“Rainbows” bright: An interview with Kate Pierson

By Gregg Shapiro

It’s likely a testament to the commitment of the members of th B-52s that each of its remaining

long-term members; Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, and Cindy Wilson, has only released two albums apiece under their own names over the course of the band’s 45-year recording career. Pierson’s latest

album, “Radio & Rainbows” (Long Meadow Music/Crush Music/SongVest Records), arrives 9½ years

after 2015’s “Guitars and Microphones” (anyone else see a pattern here?). Dedicated to Pierson’s wife, Monica Nation, the album takes Pierson in a variety of musical directions, including dance (“Take Me Back to the Party,” cowritten with Jimmy Harry, and the soaring “Wings”), the suitably spooky “Every Day Is Halloween” (co-written with and featuring Sia), the island breeze of “Pillow Queen” (don’t miss the music video!), the funky “Dream On” and “Living In a Monet” (featuring queer musician Gail Ann Dorsey), as well as the colorful title cut. Pierson, who played some solo shows over the summer, is joining her B-52s bandmates for what sounds like an amazing tour as they hit the road with Devo. The delightful Kate made time for an interview in advance of the tour.

Gregg Shapiro: Kate, your 2015 solo debut album was titled “Guitars and Microphones” and your 2024 follow-up solo album was titled “Radios & Rainbows.” What can you tell us about your fondness for the coordinating conjunction?

Kate Pierson: “Guitars and Microphones” is the name of one of the songs on my first album. I didn't

plan on that being the name of the album, but it had a good ring to it. The song itself is pretty

autobiographical in a lot of ways, about my childhood and having a protest band with my friends in high

school. That song meant a lot to me. Then I thought, “I have a song called “Radios & Rainbows might as well…” That song means a lot to me, too, because it has a lot of political references in it and it's prescient, if I may use that word, with rainbows and rainbow flags. I think it's good.

GS: You co-wrote the song “Every Day Is Halloween” on “Radios & Rainbows” with Sia (Furler) with whom you also co-wrote six songs on “Guitars & Microphones.” What do you like best about collaborating with Sia?

KP: That was also (written) with Sam Dixon. I love to collaborate. The way the B-52s have always written has been, with some exceptions, by jamming together. Even the instrumental part, usually, started out as kind of jamming. We'd all jam together, and that way, a very unusual, collective unconscious and consciousness comes forth, that melds the craziness of all our minds and melds. All this stuff that is swirling in our brains comes out in a very unconscious way; an unconscious way from the subconscious. That kind of template has always worked for me. But when I started working with Sia, she had already co-written a lot of songs with these different sorts of star songwriters: Jimmy Harry, who wrote with Madonna, and Chris Braide, who works with Lana Del Rey and a lot of other artists, and Sia, of course, I was kind of terrified. We would go to the writing session, and didn't know who this person was, but it worked every time. Then Sia’s career started really blowing up in the middle of this, and so I started going by myself to these writing sessions. I worked with this artist named Bleu McAuley. We did all this in L.A., and the collaborations with every person I went to meet and play

with and jam with worked. I was amazed at how it all clicked, and it was fun. I just continued that

process, and one of the songs on (the) “Radios & Rainbows” (album), “Every Day is Halloween,” that I

wrote back then, it was the first song, and I don't remember why I didn't put it on “Guitars &

Microphones,” but it wound up on this album.

GS: The new music video for “Pillow Queen,” from the album “Radios & Rainbows,” features

drag queens Billy LaMour and Raja Gemini, and the song “Mister Sister,” about a drag queen called Debbie Delicious, appeared on “Guitars and Microphones.” Please say a few words about the role that drag queens play in your life.

KP: When the B-52s formed, people said Cindy and I were drag queens! I think drag queens have always been so important to the gay community, as have trans people, and the whole rainbow of different LGBTQ+. We've always had trans people and drag queens in our lives, and as friends.

