After 38 years of chart-topping hits, Grammy nominations, magazine covers, breakups, makeups, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a lot of playful debauchery, Los Angeles-based rock band the Go-Go’s are saying goodbye to life on the road.
The core quartet, composed of vocalist Belinda Carlisle, drummer Gina Schock, guitarists Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey, along with fill-in bassist Abby Travis, who took over after Kathy Valentine left in 2013, are out on their monthlong official farewell tour.
With the encouragement of their manager, Deb Klein, the Go-Go’s selected L.A.-based rock duo Best Coast to serve as support on the jaunt, which kicked off on Aug. 2 in Florida and will finish with two shows in Southern California, Aug. 28 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa and Aug. 30 at the Greek Theatre in their hometown of Los Angeles.
“I’m already a superemotional person and I’m going to have to really put on the game face and not cry on stage those last couple of shows,” Wiedlin said via a phone interview from her new home in Hawaii last month. “Honestly, I’m totally fine with retiring as a touring band, but I love playing live, and I’m so very proud to be a Go-Go. I know it’s going to be sad, but more than sad, I know it’s going to be superfun, and I plan on just having a blast.”
So far, the Go-Go’s final set lists have contained all of the hits that showcase their blend of pop, punk and new wave music, such as “Vacation,” “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” and a few fun covers as well. Wiedlin said they talked about incorporating some special surprises and really wanted to make these last gigs feel like a celebration.
“It’s a Go-Go’s show, so you know it’s going to be one big party,” she said. “People are going to leave with big smiles plastered on their faces, including us.”
Carlisle and Wiedlin initially formed the band in 1978 when the L.A. punk scene was blossoming, and they’d perform up and down the Sunset Strip with a variety of musical acts from the Motels to the Germs, which is something Wiedlin looks back on fondly.
“That scene was very supportive and inclusive,” she said. “There were bands with girls, there were bands with gays, bands with people of color and everybody was welcome. It was a very nurturing atmosphere to be in as a new musician, because we didn’t know what we were doing. This all couldn’t have happened without that atmosphere. Most people think of the punk scene and they think of violence and people being angry, but the scene we started out in was a little bit different than what people imagined.”
She said they’re also extremely proud to have been pioneers in being the first all-female band that wrote their own lyrics and played their own instruments to top the Billboard charts.
“We’ve done that this whole time,” she said. “Since day one, and I think that’s a big deal.”
The end of touring doesn’t necessarily mean fans will never see the band perform again. Wiedlin said the only certainty, for now, is that they’ll no longer be doing full stints on the road, but that all of the members are open to future opportunities with the band.
They’ve all found success as solo artists over the years. Carlisle had such hits as “Mad About You,” “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” and “I Get Weak” and appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2009. Caffey co-wrote the music for “Lovelace: A Rock Musical,” which was based on the life of adult-film star Linda Lovelace. Schock has put out a couple of solo albums and co-written songs for artists such as Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez.
On top of releasing solo records, taking on acting and voice-over roles for television and film, Wiedlin created her own comic book, “Lady Robotika,” and is working on a musical based on pinup icon, Bettie Page. She also now dedicates a big portion of her time to helping rescue dogs and cats in her local animal shelters.
Collectively, the first project the band will work on after retiring from the road will be getting the musical titled “Head Over Heels” going in New York. The musical uses the Go-Go’s music throughout and debuted last year at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where it ran for five months and received favorable reviews from fans and critics. The band was in New York City just before the farewell tour kicked off to work on the project, which it hopes to have open in the city in early 2017.
“The whole thing is really mind-blowing,” Wiedlin said. “Charlotte, Gina and I went to Oregon to see it, and to hear and see our songs used in a completely different context was really neat and inspiring. The story has nothing to do with the Go-Go’s. It’s actually based on this 400-year-old book, so you have this weird mash-up of ’80s music with basically Shakespearean-time stories, and it’s very funny, heart-warming and it’s crazy to watch. Charlotte and I kept collecting each other’s hands during it like little school girls. We were so excited.”
Whatever creative projects the future holds for the members of the Go-Go’s, Weiland said she’s up for it.
“I don’t know, I just love making music,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t think any of us plan on stopping making music, that’s for sure.”
