Interview With Vicki Peterson of The Bangles

Vicki answers the phone one day and speaks to a young woman who is calling in response to an ad placed by Vicki and Debbi’s roommate (and former lead guitarist). The young woman on the other end of the line is a guitarist and singer looking for a band to form. Vicki and Debbi, coincidentally, are currently looking for the same. Voila. They meet up in a garage and the rest, as they say, is herstory.

What were the 3 best and 3 worst moments as a member of the Bangles?

Oh, gosh. Hmm. Okay, but this is always subject to change, as is my memory… Best: (in no particular order)
Playing for a mass of humanity in the rain, opening for Queen at Slane Castle, Ireland Meeting Paul Simon Singing around a piano with Sir George Martin Worst:
Flogging away during a set at (fill in the blank) Club, knowing perfectly well that no one can hear a thing you’re doing because the sound system is THAT bad Opening for the Psychedelic Furs in NYC on one of our first tours, when their road crew sabotaged us and unplugged all of the inputs to the soundboard, rendering the first 20 minutes of our set inaudible. The (mostly unspoken) tensions surrounding our last months as Bangles Part 1 came to its conclusion…

What groups or artists did you have the most fun touring with?

Hoodoo Gurus, Cyndi Lauper

If you could go back and change anything or do something differently, what would it be?

At the risk of sounding very New Age-y, I don’t like to think in terms of regrets, but more in lessons learned. And one life lesson that the Bangles experience has taught me (and continues to resurface again and again) is the importance of communication, even when it is uncomfortable.

Anything else you’d like to mention?

I’d like to say that the Bangles have the warmest, most wonderful community of fans and that we truly appreciate them. This year is dedicated to projects we’ve been meaning to get to for so long (i.e. a live DVD, expanding our website thebangles.com…) and we hope that our fans stay with us. Thanks.

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