Nikki Corvette was, and still is that one friend you had back in high school who was the perfect accomplice to sneak out the window to go see a band with. Only she took it a bit further. She ran away from home to go see the MC5 when she was still just a teenager. Subsequently, she wound up fronting a band a few years later when she formed Nikki and the Corvettes. Songs like "He's a Mover" provided a blue print for catchy and edgy pop-punk sensibilities that would later help catapult bands like The Go-Go's to superstardom.
Within minutes of speaking with her it was obvious that she's an ageless spirit. And she is still active, always performing somewhere. Just recently, she completed another successful tour of Japan. I had the pleasure of speaking with Nikki over the phone from her home in Detroit. Here's what transpired.
Punk Globe: You are originally from Detroit. Are you still there?
Nikki: Well, I'm living here again. I moved to L.A. three times. The last time in 1983, I stayed there until 2005. And then I moved back to Detroit and I've been here ever since.
Punk Globe: How is Detroit these days?
Nikki: It's really on an upswing, it was really down for awhile and then everybody realized how cheap property was and so people started moving here and it's really undergone quite a transformation.
Punk Globe: So, why did you locate there back to Los Angeles?
Nikki: Um, I actually came back to help my grandmother. She was 100.
Punk Globe: That's awesome.
Nikki: I don't want to live that long but for people who do, that's great.
Punk Globe: What made you want to start a band?
Nikki: Well, I've always loved music and it was something that I always wanted to do, but I never thought I could because I didn't think I could sing. I talked about it constantly when I was a teenager and thought I would love to be in a band. In the late 70's, a friend of mind who was running a club told me that he had booked a show for me and put a band together for me and we all picked some songs and learned them separately. The first time I ever played with a band was at the soundcheck for the show. I knew after the first song it could never be worse than that. But, we did really good and the club was packed. Then we got booked for the next four months and I just continued.
Punk Globe: What was the Detroit music scene like back then?
Nikki: The Detroit music scene was great because all through the 70's and even the 80's every band that played the U.S. came to Detroit. Even if they only played a couple of shows, they played Detroit. It was New York, L.A., Detroit. It has so much history. It was Motown, the blues and jazz, MC5, Mitch Ryder. There was just so much music and everyone was inspired and knew each other. The scene was great because everyone got along. They didn't really like girls playing music, I will say that. But I persisted. It was different from New York, it was different from Los Angeles. It was grittier. We have one of the best music histories any where.
Punk Globe: Was there one specific record that changed your life and made you want to get involved in music?
Nikki: There's too many. So many that meant so much. The first New York Dolls, David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust or maybe the one before, I'm not sure. MC5 "Kick out the Jams" and all of the Motown stuff. There's just so much. It all kind of blurs together. Music just meant so much to me and still does. I can't pin it down to one thing.
Punk Globe: I saw pictures of David Bowie performing in Detroit in 1973. They were taken by you. Any vivid memories of that?
Nikki: Not vivid memories. But I do remember the feeling of it. Because there wasn't anything like that and all of us were misfits that didn't fit in with classic rock or whatever and didn't have a place anywhere. It was great seeing other people who didn't fit in and look like everyone else. Everyone in the scene was there and it was an event that you talked about for months. It was a huge party. I almost cried because...he gave us hope.
Punk Globe: I saw him in the 80's. I was tripping on acid. It was amazing.
Nikki: I actually saw his first show in Detroit. The one I took pictures of wasn't his first show. First show, I think was 1972 at the Fisher Theater. I saw his first five or six years of shows. Ziggy Stardust, Diamond Dogs and most of the shows were at places that weren't huge arenas, so the intimacy of it made it even more special. I was always as up close to the stage as I could possibly get. Back then you had to wait outside to buy tickets when they went on sale at the box office in the morning.
Punk Globe: I remember.
Nikki: I was one of those people.
Punk Globe: You just got back from Japan. How was it?
Nikki: Yeah, I just got back two weeks ago. It was so amazing. That was my sixth tour since 2004. In all honesty, I was a bit leary because I had been there five times and thought people there might be getting tired of me and didn't know if people still wanted to see me play. But the shows were packed and I feel like a rock star there. There's just so much love and every time I go I get to go to places that I've never been. At least one or two cities. I have completed my bucket list for Japan, so I'm starting a new one.
