Gracie: So, I guess the first question to ask is, did you really make a vow never to marry?
Debbi: Well, we always joked that we were married to each other, so there was no room for husbands, and there was a lot of teasing on the tour bus about who would be first to bring in the "Yoko Ono" that would split us up...  But of course it was all in good fun. 

G: Did you ever talk together seriously about wanting to get married?
D: We all had relationships at times, and we knew that some day one of us would truly fall in love and get married, but it wasn't anything any of us were planning for.  When you're touring all over the world and spending half your life in a recording studio, you're not really thinking about wedding bells. 

G: As you say, you were jetting all over and always recording or performing - how did you even manage to have relationships?
D: (laughs) It wasn't easy! Bangle dating options were limited, so half the time we ended up with people in the crew or band members in the other acts because those were the people we got to know and spent all our time with, and of course they understood our crazy lives.

G: You dated guys from bands you toured with?  Now you know I'm just gonna spend hours speculating as to who dated who! Although I suppose I can scratch George Michael off the list...
D: Yes, you can!

G: But obviously you dated at least one crewperson, because your husband Steve was the Bangles' production manager, right?
D: Don't tell him, but he wasn't the only one... I actually dated our road manager for awhile, and it was very silly because we tried to be discreet about it, sneaking around and having all these clandestine meetings. It was kind of fun, but of course everybody knew exactly what was going on.  

G: Did you and Steve sneak around, too?
D: No, no. By then everyone had figured out it was dumb to even try to fool each other, so we were all very upfront about our relationships.

G: Were you upfront about your enagement as well?
D: Oh, absolutely! I was just thrilled, like anyone would be. I couldn't wait to get back to the hotel to tell everyone, especially Vicki, of course.

G: So, Steve proposed on the road during a Bangles tour?
D: Yeah, we were in New York, I think, and he took me to a really lovely restaurant and did the whole proposal thing - got down on one knee in front of the room and brought out the ring... It was awesome. Very fairy-tale!

G: Speaking of that ring - it looks pretty fairy-tale as well!
D: I agree! As a matter of fact, I noticed that it's the exact same ring they used in the proposal scene from "While You Were Sleeping," and my wedding dress was in a movie, too. I always thought it was kind of cool that my wedding looked just like a movie wedding, and we weren't even trying!

G: I love how you're pointing so proudly at your ring in the "wedding rumpus" photo. Did you do the typical girlie thing and flaunt it around a lot?
D: Actually, just the opposite - I was so terrified something would happen to it that most of the time I just wore it on a chain around my neck to keep it safe. It was so big I couldn't drum in it, and I really wanted to trade it for something smaller.  I kept having these nightmares that I'd hit the snare and the diamond would fly off into the crowd and be lost forever. 

G: You got the movie fairytale ring and dress - did you get the movie fairytale wedding?
D: Oh yes, it was the most fairytale part!  We got married in this beautiful 13th century church right by the sea in Pevensey, England. It had been raining so badly the week we got there that we bought umbrellas just in case, but on our wedding day it was gorgeous and sunny with these little bunnies hopping around the lawn - seriously!  We flew everyone out, Calacci was there, and our awesome wardrobe mistress Denise, Nick Morley was there... and lots of family, of course. It was great. We had this fantastic swing band at the reception, oh, and the funniest thing of all - we'd gotten this gorgeous cake frosted in marzipan, and the bakers made the frosting shell extra thick so it would survive the trip back to the States, but it was so dense we couldn't cut the bloody thing at all! We hacked and hacked at it and finally just gave up.  The staff took it back to the kitchen and I guess they got a chainsaw or something to serve it. Every time we watch that part of the wedding video I can't stop laughing.

G: So, did your marriage put the group in jeopardy like the tabloid says?
D: (laughing) Not to overstate the obvious, but the group was already in jeopardy by then! Steve certainly didn't have anything to do with it, in fact he was really a support for me when things started to get weird. Management even tried to get rid of him at one point.  They were firing everyone who was close to the Bangle Camp to try and make it easier to manipulate us, and I was like, um... hello?... That's my HUSBAND!  It was a pretty crazy time, I felt really lucky to have him there for me.

G: Awwwww... that's so sweet!
D: I'm not sure he sees it that way (laughs), but yeah, it was sweet. 

G: Got any advice for fans who might be considering getting engaged this Valentine's Day?
D: Do it! Once you find your soulmate, why wait?

G: Even if you're on tour?
D: Even if you're on tour.

Hey, everyone! I hope you're having a lovely spring! We're plugging along here with the new Bangles album and I thought you might like to see a few snaps from the studio. These are from a session at Matthew Sweet's house - which explains the cool 60's decor and cats everywhere. My favorite is Hoku, and apparently I'm her favorite too, since she spends all her free time sleeping in my bass drum. (Don't worry, she only SLEEPS in there!) Matthew pointed out that she's a Bengal, so maybe it's just a miscommunication and she thinks she's a Bangle.  But as cute as she is, I don't think we can bring her on tour. So far I'm singing lead on three songs, and I played acoustic on one track, hopefully I will on another, too.  Of course I'm playing drums, lots of different kinds, including a laptop - which is NOT a computer, it's a little round drum you set in your lap and play with brushes or your fingers. It makes this cool military kind of sound that I really like. We've tracked 9 tracks, with more to come, and we're moving ahead with guitar and bass.  A couple of them are very close to being completed, and we have a lot of vocal ideas and cool guitar stuff in the works!  It's really been a joy to put this album together without anyone breathing down our necks, just taking our time to do it exactly the way we want to - it feels great, and I think it shows in the music. We'll be sharing some snippets in an upcoming Bangles podcast, can't wait to get your feedback! love,