Nash, Graham

DM) How do you keep up -- juggling between doing your solo work, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and CSNY?

GN) It's all the same to me. It's just me shouting out my mouth and trying to see how to use my energy the best way possible. It manifests itself differently depending on the combination of people. It makes no difference to me which group I'm with; it's just my expression might come across differently.

DM) How do you deal with working with the radically different personalities you play with?

GN) I think that you have to adapt. I know what I like to do on my own, and I know that it's different when Neil joins. So you have to adapt and take a back seat when Neil comes in, to take his enormous personality into the fold.

DM) If you're always adapting when you're with the group, then when are you most at ease?

GN) I'm never really completely at ease. I guess, I am at times when my wife and family are involved ... when we're celebrating the holidays, or just running day-to-day errands.

DM) Does your relationship with your family take you away from the pressures of dealing with the group?

GN) Yeah, they take me away from that mood. Away from the pressure of finding out if Crosby is okay, if Stephen is in a good mood, and all of those other kinds of pressures ... dealing with family during the holidays and giving thanks for all of the good fortune we've had... it's at those times that I'm more at ease.

DM) It sounds like with all of the personalities you're dealing with, it's always a constant job to find a place of ease.

GN) I'm sure everyone's agenda is for trying to be at ease. You can't turn on the television, or read the newspaper, or talk to a friend without being affected. Especially in the past couple of years, every time you turn on the television, it's more of a struggle to feel grounded.

DM) Then what do you do to keep yourself grounded?

GN) To me, it means concentrating on what's really important. I've been a musician and an artist all of my life. I take great solace in creating. When I get up every morning and breathe the air, that alone grounds you to know that you have to [stay grounded]. To take the kids to school, and deal with your wife and family puts you really at ease, and maybe even creates its own tension, too!

DM) Does the personal dynamic of the band have a strong correlation to the quality of the music?

GN) The personal dynamics of our band have always been that intense. We're always as strong as our weakest link, so we need to make sure our weakest link is strong also. David's journey into drugs forced us to deal with those issues. If David wasn't strong, then we weren't strong.

DM) It sounds like it forced you to become more stable.

GN) I've always been that type of person, but yes, I had to be more so to help the situation.

DM) It sounds like the impact of David's drug use had a much greater effect than simply on himself.

GN) It had a tremendous impact. At times, we were left asking ourselves whether he'd show up or not. When he was healthy, things would go wonderfully. But whenever somebody is addicted to drugs like that, it affects more than just himself. David's being clean and straight for 15 years made my life a lot easier.

DM) Has the fact that you've had four strong personalities been the secret to success? That is, the stronger the personalities, and the more intense the problems, in a way, the more intense the success?

GN) In a way, it was exactly that way. Everybody went through that experience. It affected us all emotionally and physically, and these are the things that you write about.

DM) And when you have these personalities, to make it successful, you need to make sure everybody is in balance.

GN) Yes, it's just like baking a cake. If there's too much water, you need to add more flour; if there's too much flour, you need to add more yeast. You simply need to take in account if one ingredient is too much, you need to adjust something else.

DM) Then, to some degree, if you've been the balancer for the group when things go awry, who helps you balance when things are awry with you?

GN) David does usually; he's probably been my closest friend in the band.

DM) It's odd, that in a way, he was one of your biggest stresses, and now he's one of your biggest stress relievers!

GN) Well, since he's been straight and clean for 15 years, the roles have changed. Now that he's balanced, he's been a stronger friend, and the dynamics of the band have changed even more for the better. Now that the weakest link is strong, we're a much stronger group.