WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.180 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. When you think 00:00:02.180 --> 00:00:05.259 about American rock history, especially women 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:08.800 pioneers in punk and new wave, well, the name 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:11.179 Catherine Valentine, Cassie Valentine, it's got 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:13.080 to be right up there. Absolutely. Most people 00:00:13.080 --> 00:00:14.779 know the headlines, right? Rock and Roll Hall 00:00:14.779 --> 00:00:18.260 of Famer, basses for the Go -Go's. Huge hits. 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:20.899 Yeah, The Essentials. But that's really just 00:00:20.899 --> 00:00:23.300 the starting point. Exactly. And our sources 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:26.820 today, they really paint this picture of just 00:00:26.820 --> 00:00:30.000 extraordinary creative range. It goes so far 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.479 beyond just those platinum albums. So our mission 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:35.539 here for you listening is to give you that deep, 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:38.119 really structured understanding of Valentine's 00:00:38.119 --> 00:00:40.500 Roll, not just, you know, a member of a legendary 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:43.399 band. Right. But as this dynamic musician in 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:45.799 her own right, a guitarist first, actually, a 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:48.479 composer, a memoirist, a real cultural figure. 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:50.119 We're definitely going beyond the hits today. 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:52.979 We want to explore the real architecture of her 00:00:52.979 --> 00:00:55.399 career, how a guitarist becomes a bassist basically 00:00:55.399 --> 00:00:57.759 overnight. Yeah, the story's wild. And how she 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:00.679 handled the volatile band stuff, the big lawsuit. 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:02.920 Which is pretty crushing, yeah. And how she kept 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:05.140 coming back to her own roots, that identity, 00:01:05.299 --> 00:01:08.319 especially in the Austin and L .A. scenes, the 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:11.900 blues and rock stuff. We've got a ton of sources 00:01:11.900 --> 00:01:14.620 that confirm these core identities. Musician, 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:17.760 songwriter, memoirist. It's all there. And just 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:21.260 to get us grounded chronologically, born January 00:01:21.260 --> 00:01:25.599 7, 1959, Austin, Texas. And her career spanned, 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:27.840 I mean, decades before getting that ultimate 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:30.120 validation right. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:32.420 induction with the Go -Go's. That was October 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:35.040 2021. Yeah. So we're going to explore the sheer. 00:01:35.719 --> 00:01:37.560 you know, dedication and persistence it took 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:39.760 to bridge that huge gap. OK, let's dig in. Where 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:41.959 did it all start? What was the spark? It's always 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:44.060 so interesting, isn't it? Trying to trace back 00:01:44.060 --> 00:01:46.620 where that spark, that moment of epiphany happens 00:01:46.620 --> 00:01:48.920 for a rock star. And for Valentine, it wasn't 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:51.700 like in some smoky L .A. club. It was watching 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:54.700 TV halfway across the world. That's exactly right. 00:01:54.780 --> 00:01:57.079 The real defining moment, the sources say, came 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.340 when she was just 14. This was 1973. She was 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:02.700 an only child raised by her single mom, who was 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:05.379 an English expatriate living in Austin. And they 00:02:05.379 --> 00:02:08.460 were visiting England, and she saw Suzy Quatro 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:12.599 performing on Top of the Pops, the iconic UK 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:15.000 music show. And the sources really emphasized 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.259 this wasn't just like, oh, cool, a rock star. 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:19.680 It was like a fundamental revelation for her. 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:22.300 Totally. Because up to that point, the whole 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:26.000 idea of a woman really fronting a band, playing 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:29.840 aggressive rock music. Yeah. It just wasn't something 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:31.960 she'd seen in the mainstream. Not in that way. 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:34.759 No. Quattro wasn't just a singer with a band 00:02:34.759 --> 00:02:38.300 behind her. She was this undeniable force, playing 00:02:38.300 --> 00:02:41.099 bass, demanding your attention. Valentine herself 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:44.099 said seeing Quattro blew her mind. Wow. It just 00:02:44.099 --> 00:02:46.819 shattered that whole idea that rock stardom was 00:02:46.819 --> 00:02:49.340 only for guys. And that realization, well, it 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:51.020 pretty much set her on her path right then and 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:52.979 there. So that moment, that cultural lightning 00:02:52.979 --> 00:02:55.599 strike, it translated pretty quickly into action 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:58.659 and even a change in schools. Yeah, pretty much 00:02:58.659 --> 00:03:00.520 right after. In ninth grade, she switched from 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:02.780 public school to this alternative school called 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:04.819 Greenbrier. And that's where she started playing 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:07.460 guitar. And it moved fast. She got an electric 00:03:07.460 --> 00:03:09.379 guitar, got an amp as soon as she was back in 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:11.900 Austin. And then she just started diving into 00:03:11.900 --> 00:03:14.319 the local music scene. And that Austin scene 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:19.199 in the late 70s. It was incredibly rich, wasn't 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:20.840 it? It wasn't just punk starting up. There was 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:24.180 so much Texas blues rockabilly history there. 