Before Pamela Anderson, before Eva Mendes, before Dennis Rodman, there were the Go-Go’s. The iconic ladies of pop-punk weren’t just pioneers for women in music, they were also animal rights innovators, as the first celebs to proclaim that they would rather go naked than wear fur and it was music to animals’ ears when they launched PETA’s “naked” ad campaign in 1991.

Thanks to Michelle for this great clipping from Sunday News Magazine – 1983

If you have any Go-Go’s memorabilia you’d like to share please e-mail info@gogos.com

Mark Brown @ DigitaLegacy took some great photos of the band at their last show at the Paramount. 

To see the rest of the photos please visit our Facebook album HERE.

Denver – August 24 2011

Check out these awesome photos from The Greek show taken by Xander Soren.

To see the rest of the set visit our Facebook Gallery HERE.

New interview w/Jane and the DallasVoice.com

Lady Go-Go by Rich Lopez
Nothing makes you feel older than an album from your youth celebrating a milestone anniversary. Nothing! Those defining tunes as you came of age may be timeless, but it’s a reminder that you aren’t.

As the seminal ‘80s band the Go-Go’s celebrates three decades since Beauty and the Beat, time seems to have hardly touched guitarist Jane Wiedlin. With her little girl voice and sassy wit, Wiedlin has kept the same spunk she had when the iconic girl group burst onto the scene.

“In some ways it feels like three years ago and other ways, like 300 years ago,” she says.

Wiedlin wants to make one thing clear: The concert she and her bandmates will give this weekend is not part of a reunion tour — there’s nothing to reunite. Rather, the Go-Go’s just aren’t “a very active band” who have taken “a big chunk of time off.”

Whether or not she’s kidding, the tour has injected the band with a vigor that they’ll put on display Friday at the House of Blues. Dallas thought they might get a nostalgic taste of the band when they were set to perform last year. But Wiedlin unintentionally derailed that.

“It was the day after my birthday and a few of us decided to take a midnight hike up to the top of this hill,” she explains. “We wanted to have this epic light saber battle. But as we walked home, I literally fell right off a cliff. I heard my knees explode; I was rolling through poison oak! I went and found the cliff and I had fallen about 15 feet.”

Such an anecdote reveals several things about Wiedlin: She’s an admitted Star Wars geek, and she’s the adventurous type. She has a limp now, but otherwise, she’s back in the game. The time off gave her some time for introspection — about touring in the early days, the fun the ladies had on the road and the experience of putting those shows together. Even with the ups-and-downs of the band, she thought everyone was having the best time possible — why not again?

“You know, I get sucked into the minutiae of being onstage, but it’s extraordinary,” she says with little gasps. “Our intention is to make this tour the most fun we’ve had in decades, which will make it fun for other people.”

Which seems like a given with such musical faves like “We Got the Beat,” “Vacation” and “Head Over Heels.” But is new music in sight for the band that never really broke up? Wiedlin and the gang aren’t ruling it out.

“It looks possible to record together, even though we don’t have to have a major label,” she says. “That used to be such a big deal to make music, but now with the web, it’s very DIY. Like getting back to those ‘70s punk rock days. Charlotte [Caffey] and Kathy [Valentine] just wrote a new song for the band.”

Wiedlin gives the impression that she can’t sit still, whether she’s a star in the comic book Lady Robotica, partaking in her admission that she’s a BDSM perv or acting in indie films, Wiedlin’s voice suggests she may never stop working — whatever the work may be.

“I’m working all the time. I just wrote and directed my first sci-fi movie, The Pyrex Glitch,” she says. “That’s on the film fest circuit. Hopefully people will find it as funny as I do. But we’re all really busy. Belinda [Carlisle] has her jewelry and textile company and Gina [Schock] is been writing songs for Miley Cyrus. Everybody is still so active even though we’re old.”

Wiedlin has discussed her bisexuality, although she prefers to stay away from labels. In an interview with AfterEllen.com, she told the site she’s had sex with both sexes, but that “bisexuality is such a loaded term.” But she loves her gays and as Prop 8 played out in California, she experienced both the joy of gaining equality and the disappointment of marriage privileges being taken away.

“For a few months in the summer of 2008, we got equal rights,” she says. “I wanted to be part of that celebration! But then Prop 8 happened and I’ve been fighting it ever since. I became an ordained minister to marry same-sex couples. I’ll go anywhere to do that so people can be together as they should be. Oh, and as a disclaimer, I’m completely non-religious.”

