Vicki Peterson on Fronting the Bangles, Recording Old Songs Anew and the Camaraderie of the 30A Songwriters Fest

Psycho Sisters (Vicki Peterson, left, Susan Cowsill, right)

Guitarist and songwriter Vicki Peterson founded the Bangles in 1981, rocketing her to fame with big hits such as Walk Like An Egyptian and Manic Monday.

After the group disbanded in 1989, Peterson began playing with Susan Cowsill, under the band name the Psycho Sisters. Last summer, after performing together for nearly 25 years, the Psycho Sisters released an album, and now Peterson and Cowsill are headed to the 30A Songwriters Festival later this month where they will perform together. Peterson will also be taking the stage for a solo show or two.

Peterson took a moment recently to share some of her thoughts about her music with 30A.

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Q. You started playing music at a young age, toting around your guitar while still in grade school. How did you come to be a young girl with a guitar in the 60s and early 70s? And then a young woman forming her own band in the early 80s with the Bangles?

It was something I always knew I would do, and even though there were very few true role models for me as a child (I looked up to the all-boy bands — the Beatles, the Stones — for inspiration), it never occurred to me that this was something unusual for a woman to pursue. I did watch female guitarists like Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Nancy Wilson of Heart, and was quite in awe of them.

Vicki Peterson

Leading a band was just the natural progression after writing songs as a young girl — it wasn’t until very recently that I’ve even considered performing solo!

Q. After decades playing and writing songs with the Psycho Sisters, how do you feel about having released your first album of original material?

These are songs we wrote in the early 90’s and never managed to record. The Psycho Sisters is more a state of being than a band, really, so while Susan and I are always sisters and usually psycho, we didn’t actually function as the Psycho Sisters for most of the last 20 years or so. In many ways, this material all feels very fresh.

Q. What most excites you about your music today?

I still really enjoy the process of writing — and I adore singing with Susan Cowsill. It’s a bit like flying — without the aircraft.

Q. What most excites you about songwriting in general today?

The same things that always excited me: the combination of the magical apparition of an idea happening when you least expect it, with the prolonged process of editing and rewriting and fixing and obsessing that often follows that initial spark.

Q. What interested you in being a part of the 30A Songwriters Festival? Have you visited this area before or have ties here?

I love this festival! I’ve participated as a Bangle and a Psycho, but then I challenge myself to do a solo set or two and it’s always rewarding.

I love the camaraderie of the songwriters, meeting up with old friends and picking up new ones. It’s such a beautiful setting and the audiences are there to listen — I always come away feeling inspired and energized.

See and hear Peterson perform at the 30A Songwriters Festival January 16-18, 2015. Buy your tickets now before they sell out, and stay tuned to 30A.com and 30A Radio for a full schedule and more coverage in the weeks to come!

Download the free 30A Songwriters Festival app for your iPhone or Android!

Check out our previous coverage:

Bob Schneider on 30A Songwriters Fest, Storytelling, Writing Creatively and ‘That Magic Feeling’