As a teenager I had many rock star girlfriends, not that they actually knew they were my girlfriends at the time. With my bedroom walls lined with posters of bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica, scattered amongst them were images of Joan Jett, Girlschool, Lita Ford… and the girls of Rock Goddess. Most were clad in leather or denim, all the while holding their respective instruments – the rock world was strong with female bands producing fantastic music, as well as all looking damn fine with it. Fast forward to 2019 and many of these women are still out there writing & performing with the same energy they did 30 or more years ago and giving the younger bands a good run for their money. One of those aforementioned bands, Rock Goddess are back, almost 32 years after their last album release, 1987’s ‘Young & Free’.
March 1st sees the release of ‘This Time’ through the bands own label Bite You To Death Records and the wonderful thing is they have gathered the original line-up of Jody (guitar & vocals) & Julie Turner (drums) as well as Tracey Lamb (bass) to write & record 9 new tracks. To coincide with the release they will support Cats In Space on their 5-date UK tour in March. Lamb will not be touring with the Goddess’s as she has other commitments but has been replaced by Jenny Lane as the bands full-time bass player. The girls still look amazing & after having a sneak listen to the album I can report they sound pretty damn fine too as they get ready to get back out on the road and rock the foundations once more. As the band were finalizing preparations for the album launch & subsequent tour, The Rockpit managed to get make an early morning call to talk with Jody to discuss everything about Rock Goddess past & present, as well as what it’s like to tour with Iron Maiden & Def Leppard.
Sean: Good evening Jody.
Jody: Good morning over there in Australia. You must be having your croissant and coffee by now.
Sean: Its 5am here and I’m just working my way through my first coffee of the day. How are you Jody?
Jody: 5am? Oh my god… I bet you’re normally in the gym at this time [laughs]. I’m great thank you.
Sean: Usually on my third rep of croissants by now [laughs]. So very excited to get to talk to you about the new Rock Goddess album ‘This Time’ which is out on 1st March…
Jody: It’s really exciting for us knowing that you’re in Australia and wanting to talk to us about the release.
Sean: I managed to listen to the album and it’s fantastic.
Jody: Aw thank you so much. When you release an album it’s almost like giving birth which sounds weird I know, but you kind of let it out there into the world and wait to see what you get back… sometimes it can be not so nice, but we have had some wonderful feedback. So, like I said it’s like it’s your baby out there and you want everyone to like it. We are really, really proud of it.
Sean: I love the double A-side release of ‘Are You Ready’ & ‘Calling to Space’ and also off the album the stand out tracks for me, after just a few listens are ‘Two Wrongs Don’t Make Right’ & ‘Drive Me Away’ but the album is great all the way through from start to finish.
Jody: Thank you. I like to think it’s a really eclectic album – lots of different people have liked so many different aspects of the album. ‘Drive me Away’, that you mentioned, is quite a popular one and it’s one of the slower tracks on there but people seem to love it – it’s quite a romantic song.
Sean: The diversity certainly all works on the album. Some really great rock tracks too. It works so well.
Jody: I can’t ask for more than that. Thank you for that feedback.
Sean: You’ve also been rehearsing for some UK tour dates supporting Cats in Space and also with Dirty Thrills on the bill, which are spread out all around the country during the month of March. How’s that all been going?
Jody: We are so looking forward to it. And not wanting to use that word again but it’s such an eclectic bill.
Sean: Cats in Space are one of these bands that keep eluding me…
Jody: They’re great, I love them. Great songs & really catchy. Well worth listening to when you get a chance.
Sean: We get to listen to so much music that sometimes it’s so hard to find the time to settle back and really get back into an album you love to hear.
Jody: If I get into an album I just have to play it and play it over and over again. I was always like that as a teenager too. If I found a single I liked I just played it again and again and again – it drove my family up the wall [laughs]
Sean: I hear you – I remember my vinyl copy of Iron Maiden’s ‘Flight of Icarus’ finally distorted from being played so much [laughs]
Jody: If I like it I really do have the capacity to listen to it forever.
Sean: So looking back, I can’t believe it’s been over 30 years since the last Rock Goddess album. It’s incredible where the time has gone.
Jody: I know… It’s shameful but I can assure you it won’t be another 30 years until the next one. We are already writing for the next album, so this is like being in the starting blocks for Rock Goddess again.
Sean: I noticed in the notes that you have produced this one. How different was that for you, doing the production?
Jody: It’s all quite a lot of work but yes I did enjoy it and I’m so involved in that side of things. I loved working with Wes (Maebe) who was the engineer. I’m very involved in how things develop, how I want it to sound and the arrangements and things. So it was the natural course that I did the production. It’s quite nerve-racking because we are going out and doing this album on our own and I’m producing it too but fingers crossed I hope people like it and appreciate it. It’s been a great experience and I definitely want to pursue that side of things in the future, maybe even with other bands.
