someone feel horrible because he's waiting for me to come to bed.

Yet I know intimacy is something we all need. When you want to get back to the fireplace with someone you care about or watch a little TV, it's important that you like the person a lot, that he makes you laugh and that he's fun. I'm as envious of that as can be.

Q 9

PLAYBOY: What kind of man would make you happy?

Stevie Nicks: [Laughs] You were thinking maybe a nice doctor or something? Maybe an eye-ear-nose-and-throat specialist? Maybe an analyst? A musical artist? I've certainly had that experience. It wouldn't be easy for me to deal with a guy who was as busy as I am. When I'm home one night, I definitely don't want to be alone. I'm not amused if he's busy. I'm no different, you know. If I met a guy who was able to put up with it, he'd have to be just as famous, have more money and be terribly secure within himself. Frankly, I have contemplated being single the rest of my life. But I said that in a radio interview once, and when I heard it back, it really freaked me out.

Q 10

PLAYBOY: Do you ever encounter fans more spiritual or spaced out than you?

Stevie Nicks: Yes. I came out the stage door the other night and a girl was crying hysterically. I can never walk away from someone in tears, so I asked what was wrong. She said, "Will you sign my arm?" I did. The next night, she was back--with her other arm tattooed with my name! I grabbed her and told her, "Don't ever do that again. Don't ever have someone take a knife and cut into your arm with my name. It's not funny. It's stupid and I'm not happy about it." Her reaction was more tears.

Another night, one of her friends asked me to sign her arm. I said, "I did that the other day and the girl went out and had her arm tat----"

"Oh, she's my best friend," the girl said. So I told her, "I'm not touching your arm. And if I ever find out that you got my name tattooed on you anyway, I'll sue. Don't put that on me. That's pain. I'm not here to bring pain. I'm here to bring you out of pain." It bummed me out. I felt like I should have gone back inside, like I'd come out the wrong door.

Q 11

PLAYBOY: What else upsets you?

Stevie Nicks: Waiting. [Long pause and a smile] And I'm always late. It's Gemini in me. Otherwise, just wrong things said at the wrong time. Like, "Oh, gained a little weight around the chin." You know, right before a photo session. Some people have incredible tact and an intuitive feel for your feelings. Others don't. Some people can wake me up in the morning--they know how. Others, if I had a BB gun, they'd be on the wall.

Q 12

PLAYBOY: Were you nervous going on road as a solo act?

Stevie Nicks: Are you kidding? Terribly. I hadn't been onstage alone before. It's a whole different can of beans to realize that if you're not out there--if you have to run to the wings for some powder or to get your hair brushed or because you're dripping wet--there is no one onstage who'll talk to the audience. But we had some truly spectacular moments, when the band and I were blown away at the response. At the last Los Angeles show, I must have looked like the bag lady of Bella Donna: I was bent over, because I had so many roses to carry. I was crying. Another great thing is that no one in the audience yelled out, "Where's Don? Where's Tom Petty? Where's Lindsey? Where's Fleetwood Mac?"