{"id":28178,"date":"2023-06-17T14:06:21","date_gmt":"2023-06-17T18:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=28178"},"modified":"2023-06-28T13:25:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T17:25:42","slug":"singer-belinda-carlisle-gets-go-ing-back-on-the-road-playing-in-the-ny-metro-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=28178","title":{"rendered":"Singer Belinda Carlisle, the Power Pop Dream Queen, Is Go-ing On The Road Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Preview\/Interview by Brad Balfour<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artist: Belinda Carlisle
Release: Kismet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early 80s, new wave power pop bands emerged and forged the next generation of rock stars. Most were male dominated but a few like Blondie were fronted by women. Like Blondie\u2019s Debbie Harry, Belinda Carlisle was a power pop dream girl but instead of being back by a bunch of guys her band, The GoGos were female \u2014 and the most successful all woman band ever. They rocked out as the first and only all-female band that wrote their own music and played their own instruments achieving a No. 1 album, “Beauty and the Beat” (1981), which featured the hits “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed.” They recorded two more studio albums on I.R.S. Records, including 1982’s gold-certfied “Vacation” and “Head over Heels” from their 1984 album “Talk Show” — which made it to No. 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But whereas the New York based Harry came off as a denizen of dark downtown rock haunts, the Los Angeles born and bred Carlisle appeared as a sweet, nouveau riche of rock, sun-kissed and beach-burnished. Born Belinda Jo Carlisle on August 17, 1958, the California native took to rocking early on as a reject from a Southern Baptist background. During her teens, Carlisle rebelled. By the time she hit 14, she had gone really wild,; by 19 she left home and join the Germs, the Cali-proto punk band. Upon leaving the Germs, she co-founded the Go-Go’s (originally named the Misfits) with friends and fellow musicians Margot Olavarria, Elissa Bello, and Jane Wiedlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1984, Carlisle tried acting in the movie “Swing Shift,” as a band singer alongside Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Go-Go’s broke up in 1985, Carlisle plunged into a solo career with the debut studio album “Belinda.” Certified Gold, her summer hit “Mad About You” peaked at No. 3 in the United States. It was followed by the Motown-influenced single “I Feel the Magic” written by Charlotte Caffey, and by a cover version of the Freda Payne song “Band of Gold.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this time, Carlisle also had songs on movie soundtracks including “In My Wildest Dreams” from the movie Mannequin (1987), “Shot in the Dark” from the Anthony Michael Hall thriller Out of Bounds (1986), as well as “Dancing in the City” from the Whoopi Goldberg movie Burglar (1987).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the ’90s and early 2000s, Carlisle alternated recording solos albums and re-joining the GoGo’s for various tours and special events, culminating in the quintet being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band performed “Vacation”, “Our Lips Are Sealed”, and “We Got the Beat” during the induction ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Carlisle has released a brand new EP, “Kismet” (her first in over 25 years) and will be heading out on tour this summer with a stop in New York. Featuring the single \u201cBig Big Love,\u201d it marks the pop icon\u2019s first new English language studio recording since 1997 and a reunion with award-winning songwriter Diane Warren. Produced by Mati Gavriel, Kismet, is released on Warren\u2019s label imprint RAF through BMG. In addition to \u201cBig Big Love\u201d she has issued the brand new tracks, \u201cIf U Go\u201d (the EP\u2019s focus track), \u201cDeeper Into You,\u201d \u201cI Couldn\u2019t Do That To Me,\u201d and \u201cSanity\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kismet is available now on CD and across all streaming platforms\/digital services. Currently celebrating more than 35 years as a solo performer with her critically acclaimed Decades tour, Carlisle will be performing in the New York area in Sony’s Gotham Hall and Westbury Music Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Do you feel you have an insight into the history? You wrote your memoir, so obviously there are times when you\u2019re forced by interviews like this to think back. Do you like to do that or are you always thinking forward?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: Of course, I\u2019ve had incredible memories but I don\u2019t revel in it and stay in the past. If anything, I like to be present in the here and now and not regret and not look back too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Since you do the spiritual practice of Nichiren Shoshu, let\u2019s start off with a little spiritual question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: It\u2019s all about the Now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Given the Now, you\u2019re back on the road. How many years has it been since you\u2019ve been touring in a solo format?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: In the states I did a little run of dates for a decades tour. I just did a big tour in the UK for a month. I haven\u2019t done a whole lot of touring in the states, but I haven\u2019t disappeared completely. I\u2019m looking forward to it because I haven\u2019t done the east coast for a long time. So I\u2019m looking forward to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Do you have places you want to visit on your days off?