Just heard an interview that Annette Zilinskas gave. She said all she wanted to do was play music so bad. She was 18 and called Susanna's ad. When she called, Suzie told her they needed a bass player. Annette said I can do that. So after she got off the phone, she went out and took her money and bought a bass guitar. She didn't only have one, but had never played. LOL. She taught herself how to play, before she met up with Suzanne, Vicki, and Debbi at the garage. You have to love that. So special to have her back for these songs and in the band now, since Michael has retired from music.
Love seeing Annette Zilinskas back with the Bangles, such a talented,versatile and overlooked musician, Both Annette and Michael bring a unique sound to the Bangles 🎸🎸🎸🎸🥁
I love how Susanna tells these stories about how they got together. Especially about her flyers ending up in the trash. These ladies are absolutely lovely, inside and out. Miss Michael, though. But great to see the original line up.
Yeah, Michael was a special talent. Instead of going through the Spinal Tap style of of drummers with bass players after Michael left, the band should've just called up Annette at that point.
I just love the respect to Michael not doing many of the songs they made famous and kind of retiring most of them. Saying we're going to do our old stuff with Annette and go back to that Paisley Underground/Garage band sound is pure respect. And Annette's style fits that. Not many great bands get the option to do that. Another reason the Bangles should be in the Hall of Fame. Longevity is a key for membership and they've done just that.
Annette Z. An LA legend. She helped start three legendary bands in LA with three totally different sounds and genres. The founding bass player for the Bangles, lead singer/guitarist for Blood on the Saddle #CowPunk, and she got with Brad Laner and wrote the first songs for Medicine #Shoegaze. That included the hit #Aruca. An amazing talent.
I think the Bangles have gone full circle and are returning to their Paisley Underground roots - actually all the bands from that era have been very active lately; reuniting, recording and making appearances - The Long Ryders, the Rain Parade, Syndicate of Sound. With the 3x4 album (which is excellent), the Bangles (with Annette) have returned to the origins. If we can't have Micki back, this is probably the best move Vicki, Debbi and Sue could have made.
It's really respect to Micki and I wished they had done this and just called Annette back in 2007 when Michael retired. Instead of singing most of our songs we did together with Micki, we're going to grab Annette and go back to the BANGS! and the kind of music our roots started. Just a loveable and joyful garage band sound. And I LOVE IT!
So glad Annette is back, this was the beginning of her playing with them again. They definitely needed her, there was such a void since Micki Steele left, which was 13 years ago, it was like "Spinal Tap " for bass players, they briefly had this girl named Amy, then she got dumped for some reason, then they hired a Black guy named Derek, & he toured with them from time to time (including here ), but now, Annette is back, & it's like old times again, everybody is looking & sounding as good as ever.
Listening to the paisley podcast, episode 25 has Annette on there. Debbi is episode 80 and Vicki Episode 120. I love that song on the 3 x 4 album, Talking in your sleep. Susanna sings it and the entire song is so beautiful. Annette plays a warped harmonica, the she said Vicki named "The Demonica". Really cool. Anyway, I was so impressed with Annette. She's just someone who can pick up anything and learn it. She was part of the Cow Punk movement as it started during the same time as the paisley movement. She's a songwriter, multi instrumentalist, author, actress, worked on the inside with production for Virgin Records, and the coolest thing is she does animation production. She worked for the Simpsons production company and also did Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Kind of cool that Annette was the original bass player (and harmonica) for the Bangles original recording and it's looking like their last, with the 3 X 4 Paisley Album. That's coming full circle. A little trivia. This has happened with a very famous band, where the original bass player left early on and came back after 30 years. While the lead singer/guitar player has passed away, the Bangles have sung back up with him on a song and performed with him at music cares. Can you guess the band?
They never had huge success until Michael came along and really completed them as a band. Don't think they'll ever see that success again without her. Michael had an immense amount of fans.
Gary Simons you never know, but one thing is for sure, is they were a foursome & they need to be a foursome again. That's what people remember. It's obvious Michael is never coming back, it's been 13 years, she can be proud of the achievements she's made for women in rock, being in 2 legendary rock groups.
Sam Bradley Never say never. After The Runaways Micki said she would never be in another girl band and then entered The Bangles. Someday The Bangles will have to retire and she could come back to make a proper farewell with the classic lineup. The lineup that the public recognizes.
This is the dumbest comment I've seen in awhile. There's a fallacy of thinking that if two things happen around the same time that one is the cause of the other. Do you really think the Bangles were commercially successful because Michael joined the band? They were already on their way. She was an excellent bass player and her voice was perfect for their harmonies but she wasn't responsible for the Bangles becoming big in the 80's. They hit it big because they knew how to write good songs and most of them were sung by someone who looked better than most supermodels. Michael was very talented and an asset to the band (and great looking, too) but they would have made it with another good bass player. Here's a news flash: Vicki, Susanna and Debbi didn't fire Michael. She left because she wanted to retire. So you can stop wishing ill on the band now.
There not going to be making a bunch of new music. The best thing is to have Annette join them. Their chemistry is obviously amazing with her. No drama or BS that took place after Michael left with the bass players they added. Michael isn't coming back.
Gary Simons they were a foursome & a foursome they should be. It would interesting if she(Annette), rejoined them, sort of a "what if" scenario played out. Nothing against the Great Michael Steele, but Annette was versatile,& she played many instruments.
