Buffalo Springfield again?

Buffalo Springfield Again: Richie Furay on the Seminal ’60s Band


Crawdaddy!: So we’re all curious. How did the reunion shows go from your end?

Richie Furay: We had a great time, and from what I can tell, after not playing on the same stage together for 42 years, things came together pretty well. We did three rehearsals and we had two run-throughs for an hour per set. You know for me, we sounded better than we did anytime we played together in the past, with the exception of maybe when we played the six weeks at the Whiskey A Go Go.

Crawdaddy!: How did the whole thing fall together?

Richie Furay: Supposedly, Stephen called Neil and suggested “Why don’t we get together and do something at the Bridge School Benefit?” So Neil ended up calling me and asking me if I was interested. Neil told me we could do it next year—that we don’t have to do it this year. But I’m thinking, “Hey, if we’re gonna do it, we’d better do it now.” Because who knows what tomorrow holds for anybody?

Crawdaddy!: Was there talk of doing anything else together?

Furay: Yeah, there was. I wouldn’t be surprised if maybe we didn’t do a couple of other things. We were pretty high when we got done and everybody said, “Hey, let’s just settle down and take a deep breath and see how everyone feels after a couple of weeks, and we’ll see if we want to pursue anything else.” So I sent Neil and Stephen a note last week, and both of them were really very positive about the whole experience. So we’ll just have to wait and see.

Crawdaddy!: Can you describe the performance for people who didn’t make it?

Furay: Well, the Bridge School benefit is always all acoustic. But even though it was acoustic, there was an electric feel to it. Everything just sounded really good. We did “Kind Woman” and “On the Way Home.” We did “Rock & Roll Woman.” We did “Bluebird.” We did “I Am A Child.” We did “A Child’s Claim to Fame.” We did “Burned.” We did “For What It’s Worth.” We got songs from all three of our albums. Neil is such a gracious host, man. He was just superb.

Crawdaddy!: How did you choose the setlist?

Furay: I think we probably had 15, 16, 17 songs that we had spoken on the phone back and forth about doing, and when we got together we just sorted ‘em out. We realized the time was short and that there was going to be a minimal amount of rehearsal time. And so basically we said, “This one feels good and this one feels good,” and those were the ones that ended up being in the show.

Crawdaddy!: Was it challenging to play some of those songs after so many years?

Furay: Some of the songs we played I actually play with my band. I do a medley of “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing” and “Do I Have to Come Right Out And Say It.” And I also play “Go And Say Goodbye”, which Stephen wrote. So I was familiar with some of the songs. The only thing that I really needed to catch up on was “I Am A Child”, from the third album. We were well past wherever we were at that time. So I had to learn that, but it fell together really quickly.

Crawdaddy!: Richie, if there’s a legacy that Buffalo Springfield has given to the culture, what is it?

Furay: The Buffalo Springfield was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after being together only two years and having one hit. But what’s significant is what came out of that. Besides the success that Steve and Neil have gone on to individually, so many different bands came out of that. Poco came out of that. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young came out of that. And then, who came out of those bands? Loggins & Messina. Pure Prairie League. The Eagles. I mean, the whole country-rock scene. We opened the doors for many people. We laid the groundwork for so much of American popular music. I think that’s a pretty important legacy.

Link:
http://www.crawdaddy.com/index.php/2010/11/11/buffalo-springfield-again-richie-furay-on-the-seminal-60s-band/