Stephen Stills Is Still Making Music He Loves

Concert preview Stephen Stills with Jennifer Stills, Under the Rail, 2335 Fifth Ave., tomorrow, 10 p.m. Cover $19.50. 448-1900.

It was 1967 when Stephen Stills walked away from a teen uprising on Hollywood's clamorous Sunset Strip and wrote "For What It's Worth." He and his band, the young and brilliant Buffalo Springfield, had its highest charting hit with that ominous little morality play.

Even though the Springfield produced a remarkable and far-reaching body of work, "For What It's Worth" is the song it's most remembered for. It remains an applicable sentiment today.

After the Springfield's too-short run, Stills went on to form Crosby, Stills and Nash, one of the most popular bands of the 1970s granola era. For a time, CSN's popularity was equaled only when Neil Young joined in for the bumpy ride as CSNY. Stills also had considerable success with a series of solo albums and over the years reunited with Crosby and Nash for recording and touring.

So what's he doing at Under the Rail tomorrow night?

"Basically I've been working my new band out all summer to get ready to cut. I need to get them on tape," Stills said by phone from L.A. this week. "We've got some new material, and it's a crackerjack band. We blaze. We really blaze. We just need one more batch of gigs to get this nailed down, so we're going out for a couple of weeks.

"And," he added, "Seattle is one of my favorite towns. It's always been good to me. I've done a lot of boating up through the straits up to Orcas and Friday Harbor and into Victoria. And I've got a lot of friends up there. I wish I had more time to hang out, but we've got to be in Portland the next day."

Stills said that along with the new material, he would be covering what his current promotional material calls songs that span "four decades." He had barely finished the sentence when he started screaming.

"It's pretty weird to still be doing this," he said when he got past the primal episode. "The only explanation I have is that I still love it."

Stills love for music permeates his life. Born in Dallas, Texas, his family moved constantly. For a time they were in Central America, then New Orleans, a city Stills calls home because he can remember the names of the streets.

And the indigenous sounds stayed with him. He's always been strong-willed and strong-minded, even when he worked within group confines.

Part of what fired groups like the Springfield and CSN was the conflict between the individual artists. Sparks could ignite great musical moments and great rows. Yet Stills was quick to comment on Crosby's recent hit record. "I'm really happy for him. It's about time."

Stills also has a reputation as a hard partier, although he seems to have left the wild side behind for his family, the one hardly anyone knows about.

"I don't ever talk about my kids in the press," Stills said. "I won't let people take pictures of my kids, either, unless they want it. They're the only people I hang out with any more. They're all big enough, 18, 22 and 23, and then I've got a 5-year-old and we all hang out with her."

Stills is bringing his 22-year-old daughter Jennifer to open for him tomorrow.

"She's been singing around town, coffeehouses and stuff, and I slipped in one night to see her. She's really good, so I figured I'm allowed a little nepotism."

As for the man who knocked out "For What It's Worth" in a matter of minutes, Stills said song-writing doesn't get any easier.

"Writing songs is much more difficult. You have doubts, you see, when you're older. They don't fall out four-a-week like they used to. But at this point, I don't even care if I write the things anymore. Find me a good song and I'll sing it! I'm much more into singing and playing than anything else. I just love to sing and play."

As for that "other group," Stills said it was merely on hold.

"Yes. You see Nash, in his infinite wisdom, decided we should take this year off. Next year will be CSN's 25th anniversary, and we'll be on the road again."