Her focus is now on the tour and even with her bum knees, she laughs off any obstacle that would keep her from enjoying giving a good show. And while the audience will hear Go-Go’s hits and perhaps even Carlisle’s, don’t be so sure on hearing Wiedlin’s one-hit wonder song “Rush Hour.” The pop confection made a top 10 splash back in 1988. In fact, she’s almost betting on it.

“You know, that song has been a thorn in my side,” she chuckles. “It is so hard to play live because it has like millions of synths in it. I’ve never been able to crack it to make it sound good, but I’d love to hear Belinda sing it.”

We’d go for that.

Read this great article about our fantastic stage sound manager and guitar tech John McCourt

Chula Vista High Teacher Goes Live with the Go-Go’s

Students have the opportunity to view live rock show and apply their learning

On most Saturday nights teachers take the time to relax and prepare for the week ahead. Last Saturday, Chula Vista High School teacher John McCourt was working. He wasn’t preparing lesson plans or grading papers – he was backstage with the famous all-female band, The Go-Go’s, making sure that they sounded perfect for a sold out performance.

Teachers John McCourt and John Ray pose with students from the Chula Vista High Sound Tech Program backstage with The Go Go’s

What made this particular performance special was that McCourt was joined by nine students from the Sound Tech program at Chula Vista High. The students were given the opportunity to meet the band, help set up and break down the stage and watch the stage crew work-putting what they’ve learned in the classroom into practice.

For the past eight years, McCourt has been working with The Go Go’s as a Stage Sound Manager and Guitar Technician when the group goes on tour. This year, the tour coincided with summer break and he hit the road with the band.

When McCourt learned that the tour would be coming to Temecula, he arranged to have several of his students attend the show and help with the setup, sound check and to see the show from backstage.

Chula Vista High students Robert Garcia, Lorell Casillas and Saul Cuapio monitoring the sound board before a sold-out show with The Go-Go’s

“Experiencing live music this way is different,” said Junior Iseult Romo. “We have a special opportunity and we are privileged.”

As a teenager, McCourt said he would hang around bands and eventually someone gave him a job working at a young adult night club where after some time, he learned how to work the sound board. After working with several San Diego based acts like Ratt and Ozzy Osborne/Badlands guitarist Jake E. Lee, he decided to move to Hollywood and immerse himself in the music industry.

A Bonita Vista High graduate, McCourt decided that after several years of being on the road and working shows for acts like Great White, Motorhead, Hiroshima, Dave Koz, David Sanborn, and countless others, it was time to come home, finish college and start a teaching career.

“You have a lot of time on the road,” said McCourt. “I’ve always loved to read and decided I wanted to get a degree in Literature and teach.”

After getting his credential in 1998, McCourt knew he wanted to teach in the Sweetwater District but he didn’t realize that Chula Vista High had a School of Creative and Performing Arts. After meeting the school principal, he knew that his experience in music would be a perfect fit.

Chula Vista High teacher John McCourt backstage during a live performance of The Go-Go’s

Along with Olympian High teacher, Eric Mabrey – then a teacher at Chula Vista High – McCourt started the Sound Technology Program. The program teaches students about live sound technology and applications. His students also learn the importance of work ethic, reputation and social skills.

“This is such an incredible opportunity for the students,” said Board President John McCann. “Being able to see their teacher apply the skills that he teaches in class at this level is truly a great thing.”

Although teaching takes up most of his time, McCourt still does sound for several acts, including jazz group Hiroshima, and constantly gets offers from others. He says that being able to actually be a practitioner of what he teaches is important for students to see.

“There are a lot of opportunities for the students,” said McCourt. “They learn that if you stick it out, work at it and be the best at it, it will pay off.”

At the end of the night and a spirited 90-minute set by The Go-Go’s that included several of their hits such as “Vacation,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” and “We Got the Beat,” Senior Ricky Wilson could only say one thing – “It was awesome!”

Wonder if this means they’re going to do a Go-Go’s Glee episode? 🙂

Kathy’s daughter jumped on stage for We Got The Beat at the Pechanga show.   🙂

The Go-Go’s are mentioned in this week’s edition of People Magazine- regarding their induction into the Hollywood Walk of fame!