May 3, 2001
Info from Beyond Records:
For all of you traveling on American Airlines anytime in May and June,
please check out the audio interview with the Go-Go's on the in-flight
entertainment channel sponsored by Yahoo. The listing is featured in the
In-flight magazine with a lovely photo of the band.
Unforgiven has been accepted for MTV2 airplay. It's scheduled to debut on 120 minutes on May 6th at 8pm. In the next few weeks it will be added to the regular line-up at MTV2.
According to Billboard Magazine, VH1 has added the Unforgiven video to its line-up.
VH1.com and MTV.com have both agreed to feature the Go-Go's video on their sites. The video will also appear on Launch and ArtistDirect web sites.
Please help support the band by calling your local radio stations and request Unforgiven! Some fans have put together a great site that lists info on radio stations.
April 19, 2001
http://www.virginmega.com/
Go-Go's Pretend To Be Virgins
The Go-Go's have upset the Catholic League For Religious And Civil Rights with the artwork on their upcoming release God Bless The Go-Go's, as well as their latest website. The group's site is designed around a religious theme with a place for confession, featuring each Go-Go decked out in the clothing of Virgin Mary, which the religious organization doesn't seem to find quite entertaining. A prayer is also posted for those who feel the need, reading, “Hail Go-Go's, full of beat, the rock is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thine talent, music. Holy Go-Go's, mothers of chick rock, pray for us sinners - now, and at the hour of thy concerts, Amen.” Catholic League President William Donohue reportedly chided the girls for exploiting religion for commercial purposes.
April 17, 2001
Wall of Sound
Catholic League Blasts Go-Go's Web Site
The official Web site of the Go-Go's is drawing fire from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights for its portrayal of the band members dressed as the Virgin Mary.
The league has previously made headlines for criticizing pieces on display at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, including a painting of Mary that included dung.
The Web site (gogos.com) — set up in promotion of God Bless the Go-Go's, the girl group's first album in 17 years — also includes a section that modifies the words of the Hail Mary prayer into an ode to the band: "Hail Go-Go's, full of beat, The rock is with thee. Blessed art thou among women/ and blessed is the fruit of thine talent, music. Holy Go-Go's, mothers of chick rock, pray for us sinners — Now, and at the hour of thy concerts. Amen."
Catholic League President William Donohue told the New York Daily News that the band was resorting to "cheap ploys" in an attempt to revitalize its popularity. Donohue also criticized the image of a priest with green hair and an earring, saying, "They have decided to rip off Catholic imagery in the hope that this will lure a new audience."
Mindi Sue Meyer, of band label Beyond Music, said the rock act wasn't intending mockery. "These are all religious girls," she told the paper. "They believe that God is giving them a second chance. They feel that they've been blessed."
God Bless the Go-Go's is due out May 15, and the first single, "Unforgiven," was recently released.
http://wallofsound.go.com/news/stories/gogoswebsite041701.html
April 17, 2001
Spin.com
Go-Go's Blasted By Catholics
What a truly awful occurrence to happen just hours after the celebration of a Holy Day. I, for one, am stunned and amazed. So is the Catholic League. The organization released a statement on its website (www.catholicleague.org) this week in response to the cover art for The Go-Go's forthcoming new album, their first in more than 17 years, God Bless the Go-Go's, as well as imagery on the band's official website, www.gogos.com. On the album cover, each of the girls is depicted clad as the Virgin Mary. On the website, a similar image is posted in which the words "Purity," "Honesty," "Mercy," "Chastity" and "Modesty" appear below the photographs. Personally I think all of this is pretty dope. But Catholic League president William Donohue does not. Here's what he had to say: "Talk about dumb. It is painfully obvious that the Go-Go's are looking to jump-start their new shot at fame but can't pull it off without resorting to cheap ploys. So they have decided to rip off Catholic imagery in the hope that this will lure a new audience. But it will take more than this to resurrect their checkered career. Having listened to some of their new tracks, it is clear that the bubble-gum sound of their hit song, 'Vacation,' is all these girls are capable of delivering. Now if they can go on tour without crashing, that really would be a second coming worth noting." Well that's pretty harsh. There is even a section on the Go-Go's site called "Confessional," showing a green-haired priest with the Go-Go's name emblazoned on his clothes. This is what it says next to the priest: "yes my child. confess your sins to father go-go. will you be unforgiven or will you receive penance?" The message likely refers to the album's first single, "Unforgiven." And instead of Hail Mary, the site reads: "Hail Go-Go's, full of beat. The rock is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thine talent, music. Holy Go-Go's, mother of chick rock, pray for us sinners -- Now, and at the hour of thy concerts, Amen." Again, I am thinking "dope." The Catholic League is not. Here is a statement released by Go-Go Belinda Carlisle on Tuesday: "We discussed this issue as a band and are, frankly, puzzled by the Catholic League's repeated calls to censor free expression." Oh, the controversy. For more from the blasphemous Go-Go's, be sure to check out our exclusive video interview with the ladies on Friday.
