RIDGEFIELD - Singer/songwriter Graham Nash has the distinction of being among just a handful of artists who have been inducted not once, but twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He earned those honors (along with a Grammy Award) following his tenure with The Hollies, as well as with Crosby, Stills and Nash.Billboard, "In my world there will never, ever be a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young record and there will never be another Crosby, Stills & Nash record or show."This Path Tonight was released in mid-April to great reviews and a warm reception from new and loyal fans alike, and he has been wowing audiences on tour with stellar guitarist/vocalist Shane Fontayne.This Path Tonight.Wild Tales, which delivers an engrossing, no-holds-barred look back at his career and the music that defined a generation.His website features links for fans to peruse and obtain copies of his art and photographic work, as well as something he calls "Manuscript Originals," a project celebrating the work of great songwriters throughout the world and honoring classic songs that continue to endure throughout time.The Newtown Bee, Nash talked about putting his new album together, his views on contemporary politics, his new love, a lifelong passion for photography, and opened up the chat with his final words on the apparent permanent split with David Crosby.Newtown Bee: Before we get on task here talking about your new album and tour, how much if anything more do you want to relate to fans and readers about the status of CSN?Graham Nash: Here's how I feel: I've said what I've said about my relationship with David Crosby and as far as I'm concerned we're not even talking right now. So it's over as far as I'm concerned.Bee: I didn't want to even bring it up, but as I was listening to the new album I couldn't help thinking that the new song "Golden Days" kind of sums things up?Nash: I don't blame you for asking. You're a journalist and I know that's your job.This Path Tonight, and it stretches from my time with The Hollies to the period right after World War II, to these golden days we're in now. Look, I know it's crazy out there. I know we have climate change, and terrorism, and Donald Trump, but come on, let's embrace the fact that these are golden days - we've been to the moon and we're thinking about sending people back, and to Mars, we're conquering diseases and we're in a beautiful world. We just need to realize that bad news sells. Listen to the radio or pick up the papers...bad news sells. But there are beautiful and incredible things happening everywhere, every day all around the world that we don't hear about. And we must be grateful for those moments.Bee: Why is it so damned hard for the media to break good news?Nash: I think people are drawn to car crashes. I think people like to get up close to snakes even though they might be incredibly dangerous. Humankind lives on the edge all the time.Bee: For somebody who has kept his finger on the political pulse, how do you get your head around what's going on in the US?Nash: It's all a game, a gigantic game being played by corporations and the military/industrial complex. I mean, why do we have just two parties to vote for in this country. The people who control this world just want us to be sheep - to lie down so they can sell us another cola, or another pair of sneakers. I never enjoyed the status quo and I've always stood up against it.Bee: You've been a photographer for a long time, and the subject of many photographers. Which end of the lens do you prefer?Nash: Being on the receiving end is part of the job, but you have to realize that I was a photographer before I was a musician. The first image in my book, Eye To Eye that I released a few years ago is a portrait of my mother that I shot when I was 11. But being on the other end is no fun - you always try to put your best look forward, you know, strike a pose like James Dean or something. It's a silly process but one I've learned to tolerate.Bee: On the other hand, you seem really excited about this tour. What can you tell folks who are coming out to see you in Ridgefield July 19?Nash: As we talked about before, the world is really crazy, so come out to the concert that my guitar player friend Shane Fontayne and I are giving and have a peaceful time for two or three hours. It's being proven night after night that this show is really touching peoples' hearts and I can't wait to get to Connecticut and play for you.Bee: Let's swing back to This Path Tonight. You seem to have survived some rough waters and come out the other side with an incredible new project.Nash: John, it's been rough waters all along with periods of calm in between. And I'm very pleased with the record, very proud. I think Shane and I planned an emotional journey and I think we pulled it off. It seems that everybody I've spoken to who's heard it says it has touched their heartsBee: Does the new album represent a block of material that you developed in a relatively short period of time, or have some of the tunes been kicking around for awhile waiting for the right release vehicle?Nash: The making of this album was incredibly fast. Apart from my days with The Hollies when we made our first album in about 45 minutes, I've made albums with David and Stephen that have sat on the racks for years before the next one came out. Shane and I wrote about 20 songs in about a month and recorded them all in eight short days.Bee: How about the musicians on the new album?Nash: Shane really put together a brilliant band after he asked me what I wanted. I told him I wanted this new record to be funkier, to be more intimate, and to be as real as possible. And the entire record is just six people sitting all together in the studio playing these songs live.Bee: I was going to bring up the word intimate - it really sounds cohesive, and in fact it's because you were all in on the sessions for each song.Nash: Exactly. And I knew the process was going to go brilliantly when we nailed the take for the second song on the album, "Myself At Last," in one take. That's an amazing thing when you can perform a song to my satisfaction in one take. And there was another track on the album we also got in one take.Bee: "Beneath the Waves" keeps coming up as a favorite. Is there a number or two on This Path Tonight that was either birthed out of deep emotional angst, or from a particularly wonderful experience?Nash: Both really. I was recently divorced, and more recently fell in love, so my life has changed. I feel like I'm on fire, my future has a lot of creative potential, and I'm alive. I've been in this business a long time, it's been 50 years since The Hollies first single, and I think about this journey I've been on and this recent left turn it's taken. But I was courageous enough to take it, to follow what my heart tells me is the best path to take right now.Bee: How about the song "Encore"? Nash: "Encore" is basically about who are you when the lights are fading, who are you when the audience is gone and when the last show is over. Are you a person who always wants the best in life, or are you completely miserable. I've always thought there is time for one more song.For tickets and details on the Graham Nash show, click here.Check out Graham Nash and Shane Fontayne performing the Hollies 'Bus Stop' live @ Blokhuis | NPO Radio 2 ExtraGraham Nash and Shane Fontayne perform "Our House" during a February 2016 set at the Tarrytown (NY) Music Hall:

The latter of the two acts has generated some media attention recently after Nash declared he was never going to work with former longtime collaborator and friend David Crosby again telling a Dutch magazine in early 2016 that, "David has ripped the heart out of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young."

He subsequently told

Despite peeling away from the supergroup that famously played its second gig ever in front of several hundred thousand attendees at Woodstock, Nash remains a productive survivor and is proving to audiences in 2016 that he still has plenty to offer. His latest album

That tour pulls into The Ridgefield Playhouse on July 19 for a couple of sets that promise to feature a retrospect of material from The Hollies to CSN, and featuring a sampling of the great work he put into

Best known for hits like "Teach Your Children," "Our House," "Just a Song Before I Go" and so many more, Nash's passionate voice continues to be heard in support of social and environmental justice.

The No Nukes/Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) concerts he organized with Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt in 1979 remain seminal benefit events. and in 2011, Nash was instrumental in bringing MUSE back to the forefront with a concert to benefit Japan disaster relief and groups promoting non-nuclear energy worldwide.

In recognition for his contributions as a musician and philanthropist, Nash was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth. And in 2013, he released a long-awaited autobiography

While continually building his musical legacy, Nash is also an internationally renowned photographer and visual artist. 

In an advance interview with

So "Golden Days" was the very first song Shane and I wrote for

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDP2wmOZuog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ-28Z5YCCY

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