::: Welcome to the Bangles :::

Q: What's the strangest thing that happened to you (or the band) while on tour?

Well, actually, this one's kind of a well-known story - I know we've talked about it before, we all remember it so vividly! I know I won't forget it (laughs) ... It was in 1989, there was this new toll road going up in Houston, Texas and they had the Bangles come do a free concert for the opening ceremony. They were going to shut down the highway and put up a stage for us on the overpass. And we all thought maybe 20 thousand people would show up, but when we got there it was more like 75 thousand people just crammed onto this road to see us! So, we started playing, and at first it was all going along fine, but then someone in the band said to the crowd, 'put your hands together' and 75 thousand people all started clapping and stomping at the same time! The whole overpass started rocking and swaying - it felt like an earthquake. Worst of all was our light rig, it was completely shaking apart over our heads! And we were trying our best to keep calm, you know, and the structural engineer was even there, the guy who designed the overpass, so we figured, 'well, if he's sticking around it can't be all that bad'. Then HE ran away and so then we all got really scared. We pretty much figured it was more or less the end of the Bangles (laughing). Y’know, headlines start flashing through your mind… Susanna, mid-song, decided she’d had enough and ran off the stage and made a break for the tour bus. The three of us finished the rest of the song, said ‘We have to go,’ and took off! It’s funny now, but at the time it was really frightening. We actually thought we were going to die.

Q: Is your husband supportive of the Bangles reunion? Will he be working behind the scenes with the band again?
He's completely supportive. I think maybe at first he might have had some concerns, but he's seen us up there now, playing, and he's totally into it. As far as working behind the scenes - he has his own career these days, and he's doing really well. It's still related to the music business, though not as directly as before, but he's still in touch with what's going on. I think sometimes he might get the old itch to go on the road, and I'd love for him to do that if he wants to. But for the most part, I think he's really happy doing what he's doing.

Q: Does your son have musical talent and would you want him to be in "the business" when he grows up?
I might be a little biased (laughs), but I think he definitely has musical talent. He can sing up a storm - he sings all the time, and I must say he has a pretty good rhythm too. He's got a little baby sized snare drum, and a little guitar he plays with. It's really adorable. So, yeah, he has the knack, but I would never push him. I'm not one of those stage-mother types - it would have to be completely his decision.

Q: What bands do you like to listen to today? What new albums have you been listening to lately?
Actually, lately I've been listening to Abba of all things (laughs), and also Manic Street Preachers. And R.E.M. of course, I listen to them all the time. I just love the new U2 release, absolutely love it. That and the new Pete Yorn album are stuck in the CD player these days. They're just great.

Q: Do you feel that female bands are still not taken seriously enough?
YES. Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES. I think that's partly because even after all this time there are hardly any all-girl bands out there. I mean, there are female groups that sing, but very few that play their own instruments. That's really still in the minority. I've never really understood why that is. I know that a lot of men in the industry don't take women bands seriously, and I wish it wasn't true. They should be treated equally, like any boy band out there.

Q: Do you hope, or is it your intent with this album to try to change that perception?
I hope that the way we're doing this can help, yeah. I mean, we're doing this the right way - funding it ourselves, and doing it for artistic reasons, not trying to be commercial. And the way the songs are sounding reflects this. We hope that people will also take it seriously - and I'd love if that helped to change things out there even a little bit.