http://www.spin.com/new/daily/news/20010417-5.html
April 17, 2001
NY Daily News
Catholic Group Irked
By Rockers' Web Site
By JOE MAHONEY
Daily News Albany Bureau Chief
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which raised a ruckus over the dung-splattered "Holy Virgin Mary" and "Yo Mama's Last Supper" at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, has a new target — a promotion for the female rock band the Go-Gos.
The league, dedicated to combating defamation of the Catholic religion, is furious that the five band members appear dressed as the Virgin Mary on the homepage of their new Web site touting the soon-to-be-released CD "God Bless the Go-Gos."
By clicking an icon of prayerful hands, Web surfers get to see this retooling of the Hail Mary prayer: "Hail Go-Gos, full of beat. The rock is with thee. ... Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thine talent, music."
The prayer closes: "Holy Go-Gos, mother of chick rock, pray for us sinners — Now, and at the hour of thy concerts. Amen."
Catholic League President William Donohue blasted the Go-Gos yesterday for "resorting to cheap ploys" to jump-start their stalled career. Until the band's new single, "Unforgiven," was released last month, they had not recorded a new song since 1986.
Noting that a section of the Web site titled "Confessional" shows a priest with green hair and an earring, Donohue said, "They have decided to rip off Catholic imagery in the hope that this will lure a new audience."
But a spokeswoman for the Go-Gos insisted that if anything, the band members were paying homage to God.
"These are all religious girls," said Mindi Sue Meyer of the band's new label, Beyond Music, a division of The Left Bank Operation. "They believe that God is giving them a second chance. They feel that they've been blessed."
She also saw a silver lining in the flap: "For them to get angry at this will just generate more interest for us."
The promotion can be viewed on the Web at www.gogos.com.
April 16, 2001
Sonic News www.sonicnews.com
by Corey Moss, with additional reporting by Joe D'Angelo, Meredith Gottlieb and Jennifer Vineyard
Members Of Blink-182, Go-Go's Remember Joey Ramone
Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz calls him 'a beautiful, loving, funny, intelligent man.'
With the passing of Joey Ramone on Sunday, music fans lost a genius who changed the world, according to the many artists — from Blink-182 to the Go-Go's — who were influenced by the lanky, leather jacket-clad godfather of punk rock.
"I wish I could have met him and told him what a huge influence he had on my life, and what an inspiration his music was, and what a genius he really was," Blink-182 singer/bassist Mark Hoppus said. "The Ramones came out at a time when music wasn't being done like that, and they came out with three-chord pop-punk just played exactly the way they wanted it to be. Without the Ramones, there wouldn't have been three generations of great punk-rock music, and there certainly wouldn't have been a Blink-182."
"He was the most important person of the punk scene." — X's Exene Cervenka
Ramone, born Jeffrey Hyman, died of lymphatic cancer, a disease that attacks the body's ability to fight infection.
