In this interview, Gail speaks about her influences, recording their first album, and being invited to play Saturday Night Live.

Punk Globe: what bands were you in prior to joining Catholic Girls?

Gail: There were no bands prior to Catholic Girls. All of us girls had not played in any band yet and none of us had any lessons except Marilyn. This was our first and in the end our best band formed when we were very young but it lasted right through now and beyond.

Punk Globe: When did The Catholic Girls form?

Gail: The band formed when we were young and in 1979 when we were in highschool. Roxy and I weren't friends but she wanted to put up a notice at school that she wanted to form an all girl band. I had done a bit of auditioning for guy bands as lead singer but didn't like getting hit on all the time and having no control. I answered Roxy's ad and we clicked musically instantly. Roxy was a lead player and backup singer and I was a lead singer and a rhythm player so that was perfect. We liked and hated the same bands. Roxy knew Marilyn was a drummer and I knew Joanne who decided to become a bass player now that a band was forming. At first, we tried covers but not the ones everyone else was doing and we threw in some originals. That lasted only six months as we hated playing covers and the originals were getting a great response. We stopped playing and rehearsed only originals for one set. We got it together pretty quickly and went out with the name The Double cross School Girls but we didn't wear the uniforms yet. We tried wearing what other girls were wearing onstage at the time-Spandex but it didn't work for us. So we decided to be what we were-Catholic Girls. We couldn't use our real uniforms so we had them made and changed the name of the band to The Catholic Girls. We took off from there and we're soon playing clubs in NYC and NJ on a regular basis.

Punk Globe: Any favorite bands?

Gail: The Beatles and slot of the first British Invasion were my favorites fom childhood. When the Catholic Girls we all loved bands from the second British Invasion like Elvis Costello, Talk Talk, Split Enz, Sex Pistols and Pete Shelley. We also loved Tom Petty and Cheap Trick from the US. Nowadays I have a hard time finding a band with a song that really gets my attention. In some ways the art of songwriting has been lost in the 21st century.

Punk Globe: How was the band promoted?

Gail: In the early days we did all of the promotion. I would have a friend make up flyers for our gig and print them off at my after school job. We started a fan club and had a newsletter, that we hand wrote and sent to our fans. We also made our own Christmas cards. Finally we got up enough money to make a 45' and we got into clubs and handed them directly to the DJ's sold them at gigs and used them to get record label attention. We also bugged radio stations and one in particular, WFMU, really got behind us, and not only played us but let us co-host DJ with them, and take calls from bans live on the air. We managed to get ourselves onto the cult cable show The Uncle Floyd Show twice and that reached slot of people. We were a total DIY band.

 

 

 

Punk Globe: who is the songwriter of the band?

Gail: Iam the songwriter of the band both for the lyrics and the music. I was a writer of poetry and short stories before I was a musician and I continue to write, not only songs, but novels-one of which was published in the 90s The Making of a Monster. All the songs on all of our CDs and records are mine.

Punk Globe: Will you be playing any live dates?

Gail: As far as playing any live dates, I can only say Maybe. COVID stopped the band from performing at all for a long time. And during that time slot of original clubs closed due to financial concerns. But I would never say never. We'll have to see what the future brings. Maybe one day we could be a guest band on Saturday Night Live. We were booked to play on the show in 1982 but then cancelled because they thought that our school uniforms were too controversial. Can you believe that? From SNL? It's time they corrected their mistake.

Punk Globe: what was it like working on the first album?

Gail: In 1982, there was a lot of interest in the band from many record labels. We were playing alot in NYC, NJ and surrounding areas. But MCA came through first with an actual offer so we took it. We flew to LA to make the first album and recorded it in a studio on Melrose. At first we had some problems with the producer they assigned us as he wanted to change our sound. And the engineers at the studio were not the most helpful as they were a big use of drugs by them, at this time-something none of the band members did. We felt also our time was being wasted there. We finally got our way to keep the songs the way they were and I spent all of my time in the studio not only recording but being assistant engineer keeping track sheets etc. But there was so much wasted time that the lead vocals, the last thing to be recorded, had to all be done in one day was not easy. But I did it. Then when the record was mastered MCA sped it it up to make it sound more girly. So we and many of our fans, felt it did not have the really rocking feeling of the band. But we had no complaint about the cover, which was shot on the Universal lot in a school bus they had on hand. They spared no expense with the photographer and the boys on the cover were actors who had been in ET-the movie as bicycle riders. That iconic cover gave us alot of attention.

Punk Globe: what bands did you open for?

Gail: we were lucky to open for alot of great bands. Here's just a few: The Clash, The Ramones, Tommy Tutone, Tom petty, screaming Jay Hawkins, Martha reeves, Judas Priest, The Busboys, and The Kinks. One of my favorites was The Kinks, as it was on New Years Eve and the club was mobbed. After we played Ray Davies came back to tell us how much he loved the show. We were all so shy and stunned, we could only say thank you. In retrospect I would have loved to talk to him alot more as he was and is a legend.

Punk Globe: any future plans and projects for the band?

Gail: our most recent release in 2020 Rock and Roll School for Girls which is a 2 CD set of our songs from 1979 to 2017. It's still available in places like Amazon and other stores. We're currently working on a '45 vinyl single of two songs Hear My Prayer/Can't wait. That will be released in 2022. We've had so many requests for new music plus putting it on an actual vinyl record that we were inspired to do it. Both songs really rock. One is more lighthearted about attraction and flirtation and the other is a serious look at the state of affairs of our current world. We did a fundraiser to be able to obtain the money to make it and there will be a limited amount of copies based on who contributed. I think fans and friends will be delighted and suprised by the release.

Punk Globe: How about a Gail Peterson solo album?

Gail: There's always the possibility that I could do it with the assistance of me or more of the band members. I have a good 25 new more new songs that could be recorded and I'm sure I 'll have even more in 2022. I'm also about to shop to agents a book I just completed entitled American Saint and I'm working on a sequel to my first novel about a female vampire who ends up being in a band-The Making of a Monster. No definite title but I'm working on it!