Punk Globe: The live videos on YouTube from Japan really display how much they love you over there. They know every word.
Nikki: Right. I always invite girls onstage for "Girls Like Me" and I have as many girls onstage as I can possibly fit for that song. You can just feel the excitement and the love. I understand because I am still a fan. I still get that excited when I meet people and it's so strange to be on the other side of it, but I know how it feels so I can relate to how they feel. I treat them the way I would want to be treated if I met somebody who meant the world to me.
Punk Globe: What do you think it is about you that translates so well over there?
Nikki: Well, they do love Detroit, but I think it's because I'm happy. I have fun. I am dancing around onstage having a good time. I'm colorful and kind of a cartoonish by nature. There are so many bands there that I admired before I even went there and when I met them they said, "We based our band name on you."
Punk Globe: You've performed with different band names throughout the years. The Corvettes, Gorvette, etc. Any specific name you're using now?
Nikki: People just need to look for my name. It's Nikki Corvette and whoever I am playing with. I have an Italian band named Nikki Corvette and the Romeos. My Japanese band is Nikki Corvette and the Let's Go's. I play in a band in L.A. called Prima Donna.
Punk Globe: Going back to the beginning. Was there any major label interest when you're first record came out?
Nikki: We talked some. I don't know that there was any serious interest. I was just having fun. I was just still so amazed that I was in a band and that I got to put out a record. Had it been like now, we probably would have had a major deal. Back then, I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know anything about the music business. I don't know if there would have been any way for labels to get in touch with us. I know that there were labels that we talked to but it wasn't anything serious.
Punk Globe: Do you think your music would have hit the charts with a bigger record deal? You had hit songs in your repertoire.
Nikki: Oh, absolutely. I have heard Go-Go's songs that stopped me and I thought is that me? And it's not me but it sounds a lot like me. The early Go-Go's stuff was very similar. My album came out in 1980 and has never been out of print and it still sells cd's and still sells vinyl and I meet people all the time that still know all the songs. But stuff happens the way it happens and I am really proud of what I have done. I am happy that people know my music. People have said you should be like The Go-Go's.... but I'm not. I am happy with what I've got!
Punk Globe: Did you have any idea back in 1980 that you would still be doing this today? You still have a solid fan base and a demand for live shows.
Nikki: No, if you told me in 1978 that I would be touring the world in 2018 and still putting out records and writing new songs and still having this much fun I would have thought you were crazy. I can't believe I even got to play in a different state. I still sometimes believe it's not real. Sometimes I feel like I am being punked.
Punk Globe: Any plans for new music?
Nikki: Well, I've recorded an album with my Italian band and all the basic tracks and vocals are done and I am just waiting for them to finish, it's been a while, but Italians work on Italian time, which is very different from my timeline and it will be out some day. I just don't know when. I finished a song for a tribute record, but I can't tell you who it is because it's going to be a surprise to them and that should be out this fall. In the last year, I did a song with The DeeCRACKS. We did a Kirsty MacColl song called "They Don't Know". That came out as a single in February. There's a band I like called The Mystery Lights that I really like and I've talked about doing something with them. I write with a lot of people but I have a bad habit of not thinking things through and then the logistics of it turn out to be really hard. Seth Bogart from Hunx and his Punx, we're supposed to be doing a song together. I have a list of people I am supposed to be doing stuff with, but I have a lot going on and sometimes I forget. I always tell people if I say that I'll do something, feel free to call me, write me, do whatever takes because I will forget and it's not on purpose. It's just how I work. I've also talked about writing a book on Detroit rock-n-roll.
Punk Globe: You wrote a book about dead rock stars called Rock-n-Roll Heaven. Is that still in print?
Nikki: It's out of print. You can still find copies on Amazon. Every time I want to give it to somebody I have to find it and buy it for them. It came out in 1996. I only have my personal copy and that's it.
Punk Globe: Any advice for young people starting a band in 2018?
Nikki: Just go for it! Don't let anyone tell you can't do it!
Punk Globe: What is the best way to keep up with you?
Nikki: Facebook.Twitter. Instagram!
