Star-Bangled benefit
'80s hitmakers light the eternal flame for a local high school
By Chris Jay 05/08/2008
The Bangles
May 9, 7:30 p.m.
at Libbey Bowl in Downtown Ojai
For info: www.nhsmusic.com
When the average kid's parent helps to raise money for their school, it's usually in the form of some brownies for the bake sale or volunteering time at a car wash. When your parent happens to be in one of the most successful female rock'n'roll bands of all time, you can skip the baked goods for a full-blown rock concert. The Reporter caught up with the Bangles' Vicki Peterson during a rehearsal break to discuss how Nordhoff High ended up with their coolest fundraiser of all-time and the potential smooch-inducing effects of one of the band's biggest hits.
VCR: So how does a school go about booking the Bangles for a benefit concert?
Peterson: It's kind of been along time coming. I've been wanting to do something for the school. The arts department there has been really good to my stepdaughter who is an amazingly talented dancer, and I say that with absolutely no bias whatsoever. [Laughs.] A friend of mine is very involved in the parent-teacher organization for the arts department, and I spoke with her about a show. The Bangles have done a lot of fundraisers for schools but we sort of do a really low-key acoustic performance. This time we decided to put on a full-on rock show. I talked to the girls and they were happy to do it and the whole thing grew from there. It's gonna be a really great show, and then the thing I'm really excited about is that the students will be our opening act. The jazz band is gonna play, the dance department is gonna do a couple of numbers, and I don't know if we have the whole choir or not but a couple of the vocalists will be performing for sure.
Do your daughter's friends know what her stepmom does for a living?
Yes, yes they do. The way I look at it is, if it is at all cool in any way, shape or form, then it makes up for all the time her dad and I embarrass her in front of all her friends.
A lot of musicians do benefits for their kid's school, but usually it's for a private school which doesn't really need the money. Since this one is for a public school that does need the money, did they make it easy to put together, or was there a lot of red tape?
Probably no more than trying to get anything else passed. There were definitely committees and board members and that sort of thing, but they were all very supportive. I mean, the thing that makes me really gratified about it is, although the schools in Ojai are excellent schools, all public schools are suffering from budget cuts, and that includes the Ojai [Unified] School District. Of course, one of the first things to go is the arts. Nordhoff High School has an amazing reputation both academically and artistically, and their marching bands and choirs win awards all the time. The drama department puts on amazing productions. So it's actually pretty high-end for a public high school in a lot of ways, but everything still costs money and money is not forthcoming from federal funding. They're taking the hit like everybody else, and if we can help raise a little bit of money and buy some uniforms and take some of the burden off teachers, then we'll consider it a successful event.
"Eternal Flame" is one of the great makeout anthems of all-time and the quintessential '80s prom theme. Do you find it all funny that you'll be playing that song in front of an audience full of many kids that are getting ready for their proms and most likely doing a lot of making out themselves?
[Laughs] It's kinda sweet, really. My stepdaughter just went to her prom last week but I don't think they played "Eternal Flame." They're playing Fergie. But on the other hand, a dear friend of mine danced her first dance with her future husband to that song, and I think a lot of people have that association with it which is kind of romantic. We do see a lot of people making out when we play it, though.
So Ojai's Libbey Bowl will become a massive makeout session to support Nordhoff High school?
It's possible.
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT