# Jane Wiedlin of the Go - Go's

An episode of [Tony Mantor's : Almost Live..... Nashville](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1751194045), 7 Jan 2026, 27 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/c41d385f-64b2-4514-9415-b4d50130ce01/6cdae9e7-b777-4a54-846f-b4d5016bad81/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=d1742151-672b-4e4d-997b-b4d50130ce0c

Exploring Jane Wiedlin's Journey: From Punk Rock to Pop Stardom In this episode of Almost Live Nashville, host Tony Manor interviews Jane Wiedlin, a pioneering member of the Go-Go's, one of the first all-female bands to achieve mainstream success. Jane shares her experiences from the early days of the LA punk scene to the challenges of breaking into the music industry as an all-female band. She discusses the impact of MTV on their career, the evolution of her songwriting, and the ongoing challenges faced by women in music. The conversation also touches on Jane's charitable work, her views on the modern music industry, and her personal advice for aspiring musicians. The episode provides a compelling look behind the scenes of Jane's journey and offers inspiring insights into the music industry. Meet Jane Wiedlin: A Trailblazer in Music Jane's Early Days in the LA Punk Scene The Go-Go's Journey and Misunderstandings Songwriting Evolution and MTV Era Challenges and Successes as an All-Female Band Impact on Future Generations and Industry Changes Advice for Aspiring Musicians Touring Memories and Fame Current Projects and Charity Work Social Media and Political Advocacy Conclusion and Final Thoughts INTRO/OUTRO: T. Wild Mantor Music BMI See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:14] Speaker 1: My career in the entertainment industry has enabled me to
[0:17] Speaker 1: work with a diverse range of talent through my years
[0:20] Speaker 1: of experience i've recognized two essential aspects industry professionals whether
[0:26] Speaker 1: famous stars or behind the scenes staff have fascinating stories
[0:31] Speaker 1: to tell. Secondly, audiences are eager to listen to these stories,
[0:36] Speaker 1: which offer a glimpse into their lives and the evolution
[0:39] Speaker 1: of their life stories. This podcast aims to share these narratives,
[0:43] Speaker 1: providing information on how they evolve into their chosen career.
[0:47] Speaker 1: We will delve into their journey to stardom, discuss their
[0:50] Speaker 1: struggles and successes, and hear from people who helped them
[0:54] Speaker 1: achieve their goals. Get ready for intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and
[0:58] Speaker 1: insights into the fascinating world of entertainment. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
[1:05] Speaker 1: Welcome to Almost Live Nashville. Joining us today is Jane Weidland.
[1:10] Speaker 1: She's a true trailblazer in music and culture. She's a
[1:13] Speaker 1: founding member of the Go-Go's, the first all-female band to
[1:17] Speaker 1: write their own songs, play their own instruments, and top
[1:20] Speaker 1: the charts. Beyond the music, she's an acclaimed songwriter, actor, activist,
[1:26] Speaker 1: and voice for compassion and creativity. From timeless hits to
[1:30] Speaker 1: a career rooted in creativity and purpose, she has such
[1:33] Speaker 1: a great story to tell. So before we dive into
[1:36] Speaker 1: our episode, we'll be back with an uninterrupted show right
[1:40] Speaker 1: after a word from our sponsors. Thanks for coming on.
[1:43] Speaker 2: I'm happy to be here.
[1:44] Speaker 1: Yes, nice to have you here. Looking back, what was
[1:47] Speaker 1: it like being a young woman in the L.A. punk scene?
[1:51] Speaker 1: And did you ever imagine the Go-Go's would have the
[1:53] Speaker 1: impact that they have had all these years now?
[1:56] Speaker 2: Well, it was a very small scene.
[2:00] Speaker 3: And I discovered it at the end of 1976.
[2:06] Speaker 2: Let's see.
[2:06] Speaker 3: It was one of those things where there were so
[2:08] Speaker 3: few people that when there were shows, there'd be the
[2:10] Speaker 3: band playing on stage and then the band jumping into
[2:14] Speaker 3: the crowd when they were just playing.
[2:16] Speaker 2: And it was very much a community and a family.
[2:18] Speaker 3: And it encouraged women and people of color and LGBTQ
[2:23] Speaker 3: people and tons of people that went to art school.
[2:26] Speaker 3: It was a very different scene than what most people
[2:29] Speaker 3: imagined it was.
[2:31] Speaker 2: And that was at the beginning anyways, but later it changed.
[2:34] Speaker 1: Yeah, the music scene changed for sure. Now, when you
[2:37] Speaker 1: look back at the early L.A. punk scene, what part
[2:40] Speaker 1: of the Go-Go story do you feel is still misunderstood or,
[2:44] Speaker 1: in some cases, just overlooked?