The Ramones are considered the first true punk band, though their catchy melodies, irresistibly inane lyrics and rock and roll attitude inspired artists of all genres.
"They were my first real influence, a bunch of local kids from Queens that made me realize that I could actually start a band myself," the Beastie Boys' Adam Horovitz said.
Joey Ramone was more than just the founder and frontman for the group, he was an icon to his peers, who range from New York art-rockers Patti Smith, Talking Heads and Television to West Coast rebel-rousers X, Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys.
"He was the most important person of the punk scene," X singer Exene Cervenka said. "More than those other bands, he was the most important person. And he was the symbol, he was definitely the symbol of the punk thing."
The Ramones changed popular culture tremendously, Cervenka said, and have the best legacy of any punk band.
"The best thing about them was that they didn't mean to do it," Cervenka said. "The Ramones were just a band, playing music and having fun, and [yet] it was so important."
To many, including Bad Religion guitarist and Epitaph Records founder Brett Gurewitz, the Ramones, armed with classics like "Rock 'n' Roll High School" and "I Wanna Be Sedated," were the first punk band they ever heard.
"It was hearing the Ramones that made me want to be in a band," Gurewitz said. "Joey Ramone is the most influential person ever in rock 'n' roll. He was a beautiful, loving, funny, intelligent man, and he will be missed."
Go-Go's guitarist Charlotte Caffey first saw the Ramones play with Blondie in 1977 at Los Angeles' Whisky a Go-Go. She went to four shows in two nights.
"I had a life-altering experience," she said. "These shows ignited something inside of me that led me to write all those songs for the first Go-Go's record. And to this day, when I hear Joey singing a Ramones song, I am transported to an altered state."
Ramone did more than just perform. Hilly Kristal, owner of New York's renowned CBGB club — itself an important factor in the birth of punk music — said the singer spent his later years working with young musicians and keeping punk music alive in New York.
"Joey lived a good life, and he gave back as much as he could," Kristal said. "He tried to help a lot of new bands. He would throw his birthday parties and have them play, and he would get up and sing with them."
Kristal said Joey and his bandmates were one of the first underground bands to find other ways to get their music out.
"Joey wrote very catchy songs that were used in commercials and movies," he said. "Though they never sold millions of records, the Ramones played before crowds of 60 and 70,000."
As a person, Ramone was known for his kindness and had many friends.
"Joey was a sweet guy, a really sweet guy," Cervenka said. "Every time I hung out with him ... he was just always really happy to see you, really friendly. You felt part of [something]. You felt the punk thing was a family."
Added rocker Joan Jett: "He was the best person, a terrific artist, a wonderful friend, and a huge influence on my music and career."
April 9, 2001
Beyond Records recent stats for "Unforgiven"
THE GO-GO'S ARE BACK
"Unforgiven" keeps heating up the airwaves! THE HIGHEST DEBUT EVER AT ADULT TOP 40 - DEBUTING AT 32* (366 spins!!). #37-28* at Modern AC (340 spins). #3 New and Active on the R&R Hot AC Chart (416 spins). Top 5 Phones at Star/LA. Markets already playing "Unforgiven" : NY, LA, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, San Diego, Phoenix, Portland, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Austin, Buffalo, West Palm Beach, Rochester, Albany, Omaha, Springfield and more. Join us in our journey to make the GO-GO's number one, please call your local radio stations and request "Unforgiven!" "The first time I heard 'Unforgiven' I was blown away. The GO-GO's are back!" -Jim McGuinn/WPLY-Philadelphia. Top 40 adds: April 24th!! College and Non-Commercial adds: April 30th!!
138 MILLION IMPRESSIONS on www.gogos.com!
Look for their video for "Unforgiven" to hit the television waves shortly
April 6, 2001
Gavin.com
MUSIC FEATURE
The Go-Go's Beat Is Back...
And Sounding Hot
When we look back on 2001, one of the great music moments will be the return of that happening female fivesome, The Go-Go’s.
