In the 1980’s The Bangles -Susanna Hoffs, sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson and Michael Steele- emerged from Los Angeles with strong 60’s era rock and folk sensibilities to become one of the most successful bands of the period. From the Prince-penned ‘Manic Monday’ to the pop-culture hit ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’, and on to their cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’ and their biggest smash before breaking up in 1989, ‘Eternal Flame’, the band secured platinum sales (1986’s album ‘Different Light’ has been certified platinum four times over) and a worldwide following. After all that, the band went on an extended hiatus until 1999, and in 2003 released the new studio album ‘Doll Revolution’.

More recently, in late 2005, the band enjoyed the opportunity to make their first concert tour to Australia, something that had been originally planned back in the 1980’s until their split intervened. Though without bassist Michael Steele, who announced her departure from the band earlier last year, the remaining three members completed an extensive city tour well supported by their Aussie fan base.

Vicki Peterson, guitarist and vocalist, kept busy in her time away from the Bangles, performing with the New Orleans-based ‘Continental Drifters’, ‘The Psycho Sisters’, and involved in several other musical collaborations (including Australia’s own Hoodoo Gurus). Recently she took some time out to answer a few questions from The Cud’s Evan Kanarakis and shared her thoughts on matters of touring as a Bangle the second time around, the whole ‘80’s revival’, and what exactly has her chewing the Cud at the moment…

THE CUD- Your recent tour to Australia -your first- received rave reviews from fans and critics alike. What can you tell us about the experience, especially with regard to how you find playing in more intimate settings like, say, Sydney’s Enmore Theatre, as compared to the larger venues you may have performed in the past?

VICKI PETERSON- We weren’t really sure what to expect on our first tour of Australia, so we were pleasantly surprised at the warm reception.  I thought the venue sizes were perfect: small enough to feel intimate, but large enough to really rawk!

THE CUD- What’s it like touring with the Bangles in 2005/2006, and what lessons from the past have you applied to touring nowadays?

V.P- Touring is actually quite different these days, mostly because we just plain don’t do as much of it, so it doesn’t feel so all-consuming as it once did.  It’s hard to be away from families and kids for long periods of time—priorities have shifted.  So, in a way, we’re learning how to use opportunities to be creative, make music and still be a band without being on the road all year.  One of the lessons we’ve learned from the past is that the band is not a marriage.  There is no such thing as musical infidelity; therefore we are all freed up to make music and work on projects outside of the Bangles.  This relieves pressure both for those of us who would want to tour more, and those members who would rather stay home and record.  Of course, this makes scheduling Bangle outings a logistical nightmare, but there ya go…

THE CUD- You’ve chatted at length elsewhere about what had been the contributing factors toward your original break-up, and what it was that brought you all back together, but I was wondering if you might be able to elaborate a little on what musical ambitions and aspirations for the band you still have, or does that only serve to generate the kind of stress and built-up expectation you’d prefer to leave out of things this time around?

V.P- My personal reasons for returning to Bangleland were based on feelings that we had not really wrung the thing dry yet, that there was more music to be made.  I was never interested—actually very put-off by—the whole 80’s resurgence and opportunities to capitalize on that.  Believe me, there have been sooo many things we’ve turned down because they smelled of 80’s exploitation. Now, don’t get me wrong, we’re not trying to hide from our past, and that brings me to another reason for wanting to work with my old bandmates again.  I felt very protective and proud of what the Bangles accomplished in the 80’s, and I wanted to make sure that we honoured that tradition by continuing to make good records and play well live.  And, if in the process we found some new fans, well, wouldn’t that be lovely?

THE CUD- I’ve spoken to a few musicians who enjoyed major success in the 1980’s that find it a little galling when some of the current crop of so-called ‘New Wave’ artists who are clearly influenced by music from your era are lavished with broad praise akin to having invented the wheel. Then again, most have also usually explained this away to me as being the nature of it all- that ideas and styles in music are constantly rehashed, you just hope to perhaps get at least a little credit where credit is due, or find that they’ve been creative enough to expand on an original idea and take it into a fresh direction. What are your thoughts on this? And is there anything that especially irks you about what has or hasn’t changed in the music industry since the 1980’s?

V.P- I remember as a young kid being shocked to find out that sometimes a song I thought to be original to a certain group was actually a cover of an older hit.  Music has been in the recycling bin forever and that’s not a bad thing.  The first time you hear a song, it’s new to you, right?  You’ve just discovered it.  Same with bands who are heavily influenced by the bands who came before them.  Falling in love with a band, or a song, or a style of music and wanting to sort of get inside that feeling, to put it on yourself, is what makes some of us want to play music in the first place.  And yes, we all hope that our interpretation is fresh and individual.
Now, the industry as a whole, you ask? Hmmmmmmm.  Don’t get me started.  The more things change, well, you know the rest…

THE CUD- Spanning your career, what can you tell us in just a few words of what springs to mind when we recall the following five songs::
-Dover Beach                  V.P- Matthew Arnold poem.  Susanna’s garage.
-In A Different Light        V.P- Jeff Mc Donald.
-Glitter Years                   V.P- Michael Steele as David Bowie
-I’ll Set You Free             V.P- Is that the one I played mandocello on?
-Lost At Sea                    V.P- Beautiful Debbi/Susanna vox

THE CUD- Finally, our magazine is called ‘The Cud’ - what issue has you charged up and talking most about today?

 V.P- My dear country’s obsessive need to ‘police’ the world while remaining desperately inconsistent when it comes to caring for its own citizens. And my friends in New Orleans and Mississippi who are still reeling from Katrina and are a precious time away from the next storm season.
(I know you only asked for one issue, but these two situations are related, sadly…)

For The Bangles’ home on the web visit www.thebangles.com. Their most recent release, ‘Doll Revolution’, is out now, but for some more music from Vicki’s extensive body of work, also be sure to check out her efforts with the Continental Drifters. Albums by both groups are available at www.amazon.com