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: There\u2019s a shop in Manhattan that I want to go to that I\u2019m obsessed with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: You only have a few days, you\u2019re flying in \u2014 I guess it\u2019s the 18th you do your gig, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: I do. I come in the day before. I do my Manhattan show on the 17th. I don\u2019t know, my schedule hasn\u2019t been finalized. I do know that I have a day off somewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Great. I was sent information about you getting back together with Diane Warren. It\u2019s interesting, you have this very pop side and you have this punk side. How do you negotiate that when you\u2019re working with Diane Warren, who\u2019s thought of as the Pop Queen in a way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: There\u2019s no problem. They\u2019re both real parts of me, they always have been. I get up with Southern California radio, which was lots of lush productions, harmonies, and melody. And of course, when I was a rebellious teenager, I found the punk rock movement. I loved the energy of the songs. So after doing the Go-Gos for awhile, and then embarking on my solo career, it wasn\u2019t difficult, as I said, they’re both very valid parts of me. It was a bit difficult when I got out onstage for the first time on my own. But other than that, it\u2019s easy to switch from one to the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: When you were with the Go-Gos, you were writing songs reflecting your age. But now that you\u2019ve got a long personal history, do you find yourself wanting to write more songs about where you\u2019re at now, songs abut your experience, or what you\u2019ve learned? Or are you looking back to the pop?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: No. [laughs] No, no. I always thought before that if I was going to do new pop music, it would have to be age-appropriate. I was totally wrong about that. I\u2019ve had lots of experiences, so I was able to put myself back in memories of a person, place or thing, and it\u2019s almost like acting. I never considered myself primarily a songwriter. It\u2019s too hard, and if I do it, I have to collaborate with somebody and I don\u2019t really have plans to do that. Things could change, I guess, but I have no plans right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: When you were younger you were thought of as this ingenue. Now, you\u2019re thought of as a person with a level of maturity and a sort of guru. Do you find yourself falling between those, or do you like the fact that you can guide a younger generation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: I don\u2019t really think about it. I have a lot of influence since being in one of the \u201cBlack Mirror\u201d episodes brought a whole new demographic to my music because of that one show. I\u2019m lucky that a lot of my songs… That\u2019s happened quite a bit. So when I look out at the audience at one of my shows, it\u2019s a very diverse age group: younger people, older people. But I do what I feel that people want to hear, and that\u2019s usually the older stuff. They come to hear the hits. So with this upcoming tour, I will put in a couple of new ones because they\u2019re good, not because I\u2019m chasing a new demographic. I just want to do them because they\u2019re good songs and I think they\u2019ll work well in the set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: You must be gratified, though, to know that you\u2019ve been recognized as an important influence and an important benchmark in music. How does it feel to know that you can be a role model?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: I don\u2019t really like to be a role model because I don\u2019t feel I need to be one. But I understand, because I\u2019ve been around for a long time, with my ups and downs with the Go-Gos who were groundbreaking, and then being around for awhile with my solo stuff. It all comes down to the songs, really, and me being lucky to work with some of the greatest songwriters in the world. It feels like, I\u2019m definitely one of the \u2014 I don\u2019t want to say \u201cdinosaurs\u201d — but I\u2019ve definitely been around for awhile now. I guess when you\u2019re around as long as I have, you have a certain amount of respect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What do you do to get yourself energized and ready to do a show? How do you prep in your head and physically?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: I work on my voice and my breath for a month before I go out on the road. When I\u2019m out on the road, it\u2019s a very insular situation; I don\u2019t really talk much, I vocalize every day, I travel around with four humidifiers. I think the difference is I used to take my voice for granted but I don\u2019t do that anymore. I\u2019m very, very careful with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: I know you have a son. Do you have other kids?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: No. One\u2019s enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Does he enjoy having a mother that\u2019s out there rock and rolling?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: Well, my son always loved being on the road with the Go-Gos, and he\u2019s always traveled with me in my work, and has always been very, very proud. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s ever been embarrassed about the music, anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Does he work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: Yeah, he\u2019s a political activist, an LGBT activist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: That\u2019s another thing that once you achieve a certain level of fame or connections and all, you\u2019re able to express some of your social and political views. Are there things you\u2019re doing to express that further?