By Annette M. Lai, AC/Hot AC Editor
(With editorial assistance by Music Research Editor Kathleen Richards)
It’s been 16 years since we last heard from them, collectively, but when we look back on 2001, one of the great music moments will be the return of that happening female fivesome, The Go-Go’s. Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine, and Charlotte Caffey are back and their first single “Unforgiven” is starting to make some noise at and on the radio.
WBMX (Mix 98-5)-Boston APD/MD Mike Mullaney says of the new Go-Go’s album and the single co-written by Jane, Charlotte, and their newfound friend Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, “Their new music is great and ‘Unforgiven’ takes them back to their roots…remember that they were a punk band and Billie Joe helps bring out that edginess in them.” KYSR (Star 98.7)-Los Angeles APD/MD Chris Patyk echoes the sentiment, “The Go-Go’s are back! ‘Unforgiven’ is the classic Go-Go’s sound and people are already calling up for it! God bless ’em.”
pictured: Kathy Valentine and Belinda Carlisle recently stopped by Mix 98-5 (WBMX)-Boston to hang out with APD/MD Mike Mullaney (left), and morning man John Lander.
While all of the original members have been busy pursuing individual career interests or raising families—and lead singer Carlisle lives in France these days—one thing is for sure: they still love making music together. I recently caught up with Belinda, Jane, and Charlotte as they were gearing up for their recent promo tour in support of their soon-to-be-released CD, God Bless the Go-Go’s.
Annette M. Lai: How did the reunion come about?
Jane: About three years ago Belinda, Charlotte, and I were approached by some movie producers that wanted to make a Go-Go’s movie. We started talking to them about what kind of movie we would wanna make and ended up contacting Kathy and Gina to see if they wanted to be involved. Once we all started talking, it turned into our doing some shows together, and it felt pretty good. Then it snowballed into us making an album.
How has Go-Go’s music grown over time?
Belinda Carlisle and Kathy Valentine recently stopped by Mix 98-5 (WBMX)-Boston to hang out with APD/MD Mike Mullaney (left), and morning man John Lander.Belinda: We have a sound that’s inherent when the five of us come together, and it’s a sound that none of us can even possibly hope to replicate when we’re doing our solo things. Plus, through the last 15 years, we’ve actually caused 75 years of drama. We actually thought 75 Years of Drama would be a funny name for an album. We all have plenty of experience to draw from.
Charlotte: The essence of who we were is still intact. We’re a little more grown up and I’m gonna emphasize little. When we got together to write, the things that fell naturally together were the songs that made it on the record. There’s an energy and a chemistry when we get together that just fires up. This isn’t really a reunion since we’ve been together off and on these past few years. It’s more about reforming as a band, making a record, and really coming back together. We’re committed to this.
Does it feel different being back together?
Belinda: The energy is exactly the same as it was 20 years ago. I mean, we’re all a little bit different, but deep down we’re the same sort of people, and the same dynamics go on. But I think that I can speak for everybody when I say that we’re all very excited about this album and really proud of it. I personally have no expectations and no idea what’s gonna happen. But I know that the excuse to be able to come to L.A. and record a Go-Go’s album was enough for me, and I had a blast. Whatever happens after that is dessert. Another difference this time is that there’s a real sort of anticipation about this album, which is totally surprising and very flattering.
Your bio refers to you as “musically rebellious.” Are you?
Charlotte: I think so because some of the songs on the record have some very punk undertones, which is just our roots. It’s inherent in all of us. We’re just sticking to our guns about not trying to follow any kind of “Oh God, who should we be now that we’re a little older” formula, or “Look at what so and so is doing.” You are what you are.
How did the collaboration with Billie Joe come about?
Belinda: We played in San Francisco a couple times this past summer and fall and he came to our shows. He also came on-stage and sang Jane’s part during “Our Lips Are Sealed.” Charlotte approached him afterwards and said, “Hey, we’re all fans…maybe we could collaborate and come up with something [for the new record].” He was totally into it.
