Following a Grammy and two inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it’s safe to say Graham Nash is a rocker of the first order. As a member of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and The Hollies, Graham became a figurehead of the 1960s British Invasion and a deeply influential force in classic rock. With the recent release of his sixth solo album, This Path Tonight, Graham will be hitting The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester on July 15. We caught up with the renowned singer-songwriter to see just what he has been up to.
Why do you continue to keep such a grueling tour schedule?
In the last two or three years, I have done over a hundred shows. I just did a tour of the West Coast, and, on June 11, I start a tour of the East Coast. When you reduce a song down to its very essence, as you do on tour, you find out very quickly whether you have a good song or not. The concerts have been going extremely well, and audiences can expect everything [from the upcoming show].
I know you are an acclaimed photographer and artist. Are you still active?
Oh, completely. I am working on a show as we speak. I came from my studio to talk to you, and after I will go back to my studio to complete a show I am having at the Walter Wickiser Gallery in New York City, starting June 1. There will be photographs, paintings, manipulations by me, and comments on the world. I still take my camera everywhere I go.
What do you feel has motivated your prolific output over the years?
Here’s a perfect example of who I am: When Wild Tales, my autobiography, came out I was doing a book signing in Manchester, England. I was signing books and a kid came up to me, handed me a manila envelope and said, “You need this, but don’t open it up until you get to the hotel.” So, I finished the signing and went back to my hotel, and when I opened it up, it was my school report card from when I was 11. The first thing the teacher wrote was: “This boy wants to know about everything.” And I have never changed.
How does it feel to have had such an outsized influence on rock?
I am very proud of what my partners and I have done over the past 50 years. We have tried to do our best; we have tried to make people shake their ass; we have tried to make people think about things they wouldn’t normally think about. But that’s all in the past. Today is another day — let’s rock!