Sean: And ‘This Time’ has been brought out through your own label ‘Bite You To Death Records’. What made you decide to start up your own label?
Jody: Well the name came from a song we used to do that we dropped but I liked the title ‘Bite You To Death’. It was a song I wrote when I was a teenager – I wonder what sort of person I was to come up with that [laughs] but never mind. So basically we wanted to get product out there – the music business is so different to how I remember it was when I was signed to A & M. We all got record deals back then and development deals where record companies invested in you and sadly that just doesn’t happen now. So we made the decision that we would release our own stuff because we couldn’t get the deal that we wanted. That’s not to say in the future we wouldn’t take a good offer if it came along. With our own label we can see what happens and quite frankly I’m really happy, even though we have all worked ourselves into the ground and it seems to have worked so fingers crossed. We are sat here now with the single out, the tour a few weeks away and the album out on March 1st and it feels so worth it.
Sean: Again, looking back, there have been line-up changes over the years and then long breaks too with time outs and reforming, so it just been a testament to you all, especially you and your sister Julie that this album is putting Rock Goddess right back out there. What drives you on?
Jody: The love of Rock Goddess. It began when we were kids – Julie was nine years old and I was twelve or thirteen. We learnt to play and experience gigging, as well as be in Rock Goddess. We were just doing this amazing thing we love – so it’s always been in our blood. Me, Julie & Tracey wanted to bring that back and that was important to us. And also with our dad because he was the one who managed us, started the band & taught us to play – he’s retired now but he’s loving it. He’s loving retirement but he loves the fact he can just come watch us play without all the hassle. We could have let it rest after all these years but there was something in us said, “No”. The three of us all agreed that we had to bring this back to life.
Sean: You mentioned Tracey (Lamb) just know and it’s great to see she came back to record the album with you. But you also now have Jenny Lane on bass for the tour.
Jody: Yes, the lovely Jenny Lane, fabulous. She has a bit of a punk career behind her. But she is also young & fresh – she really gels in mine & Julie’s world. We auditioned a few girls – and they were all fantastic – but she really clicked with me & Julie and just has this energy that is right for the band. When we finally get to come to Australia you can ask her more… [laughs]
Sean: Funny you should say that because we have Girlschool, Raven & Venom coming here in June on a triple-bill set of shows…
Jody: How classic is that line-up…
Sean: …so who would make up your triple-bill? I’m thinking Rock Goddess, Anvil & who could be the third band to complete the bill?
Jody: I’m sitting here with our manager, Richard and we are laughing & thinking about this…
Rich: Lips is a big fan of Rock Goddess.
Sean: I only spoke to him the other week funnily enough.
Jody: He’s gorgeous. We love him. Great line-up but you’d need to let me think about that one. Definitely Anvil though, we’d love to do a show with them.
Sean: They are another band with that drive to continue carrying the torch like yourselves.
Jody: Three piece energy you see – there is something different about a three piece band. You are filling gaps and just become different types of musicians, especially if you’re a guitarist because you have to fill big holes. I’m a bit biased when I say I love three piece bands [laughs] – I love bands like Rush and Motorhead…
Sean: Motorhead certainly left no gaps the few times I saw them at the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone – my ears still remember those night!
Jody: Oh my God, I remember seeing them at Hammersmith Odeon and they were that loud that my trousers moved [laughs] and I was right at the back! It was so loud.
Rich: I’ve thought of a third band for the bill of Anvil & Rock Goddess… Destruction from Germany.
Sean: Done. Let’s lock it in and get the tour posters underway [laughs] we will discuss this further Richard [laughs]
Jody: Yay! [laughs]
Rich: I always remember when I was hanging around in London in the 90s; Steevi James of Tigertailz always wore a Destruction Mad Butcher t-shirt for some unknown reason [laughs]
Sean: Brilliant. Jody, I’ve got to take you back to something I forgot to talk to you about with the new album… the fantastic cover artwork.
Jody: Isn’t she gorgeous? We really love her. I’m so proud of her. Huge thanks to Andy Pilkington – he was the one who designed her and brought her to life. She will be on all the merch. You’ll see her in the future, she’ll just change a bit – change clothes and maybe style but she’s now there with us to stay. Our gorgeous Medusa is named Eve.
Sean: She is stunning. It almost feels like a rebirth for the band – new ideas, production and artwork…
Jodie: It does feel like that. The hard work is nearly all done and now it’s the interviews. People are giving me such fantastic feedback…
Sean: …and the best thing is hearing the excitement in your voice…
Jody: I am so excited… and if my sister was sat here you’d get exactly the same feeling. It’s getting another chance to do what we love doing and also to earn the right and deserve that chance. You can’t just expect it.
Sean: Where did it all start for you?