00:03:24.360 --> 00:03:26.780 Oh, absolutely. And that's such a crucial piece 00:03:26.780 --> 00:03:30.039 of her musical DNA. Yeah. She explicitly credits 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:32.020 that Austin scene for giving her such a diverse 00:03:32.020 --> 00:03:34.319 background. She names names, right? Oh, yeah. 00:03:34.379 --> 00:03:37.259 Jimmy Vaughn, the fabulous Thunderbirds. Huge 00:03:37.259 --> 00:03:39.780 influences on her guitar playing. So she had 00:03:39.780 --> 00:03:42.680 these chops rooted in blues, which is, you know. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:45.039 Pretty different from the kind of stripped down 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:47.379 three chord punk that was also blowing up. Gives 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:49.259 her a different flavor from maybe some of her 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:51.780 L .A. contemporaries later on. Definitely. And, 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:54.039 you know, it gave her credibility locally, too. 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:55.819 And there's that great little story connecting 00:03:55.819 --> 00:03:59.689 her to Texas music royalty. Doug Psalm. Yeah, 00:03:59.770 --> 00:04:02.110 the Sam story is fantastic. It says a lot about 00:04:02.110 --> 00:04:04.949 that Austin community feel. Doug Psalm, you know, 00:04:04.969 --> 00:04:07.930 Sir Douglas Quintet, legend. Right. He let her 00:04:07.930 --> 00:04:09.849 sit in with his band just to play the Chuck Berry 00:04:09.849 --> 00:04:12.509 tune, Carol. Wow. Talk about pressure. Right. 00:04:12.569 --> 00:04:15.969 Getting up there with a Texas icon, just nailing 00:04:15.969 --> 00:04:18.129 a Chuck Berry riff. It shows she wasn't just 00:04:18.129 --> 00:04:20.329 some kid hanging around. She was already seen 00:04:20.329 --> 00:04:23.069 as a dedicated guitarist, accepted by the local 00:04:23.069 --> 00:04:25.170 scene. even though she was young. So she's soaking 00:04:25.170 --> 00:04:27.709 up this Texas blues foundation, but then punk 00:04:27.709 --> 00:04:31.410 rock hits. That wave was just unavoidable, wasn't 00:04:31.410 --> 00:04:33.189 it? Totally unavoidable. And it gave her the 00:04:33.189 --> 00:04:37.089 energy and the structure for her first real bands. 00:04:37.370 --> 00:04:39.990 Inspired by the Ramones, Blondie, The Usual Suspect. 00:04:40.029 --> 00:04:42.170 Yeah, exactly. The energy, the DIY attitude. 00:04:42.509 --> 00:04:45.189 So she forms this punk band, The Violators, in 00:04:45.189 --> 00:04:48.569 Austin. This is around 1978. Okay. And they were 00:04:48.569 --> 00:04:50.670 right in the thick of it locally, playing at 00:04:50.670 --> 00:04:53.889 Rolls. which was Austin's very first punk club. 00:04:54.170 --> 00:04:56.410 Ols, legendary spot. Yeah, it was a real crucible 00:04:56.410 --> 00:04:58.529 for Austin punk. And that's where she really 00:04:58.529 --> 00:05:01.949 honed her identity as a guitarist and a songwriter, 00:05:02.029 --> 00:05:03.910 you know, long before bass was even on the radar. 00:05:04.069 --> 00:05:05.970 Which leads us right to the move. She heads to 00:05:05.970 --> 00:05:10.550 L .A., what, age 19, late 78? Yep, packed her 00:05:10.550 --> 00:05:13.290 bags for L .A. And she didn't go alone, musically 00:05:13.290 --> 00:05:15.209 speaking. She brought those collaborations with 00:05:15.209 --> 00:05:17.509 her. Right, she teamed up with Carla Olson again. 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:20.959 From the Violators. Exactly. They co -founded 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:23.139 the Techstones. And the Techstones weren't just 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:25.680 messing around. They were a serious working band. 00:05:25.899 --> 00:05:27.839 They put out some singles. They did. Two singles. 00:05:28.019 --> 00:05:30.360 Yeah. One even featured an unreleased Tom Petty 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:32.560 song, which tells you something about the kind 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:34.620 of connections and material they had access to. 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:36.920 That's pretty cool. Yeah. She left the band in 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:40.139 1980, but that period was absolutely foundational. 00:05:40.300 --> 00:05:43.740 It really cemented her as a songwriter. And this 00:05:43.740 --> 00:05:45.620 is where it gets really interesting, right? The 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:48.980 songs she wrote back then as a guitarist in this 00:05:48.980 --> 00:05:52.300 pre -fame band, they ended up being huge later 00:05:52.300 --> 00:05:54.180 on. This is probably the single most important 00:05:54.180 --> 00:05:56.459 point about her early career. It's about the 00:05:56.459 --> 00:05:59.040 long game of intellectual property. Okay. So 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:02.399 first, Phil Seymour records her song, We Don't 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:06.220 Get Along, on his 1980 solo album. That already 00:06:06.220 --> 00:06:08.360 proved her stuff was commercially viable. Right. 00:06:08.540 --> 00:06:10.779 But the really critical thing the sources highlight 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:13.540 is that the Go -Go's later recorded that same 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:16.199 song, We Don't Get Along. And two other songs 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:18.300 she'd written or developed back in her Textones 00:06:18.300 --> 00:06:24.120 days, the massive future hit Vacation. Wow. And 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:27.680 Can't Stop the World. So her contribution to 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:29.459 the Go -Go's wasn't just stepping in on bass. 00:06:29.579 --> 00:06:32.459 She brought a briefcase full of songs with her. 00:06:32.540 --> 00:06:35.540 Exactly. proven pre -existing intellectual property 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:39.160 that's huge. It shows her value was multifaceted 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:41.180 from day one. Okay, so having that songwriting 00:06:41.180 --> 00:06:43.259 foundation makes her entry into the Go -Go's 00:06:43.259 --> 00:06:45.019 even more fascinating. She's ready to contribute 00:06:45.019 --> 00:06:46.899 songs, but the way she actually gets in the band, 00:06:47.180 --> 00:06:50.399 it's like this emergency forcing this massive 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:53.019 musical shift. Yeah, the timing was just urgent. 