Stills gives back to musical roots

<p>In the hall's dedication ceremony Friday, Stills and George Steinbrenner were honored as the top benefactors of the 11,000-square-foot rehearsal building for the Pride of the Sunshine Marching Band. Stills - who lived in Gainesville in the 1950s and early 1960s - has long considered himself part of the Gator Nation.</p><p>"I went to the first, second and third grades here and sold Coca-Colas in the (UF) stadium when I was about 9, so I've been part of the Gator Nation since I was about 10 years old," the 63-year-old Stills said Friday in the new band room that bears his name.</p><p>Stills is widely known for singing and writing such hits as "Love the One You're With" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," and for playing guitar and other instruments on such Crosby, Stills and Nash hits as "Woodstock" and "Wooden Ships."</p><p>But it was while playing drums with the Gainesville High School marching band in the late '50s that he made his first truly public performances (and stadium appearances) as a musician.</p><p>"And we had a little band that played the fraternity houses called The Continentals with me and (future Eagle) Don Felder," he said.</p><p>While some biographies say he actually attended UF before leaving town in 1963 - when he hit the road to find rock 'n' roll success first with the Buffalo Springfield and later with Crosby, Stills and Nash (and Young) - Stills said Friday that the truth may lie in lost admissions papers.</p><p>"There's some question about that," he said. "I thought I was in ... I applied and had been accepted and I don't think the paperwork had ever been finalized, because nobody can find it. It's there somewhere."</p><p>But the musical memories of his youth in Gainesville and playing with the high school marching band struck chords that still resonate with him today.</p><p>"In playing drums and being right behind the low brass, a lot of those parts seep into your system when you're in the drum line; the low brass is all around you. So later, I turned into a heck of a bass player."</p><p>Years later, Stills discovered the Gainesville house his father built was for sale and bought it, using it as respite when he can.</p><p>"I just come back and it's a chill spot," he said. "The family comes with me and I can walk to the game."</p><p>The only member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to be inducted twice on the same day (for both Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills and Nash in 1997), Stills continues to record and perform.</p><p>He recently played a song by Mudcrutch - the Gainesville band Tom Petty led in the '70s and recently reformed - in one of his solo performances.</p><p>"I saw them at the Troubadour (in Los Angeles in April), and I went 'They're exactly like Buffalo Springfield used to be,' " Stills said.</p><p>As far as his own performances go, Stills said he'd like to do one in the city that still draws him back more than five decades after he first lived here.</p><p>"I did a solo tour down here through Florida, and there was nothing in Gainesville. But I think the next time ... that would be a good thing for the spring or next fall."</p><p><i>Contact Bill Dean at 374-5039 or bill.dean@gvillesun.com.</i></p>