[2:47] Speaker 3: I guess the main way we're misunderstood is people don't
[2:49] Speaker 3: believe we were part of the punk scene. You know,
[2:52] Speaker 3: there's ample evidence, and I sometimes get in arguments with
[2:56] Speaker 3: trolls online who are, you.
[2:58] Speaker 2: Know, like in their 20s or whatever, and they're like, Go-Go,
[3:02] Speaker 2: not punk. It's like, Hate to tell you this, Guy,
[3:05] Speaker 2: things happen before you were born.
[3:07] Speaker 1: Yeah, I have had the same thing happen to me.
[3:10] Speaker 1: Talk with younger people about how the business has changed
[3:13] Speaker 1: and they don't understand. Yeah. So how do you address it?
[3:16] Speaker 1: How do you go about it? How do you handle
[3:18] Speaker 1: all the things that they're talking about, yet you're not condescending?
[3:23] Speaker 3: I don't care if I come across as condescending. I
[3:26] Speaker 3: was part of the punk scene. It doesn't matter what
[3:28] Speaker 3: somebody younger than me thinks.
[3:29] Speaker 1: Yeah.
[3:30] Speaker 3: You can't really know true history if you weren't there.
[3:33] Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. I agree with you 100% there. Now, your songs.
[3:38] Speaker 1: As a songwriter, how has your approach to songwriting changed
[3:42] Speaker 1: as you've grown both personally and artistically?
[3:47] Speaker 3: I mean, I'd never been in a band. I wasn't
[3:50] Speaker 3: a musician. I wasn't a songwriter.
[3:53] Speaker 2: I had written a lot of poetry that wasn't very good. Yeah.
[3:58] Speaker 2: I just started writing lyrics is how it started.
[4:00] Speaker 3: And back then, a lot of it was pre-political and
[4:05] Speaker 3: a lot of it was about being outcasts of society.
[4:08] Speaker 3: Obviously not really caring, but definitely not being part of
[4:11] Speaker 3: the mainstream. And then as time went on, I started
[4:16] Speaker 3: writing some music. But the big breakthrough came when Charlotte
[4:20] Speaker 3: and I started writing together because she was a really,
[4:23] Speaker 3: really great, music composer and I was pretty good at lyrics.
[4:27] Speaker 3: So there was a ton of Char and Jane combination
[4:32] Speaker 3: writings in.
[4:33] Speaker 2: The career of the Go-Go's and I still consider.
[4:36] Speaker 3: Her one of the top three writers I've ever written
[4:40] Speaker 3: with for sure.
[4:41] Speaker 1: Yeah, that's nice. So as you evolved, how did you
[4:45] Speaker 1: see yourself changing? Because now all of a sudden you're
[4:49] Speaker 1: mainstream music. And like you said, They didn't really believe
[4:52] Speaker 1: you as part of the punk rock scene. So how
[4:55] Speaker 1: did you see yourself evolve in the way that you
[4:57] Speaker 1: approach things or the way you may not have approached things?
[5:01] Speaker 3: One of the biggest breakthroughs for us was when MTV started.
[5:05] Speaker 3: Because even though in Europe, especially England, there was a
[5:09] Speaker 3: pretty long history of music videos being made, we didn't
[5:12] Speaker 3: have that in America at all. And so when it started,
[5:15] Speaker 3: it was very exciting. MTV was looking for content. That
[5:20] Speaker 3: really helped us. And our first videos, I remember our
[5:24] Speaker 3: first video was our observe and we had a budget
[5:27] Speaker 3: of $ 6, 000.
[5:29] Speaker 2: Which really was no budget at all.
[5:31] Speaker 3: And so we just kind of ran around town being
[5:35] Speaker 3: silly and not really taking it very seriously and stuff,
[5:38] Speaker 3: which I guess is part of the punk rock ethos.
[5:41] Speaker 3: We didn't really take ourselves that serious, even though we
[5:44] Speaker 3: were pretty determined to make a mark in the business.
[5:47] Speaker 3: But I guess as time went on, we became considered
[5:51] Speaker 3: more and more commercial, mostly because after Pump Rock, something
[5:54] Speaker 3: called New Wave became a label.
[5:57] Speaker 2: And that's what people were calling us.
[6:00] Speaker 3: In retrospect, when I look back, I see that there
[6:03] Speaker 3: were other bands before us that really influenced us, especially,
[6:07] Speaker 3: I would say, the Buzzcocks and the Ramones. But listen
[6:10] Speaker 3: to either of those bands. They're really pop songs just
[6:14] Speaker 3: done really fast. And it's what our whole thing was.
