A Fairy in the Forest: David Talks About Life with Stevie Nicks

Alright, look. Though we have had had our ups and downs in the past and will no doubt have them again in the future, I do absolutely love David Forest. And I don't care what anyone has to say about it. That's not to say the man isn't without his faults, but we're all flawed. He didn't "make" me, as he may have touted from time to time, but he was definitely the #1 biggest supporter of JasonCurious.com when it launched, the biggest supporter of my radio show when it launched and now again has been the biggest supporter of The X Show at RAGE. It's been a mutually beneficial relationship where his stars get lots of publicity out of it and my work get a chance to really thrive. And while he may be called stubborn, overzealous or demanding, these are also all things I've heard Barbra Streisand called; they're the sign of someone who is hard working and passionate about what they do.

Last night's X Show brought the Forest Men front and center, specifically Billy Brandt, who joined us to announce his retirement from movies to go to college and join the military, and Stonie, who told of how he would like to go more mainstream since his attention for the movie Borat and has intentions of becoming a flight attendent in the near future. But the real star of the show, the one who had everyone riveted and applauding, was David Forest. I've never seen him so calm and collected. I've never heard him tell the stories he told. I've never seen a crowd respond to him quite as warm and lovingly.

What people forget about David is that he is old school Hollywood. Literally. Not just as a term! David Forest worked hard as an agent and manager for many famous bands and musicians before getting involved in the gay porn business. And while some would be more intersted in how he once handled the careers of James Taylor, Carole King, The Moody Blues or Santana, I am utterly fascinated by his five year management of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, as he went with them on the journey from Fritz to Buckingham Nicks to Fleetwood Mac.

You see, my mother and I have a soul connection with Stevie. When my mother left home, left her parents, to run off with my father, she wrote a goodbye letter to her mom and in it included some of the lyrics to the song "Edge of Seventeen." Naturally! It was a hit song that year. But the spooky part is that although I never knew of that letter, about seventeen years later I would write my own goodbye note to her that included the exact same lyrics. It was like this perfect circle. And then I move to Los Angeles to become an actor/musician/host and meet up with David, Stevie's first manager! The whole connection is just a little too coincidental I think.

Anyway, to hear David tell me these stories last night, on stage and off, about the time he spent with this embryonic version of the Stevie Nicks we know and love today was just such a thrill for me, I can't begin to tell you. And I think it was a thrill for him too! It's like when an old man talks about the war and no one really wants to hear about it except that one kid who is just hanging onto his every word.

And I do know from writing about my love of Stevie in past diary entries that there are a few really, really hardcore Stevie fans who are constant readers here, so yes, I will indulge you with some of the great stories I was told last night. Consider this a great big thank you to those of you who have shared bootlegged concerts and studio demos with me through the years -- you know who you are!

First of all, when Stevie and Lindsey were part of the band Fritz, the other members of the band weren't all that keen on her! She was always pushing her way to the front of the stage, always the showstopper, the real front woman who people came to see and she knew it. "She was definitely a diva, even then," said Forest as he talked about how he would always side with her in arguments and take her to boutiques where she would buy her flowing black dresses and the shawls and the whole bit. Forest was amused by it, asking her why she liked that sort of get up. She told him she was looking for a signature style, something she would look sexy in not only now but when she was 60. Even then she knew instinctively she'd be rocking the stage for years and was planning for her future as an old lady who "rocks a little."

On stage last night, we had a real "moment" where I asked him to remember in his five years with her one story that really stands out. He had to think really hard before he sat back and said, "Okay, okay. I've got a story." He told us about a gig he had booked them on where Janis Joplin was also playing and while the other band members of Frtiz split after their show, Stevie and David stayed to see Janis perform. "I don't know, I think that did something to her," he said. "I think it might have shown her the kind of performer she wanted to be. She seemed mesmerized."

What David didn't realize is that Nicks has actually talked about that night in so many interviews. When I told him this, he seemed so pleased, just tickled that she would even remember the night! Of course, she doesn't mention David was her "date" for the show, but she does talk about the one time she saw Janis live, that it was right after she had performed her own set and that the experience completely transformed her. She has said that was the turning point for her, that she soaked up the magic in that moment and applied it to her own work, never to be the same kind of performer again.

And to think, I've heard this story from Stevie a million times, and never realized David Forest was standing right next to her as history was in the making. Is it just me or is that incredible?!

Off stage, he dropped an even bigger bomb and admitted to me that he was the first person to ever give Stevie Nicks cocaine.

Um... WOW!

Now this is something he doesn't seem too proud of, telling me, "that's not the kind of thing I want to be known or remembered for," but personally, I think that is the coolest fucking thing in the world. I mean, who can say that?! "I was the first person to give Stevie Nicks coke." Who can say that?!

And yes, it almost ruined her life and yes she became an addict, but you know, there's always good that can be pulled from any bad situation and the good here was the creation of art that will live long after she's gone. Without that moment they shared together we wouldn't have everything from those crazy coked out performances of "Rhiannon" to the insane brilliance of her Red Rocks concert DVD that was recorded just hours before she went into rehab. Sure, she almost had a brain hemmorage, but hey, we'll always have Red Rocks! LOL

Interestingly enough, it was that association with Stevie that he feels led to the disintegration of his relationship with them. "And when it ended, it ended," he says. "I mean, no phone call. No Christmas cards." He tells me that Lindsey didn't like her doing coke and blamed David. Which was shocking to me because I figured they all were doing it back then! Isn't that what she says? "Honey," he said, "that's what they all say is that everybody was doing it. Not everybody was doing it. And they weren't happy with what it did to her even then, even before the money, even before joining Fleetwood Mac."

But he did work with them right up to that phone call. It's hard to imagine David even getting that call. "Dave, we're sitting here with Mick Fleetwood and he wants us to contribute to this new thing they're working on. I think we have someting to offer them and I'm wondering if we should cancel all the bookings we have coming up because they want us to start right away."

Wow.

Just wow. And this is just one of his journeys with just one the many bands he worked with before he claims he "got cocky," losing a lot of his clients and eventually seguing to managing male erotic stars in the early 80's. I just can't imagine how many tales he has to tell people who actually want to listen.

And you've gotta know these artists when they sit back and reminisce, they all go, "Oh yeah, remember that kid David Forest? What ever happened to David?" and all the rumors they've heard about the turns his life and career have taken since.

I wonder if Stevie would have any interest in meeting up with him after all these years. Stevie, if you're out there, hit me up at jason@jasonsechrest.com. lol

I'm sorry. Say what you will about the man. But he's a real piece of history.

I found this on YouTube today and thought David would probably get a kick out of it. I bet it's been quite a while since he's heard anything by Fritz. Enjoy and happy birthday, David! ;-)