On Wednesday, September 14, 2011, Suite101 chatted with Vicki Peterson from the acclaimed 1980s all-female band, The Bangles, about their latest album Sweetheart of the Sun. In addition to Vicki, The Bangles is made up of Susanna Hoffs and Debbi Peterson.
Vicki Talks About “Sweetheart of the Sun”
Regarding the song selection process for their newest release, Vicki Peterson remarks “some of the songs came from earlier eras. There has been a bit of a lag between our last record and this one. We’ve been touring off and on, raising kids, and doing other projects. This was a chance to go back and look at songs that had been neglected since our last album Doll Revolution that was released in 2003.”
“I really enjoyed recording this time out. It was partially because Susanna and I have home studios now and it was very liberating, because there was nobody in the studio but me. Then of course I would have to play it for Susanna and Debbi and ask them what they think. I always need feedback and I enjoy getting it. I really experienced something new with being able to engineer my own sessions. It was pretty awesome!” Vicki exclaims.
Vicki Talks About Producer Matthew Sweet
On working with producer Matthew Sweet, “he’s great. He’s very low-key and enthusiastic. We started the whole process with him in his studio. We felt this environment was very creative. It was very un-stressful,” she laughs.
Vicki Discusses Their New Single
Their debut single from the new album is “‘I’ll Never Be Through With You.”
“It's a song that Susanna had written years ago. She played it for me, and I always liked the melody of it, so I helped her with the lyrics, where we polished them up, and there you have it!”
Vicki Talks About “Circles in the Sky”
“I gave myself a challenge to write a positive love song for once, which is more difficult for me. I usually tend to write more about the stresses and complications of interpersonal dynamics. I wanted to write something nice, and I came across this poem, which had an image in it of birds making sky circles, and I thought about that. It gave me the sense of soaring, which made it easy to apply to our relationship,” she says.
Vicki Talks About “Open My Eyes”
“We used to perform this song in our set in the early 1980s, and we were just talking about songs that we hadn’t played or listened to in a while, so we just tried it in Matthew’s studio and decided that it was one of our favorites,” she shares.
Vicki Talks About her Proudest Accomplishment
“It’s always really rewarding when one of your musical heroes acknowledges your work and your presence. Recently, we were invited by Elvis Costello to sing with him on stage in Los Angeles and to go-go dance. Those are two of my favorite things to do on the whole planet. I love to go-go dance and we love to sing with Elvis Costello. That was an amazing moment!” she admits.
Vicki Talks About their Future Plans
The Bangles are expected to tour this fall to promote their latest release. One of the venues they will be performing is New York’s Highline Ballroom on Monday, October 3, 2011.
“We generally like to play songs that people are familiar with. A lot of young people have never seen The Bangles live, so will throw in some ‘moldy oldies’ and some of their favorite hits, and we’ll indulge ourselves by playing some new material,” she reveals.
“We’re doing a special promotion with Barnes and Noble, and they’ll be a CD available through them with two additional tracks on it. They were mixed by Dave Peterson, who is a complete genius and mastering engineer, which people may want to pick up,” she adds.
Vicki notes that her dream collaboration choice would be to sing a duet with her husband, John Cowsill, as well as music icon Bonnie Raitt.
Vicki Offers Advice for Hopefuls in Music
For hopefuls who wish to enter the music industry professionally, Vicki states “if you're really sure that this is what you want to do, and you have that fire about it, then follow your instincts and don’t give up.”
Vicki Thanks the Loyal Fans of The Bangles
“I am amazed and grateful and humbled by the love and affection we’ve had from so many people throughout the years. I’m very excited about them hearing the new music. They’ve been very patient and it’s been a really time coming. We’ll try to make the next record faster,” she concludes.
Many thanks to Vicki Peterson for granting this interview!
To obtain more information on The Bangles, their new music and upcoming tour, please visit their official website.
Source
- Telephone Communication with Vicki Peterson. September 14, 2011.
Markos Papadatos - Markos Papadatos holds over six years journalism experience, authoring over 700 articles, many of which are feature profile interviews.
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