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:56.560 The Go -Go's needed a bass player. Now, their 00:06:56.560 --> 00:06:59.639 original bassist, Margot LaVaria, was sick and 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:01.680 ended up being replaced. Right. So Valentine, 00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:03.500 who was already known around the L .A. scene 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:06.160 as this great rock guitarist, she gets the call 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:08.100 to fill in. But here's the kicker, the almost 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:10.459 unbelievable part. She wasn't really a bass player, 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:12.339 was she? Not extensively, not professionally. 00:07:12.660 --> 00:07:15.160 Nope. Primarily a guitarist. So the challenge 00:07:15.160 --> 00:07:17.579 was immense. How fast did she have to switch 00:07:17.579 --> 00:07:19.680 from six strings to four? It's become kind of 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:22.779 legendary. It speaks volumes about just her raw 00:07:22.779 --> 00:07:25.399 musical talent. and her ability to perform under 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:27.899 insane pressure. She apparently learned all their 00:07:27.899 --> 00:07:30.279 songs. Which were already pretty sharp, energetic 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:32.980 tracks. Right. High -energy punk, new wave stuff. 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:35.560 Right. She learned them in just four days. Four 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:37.959 days. Four days. Rehearsed with the band only 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:41.120 twice before her first gig. That is absolutely 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:44.399 nuts. Baptism by Fire doesn't even cover it. 00:07:44.540 --> 00:07:47.040 She had to master not just the notes, but the 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:49.699 whole feel and function of a different instrument, 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:53.319 the anchor. In less than a week. Incredible. 00:07:53.500 --> 00:07:56.439 So where was this debut gig? Must have been intense. 00:07:56.699 --> 00:07:59.600 Oh, yeah. Her first show with them, New Year's 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:03.439 Eve, 1980, at the Whiskey A Go -Go. The Whiskey? 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.339 On New Year's Eve? Can you imagine? One of the 00:08:06.339 --> 00:08:09.100 most famous rock clubs on the planet. Biggest 00:08:09.100 --> 00:08:10.939 party night of the year. With a band that was 00:08:10.939 --> 00:08:12.740 already getting serious buzz. She must have killed 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:14.839 it. Had to have. Because they asked her to join 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:16.560 permanently almost immediately after that gig. 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:19.540 Wow. And then, just a few months later. March 00:08:19.540 --> 00:08:23.939 1981, the go -go sign with IRS records. Things 00:08:23.939 --> 00:08:27.740 took off. That speed, that adaptability, switching 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:31.019 from lead guitarist to the rhythm engine of what 00:08:31.019 --> 00:08:34.240 became the biggest all -female band ever, it 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:36.799 just set the stage. And her songwriting, those 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:40.059 Textones tunes, paid off right away. Absolutely, 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:42.179 no question. Look at the classic albums on that 00:08:42.179 --> 00:08:45.100 amazing debut, Beauty and the Beat, 1981. They 00:08:45.100 --> 00:08:47.610 recorded Can't Stop the World. straight out of 00:08:47.610 --> 00:08:49.450 her earlier writing period. You're right. But 00:08:49.450 --> 00:08:51.690 her back catalog became absolutely essential 00:08:51.690 --> 00:08:55.049 for the follow -up, Vacation, in 82. Yeah, the 00:08:55.049 --> 00:08:57.289 title track basically defines that album, and 00:08:57.289 --> 00:09:00.149 that was hers. It was. Her text stone song, Vacation. 00:09:00.230 --> 00:09:02.690 Now, they did rework it a bit, mostly the arrangement. 00:09:02.690 --> 00:09:04.370 She worked on that with Charlotte Caffey, the 00:09:04.370 --> 00:09:07.250 guitarist. But that collaboration turned a solid 00:09:07.250 --> 00:09:11.029 punk -era song into the ultimate summer pop anthem, 00:09:11.129 --> 00:09:13.970 became the title track, the first single. It 00:09:13.970 --> 00:09:16.149 showed just how valuable her existing songs were 00:09:16.149 --> 00:09:18.529 to the band's success. Instantly. Okay, then 00:09:18.529 --> 00:09:22.049 we get to Talk Show in 1984. And that songwriting 00:09:22.049 --> 00:09:24.190 partnership with her, Kathy, really clicks again, 00:09:24.289 --> 00:09:26.529 right? Produces maybe their biggest single. Yeah, 00:09:26.610 --> 00:09:28.549 they co -wrote the monster hit Head Over Heels 00:09:28.549 --> 00:09:31.570 for Talk Show. Huge song. Huge. But here's where 00:09:31.570 --> 00:09:33.669 it gets nuanced again. Something that often gets 00:09:33.669 --> 00:09:36.690 lost when people just say, Kathy Valentine, go 00:09:36.690 --> 00:09:40.320 -go's bassist. By this point, on talk show, she 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:43.240 wasn't just playing bass. Right. This is fascinating. 00:09:43.340 --> 00:09:46.039 The sources say she played lead guitar on several 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:49.080 tracks on that album. Exactly. Lead guitar. What 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:51.879 does that tell you when the band's official bassist 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:54.720 is playing lead guitar on tracks like The Single 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:56.659 Turn to You? Well, it tells me she's a killer 00:09:56.659 --> 00:09:59.570 guitarist who... Maybe wasn't content just holding 00:09:59.570 --> 00:10:01.850 down the low end. That's part of it. Yeah. Her 00:10:01.850 --> 00:10:04.669 identity was rooted in guitar, but it also hints 00:10:04.669 --> 00:10:06.830 at maybe some internal stuff happening. Like 00:10:06.830 --> 00:10:09.710 what? Well, she played lead not just on Turn 00:10:09.710 --> 00:10:12.210 to You, but also You Thought, Beneath the Blue 00:10:12.210 --> 00:10:15.740 Sky, Good for Gone. Multiple tracks. So maybe 00:10:15.740 --> 00:10:17.879 the official lead guitarist, Charlotte Cafe, 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:20.860 was maybe struggling a bit or maybe roles were 00:10:20.860 --> 00:10:23.600 shifting. It could suggest that. Or maybe just 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:25.919 tremendous trust in Valentine's skills across 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:28.779 the board. But it definitely suggests that the 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:31.700 dynamic during the talk show recording was, let's 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:34.879 say, fluid or maybe tense. It certainly proves 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:37.500 that calling her just the bass player really 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:40.139 misses a huge part of her contribution, even 00:10:40.139 --> 00:10:42.460 on their biggest albums. And sadly, whatever 00:10:42.460 --> 00:10:44.620 that internal friction was during the talk show 00:10:44.620 --> 00:10:47.080 sessions, it seems like it led directly to the 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.899 band breaking up. It really did. The difficulties 00:10:49.899 --> 00:10:51.940 internally were massive, according to the sources. 