[6:18] Speaker 1: Yeah. So how did you feel? Because... Back then, most
[6:21] Speaker 1: of the bands out there were all male bands, and
[6:24] Speaker 1: here you are an all-female band. You're trying to make
[6:27] Speaker 1: your mark by putting out the music that you record
[6:30] Speaker 1: and perform. How did you see that change things for
[6:33] Speaker 1: you in your career? How did the people within the
[6:37] Speaker 1: business react to you? And more importantly, how did the
[6:40] Speaker 1: people in the audience and your fans react to what
[6:43] Speaker 1: you were doing?
[6:45] Speaker 2: Well, at the beginning, we were very welcomed, open arms.
[6:49] Speaker 3: There wasn't a lot of misogynism in the punk rock
[6:52] Speaker 3: scene at that time. When we started trying to get
[6:55] Speaker 3: a record deal, that was another story.
[6:58] Speaker 2: All the record.
[6:58] Speaker 3: Companies just said no flat out because there'd never been
[7:02] Speaker 3: a really successful girl band. And they even said it
[7:04] Speaker 3: to our faces, like, there never has been, there never
[7:07] Speaker 3: will be. It was like misogynism was so rampant that
[7:10] Speaker 3: no one even knew about what it was. So there
[7:13] Speaker 3: was a ton in that. And, you know, it pissed
[7:16] Speaker 3: us off. It continued to push forward. And in the end,
[7:19] Speaker 3: as you know, we ended up signing with IRS Records,
[7:22] Speaker 3: which was a tiny label at the time. And we
[7:25] Speaker 3: were their first hit act. We kind of started the
[7:28] Speaker 3: ball rolling for them, having a lot of successful acts.
[7:31] Speaker 1: Sure. Now, The one great thing that happens in this
[7:35] Speaker 1: music business is when someone has success, then they duplicate
[7:39] Speaker 1: it and try and create that same success. So you
[7:42] Speaker 1: were a founder. You know, you were one of these
[7:45] Speaker 1: bands that broke all the barriers down. How did you
[7:48] Speaker 1: find yourself when you started looking at others trying to
[7:51] Speaker 1: duplicate what you were doing?
[7:52] Speaker 3: I'm going to say there wasn't really a ton of
[7:54] Speaker 3: that going on.
[7:55] Speaker 2: I'm not sure why.
[7:57] Speaker 3: I think maybe because even after we got successful, I
[8:00] Speaker 3: think most people in the record company still thought it
[8:03] Speaker 3: was a fluke. To my knowledge, there weren't a lot
[8:07] Speaker 3: of men in suits trying to put together all-female bands.
[8:10] Speaker 2: I could be wrong.
[8:11] Speaker 3: Luckily, you know, we had the Bangles, who were friends
[8:14] Speaker 3: of ours and were also from L.A., and, you know,
[8:17] Speaker 3: they managed to do really well, which was great, and
[8:20] Speaker 3: they had a sound that was pretty different than ours, but,
[8:23] Speaker 3: you know, we kind of did get lumped together, and
[8:25] Speaker 3: I know they got compared over and over to the
[8:27] Speaker 3: Go-Go's because the Go-Go's came first, which I'm sure was
[8:30] Speaker 3: extremely irritating when, you know, what we always say is, well,
[8:33] Speaker 3: what we had in common was vagina.
[8:35] Speaker 2: Okay.
[8:37] Speaker 1: So did you get anyone that would reach out to
[8:41] Speaker 1: you and say that because of what you was doing,
[8:43] Speaker 1: that you was someone that they looked up to and
[8:46] Speaker 1: wanted to try and emulate?
[8:48] Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, loads and loads of letters and fans
[8:51] Speaker 3: coming up to us at shows. More than young women
[8:56] Speaker 3: and girls starting new bands, what we represented to them
[9:00] Speaker 3: was opportunity. Not just opportunity in the music business, but
[9:04] Speaker 3: opportunity to excel in any business, any job that people
[9:09] Speaker 3: were interested in. You know, it gave women and girls hope.
[9:13] Speaker 1: Yeah, and the fact that you gave women and girls hope,
[9:16] Speaker 1: that must have felt really good to you.
[9:19] Speaker 2: Of course it felt good. I mean, how else would
[9:20] Speaker 2: it feel?
[9:21] Speaker 1: Absolutely. I mean, I'm thinking that you must feel really
[9:25] Speaker 1: good because you're out there trying to make change.
[9:29] Speaker 3: I think it was more like we were hoping that
[9:31] Speaker 3: it would make change.
[9:33] Speaker 2: I'm going to be honest.
[9:34] Speaker 3: I don't think, as far as the music business, it
[9:37] Speaker 3: didn't really make a lot of change.
[9:39] Speaker 2: I mean, when you consider there are more women on the.
[9:41] Speaker 3: Planet than men, and that there are almost no successful
[9:46] Speaker 3: female rock bands, especially ones that did what we did,
[9:49] Speaker 3: which was play our own instruments, write our own songs,
[9:52] Speaker 3: and go.
[9:52] Speaker 2: To number one.