What are some of your favorite tracks on the new CD?
Belinda: “King of Confusion” is my favorite. Lyrically, it’s very funny and it’s just one of those songs that hit me. And I think the single, “Unforgiven,” is great.
Jane: I love the first single and it was an honor for me to write with Billie Joe Armstrong. My other favorite would probably be “Daisy Chain” which I co-wrote with Jill Sobule and Kathy Valentine. It’s a really cool song about the story of The Go-Go’s and is kind of sentimental to us.
Charlotte: There’s a song called “Stuck In My Car” which we’ve been playing live and we love it. We also had other guest writers, like Craig Roth who is the guitar player in Lenny Kravitz’s band—he’s great. He and Kathy wrote a song called “Vision of Nowness” which has a great story behind it. Belinda met Sammy Davis, Jr. one time and he called her a “vision of nowness,” which was an unbelievable thing…we were like, “OK, a song must be written with that title. You can imagine him saying that, you know: “Baby, you’re a vision of nowness.”
What would you like new fans to get from your music?
Jane: It’s pretty simple. You just want new fans to like the music. My hope with people who aren’t familiar with us is that, first of all, they hear the music, and second of all respond to it, and third of all, buy it. And then fourth of all like it! It’s a hard battle to even get heard today and that’s obviously the biggest step. But I have a lot of confidence that what we do is good and if people get a chance to hear it, they’ll respond to it.
The Go-Go’s new CD God Bless the Go-Go’s will be in stores on May 15.
April 6, 2001
Billboard.com
Counting Crows, Go-Go's Set For SoCal Fest
Counting Crows, the Wallflowers, the Go-Go's, Eve 6, Third Eye Blind, and Uncle Kracker will perform at a one-day radio station festival, dubbed Fan Nation, in Irvine, Calif., on May 6. The event is being promoted by SFX, and sponsored by Los Angeles radio station Star 98.7 and ARTISTdirect.
Advance tickets are currently on sale at Fannation.com, and will be available through Ticketmaster on Saturday (April 7). Fan Nation will offer fans a closer look at the artists on the bill inside its pavilion, named the Ultimate Star Lounge. Following their main stage performances, artists will stage Q&A sessions with fans, as well as play an acoustic set and sign autographs.
The reunited Go-Go's will release their first album in 17 years on May 15, and are expected to announce a world tour shortly. Both Third Eye Blind and Counting Crows are in the studio and planning to release albums early next year.
-- Todd Martens, L.A.
04.03.2001
Spin.com
by Beth Wawerna
Go-Gos Talk New Record
It pleases me to no end that The Go-Go's are back in effect, with a new album, God Bless The Go-Gos, due out May 15. Said record marks the girls' first studio LP since 1984's Talk Show. Granted there have been various tour reunions and the release of 1994's Return of the Valley of The Go-Go's, which included three new songs, but this is the real deal-a full-length studio LP. The band-singer Belinda Carlisle, guitarist Jane Wiedlin, guitarist/keyboardist Charlotte Caffey, bassist Kathy Valentine, and drummer Gina Schock-were in New York City this past week and weekend to appear on the Late Show With David Letterman on Thursday night, to perform as a part of Thursday night's All Star Tribute to Brian Wilson at Radio City Music Hall (where the band performed renditions of "Little Honda" and "Surf City"), and finally, to shoot a video for the album's first single, "Unforgiven" (featuring Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong) at an old church on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Charlotte and Jane were sweet enough to talk to us for a few minutes about Return of the Valley of the Go-Go's, and how it feels to be back.