They were always friends. Going to the Pyramid Club or different clubs in New York, there’d always be a drag queen. It was just a natural part of the whole community. Who would ever dream that they would be pilloried, and treated today as outcasts? It's just horrible! But back then, it was such a joyful part of the community. Drag queens have always been important and friends. Of course, RuPaul was in our “Love Shack” video. We went to see RuPaul back when we lived in Athens. We went to Atlanta. RuPaul

had a band called Wee Wee Pole and we went to see them perform. RuPaul was so amazing and positive and wonderful. I always saw drag queens as fairy godmothers. The performances, the joy, and the fun of drag queens was always present. Drag queens have always been a symbol, kind of the face of Pride parades and performances. Especially now, since they've been sort of banned, I wanted to

feature them. John Stapleton, who's done most of my videos, has sort of taken the reins on doing the

videos. He did “Evil Love” and he did others. We work together on that. I've known Billy LaMour. I

would have liked to feature more drag queens, but getting availability and trying to cut to the

chase [laughs]… two drag queens equal many!

GS: The “Pillow Queen” video is set at a drive-in theater. Do you have any drive-in movies or memories you’d like to share with the readers?

KP: Drive-in movies go along with my love of Airstream trailers. It's a kind of mid-century pipe dream to

have. Going to the drive-in in your Airstream. They always say a lot of the B-52s’ references are sci-fi, Bmovies, and surf, and all this kind of stuff mixed together. I think drive-in movies have a special place there in the list of influential things that are kind of a nostalgic dream. There is a great drive-in theater on the Cape, and every year they are always showing “Jaws.”

GS: Is that the one in Wellfleet?

KP: Yes, it’s in Wellfleet. There's nothing like a drive-in. Being outside, and of course, there's

always the make-out factor.

GS: Speaking of drive-ins and movies, you were in the Indigo Girls-inspired film “Glitter &

Doom.” How did that come about, and what was that experience like for you?

KP: They asked me to be part of it. It was a very small part. I've known the Indigo Girls forever. They’re

compatriots and they’re Georgia girls. I saw them last year at the Town Hall in Provincetown. I said yes

when they asked me to be in the movie. They came to my personal studio and workspace here in

Woodstock (New York). I record my own vocals there a lot of time and rehearse. Oh, my God, they tricked out the place! I believe it was during COVID-edge time. They put plastic everywhere. It looked like a kill room; there was so much plastic. They set it all up there, so it was easy. I went down the road and did my part.

GS: You mentioned the title track, and the song “Dream On,” both of which sound, to my ears like you are making a political statement. Am I on the right track, and if so,

how important was it to you to include a song such as this one on the album?

KP: I think it's very important to speak out now. As the B-52s, we never wanted to hit people over the

head with political messages, but we definitely had them in there. Especially on things like “Channel Z”

and other songs that referenced politics. It's never a conscious decision, especially on the “Radios & Rainbows” album. In fact, I was rerecording some demos I had at Dreamland, where we recorded

“Comic Thing.” I asked Tracy Wormworth, who plays with the B-52s, and Sterling Campbell, who

plays drums with the B-52s, and Ken Mauiri, who plays keyboards and second guitar with the B-52s, when we were through recording the finished songs, to jam. We were there in the studio, and they started playing a riff, and I spontaneously came up with lyrics for “Dream On,” suggested by the music. The idea may be in my consciousness somewhere, but I had no intention of writing a political song like that. Then I had to rearrange the parts a little bit, and I had a lot of fun with that song. It sort of harkens to Patti Smith's “People Have the Power.”

GS: Yes, I also thought that. Additionally, I love the danceoriented and funkier songs such as “Wings,” “Take Me Back To The Party,” “Evil Love,” “Living in a Monet,” and “Every Day Is Halloween.” Are dance and funk part of your musical vocabulary?

KP: Absolutely! When I'm working out in my gym, the first thing I do to warm up is say, “Alexa, play ‘Hot Pants’ by James Brown.” She's answering now, I hear her in the other room. She's gonna play

“Hot Pants.” Of course, the B-52s started as a dance band. We always love to dance. I still love to dance every chance I get. We dance around the house a lot. I love any kind of funk and soul, and I also love African and Brazilian music. My taste is very eclectic. I love old-style country music. I love Willie Nelson, and I love Bebel Gilberto, and I love French music and some rap. But my favorite

music is funk and soul.

GS: Just a little over three years ago, the B-52s announced its farewell tour. However, beginning in the fall of 2025, you and the band will be embarking on a concert tour with Devo. Not that I want the B-52s to ever stop performing, but how did this change come about?

KP: Well, I always said it was the Cher-well Tour. I never said farewell, actually.