[9:53] Speaker 3: I mean, in fact, no one has done that since
[9:55] Speaker 3: we did.
[9:56] Speaker 2: So that's, you know, it's a pretty high bar to leapfrog. over.
[10:00] Speaker 2: I'm still hoping for that day to come.
[10:02] Speaker 3: I completely appreciate the female singer songwriters that are out there,
[10:07] Speaker 3: but I would still like to see more. women and
[10:10] Speaker 3: girls playing instruments and more women and girls in bands
[10:15] Speaker 3: in addition to just being a lead singer.
[10:17] Speaker 2: Not just being a lead singer. Being a lead singer
[10:19] Speaker 2: is very important.
[10:20] Speaker 3: But let's face it, that's still the majority of what
[10:23] Speaker 3: you see as far as women.
[10:25] Speaker 1: Yeah, I get that. I think you have made more
[10:28] Speaker 1: of an impact than you realize. I've been here in
[10:30] Speaker 1: Nashville for a long time now, I have seen females
[10:34] Speaker 1: come out as bass players, guitar players, drummers, doing things
[10:38] Speaker 1: that you wouldn't have seen back in the 70s or 80s.
[10:42] Speaker 1: I mean, back then, you didn't see that all that
[10:45] Speaker 1: often at all.
[10:46] Speaker 2: Yeah, that's true. In the L.A. punk scene, there were
[10:49] Speaker 2: a lot of women musicians.
[10:51] Speaker 1: Yeah, and you didn't see that a lot across the
[10:54] Speaker 1: country at all.
[10:55] Speaker 3: Yeah.
[10:55] Speaker 1: And because of what you've done, I think that changed
[10:58] Speaker 1: the landscape completely.
[10:59] Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it was weird.
[11:01] Speaker 3: I mean, people were kind of shocked when they first
[11:03] Speaker 3: saw us. I think, though, our music kind of won
[11:07] Speaker 3: people over because it was catchy and fun and the
[11:09] Speaker 3: videos were fun and colorful and lively. And we were
[11:13] Speaker 3: coming out of a musical age that was a lot
[11:17] Speaker 3: of overblown, expensive productions.
[11:19] Speaker 2: Too many tracks late and.
[11:22] Speaker 1: Yeah, I remember being in the studio working all kinds
[11:24] Speaker 1: of overdubs with so many tracks.
[11:26] Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. I feel like the go-go's were kind of
[11:29] Speaker 2: fresh and raw.
[11:30] Speaker 1: Yeah, it was almost like the Beatles. Simple four or
[11:32] Speaker 1: five piece band, simple melodies, simple riffs. Everything flowed well
[11:37] Speaker 1: together and that made it sound great. Yeah. Yeah, that
[11:41] Speaker 1: simple four or five piece sound with great hooks, great harmonies.
[11:45] Speaker 1: and just simple riffs is some of the best music
[11:48] Speaker 1: still out there.
[11:49] Speaker 3: Yeah, I feel like, you know, the more simple and
[11:52] Speaker 3: fresh it is, maybe the closer to the heart it gets.
[11:56] Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right. Is there a song you wrote that
[11:59] Speaker 1: is in your catalog? When you wrote it, it had
[12:02] Speaker 1: a meaning to you? Now that the years have passed
[12:05] Speaker 1: and you listen to it again, you realize that you
[12:08] Speaker 1: looked at it and wrote it with a different frame
[12:11] Speaker 1: of mind. Now others can hear it and have a
[12:15] Speaker 1: completely different view than you did when you wrote it.
[12:19] Speaker 1: So is there a song that is very different to
[12:21] Speaker 1: you now to what it was when you first wrote
[12:25] Speaker 1: it and performed it?
[12:26] Speaker 2: Absolutely.
[12:27] Speaker 3: The song Our Lips Are Sealed that I wrote with
[12:30] Speaker 3: Terry Hall of the Specials was basically about our short
[12:35] Speaker 3: and secret romance that we had and, you know, paying.
[12:39] Speaker 2: No mind to the gossip.
[12:40] Speaker 3: But what ended up becoming of it was it became
[12:43] Speaker 3: kind of a strong girl anthem. You know, like, just
[12:47] Speaker 3: be yourself, do your thing, and don't worry about what
[12:49] Speaker 3: people say. And I think that's a much more powerful
[12:52] Speaker 3: message than, you know, just another love song.
[12:55] Speaker 1: Yeah, it absolutely is. You've been out there doing this
[13:00] Speaker 1: for a long time. Have you had anyone that comes
[13:03] Speaker 1: up to you and ask you for advice? What do
[13:06] Speaker 1: they do? How do they do what they want to
[13:08] Speaker 1: do in music? The music business has completely changed from
[13:12] Speaker 1: what it was. So what kind of advice do you
[13:14] Speaker 1: give them?