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:54.860 It hit a breaking point when Jane Weedland, the 00:10:54.860 --> 00:10:57.740 rhythm guitarist, left. Okay. They tried to keep 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:00.620 it going. Valentine actually moved back to rhythm 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:03.159 guitar. Wow. Full circle. Back to guitar. Yeah. 00:11:03.340 --> 00:11:06.159 And they hired Paula Jean Brown for bass. But, 00:11:06.179 --> 00:11:08.320 you know, the magic, the core dynamic, it was 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:10.759 broken. The Go -Go's officially broke up just 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:14.019 months later, May 1985. So, boom, the Go -Go's 00:11:14.019 --> 00:11:18.379 end in 85, going from those massive stadium crowds, 00:11:18.539 --> 00:11:21.940 platinum records, to suddenly nothing. That must 00:11:21.940 --> 00:11:24.299 have been a huge shock, a real vacuum. Oh, absolutely. 00:11:24.909 --> 00:11:26.830 She talked about feeling completely lost, like 00:11:26.830 --> 00:11:30.230 her entire identity had just been absorbed into 00:11:30.230 --> 00:11:32.389 being a go -go. Which you hear from a lot of 00:11:32.389 --> 00:11:35.149 musicians in huge bands. It's a classic story. 00:11:35.289 --> 00:11:38.009 And that feeling, that identity crisis, really 00:11:38.009 --> 00:11:40.490 kick -started the next phase for her. A period 00:11:40.490 --> 00:11:43.289 of, like, aggressive musical experimentation 00:11:43.289 --> 00:11:46.250 to try and reclaim her own thing. Get back to 00:11:46.250 --> 00:11:49.470 that guitar -centric rock identity. And that 00:11:49.470 --> 00:11:51.830 meant moving away from the polished go -go sound, 00:11:51.909 --> 00:11:55.269 back towards something maybe raw. Definitely. 00:11:55.490 --> 00:11:58.149 First up was this band called The World's Cutest 00:11:58.149 --> 00:12:01.049 Killers. Great name. Right. Even the name tells 00:12:01.049 --> 00:12:04.009 you she's shifting back to a more rock, maybe 00:12:04.009 --> 00:12:06.590 slightly punk or hard rock aesthetic. And the 00:12:06.590 --> 00:12:08.490 lineup was pretty serious, wasn't it? Oh, yeah. 00:12:08.529 --> 00:12:10.929 The ambition was there. It featured Kelly Johnson, 00:12:11.169 --> 00:12:13.919 former guitarist for Girl School. Wow, girl's 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:16.019 school. That's a deep cut connecting with another 00:12:16.019 --> 00:12:18.919 pioneering woman in hard rock. Exactly. A fascinating 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:21.940 choice. Plus her old Austin pal Jesse Sublett 00:12:21.940 --> 00:12:24.480 on bass, Craig Aronson on drums. He later became 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:27.759 a big A &R guy. Right. And Jeb and Bruni on keyboards. 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:30.259 Yeah. A solid lineup. And they got a big name 00:12:30.259 --> 00:12:32.580 producer involved too, Mike Chapman. Yeah, Mike 00:12:32.580 --> 00:12:34.960 Chapman, who'd worked with Blondie, the knack. 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:38.919 I mean, huge hits. So getting him involved suggests 00:12:38.919 --> 00:12:41.740 they were really aiming for a proper record deal. 00:12:42.190 --> 00:12:45.289 Maybe major success. What happened? They recorded 00:12:45.289 --> 00:12:48.610 demos, but while the sources say the demos got 00:12:48.610 --> 00:12:52.669 scrapped, the band just fizzled out, split up. 00:12:52.750 --> 00:12:55.850 Ah, that's tough. Yeah, a big setback. It kind 00:12:55.850 --> 00:12:57.929 of showed that starting over without that go 00:12:57.929 --> 00:13:00.289 -go's machine behind her was going to be a real 00:13:00.289 --> 00:13:02.590 uphill battle. And the sources mentioned that 00:13:02.590 --> 00:13:05.169 after this, and maybe some other attempts didn't 00:13:05.169 --> 00:13:07.289 pan out, she actually stepped back for a bit. 00:13:07.659 --> 00:13:09.419 Went back to school. That's right. Took some 00:13:09.419 --> 00:13:11.240 time away from the music biz grind, went back 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:13.740 to school. It suggests a period of, you know, 00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:16.360 really deep reevaluation after the craziness 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:18.440 of the Go -Go's years. Which, interestingly, 00:13:18.659 --> 00:13:20.899 foreshadows her later academic pursuits, too. 00:13:21.019 --> 00:13:23.399 Exactly. That desire for knowledge beyond just 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:26.139 music was already there. But the music kept pulling 00:13:26.139 --> 00:13:28.500 her back in, didn't it? Which leads to this really 00:13:28.500 --> 00:13:30.580 long -running project, the one that seems closest 00:13:30.580 --> 00:13:34.039 to her blues and roots rock heart, the Blue Bonnets 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:36.279 and then the Delphines. Yeah, this partnership 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:38.399 with Dominique Davalos, who's a singer and bassist, 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:41.200 started way back in 1992. And it's incredibly 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:43.740 important because it shows her commitment to 00:13:43.740 --> 00:13:46.399 these genres, the stuff she grew up on, separate 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:49.080 from pop. So the Blue Bonnets started as a blues 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:51.679 thing. Pretty much. A blues -based group. They 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:53.500 had some lineup changes over the years. Fans 00:13:53.500 --> 00:13:56.720 really point to when Pinky Terzo came in on lead 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:59.179 vocals as a kind of high point. But the core 00:13:59.179 --> 00:14:01.980 idea was letting Valentine get back to that Texas 00:14:01.980 --> 00:14:04.659 blues rock guitar style. And this eventually 00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:13.639 evolved. Right. Around early 95, the Blue Bonnets 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.200 kind of morphed into the Delphines. That became 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:18.320 the main Valentine Davalos band. They put out 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:22.399 two albums, a self -titled one in 97 and Cosmic 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:26.070 Speed in 2001. Okay. And the crucial thing here, 00:14:26.169 --> 00:14:28.590 thinking back to that identity crisis, is that 00:14:28.590 --> 00:14:30.769 Valentine was apparently really determined to 00:14:30.769 --> 00:14:33.129 keep the Delphines going, even as the Go -Go's 00:14:33.129 --> 00:14:35.190 reunion