Here are some more excerpts from my interview with Bangles guitarist/singer Vicki Peterson…Q: Back in May, you joined Elvis Costello onstage at the LA Wiltern to sing background vocals, and then got in the cage and go-go danced. How was that night for you?
That was amazing. We were really pleased that he asked us to do that again. He was sort of reprising what we did back in 1986 and I think he’s hopefully going to include it in a package he’s putting out at the end of the year. First of all, it’s just a blast to work with him in any capacity because he’s such an immense talent. Everything he does, he’s doing it because he loves it and it’s always creative and interesting. His band is just the best. It was really a special night.
Q: On the upcoming album are you doing lead vocals and trading off with the others?
Yeah, we all trade off in classic Bangles fashion. We do quite a bit of group singing. I have a couple solo songs too.
Q: A few weeks ago, you tweeted about finishing up the album artwork and asked if anyone still cares about that stuff anymore. These days, when a lot of people cherry pick songs to download, does it make it more difficult to sequence an album?
Yeah, it’s interesting. We talk about this because we really went back and forth with the sequencing. I said, ‘I’m sequencing this like it’s a vinyl record,’ because we also hope to release it [on that format]. The packaging should be really beautiful. The visuals are really nice, evocative of Southern California and the beauty of it. It’s really lovely and I just hope people get a chance to see that. If you go to iTunes and flip through your little 30 second sample of the song, go to the next one, go to the next one and then, ‘oh I like that one; I’ll pick that,’ you’ll never hear the breadth of the project. But you know what? That’s ok. There’s all different ways to listen to music and appreciate it and there’s going to be some people out there who wait and buy the vinyl or even the physical CD. So they’ll have the extra pictures. I think we’re going to put some additional content up on our website, so if people want lyrics, we’ll do that. We’re also hoping to put together a book for the tour in the fall that will relate to the record too.
Yeah, it’s interesting. We talk about this because we really went back and forth with the sequencing. I said, ‘I’m sequencing this like it’s a vinyl record,’ because we also hope to release it [on that format]. The packaging should be really beautiful. The visuals are really nice, evocative of Southern California and the beauty of it. It’s really lovely and I just hope people get a chance to see that. If you go to iTunes and flip through your little 30 second sample of the song, go to the next one, go to the next one and then, ‘oh I like that one; I’ll pick that,’ you’ll never hear the breadth of the project. But you know what? That’s ok. There’s all different ways to listen to music and appreciate it and there’s going to be some people out there who wait and buy the vinyl or even the physical CD. So they’ll have the extra pictures. I think we’re going to put some additional content up on our website, so if people want lyrics, we’ll do that. We’re also hoping to put together a book for the tour in the fall that will relate to the record too.
Q: You also recently tweeted that you were currently reading Keith Richards’ biography, “Life.” It reminded me about when I interviewed Dave Falkner of the Hoodoo Gurus last year. He told me about some crazy times they had on tour with the Bangles in the ‘80s. What do you recall about that tour?
[laughs] They were mostly responsible for those crazy times. They showed us how to do it and got us in trouble. I don’t think anybody gets to – except maybe Led Zeppelin – come to the fore and say, ‘we partied as hard as the Rolling Stones.’ That was not our focus. We were more private in ways. We didn’t bring on the long entourage, tons of groupies and people in and out of the rooms. The craziness came from the traveling and kind of schedule we had. [adopts English accent] We didn’t have a private plane.
Q: Are you anxious to get reactions from the fans on the new music?
I can’t wait until the fall when we do a longer tour. First of all, the band just gets so tight. It’s hard to play every six weeks or something. I love getting into a rhythm. I’m really looking forward to getting back to places we haven’t played in a long time.
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