[13:15] Speaker 3: Well, it's become something that I don't even recognize anymore.
[13:19] Speaker 1: Yes, I completely agree with you there.
[13:21] Speaker 3: First piece of advice I always give people is to
[13:24] Speaker 3: not sell your publishing.
[13:26] Speaker 1: Yes.
[13:27] Speaker 2: Because you'll be very tempted to do it when you're poor.
[13:29] Speaker 3: But if you have any success at all, you're going
[13:31] Speaker 3: to really regret it because that is a big stream
[13:35] Speaker 3: of income that you're not going to get if you
[13:38] Speaker 3: sell it off. If you're a good songwriter, you're never
[13:40] Speaker 3: going to get what the songs are actually worth. So
[13:43] Speaker 3: that would be my biggest piece of advice. And I
[13:46] Speaker 3: guess the second one would be to be your own
[13:49] Speaker 3: advocate because you're going to have big periods of your
[13:51] Speaker 3: life where you have no advocates whatsoever and nobody believes
[13:54] Speaker 3: in you.
[13:55] Speaker 1: Can you give us an example that people out there
[13:58] Speaker 1: might be able to relate to?
[14:00] Speaker 3: My parents sat me down after a couple of years
[14:02] Speaker 3: at the Go-Go's and said, you know, we're really proud
[14:05] Speaker 3: of you attempting to achieve your dreams, but now it's
[14:08] Speaker 3: time to knuckle down and get a real job. And
[14:10] Speaker 3: then a couple of months later, we made our record
[14:13] Speaker 3: and then the record went to number one and all
[14:14] Speaker 3: this stuff happened.
[14:16] Speaker 2: And that's because we didn't give up and we were
[14:18] Speaker 2: our own advocates.
[14:20] Speaker 1: Yeah, that's absolutely correct. You have to be your own advocate. Now,
[14:24] Speaker 1: did you have to move at all? I mean, with me,
[14:27] Speaker 1: I was originally from Maine. In a little town in Maine,
[14:31] Speaker 1: doing music for a living, it was a pipe dream.
[14:34] Speaker 1: The only way that I was going to stand a
[14:36] Speaker 1: chance of doing anything in music was to move 1,300
[14:39] Speaker 1: miles away to Nashville. So did you find yourself in
[14:42] Speaker 1: that situation at all of having to move?
[14:44] Speaker 2: My family moved to the L.A.
[14:46] Speaker 3: Area when I was six. So that was, you know,
[14:48] Speaker 3: pretty ideal for getting in the music business. And in
[14:52] Speaker 3: the 70s and 80s, there were a lot of clubs.
[14:54] Speaker 3: You had a lot of opportunities to play live. I
[14:57] Speaker 3: feel when I look around now at California, there are
[15:00] Speaker 3: not as many clubs. And I think that the whole
[15:04] Speaker 3: advent of streaming is different. kind of destroying the music business.
[15:09] Speaker 3: What I understand, and I feel like is very typical
[15:12] Speaker 3: of the current political climate is, aren't these people thinking
[15:16] Speaker 3: before they make these huge decisions? Because by depriving artists
[15:20] Speaker 3: of income, you're going to prevent artists from existing. And it's,
[15:24] Speaker 3: you know, it's true of a lot of things in
[15:27] Speaker 3: our culture right now. I find it very upsetting that
[15:30] Speaker 3: you see these people that are writing and performing these
[15:33] Speaker 3: amazing songs and they're, you know, making pennies. I don't
[15:36] Speaker 3: know how young artists are doing it, to be honest.
[15:39] Speaker 1: It's one of the toughest situations I think I've ever
[15:42] Speaker 1: seen in the music business as far as writing and
[15:45] Speaker 1: getting out there to perform the music that you have
[15:48] Speaker 1: written and recorded. I've got a friend of mine here
[15:51] Speaker 1: in Nashville that has written one of the biggest songs
[15:53] Speaker 1: of all time. If he hadn't made his money off
[15:56] Speaker 1: of it early with the streaming today, wouldn't be all
[15:59] Speaker 1: that much. Yeah. So you're right. It's very tough. When
[16:02] Speaker 1: you get fractions of pennies for streaming and songs that
[16:05] Speaker 1: you have written, unless you get a big artist that
[16:08] Speaker 1: sells millions and millions and millions, you don't make any money. Yeah.
[16:12] Speaker 1: This whole situation has made it very, very tough for songwriters.
[16:16] Speaker 3: Yeah, and I actually think that that's the only possible
[16:19] Speaker 3: answer to this, is that record companies are just throwing
[16:22] Speaker 3: shit at the wall.
[16:23] Speaker 2: Hoping that one thing will stick.
