Vicki Peterson's six-string contribution to some of the most enduring ’80s hits cannot be overstated – with irresistible earworms such as Walk Like an Egyptian (1986), Manic Monday (1986), and Eternal Flame (1989) highlighting Peterson's composition-first approach to guitar playing.
As she succinctly puts it, “I try to serve the song. It’s not about flashy playing; it’s more about what makes the song live.”
Her journey with The Bangles, the band she co-founded with her sister, drummer Debbi Peterson, and rhythm guitarist Susanna Hoffs in 1981, served as a crucial coming-of-age experience for her as a guitarist, driving her to hone her craft.
“There’s so many ways to grow as a guitar player,” she ponders in a new interview with Guitar World. “One of them is learning how to play in the studio, which is something that was very foreign to me when I was 21, 22 years old.
“Coming into the studio for the first time with The Bangles and realizing what that meant, and knowing the responsibility of it, that what you’re putting down is going to live for all eternity, if you’re lucky, was a big learning curve.”
As for The Bangles' live shows, they presented another challenge altogether. “There was a moment when I worried about playing,” she confesses. “I was a little too precious about what I was trying to do live.
“And there was finally a moment where I just said, ‘Just let go and stop thinking about it.’ That was a moment when I got my active brain out of the way of my hands. I have to remind myself onstage to just shut up and play. I think, ‘Just stop. Be present. Let your thinking and mind go.’”
Peterson has recently teamed up with her husband, former member of The Beach Boys’ touring band John Cowsill, on Long After The Fire – the duo's debut album, set to be released on April 12, which is made up of songs composed by his late brothers, Barry and Bill Cowsill, from the family band The Cowsills.
Guitar World's full interview with Vicki Peterson will be out in the coming weeks.
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