tours were happening. So like consciously 00:14:35.190 --> 00:14:37.110 building and maintaining something separate, 00:14:37.210 --> 00:14:39.870 her own thing. Exactly. An independent, creative 00:14:39.870 --> 00:14:42.779 identity away from the big pop machine. And that 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:45.620 desire for creative control for her own voice, 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:48.179 that must have led directly to her solo album 00:14:48.179 --> 00:14:51.279 Light Years in 2005. Oh, for sure. Light Years 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:53.820 was hugely ambitious. She co -produced it, wrote 00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:56.720 everything, arranged it, played guitar, sang 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:00.000 the whole deal. Her chance to really show off 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.559 all those skills, lead guitarist, singer -songwriter, 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:05.399 outside of any band structure. Totally. And just 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:07.200 look at the guest list she pulled together for 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:09.620 that record. It says so much about the respect 00:15:09.620 --> 00:15:12.519 she commanded in the wider rock world. Beyond 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:14.980 just New Wave. Yeah, who played on it? Get this. 00:15:15.740 --> 00:15:18.620 Ace Frehley from Kiss on Guitar. Ace Frehley. 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:22.679 Wow. Gilby Clark from Guns N' Roses. Craig Ross, 00:15:22.779 --> 00:15:25.080 who plays with Lenny Kravitz. And then drummers 00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:27.659 Clem Burke from Blondie and Pete Thomas from 00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:30.000 Elvis Costello's Attractions. That is a serious 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:32.840 lineup. Heavy hitters. Right. It totally validates 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:34.840 her standing as a serious rock musician, period. 00:15:35.210 --> 00:15:37.090 Not just a pop star from the 80s. Show she could 00:15:37.090 --> 00:15:39.250 hang with anyone across different rock genres. 00:15:39.570 --> 00:15:43.070 And eventually, that deep connection to Roots 00:15:43.070 --> 00:15:46.370 Rock, to her origins, it pulled her back home 00:15:46.370 --> 00:15:48.669 physically, didn't it? Back to Austin in 2006. 00:15:49.269 --> 00:15:51.389 Yeah, the homecoming. Moved back to Austin to 00:15:51.389 --> 00:15:53.570 live full time. And it wasn't just personal. 00:15:53.649 --> 00:15:55.970 It was professional, too. She immediately started 00:15:55.970 --> 00:15:58.190 getting recognized locally again. Covers of local 00:15:58.190 --> 00:16:01.129 magazines. Yep. Texas Music, the Austin Chronicle, 00:16:01.230 --> 00:16:05.230 Austin Woman, all featured her. really highlighted 00:16:05.230 --> 00:16:07.470 her reconnecting with that scene. And that reconnection 00:16:07.470 --> 00:16:10.029 got cemented with a big local honor a few years 00:16:10.029 --> 00:16:12.870 later, in 2014. Yeah, inducted into the Austin 00:16:12.870 --> 00:16:14.850 Music Hall of Fame, which is great in itself. 00:16:15.350 --> 00:16:18.809 But get this. Who inducted her? Who? Members 00:16:18.809 --> 00:16:22.629 of Blondie. Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, and Klembert. 00:16:22.809 --> 00:16:25.210 No way! That's amazing. Talk about full circle. 00:16:25.350 --> 00:16:27.649 Her punk heroes inducting her into her hometown 00:16:27.649 --> 00:16:29.669 hall of fame. Incredible, right? Such a perfect 00:16:29.669 --> 00:16:31.649 recognition of her roots by the very people who 00:16:31.649 --> 00:16:33.909 inspired her way back when. And the Bluebonnets 00:16:33.909 --> 00:16:36.850 reformed then, with a real Texas focus, still 00:16:36.850 --> 00:16:39.990 keeping that blues rock thing going. Yep. She 00:16:39.990 --> 00:16:42.090 and Dominique Davalos got the Bluebonnets going 00:16:42.090 --> 00:16:45.309 again, but this time with a proper Austin lineup. 00:16:45.590 --> 00:16:48.110 Brought in great local players like guitarist 00:16:48.110 --> 00:16:50.870 Yves Monzis. And they've been active since, putting 00:16:50.870 --> 00:16:53.870 out records. Oh yeah, consistently. released 00:16:53.870 --> 00:16:56.669 Boom Boom Boom Boom in 2010, Play Loud in 2014, 00:16:57.129 --> 00:16:59.990 Tone Wrecker in 2017. They even toured opening 00:16:59.990 --> 00:17:02.610 for the Waterboys across the U .S. in 2015. Wow. 00:17:02.850 --> 00:17:05.450 So it's not just a side project. It's a real 00:17:05.450 --> 00:17:08.210 working band. Absolutely. It proves her commitment 00:17:08.210 --> 00:17:10.410 to that genre, regardless of what else is happening. 00:17:10.450 --> 00:17:13.190 It's clear where her musical heart is. Okay, 00:17:13.250 --> 00:17:15.670 so while Valentine is busy rediscovering her 00:17:15.670 --> 00:17:18.569 roots, building this blues rock identity back 00:17:18.569 --> 00:17:21.769 in Austin, The pull of the Go -Go's, that massive 00:17:21.769 --> 00:17:24.029 legacy, it's still there. And the reunions got 00:17:24.029 --> 00:17:25.769 pretty complicated, didn't they? Even volatile. 00:17:26.029 --> 00:17:28.069 Yeah, the reunion path was definitely not smooth. 00:17:28.490 --> 00:17:30.490 The first ones were kind of brief, you know. 00:17:30.490 --> 00:17:32.750 They got back together briefly in 1990, did some 00:17:32.750 --> 00:17:35.190 shows, put out a greatest hit CD, then split 00:17:35.190 --> 00:17:36.990 again. Okay. But when they got back together 00:17:36.990 --> 00:17:39.609 again in the mid -90s, Valentine's songwriting 00:17:39.609 --> 00:17:42.029 actually became really key to making the reunion 00:17:42.029 --> 00:17:45.309 financially viable, it seems. How so? They had 00:17:45.309 --> 00:17:48.680 new chart success. In the UK, surprisingly. That's 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:50.940 right. She co -wrote a new song, The Whole World 00:17:50.940 --> 00:17:53.539 Lost Its Head, for the compilation Return to 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:56.220 the Valley of the Go -Go's. And that song became 00:17:56.220 --> 00:17:58.759 their highest charting single ever in the UK. 00:17:58.940 --> 00:18:01.720 Wow, really? Higher than the Big 80 since? Apparently 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:04.240 so, in the UK charts. It showed that Creative 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:06.460 Spark was still there, and maybe there was still 00:18:06.460 --> 00:18:09.940 an audience. Which led to a proper comeback album. 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:11.740 Yeah, that success kind of paved the way for 00:18:11.740 --> 00:18:14.740 the 2001 album, God Bless the Go -Go's. And after 00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:16.829 that... They toured pretty extensively for a 00:18:16.829 --> 00:18:19.289 number of years. Things seemed okay for a while. 