[16:25] Speaker 3: Because all they need is, you know, one Mariah Carey,
[16:28] Speaker 3: one whatever, you know, somebody really huge. And then it
[16:31] Speaker 3: doesn't matter that all these other bands are doomed to
[16:35] Speaker 3: failure because there isn't the support and there isn't, you know,
[16:38] Speaker 3: full income coming in for these people.
[16:41] Speaker 1: That's so true. If you remember back in the 90s,
[16:44] Speaker 1: the major labels had one or two major stars, and
[16:47] Speaker 1: that was on a roster of 25. Those one or
[16:51] Speaker 1: two singers were the ones that supported the other 23
[16:54] Speaker 1: that was on the roster at that time. So because
[16:57] Speaker 1: of streaming and because of all the things that are
[16:59] Speaker 1: going on, it has made it so difficult for any
[17:02] Speaker 1: singer to work up the ladder of success within a label. Yeah.
[17:06] Speaker 3: As you know, a lot of artists these days are
[17:10] Speaker 3: just going with tiny labels or their own label. Because
[17:13] Speaker 3: in a sense, it's not any worse than being on
[17:16] Speaker 3: a major because the chances of them paying attention to
[17:18] Speaker 3: you are almost nil. And at least if you're controlling
[17:22] Speaker 3: your own career, you're controlling your own.
[17:24] Speaker 2: Career, which is always a positive.
[17:26] Speaker 3: And I know a lot of those musicians tour all
[17:29] Speaker 3: the time and that's how they make their income.
[17:31] Speaker 1: All the years you've been on the road doing the
[17:33] Speaker 1: things you've done, If someone was to ask you, name
[17:37] Speaker 1: something that stands out, and it can be something good
[17:40] Speaker 1: or it can be something not so good, the very
[17:43] Speaker 1: first thing that comes to your mind, what would it be?
[17:46] Speaker 3: I'm actually drawing a blank there. I mean, touring was
[17:51] Speaker 3: both fun and exhausting.
[17:55] Speaker 2: We had a lot.
[17:56] Speaker 3: Of good times, especially like driving around America in a
[18:00] Speaker 3: touring bus and just spending all that time making each
[18:03] Speaker 3: other laugh. That's kind of the happiest sort of memories I.
[18:07] Speaker 2: Have is that.
[18:08] Speaker 3: And also being backstage in the dressing room.
[18:11] Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know.
[18:12] Speaker 3: What people were picturing we would be like, but every
[18:15] Speaker 3: once in a while, like a guy would sneak backstage
[18:18] Speaker 3: and within about two minutes, he would run away screaming
[18:21] Speaker 3: because we were what we called ourselves a five-headed monster.
[18:25] Speaker 3: We were just so out of control and we would
[18:27] Speaker 3: do anything to make each other laugh. And those are, again,
[18:31] Speaker 3: the fondest memories I have of touring.
[18:34] Speaker 1: Yeah, I get that completely. I remember being on the road,
[18:37] Speaker 1: lots of good times, lots of times that you scratch
[18:39] Speaker 1: your head and wonder how you got through it, but
[18:41] Speaker 1: it was still very good overall. It's a very unique experience,
[18:46] Speaker 1: and not a lot of people get a chance to
[18:48] Speaker 1: have that opportunity. If they ever have the opportunity for
[18:52] Speaker 1: 15,000 to 20,000 seat venues.
[18:54] Speaker 1: Traveling from city to city, meeting people, being rushed around.
[18:58] Speaker 1: It's a total whirlwind of emotions.
[19:00] Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is a whirlwind.
[19:01] Speaker 3: And the thing about fame is I don't think anyone's
[19:04] Speaker 3: ever prepared for it. You know, for us, it was
[19:08] Speaker 3: just kind of killed everything, to be honest. It just
[19:11] Speaker 3: got hard. And I mean, how do you deal with fame?
[19:15] Speaker 3: I was from the Midwest and taught from... you know,
[19:18] Speaker 3: toddler age, I'm not any better than anyone else. And then,
[19:22] Speaker 3: you know, I shouldn't be prideful. I should be boastful.
[19:25] Speaker 2: And I mean, I had my moments.
[19:28] Speaker 3: Most of the time, I really just felt like a
[19:31] Speaker 3: regular person who had been thrust into this really weird,
[19:35] Speaker 3: crazy world.
[19:35] Speaker 1: Yeah. So what are you doing now, music-wise? Are you
[19:39] Speaker 1: still collaborating and still out there doing your thing?
[19:43] Speaker 3: This year, the Go-Go's did a bunch of festivals, which
[19:46] Speaker 3: we'd really never done before, and that was exciting. I
[19:50] Speaker 3: also do a lot of charity work, a lot of
[19:53] Speaker 3: concerts for free just to raise money for different causes.
[19:57] Speaker 2: And I have had.
