10 Questions With Kathy Valentine

Kathy Valentine has had a storied career playing bass, although it came entirely unexpectedly. In 1980 she was asked to sub for budding Lost Angeles band the Go-Go’s for a New Years Eve show at Whisky A Go Go.  The only two problems were that she had only two rehearsals to work up all of the songs, and she was a guitarist who had never played bass before. Luckily, it came naturally to her — and not only did she nail the show, but the Go-Go’s asked her to stay on as a permanent member. The band signed a record deal three months later. 

Selling millions of records worldwide, being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, and being part of the most successful all-female rock band of all time, Valentine is thankful for the events that led her to her lifetime of low end and her place in the Go-Go’s. In 2020 she penned a book about her life, All I Ever Wanted: A Rock ’n’ Roll Memoir, and she’s remained busy writing, traveling the world, and performing with her band the Blue Bonnets. We spoke with Valentine while she took a pause in England to ask her our 10 Questions. 

1. What music have you been listening to lately? 

Let me check my streaming of most recent plays…it’s Chet Baker, Thelonius Monk, Howlin’ Wolf, Oasis, Last Dinner Party, and Yasiin Bey. I listen to a lot of hip-hop and jazz. 

2. What’s one element of your playing that you’ve been working on?

I don’t practice unless I have gigs coming up. Then I floor it! I do play guitar a lot, mainly to write songs, and bass when I record stuff. So keeping creative is my main practice. What I’d like to be better at is knowing the neck more for improvisational skills. But usually the only band I play bass in is the Go-Go’s, and my parts are form-fitted for the songs and often end up as hooks identified within the songs. So, I never really needed that skill to do my job well. 

3. What was the first concert you ever attended?

A festival outside Austin in 1972 with ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s first band, called Phoenix.

4. What’s the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Probably every Rolling Stones concert I’ve been to, starting with the It’s Only Rock And Roll Tour in 1976. And every Ramones concert, too.

5. If you could have lunch with any bass player today, alive or dead, who would it be?

I’d like to hang out with Flea. He seems like he’d be really fun to be friends with. 

6. If you could sub for any bass player in any band, who would it be? 

I’ve always wanted to play bass in Blondie. But I’d also be down to sub for Mike Dirnt in Green Day. 

7. What was your first bass? 

My very first bass was a Gibson EB-O, which I traded in to get my ’62 Strat, which cost $300 in 1976. When I joined the Go-Go’s, I was new to being a bassist, so I borrowed instruments for years! First a Mustang, then my friend John Ciambotti’s P-Bass. Looking back, I can’t believe he let me take it on tour for like two years.

8. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given about playing bass? 

The only advice I remember getting was from our first producer, Richard Gottehrer. He said, “Watch Gina’s foot, and every time she hits the kick, you hit a note.” It was good because it definitely made me aware of locking in with the drummer, but it took me awhile to incorporate that advice into a more fluid style. One of my best assets as a player is my feel and hearing what the song needs. To me, it’s all about judgment: where should I pump, drive, where should I put something melodic, where should I not play? Those decisions and choices are my best qualities, more than any technical prowess. But no one told me that, so I figured it out on my own.

9. What the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you during a performance? 

My vintage gold lamé pants split down the inner leg after an enthusiastic rock move. I crab-walked over to the side of the stage and had my tech wrap duct tape around my leg. Didn’t miss a note.

10. What are four items that you absolutely need to have on the road with you?

I need my herbs — not weed, like longevity and immunity things. Also, my supplements, computer, and phone. 

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