00:18:19.430 --> 00:18:21.910 But those internal tensions, the ones that were 00:18:21.910 --> 00:18:24.069 maybe hinted at back during the talk show era, 00:18:24.210 --> 00:18:27.690 they eventually resurfaced, leading to a really 00:18:27.690 --> 00:18:30.829 public, messy split in the early 2010s. Yeah, 00:18:30.890 --> 00:18:33.509 this is the really difficult chapter. The sort 00:18:33.509 --> 00:18:35.710 of trigger, oddly enough, was a physical injury. 00:18:36.289 --> 00:18:39.849 Valentine broke her wrist in 2012. Ouch. Yeah. 00:18:40.130 --> 00:18:42.309 So she obviously couldn't play the summer tour 00:18:42.309 --> 00:18:44.190 that year. And she was replaced temporarily. 00:18:44.650 --> 00:18:48.390 But the temporary replacement ended up becoming 00:18:48.390 --> 00:18:51.950 permanent. In March 2013, the official Go -Go's 00:18:51.950 --> 00:18:54.109 website just put out a statement saying she was 00:18:54.109 --> 00:18:58.430 out. Cited irreconcilable differences. Irreconcilable 00:18:58.430 --> 00:19:01.369 differences. That phrase can cover a lot of ground. 00:19:01.529 --> 00:19:04.890 It sure can. And in this case, it clearly wasn't 00:19:04.890 --> 00:19:07.069 just, you know, musical disagreements or wanting 00:19:07.069 --> 00:19:09.269 to go separate ways amicably. It led Street to 00:19:09.269 --> 00:19:11.650 a major lawsuit. Right. She sued the rest of 00:19:11.650 --> 00:19:13.609 the band. This wasn't just walking away. It was 00:19:13.609 --> 00:19:16.269 a fight. What was the core of the lawsuit? It 00:19:16.269 --> 00:19:19.230 got really serious. She sued them in May 2013. 00:19:19.650 --> 00:19:22.690 The claim was for breach of fiduciary duty and 00:19:22.690 --> 00:19:25.579 abuse of control. Okay. Fiduciary duty. For listeners, 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:27.740 that basically means the people managing the 00:19:27.740 --> 00:19:30.519 band's business have a legal obligation to act 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:32.799 in the best financial interest of all the members, 00:19:32.900 --> 00:19:35.140 right? Exactly. So the lawsuit was basically 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:37.720 alleging that the other members were using their 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:40.339 power within the band structure, maybe the corporate 00:19:40.339 --> 00:19:42.700 structure, to try and squeeze her out financially. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:45.630 To deliberately cut her out of her share. Her 00:19:45.630 --> 00:19:47.730 rightful earnings. That's what the suit claimed. 00:19:47.869 --> 00:19:50.710 An attempt to deprive her of her position and 00:19:50.710 --> 00:19:53.089 interest in the group, including her full 20 00:19:53.089 --> 00:19:57.049 % share of the band's income and benefits. So, 00:19:57.130 --> 00:19:59.569 yeah, it suggests the irreconcilable differences 00:19:59.569 --> 00:20:02.329 were really fundamentally about trust, control, 00:20:02.529 --> 00:20:06.069 and money. Deep stuff. That's incredibly rough. 00:20:06.130 --> 00:20:08.190 How did it get resolved? Did it go to court? 00:20:08.410 --> 00:20:10.670 No, like most of these high -stakes band astutes, 00:20:10.750 --> 00:20:13.549 it was settled privately. Out of court. sometime 00:20:13.549 --> 00:20:16.430 in early 2014. But the damage was clearly done. 00:20:16.470 --> 00:20:18.589 The trust was broke. Oh, definitely. You could 00:20:18.589 --> 00:20:20.890 feel the tension. The proof was when they announced 00:20:20.890 --> 00:20:24.849 a farewell tour for 2016. Valentine was very 00:20:24.849 --> 00:20:27.009 noticeably not part of that lineup. It really 00:20:27.009 --> 00:20:28.910 looked like that was it. The end of her time 00:20:28.910 --> 00:20:31.690 with the Go -Go's for good. So if the lawsuit 00:20:31.690 --> 00:20:34.349 created this huge, bitter divide, what could 00:20:34.349 --> 00:20:36.369 possibly bring them back together just a couple 00:20:36.369 --> 00:20:38.329 of years after that? What force was that strong? 00:20:38.609 --> 00:20:40.569 Well, ironically, it was the very thing they'd 00:20:40.569 --> 00:20:43.390 been fighting over. Their songs, their shared 00:20:43.390 --> 00:20:45.589 legacy, their intellectual property. How did 00:20:45.589 --> 00:20:48.690 that work? Broadway. In 2018, a musical called 00:20:48.690 --> 00:20:52.569 Head Over Heels debuted on Broadway. Ah, I remember 00:20:52.569 --> 00:20:55.190 that. Based on some old text, but said to go 00:20:55.190 --> 00:20:58.750 -go songs. Exactly. based on Sir Philip Sidney's 00:20:58.750 --> 00:21:00.769 Arcadia, believe it or not. But the entire score 00:21:00.769 --> 00:21:03.690 was Go -Go's hits and some Belinda Carlyle solo 00:21:03.690 --> 00:21:07.049 stuff too. And Valentine's songs like Head Over 00:21:07.049 --> 00:21:09.690 Heels and Vacation were obviously central to 00:21:09.690 --> 00:21:13.279 it. So a big Broadway show. That creates a huge 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:16.660 amount of new interest, new publicity. It almost 00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:19.640 demands the classic lineup be seen together, 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:22.359 doesn't it? For validation, for promotion. That 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:24.640 seems to be the strategic read, yeah. The musical 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:27.380 success basically put their brand back in the 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:29.400 spotlight in a massive way. It made their shared 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:31.519 history valuable again, maybe valuable enough 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:33.400 to overcome the personal issues. And it worked. 00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:35.920 It brought Valentine back. It did. Directly because 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:38.160 of the musical success, Valentine officially 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:41.009 rejoined the band. They played their first show 00:21:41.009 --> 00:21:43.289 back together as the classic five -piece lineup 00:21:43.289 --> 00:21:46.250 in six years at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, 00:21:46.309 --> 00:21:49.490 January 2018. She confirmed she was back in February. 00:21:49.849 --> 00:21:52.410 And then they started making plans again, planned 00:21:52.410 --> 00:21:55.609 tours, got derailed by COVID in 2020 like everyone 00:21:55.609 --> 00:21:58.930 else, but then announced a big UK tour with Billy 00:21:58.930 --> 00:22:03.319 Idol for 2022. the classic lineup was back. Incredible 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:05.559 turnaround. Okay, before we get to her writing 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:06.980 and everything else, we have to loop back to 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:09.240 that song writing point again. We mentioned Vacation 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:12.240 started as a Textone song. Right. That original 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:14.539 version, the pre -Go -Go's version, has actually 00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:17.099 had its own resurgence recently, hasn't it? Like 00:22:17.099 --> 00:22:18.980 four decades later. Yeah, this is such a cool 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:20.900 example of how creative work can just endure. 