[19:58] Speaker 3: A little side project, which is kind of on hiatus
[20:01] Speaker 3: because my partner Pietro is actually Italian and he moved
[20:04] Speaker 3: back to Italy.
[20:05] Speaker 2: You know, at this point, people would be surprised how little.
[20:10] Speaker 3: People are interested in musicians from a big band if
[20:14] Speaker 3: it's not the actual big band that they're looking at.
[20:16] Speaker 2: It's definitely, it's tough.
[20:18] Speaker 1: Yeah, I hear that from a lot of people. It
[20:20] Speaker 1: is tougher than it's been in the past.
[20:22] Speaker 3: I haven't had a manager or a record company or
[20:25] Speaker 3: any of that stuff in like decades. I'm pretty suspicious
[20:28] Speaker 3: of business people in the record business. So part of
[20:31] Speaker 3: it is my attitude and part of it is that
[20:34] Speaker 3: maybe things are less misogynistic, but it's practically against the
[20:38] Speaker 3: law for women to get older.
[20:40] Speaker 2: I mean, seriously.
[20:41] Speaker 1: Yeah, I get it. I've been in this business since
[20:43] Speaker 1: I was like 20 years old. I've been coming back
[20:45] Speaker 1: and forth to Nashville, and then I finally moved here.
[20:48] Speaker 1: I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of it.
[20:50] Speaker 1: I completely understand why you don't trust many people because, unfortunately,
[20:55] Speaker 1: if they find someone they can take advantage of, they
[20:58] Speaker 1: certainly will. Not everyone is like that. There's a lot
[21:01] Speaker 1: of good people in this business, but you do have
[21:03] Speaker 1: to watch out for sure. Yeah. I love it that
[21:06] Speaker 1: you do a lot of work to help charities. You've
[21:08] Speaker 1: got one coming up here in just a couple of days.
[21:11] Speaker 1: It's Joy's Song. How did you get involved with that
[21:14] Speaker 1: particular charity?
[21:15] Speaker 3: I believe, well, it's one of two ways or maybe
[21:18] Speaker 3: both ways. One, that I'm actually born in Wisconsin. And
[21:23] Speaker 3: in Wisconsin, that's pretty well known. So I'm pretty sure
[21:26] Speaker 3: that Mike, who runs the organization, probably knew that. And secondly,
[21:30] Speaker 3: there's so many musicians that have been doing this every year,
[21:33] Speaker 3: and I happen to know a lot of them. So
[21:36] Speaker 3: it's kind of natural that eventually I do it too.
[21:39] Speaker 3: And I'm actually kind of wildly excited because I get
[21:42] Speaker 3: to see a lot of people that I haven't seen
[21:44] Speaker 3: in years. And from what I hear, everyone just loves
[21:47] Speaker 3: playing this event, that it's just Really fun for both
[21:51] Speaker 3: the people on stage and the people in the audience.
[21:54] Speaker 3: So I'm looking forward to it.
[21:55] Speaker 1: Part of it is a Friday night acoustic where everyone
[21:58] Speaker 1: gets to tell the story behind the song. And this
[22:01] Speaker 1: is a great way of interacting with the audience as well.
[22:04] Speaker 1: So I imagine it would be fun not only to
[22:06] Speaker 1: see your friends, but hear the stories behind their songs,
[22:09] Speaker 1: which you might not know as well. The great thing
[22:11] Speaker 1: is everyone is collaborating together to make a difference for
[22:15] Speaker 1: those that need it.
[22:16] Speaker 2: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
[22:18] Speaker 3: I gravitate towards people that are kinder and want to
[22:23] Speaker 3: help people and stuff. But I guess it's silly to
[22:25] Speaker 3: say I'm not a big fan of people that.
[22:27] Speaker 2: Are selfish and self-centered.
[22:28] Speaker 1: Yeah, me too.
[22:29] Speaker 2: I don't know.
[22:30] Speaker 3: People who are selfish and self-centered actually get a lot
[22:32] Speaker 3: more attention because they're very driven because of their egos.
[22:36] Speaker 3: So this thing I get the feeling is just musicians
[22:39] Speaker 3: that want to make music. They want to hang out
[22:41] Speaker 3: with their friends and they want to make a difference
[22:43] Speaker 3: in the world.
[22:44] Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And that is the beauty of music.
[22:49] Speaker 1: You have a platform that you can get people in
[22:52] Speaker 1: the seats. You can get them interested in what you're doing,
[22:55] Speaker 1: tell your stories, and all the same time, the both
[22:59] Speaker 1: of you, from the audience to the people on stage,
[23:03] Speaker 1: are helping people that need the help so desperately.
[23:07] Speaker 2: Yes, agreed.
[23:08] Speaker 1: So this show is in January. What is your schedule
[23:12] Speaker 1: coming up after that?
