David Crosby has been producing records and performing around the globe for the past five decades with The Byrds; Crosby, Stills and Nash; and as a solo artist. We caught up with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer before his upcoming show.
What keeps you coming back to Birchmere?
Well, an audience [laughs]. I normally don’t play clubs ’cause I don’t like there being a distraction and people drinkin’ heavily and stuff. But the Birchmere is really a performance facility; it’s not a club. It’s really actually a concert hall, a small one, and I like playing there.
You have two recent albums, one with your son James Raymond and one with Michael League. How are they different?
The Michael League one is mostly acoustic guitar and vocal stacks. The one with James is done the same way we did the last one, Croz, and it’s a full band record, mostly, not totally. There’s at least one song of Joni Mitchell’s on there that’s just me singing and James playing piano.
What’s it like creating music with your son?
It’s a joy. He’s a very, very, very good musician. Ever since we started making music, we’ve had an incredible chemistry writing, singing and playing together. So, as you can imagine, it’s kind of wonderful.
What’s it like playing solo versus in a band?
With others, you can do it bigger. You can do big places. With CSN we played big concert halls. With CSNY we played giant fucking stadiums, excuse me [laughs], but that’s not really the most important part. By yourself, I love it ’cause I can talk more. I can try and break the fourth wall and talk to the audience and invite them in. The words count more in the songs. I like both. I like doin’ both.
Crosby will perform on Aug. 23 at The Birchmere: 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.