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:24.140 That original Textone's recording of Vacation, 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:27.440 the grittier, punkier version she wrote way back 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:29.680 when she was just a guitarist in this relatively 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:32.619 unknown band. Yeah. It got picked as the theme 00:22:32.619 --> 00:22:35.680 song for the Starz cable series Hightown, which 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:38.539 debuted in May 2020. No kidding. That's fantastic. 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:40.980 Isn't it? It's just this amazing testament to 00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:43.440 how good that original song was and how durable 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:46.000 good songwriting can be. It proves that valuable 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:48.839 IP, valuable art, it finds a way. It can find 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:51.900 a new life, generate new income, decades after 00:22:51.900 --> 00:22:54.279 it was created, even the first version. So the 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:57.039 last decade or so for Valentine, it really shows 00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:59.339 this incredible evolution, doesn't it? This focus 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:03.839 on more intellectual pursuits, reflection. She's 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:05.980 not just resting on the rock star laurels. She's 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:08.559 actively studying. Yeah, that return to academia 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:10.559 we mentioned earlier. It wasn't just a brief 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:13.519 thing. She's seriously working towards finishing 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:16.259 an interdisciplinary degree. English and Fine 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:19.099 Arts. Okay. And you can really see how that academic 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:21.400 discipline, that focus on language and structure, 00:23:21.579 --> 00:23:24.839 probably directly fed into the quality of her 00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:27.460 memoir. Right, All I Ever Wanted, which got fantastic 00:23:27.460 --> 00:23:30.180 reviews when it came out. Universal praise, pretty 00:23:30.180 --> 00:23:32.099 much. It was published by the University of Texas 00:23:32.099 --> 00:23:35.099 Press. In March 2020, she'd signed the deal back 00:23:35.099 --> 00:23:38.720 in 2016. It hit number one on Amazon's rock biography 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:41.559 chart. Wow. And the praise wasn't just for, you 00:23:41.559 --> 00:23:44.119 know, the gossipy band stuff. People really responded 00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:46.619 to the quality of the writing itself. The honesty 00:23:46.619 --> 00:23:49.140 about her whole journey, the punk scene, addiction 00:23:49.140 --> 00:23:51.480 struggles, finding her own voice outside the 00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:54.059 go -go's machine. It really cemented her identity 00:23:54.059 --> 00:23:56.319 as a serious writer. And she's used those writing 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:58.380 chops elsewhere, too, hasn't she? Not just the 00:23:58.380 --> 00:24:00.420 memoir. Yeah, absolutely. She started writing 00:24:00.420 --> 00:24:03.480 music reviews for the Talk House. Which is cool, 00:24:03.539 --> 00:24:06.319 right? Stepping into that critic role, offering 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:08.279 her unique perspective as someone who's been 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:11.339 deep inside the music industry. Yeah, seeing 00:24:11.339 --> 00:24:13.900 it from both sides. Exactly. And beyond the writing, 00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:16.119 she seems to have really embraced public speaking, 00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:19.779 advocacy work. Yeah. Using her platform. Definitely. 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:22.259 She's done keynote speaking for some pretty significant 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:24.740 organizations. The American Heart Association's 00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:27.500 Go Red for Women event, for example, and also 00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:31.349 the MEOW conference. M -E -O -W. What's that? 00:24:31.509 --> 00:24:33.789 It stands for Musicians for Equity, Opportunity 00:24:33.789 --> 00:24:36.400 and Women. really focused on supporting women 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:39.119 in the music industry. Ah, okay. And it was at 00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:42.519 that MEOW conference where that incredible, perfect, 00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:44.660 full -circle moment happened, wasn't it? The 00:24:44.660 --> 00:24:46.839 Suzy Quatro connection. This is just the emotional 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:49.440 payoff, isn't it? In 2013, at that conference, 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:52.640 Kathy Valentine, the teenage girl whose world 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:56.220 was rocked, seeing Suzy Quatro on TV back in 00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:59.519 73, she got to present a Valor Award to Suzy 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:02.519 Quatro. Wow. That gives me chills. Right. It's 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:04.819 just this perfect connection. The spark from 00:25:04.819 --> 00:25:08.519 1973 directly leading to this moment of recognition 00:25:08.519 --> 00:25:12.339 and respect 40 years later. The student honoring 00:25:12.339 --> 00:25:15.299 the master. It powerfully underlines that whole 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:18.380 theme of female representation in rock. Absolutely. 00:25:18.500 --> 00:25:20.980 And she didn't just honor past heroes. She worked 00:25:20.980 --> 00:25:23.000 to help the next generation, too, as a musical 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:25.660 director. Yeah. Also in 2013, she put together 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:28.599 this all -female, all -star band for the Experience 00:25:28.599 --> 00:25:31.819 Music Project's now Mopop Women Who Rock exhibit. 