[23:14] Speaker 3: I have some gigs lined up that I'll be doing
[23:18] Speaker 3: with a group of friends of mine. We did a
[23:21] Speaker 3: charity show a few months ago and it was acoustic
[23:24] Speaker 3: and it was three friends and me and I had
[23:27] Speaker 3: a really good time playing acoustic. I really love the
[23:30] Speaker 3: power of an SG guitar and.
[23:32] Speaker 2: A Marshall amp.
[23:33] Speaker 1: Oh yeah, quite the sound.
[23:34] Speaker 3: You know, there's something to be said for playing acoustically
[23:37] Speaker 3: when you can hear yourself singing and people can hear
[23:40] Speaker 3: you singing as well.
[23:41] Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. That's a great vibe to have. Now, how
[23:44] Speaker 1: do people follow you and find out what you're doing?
[23:47] Speaker 2: Mostly through social media.
[23:49] Speaker 1: Okay.
[23:50] Speaker 2: You know, DMs are a great way to connect with people.
[23:54] Speaker 1: So without sounding foolish here, can you give us the
[23:57] Speaker 1: name of the site so that people can follow you?
[24:00] Speaker 2: Oh, it's just Jane Weedlin. As long as you spell
[24:02] Speaker 2: Weedlin right, you're in like Flynn.
[24:06] Speaker 1: So you're on all the social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok,
[24:11] Speaker 1: all the ones everyone would know?
[24:12] Speaker 3: Early on, I started using Instagram more. I find, like,
[24:17] Speaker 3: however it's set up to make more sense to my brain.
[24:20] Speaker 3: But I kind of have it set up so it
[24:22] Speaker 3: goes straight to Facebook, and then I believe it goes
[24:26] Speaker 3: to Threads, too. Oh, yeah. I know I'm not on
[24:29] Speaker 3: TikTok and I'm not on any of the newer ones
[24:31] Speaker 3: yet because I got to tell you, I have terrible
[24:34] Speaker 3: brain fog and I've never been good at technology either.
[24:37] Speaker 3: So those two things kind of slow me down quite
[24:41] Speaker 3: a bit because I'm not very good at doing internet
[24:44] Speaker 3: type things.
[24:46] Speaker 1: I totally get it. I'm limited on some of those
[24:48] Speaker 1: things myself, unfortunately. In order to do this, you've got
[24:52] Speaker 1: to self-promote. And I'm much better about promoting you than
[24:56] Speaker 1: I am about promoting me.
[24:59] Speaker 3: That's why if you look at all my socials, I
[25:02] Speaker 3: hardly ever talk about myself.
[25:04] Speaker 2: I almost never post selfies.
[25:06] Speaker 3: Almost all my stuff is political content just because now.
[25:10] Speaker 2: It seems like more celebrities are stepping up.
[25:12] Speaker 3: But there's a time not too many months ago where
[25:15] Speaker 3: celebrities were absolutely afraid to speak out.
[25:18] Speaker 2: And I was like, what do I have to lose?
[25:20] Speaker 3: So I've been super, super vocal about my politics and
[25:24] Speaker 3: about trying to rally the troops.
[25:26] Speaker 2: Which I think I've done to a certain extent.
[25:28] Speaker 3: I mean, a lot of people like when they are
[25:31] Speaker 3: on my pages that they feel like they're from the home,
[25:34] Speaker 3: someone that thinks the same way they do.
[25:36] Speaker 2: So it's kind of a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling.
[25:39] Speaker 3: I really appreciate everybody that follows me. And though I
[25:42] Speaker 3: don't have a huge following, I have a really, really
[25:45] Speaker 3: active following, like a lot more, I think, than most
[25:49] Speaker 3: people that have a big following.
[25:50] Speaker 2: So that's something to be happy about.
[25:52] Speaker 1: Yeah, the biggest thing I think is the most important
[25:55] Speaker 1: thing is that you have interaction and people are following
[26:00] Speaker 1: what you're doing. I like to look at the positive
[26:02] Speaker 1: side of things. Most people are generally good-hearted. They want
[26:07] Speaker 1: to help people when they can, and that's the right
[26:10] Speaker 1: thing to do. Well, with that said, this has been great.
[26:13] Speaker 1: Great conversation, great information. Hopefully, we can get together again
[26:18] Speaker 1: on my other podcast and talk about some interesting things there.
[26:22] Speaker 2: Absolutely, yeah. Well, maybe in the future.
[26:24] Speaker 1: Absolutely. Thanks for joining us today.
[26:26] Speaker 2: No worries.
[26:28] Speaker 1: It's been a pleasure. Thanks again. Thanks for joining us today.
[26:41] Speaker 1: We hope you enjoyed the show. This has been a
[26:46] Speaker 1: Tony Mantour production. For more information, contact media at plateau
[26:51] Speaker 1: music dot com.

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