"We really kind of let loose and put our hearts and soul into the music, and the writing as well," explained Charlotte. "We were relentless and brutal with ourselves -- we took a couple chances, tried a couple ballads, because why not try different things? But the essence of who we are is in that record. And we really sat down and thought about that: What is our essence, and what is the spirit of us, and what is good about us? And we just put it all together and this is what we came up with. And the end result we're really excited about." God Bless The Go-Gos was produced by Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade, who are responsible for Hole's Live Through This, and Radiohead's The Bends. "We capture how we sound live, and we've never done that before," Charlotte said. "Kolderie and Slade were amazing in the studio cause they were much more organic producers. It wasn't a computer thing. It was live and that's what we wanted to do, because that's what we do best." The Go-Go's will embark on a tour this summer in support of the new record. But before that, you can tune into Spin.com on April 20th to watch the rest of our interview with Charlotte and Jane (Jane will talk, I swear!) as part of our punk-rock retrospective video series. Proof that the Go-Go's still have it: a promotional copy of the new album went for $152 on the eBay this weekend. And it wasn't mine. I promise.
Any compliments, complaints, hot tips, or scandalous rumors can be sent to Beth Wawerna at bwawerna@spinmag.com.
March 29, 2001
Newsday
City Edition
Singing Brian's Song
by CL
[Belinda Carlisle quoted by Newsday about the Go-Go's playing in concert as part of a tribute to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys tonight at Radio City Music Hall. Other musical guests include Aimee Mann, Paul Simon, Elton John and Billy Joel. The concert will air next month on TNT]
Belinda Carlisle, Lead Singer of girl group the Go-Go's
"The first album I ever bought was 'Pet Sounds.' The first concert I ever went to was The Beach Boys. Growing up in California, they are so ingrained in my psyche, It sounds crazy now, but I loved that album because they looked so adorable on the cover. I appreciate the music so much more now.
Brian Wilson is like Mozart to us. He just has this unbelievable mystique. The Beach Boys' music created my dreams and I know Charlotte [Caffey, the Go-Go's guitarist] feels the same way. It's part of growing up in California."
Billboard
March 26, 2001
Spotlight the Go-Go’s “Unforgiven”
By CT
The Go-Go’s mark their (latest) return with this spirited roller-skating rink rock/pop anthem that proves the girls can still strike a mean chord some 20 years after the debut of their chart-topping Beauty and the Beat. Written by members Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey with Grean Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong (who also contributes guitar and backing vocals), Unforgiven rekindles the grinning, guitar-fueled speed rock that earmarked yesteryear hits like “Head Over Heals” and “Turn to You.” Belinda Carlisle has a firm grip on the mike, while the rest of the group’s trademarks abound: assertive percussion, a bouncy chorus, and the sense (whether true or not) that there was laughter and camaraderie behind the console. This one’s headed first to hot AC, triple A, and modern adult, then stops by top 40. Pioneers of L.A.’s original new-wave scene, the Go-Go’s prove themselves alluring even in the face of today’s vastly different pop generation. Look for their first new album in 16 years, God Bless the Go-Go’s, May 15.
March 26, 2001
Alternative Press
By TL
Vision of nowness, indeed! After several false post breakup starts over the past decade, these California cuties have finally written and recorded a new comeback album (produced by Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade, who’ve overseen Hole, Radiohead and even current Go-Go’s faves the Upper Crust). Song’s like “Apology,” “Kissing Asphalt” and “Superslide” are “still us, but who we are today,” explains guitarist Charlotte Caffey. “And we’ve replaced our hard partying days with massages, Pilates and meditation, which really helps. I mean, you cannot be in bad shape and go out on tour.”
The group are careful not to call this a reunion, per se. In 1990, the Go-Go’s reunited for some environmental-cause concerts, then quickly split. In 1994, they again regrouped to oversee IRS Records’ box-set retrospective of their power-pop work. “then last year we decided we were gonna tour again, and this year we decided we wanted to make a record,” Caffey continues. “We resolved past issues, a lot of stuff that had never been discussed, because everyone gave each other permission to just say anything- ‘Whatever bothers you, just get it out.’ So the bottom line became, ‘If we can start writing some great songs together, well, let’s just go for it and see what happens!” In recent West Coast appearances, the band sounded- and looked- absolutely fabulous, while screaming throngs of acolytes welcomed the gals back with open arms.
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