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: Well, I\u2019ve always been active in the LGBT community, and also in animal activism. I have a very successful project in India and in Thailand that creates employment for people who would have a tough time getting employment because of disability or caste, and at the same time treating street animals. We do a lot of spaying and neutering and rabies drives. So I still have my passions outside of music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Having recorded this new material, what was it like going into the studio after these years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: It was fine, it was the same. But it was more fun because I didn\u2019t have the pressure of having to come up with the hit, the single, the good, like I was for years and years. So it was freeing, it was joyous, and I just loved the whole experience. It was great to be able to sing well-crafted pop songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Now you\u2019re doing this solo, will there be more new tours with the Go-Go\u2019s as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: No. No, that\u2019s done. That\u2019s finished. Done and dusted, everything has to come to an end at some point. I think some of us felt that after the Rock [and Roll] Hall [of Fame], that was a good way to cement the legacy of the band. So yeah, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Do you still stay in touch?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: I think everybody\u2019s gone, almost like a dream, in a way. I mean, there are no hard feelings, but everybody has gotten on with their personal lives and gone on to do their own thing. And the Go-Gos, it\u2019s a complicated dynamic, but it\u2019s also familial. So I think we\u2019re always going to be in each other\u2019s lives in some sort of way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Are there people you want to work with but have never worked with them? Or music you want to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: No. I mean, there probably is but I can\u2019t even think that far along, honestly. I\u2019ve aways said that I wanted to work with Neil Diamond, I\u2019ve always been a big fan of his and I\u2019ve known him for years. But I can\u2019t think of anybody else. There\u2019s so much talent out there, though. It\u2019s funny how things come around. But I can\u2019t think of anybody off the top of my head at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Do you go out and look at other bands?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: No, I don\u2019t really see that much live music at all anymore. Since I\u2019ve lived in Mexico there\u2019s tons of music here. I am going to see Depeche Mode \u2014 I will go out and see them. But I don\u2019t see live music that often now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Mexico does have a very active new wave scene. It\u2019s an incredible scene down there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: Yes, they do. Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: But you don\u2019t see those bands?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: No. I\u2019m going to see Depeche Mode in September. But I don\u2019t see live music that much anymore. I go to bed early, and I get up early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Do you write notes and make lyrics for yourself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: No, I don\u2019t. I\u2019m just not that much of a songwriter, I don\u2019t do that. I just sing, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Do you have any surprise covers that you\u2019re going to do on this tour?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: I have a lot of material between all of my solo albums and the new stuff which I\u2019ll do a couple of songs \u2014 I\u2019ll aways do a few of those songs. And that\u2019s about an hour and a half right there. I have done covers in the past, but I\u2019m not planning on doing anything like that this time around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: So among the many songs in your catalog, do you have a favorite that you still get juiced about?0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: \u201cSummer Rain\u201d, probably, after \u201cRunaway Horses\u201d, is my favorite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What is it about those two songs particularly that hit right for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BC: I\u2019m very picky. I look at the melody first, and have to like the melody. I just am black-and-white about that. Then I look at the lyrics and see if I like them. I\u2019m very clear, and I always have been, about what I like. I\u2019m not wishy-washy in that way. So yeah, I\u2019ve been lucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belinda Carlisle\u00a0Decades\u00a0Tour Dates<\/strong>
\u00a0
July 1 – Fred Amphitheatre \/ Peachtree City, GA
\u00a0
July 4 – TBA
\u00a0
July 6 – Stephanie H Weill PAC \/ Sheboygan, WI
\u00a0
July 9 – North Shore Center for the Performing Arts \/ Skokie, IL
\u00a0
July 11 – The Rose Music Center at The Heights -\/ Huber Heights, OH
\u00a0
July 14 – Melody Tent \/ Cape Cod, MA
\u00a0
July 15 – South Shore Music Circus \/ Cohasset, MA
\u00a0
July 17 – Sony Hall \/ New York, NY
\u00a0
July 18 – NYCB Theatre at Westbury \/ Westbury, NY
\u00a0
August 18 – Blue Note Summer Sessions \/ Napa, CA
\u00a0
August 20 – August Hall \/ San Francisco, CA
\u00a0
August 22 – House of Blues Las Vegas \/ Las Vegas, NV
\u00a0
August 24 – Libbey Bowl \/ Ojai, CA
\u00a0
August 26 – Honda Center \/ Anaheim, CA
\u00a0
August 27 – Greek Theatre \/ Los Angeles, CA<\/p>\n

Share this:<\/h3>