Jody: Well, I came from a musical family with my dad being a musician and like I said earlier, he started the band, taught us to play and he had a music shop & rehearsal rooms and things like that. I played keyboards and stuff but he said to us to bring someone from school and I brought Tracey down as she was my best friend at school and that was the very beginning of Rock Goddess. So, we all played the first notes together as kids…then learned to play together and three years later we did our first gigs. And that is why there is such a bond between us all and there always be with Tracey.
Sean: It makes this album even more special, having Tracey playing on it…
Jody: And people have asked why we didn’t have Jenny playing on it and she will be on future albums, but this is Tracey’s album as much as ours and her playing on it is superb. There was no way I wasn’t going to have her on this album.
Sean: So who were your influences as you grew up, musically?
Jody: There’s so many but when I was younger KISS were huge. I was a massive KISS fan. Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath… all the early stuff like that. I listen to so many different genres. This happens every time I do an interview – I always forget so many bands that I love. One of my favourites is Lamb of God, which is very heavy but I also love Thunder. Also the older bands that have come back – I love Judas Priests new album, it’s just fantastic. Saxon’s last album is great. It’s just these NWOBHM bands that have been around for years and now they have this brand new freshness about them.
Sean: My memories of rock music growing up was Radio One’s Tommy Vance on The Friday Rock Show – hard to believe that rock fans were only fix was two hours a week between ten o’clock and midnight, once a week. His voice and the music he played was just fantastic – I’ll never forget it. We were so restricted as rock fans.
Jody: I know but what fantastic days they were. Metal bands back then had teeth – they slowly started getting a bit more popular and got played increasingly on the radio. Record companies invested more into the bands, like I said earlier. It had such a vibe to it.
Sean: I remember at school most of my class mates didn’t “get” bands like Iron Maiden…
Jody: Iron Maiden! Iron Maiden & Def Leppard… How could I forget them? They were two other favourite bands of mine…. Get them on the list [laughs]. I remember going down to my record shop every day to get the first Iron Maiden album and the record shop guy would say, “No, it’s not in yet”. It was like a different world wasn’t it [laughs]. And ‘On Through the Night’ by Def Leppard… every day I went down for that one too… same thing [laughs]. How could I forget those bands, we toured with them both. We toured twice with Def Leppard and Joe Elliott and they guys were always fantastic to us. As a band they are amazing, completely wonderful, a big professional machine but treated us with so much respect & were so lovely to us and the same with Iron Maiden. When I say big professional machine, they were still always playing football while we were sound checking – the band, crew, everyone was just so nice and treated us so well. The memories we have are just the best.
Sean: Def Leppard were here in Australia in November last year with support from The Scorpions…
Jody: Oh my god… The Scorpions… there’s another one…
Sean: [laughs] let’s add them to the list Jody…
Jody: [laughs] It’s impossible for me to list the bands I like – there are just too many. Even having memories of just going down to The Marquee to see Twisted Sister, Dee Snider is one of the best front men I have ever seen in my life.
Sean: So just a few fun ones to finish with if I may. If I book you a restaurant table and you can invite three guests from the music world, dead or alive, who would you want to join you?
Jody: Aw, that’s really tough. Definitely Elvis… I’d like to mix it up a bit so they don’t all get on. It would make it interesting [laughs]. Angus Young… oh, hang on! How could I forget AC/DC as one of my favourite bands! [laughs]
Sean: [laughs] We’ve gone back a couple of questions again…
Jody: And Keith Moon… there are some big names there! Angus is one of the most unbelievable guitar players that ever walked the planet, as far as I’m concerned. No one works a note like he can. I watched a program with him on it when I was thirteen and Bon Scott was with him – Bon Scott would be at my table if there was room too, I loved Bon Scott.
Sean: We’ll find another chair from somewhere. So, what was the last album you listened to?
Jody: I think it was either Lamb of God or Slipknot… yesterday it was Les Miserables because I love musicals too. I have such diverse taste.
Sean: Nothing wrong with a bit of diversity at all. So finally if you could be credited with being the writer of any song that had ever been written, what song would you want?
Jody: Oh, Bohemian Rhapsody… I wouldn’t mind that one but no, let me think. It’s got to be the song where you clutch your chest and have that ‘moment’. It might be The Beatles or even McCartney… there are so many. Can I email you the answer? I just need to sit back and think about it for a while.
Sean: Of course you can. It can be a difficult question. I look forward to your answer. It’s been so wonderful to talk to you, so from all of us at The Rockpit we wish you and the girls huge success with the new album & tour and we really hope to see you here in Australia in the near future…
Rich: With Anvil… [laughs]
Jody: Yes, with Anvil & Destruction [laughs]
Sean: We can only hope. It’s been a fantastic chat, so thank you.
Jody: It’s been an absolute pleasure and thank you so much for your support. Bye.