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:34.240 Okay. She acted as musical director, brought 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:37.059 in influential musicians, singers, really used 00:25:37.059 --> 00:25:39.220 her position to create a platform and showcase 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:41.700 female talent. Again, pushing back against that 00:25:41.700 --> 00:25:43.960 historically. male -dominated industry vibe. 00:25:44.099 --> 00:25:47.339 And on a more personal entrepreneurial level, 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:50.140 her return to Austin involved more than just 00:25:50.140 --> 00:25:51.839 music, right? There was a business venture too. 00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:54.410 That's correct. For a few years, she and her 00:25:54.410 --> 00:25:56.549 then -husband, Stephen Weisberg, were partners 00:25:56.549 --> 00:25:58.650 in a place called the Townsend. I think I remember 00:25:58.650 --> 00:26:00.650 hearing about that, a bar and venue downtown. 00:26:01.150 --> 00:26:03.009 Yeah, pretty stylish place. It was a bar and 00:26:03.009 --> 00:26:05.730 performance venue, operated from 2016 to 2020. 00:26:06.049 --> 00:26:08.470 So she was really investing back into the Austin 00:26:08.470 --> 00:26:11.029 cultural scene, providing a space for live music, 00:26:11.089 --> 00:26:13.940 being part of that ecosystem. So all these different 00:26:13.940 --> 00:26:16.140 threads, the music, the writing, the advocacy, 00:26:16.339 --> 00:26:18.559 the business, it all kind of comes together, 00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:21.440 leading to that ultimate recognition for her 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:24.500 core work with the Go -Go's. Exactly. After the 00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:26.420 long journey, the ups and downs, the lawsuits, 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:29.259 the reunions, the validation finally arrived. 00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:33.359 October 30, 2021. Kathy Valentine and the rest 00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:35.380 of the Go -Go's were inducted into the Rock and 00:26:35.380 --> 00:26:37.799 Roll Hall of Fame. Finally, a recognition of 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:40.200 just how pioneering they were, how much they 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:42.740 changed things for women in rock. Absolutely. 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:44.559 It was long overdue for many people. And how 00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:46.220 did they celebrate? They did a special show, 00:26:46.339 --> 00:26:48.839 right? They did. The absolute perfect celebration. 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:51.880 A special show at the Whiskey -A -Go -Go in December 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:54.480 2021. Back at the whiskey, where she had that 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:57.920 insane four -day prep debut gig all those decades 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:00.710 ago. Exactly. Yeah. Closing that massive loop, 00:27:00.849 --> 00:27:03.230 unfortunately, some subsequent dates got canceled 00:27:03.230 --> 00:27:05.289 because of a COVID case in the touring party. 00:27:05.369 --> 00:27:07.730 But that moment, celebrating the Hall of Fame 00:27:07.730 --> 00:27:10.730 induction back at the Whiskey, that really sealed 00:27:10.730 --> 00:27:15.490 it. Her place in rock history, undeniable. Hashtag 00:27:15.490 --> 00:27:18.490 OUTRO. So if we try to wrap up this deep dive 00:27:18.490 --> 00:27:20.490 on Kathy Valentine, the big theme that just keeps 00:27:20.490 --> 00:27:23.359 jumping out is... Well, it's versatility, isn't 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:26.180 it? And this constant process of self -definition. 00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:29.039 Absolutely. She starts as a guitarist, becomes 00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:31.980 the bassist and anchor for this massive pop band, 00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:34.599 like impossibly fast. Right. And brings this 00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:36.619 huge songwriting contribution with her, stuff 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:38.779 written before she even joined. Yeah. Generating 00:27:38.779 --> 00:27:40.779 those massive hits, then navigating that whole 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:43.319 post -fame identity thing by going back to her 00:27:43.319 --> 00:27:45.420 blues rock roots. And crucially committing to 00:27:45.420 --> 00:27:47.539 the writing, the academic side, really building 00:27:47.539 --> 00:27:50.019 a multifaceted identity. Yeah. And if you connect 00:27:50.019 --> 00:27:52.700 that to the bigger picture. Her story really 00:27:52.700 --> 00:27:57.039 shows a value of just creative persistence, especially 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:59.220 the work done outside the big spotlight. And 00:27:59.220 --> 00:28:02.480 her willingness to fight for her own value, right? 00:28:02.539 --> 00:28:04.920 Even through that really tough lawsuit, it showed 00:28:04.920 --> 00:28:07.859 this dedication to like creative and financial 00:28:07.859 --> 00:28:10.279 self -sovereignty. Definitely. And that fight 00:28:10.279 --> 00:28:12.920 for identity combined with the discipline she 00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:15.799 clearly developed, that led directly to the success 00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:18.230 of that incredible memoir. Yeah. And just the 00:28:18.230 --> 00:28:20.490 fact that Vacation, a song she wrote for the 00:28:20.490 --> 00:28:22.769 Techstones, a band she left before the Go -Go's 00:28:22.769 --> 00:28:25.910 even hit big, that that song is not only the 00:28:25.910 --> 00:28:28.250 title track of a huge album, but is still finding 00:28:28.250 --> 00:28:31.349 life now as a theme song for a TV show. 40 years 00:28:31.349 --> 00:28:33.670 later. It's just such a powerful lesson, isn't 00:28:33.670 --> 00:28:36.529 it, about the enduring value of creativity, about 00:28:36.529 --> 00:28:38.890 intellectual property. It makes you think the 00:28:38.890 --> 00:28:41.130 art we create, maybe when we feel it matters 00:28:41.130 --> 00:28:43.250 least, maybe that's the stuff that lasts the 00:28:43.250 --> 00:28:46.569 longest. So the big thought maybe to leave you. 00:28:46.990 --> 00:28:49.910 listener with is this. How often do we overlook 00:28:49.910 --> 00:28:52.430 that earliest creative work, that thing you're 00:28:52.430 --> 00:28:54.829 doing now, maybe for some small project you think 00:28:54.829 --> 00:28:57.130 won't go anywhere? It might actually contain 00:28:57.130 --> 00:29:00.529 the most essential, the most durable, creative 00:29:00.529 --> 00:29:03.789 DNA of your entire life's work. It's a real argument 00:29:03.789 --> 00:29:06.089 for just valuing every single thing you create, 00:29:06.130 --> 00:29:08.130 no matter how small the stage feels at the time. 00:29:08.630 --> 00:29:10.650 You just never know when the world might finally 00:29:10.650 --> 00:29:13.250 catch up and decide that first raw vision is 00:29:13.250 --> 00:29:15.710 ready for its close -up or, you know, its theme 00:29:15.710 --> 00:29:16.210 song moment.