This is 77: Kate Pierson Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire
"The way The B-52s started was just sort of magic. No one said, 'Let's start a band.' We just started jamming one night and it happened."
From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I invite them to take “The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.” (*The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire is exclusive to Oldster Magazine. ©Sari Botton)
Here, solo recording artist and B-52s founding member Kate Pierson responds. -Sari Botton
PS If you’re enjoying the work I do here at Oldster, please consider supporting it by becoming a paid subscriber. 🙏
“There is so much good on here I don't even know where to start! Check out Oldster, even if you're a youngster!” - Kathy Valentine—Gogo’s bassist, memoirist, and author of the newsletter The Direction of Motion.
Kate Pierson is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of the B-52s. She plays guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments. In the early years, as well as being a vocalist, Pierson was the main keyboard player and performed on a keyboard bass during live shows and on many of the band's recordings, taking on a role usually filled by a bass guitar player, which differentiated the band from their contemporaries. This, along with Pierson's distinctive wide-ranging singing voice, remains a trademark of the B-52s' unique sound. Pierson has also collaborated with many other artists including the Ramones, Iggy Pop and R.E.M.
Pierson is also a solo artist who has released two records of her own, Guitars & Microphones, and Radios & Rainbows. You can hear her music and watch her videos at her website, KatePierson.com Through late October, she and The B-52s are on tour with Devo.
P.S. She’s put her Woodstock home on the market, in case you’re looking…
This edition of The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire was conducted via interview, then edited for length and clarity. You can listen to the full audio here:
You’ll get more out of this post, with its audio and video links, if you read it on the web, rather than in your email, by clicking here.
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How old are you?
77.
Is there another age you associate with yourself in your mind? If so, what is it? And why, do you think?
Sometimes I feel like I'm in my mid-40s. That was a really good time, when the band really kind of got going, and I felt confident in my own skin. Maybe even the 50s were terrific. It's all been really uphill since then.
I started the band, and we really got going in full force when I was near 30. I was older than Fred [Schneider]—I’m just three years older. When we started, I had already been to college, and I had hitchhiked through Europe, and I did a back-to-the-land thing in Athens, Georgia for a couple of years. And so I had a whole other life before the band, which was really great. But the rest of my life was the band and touring a lot.
I feel young for my age. When I was in college, I used to be called “young Catherine”—my given name is Catherine. Now all my friends are 10 years younger. I'm 10 years older than everyone I know, just about. I feel like, oh, I'm dancing here. I'm in this club. I'm watching a band. I feel like, yeah, everyone around me is my age, but then I look around, really look around, and everyone is much, much younger. But I don't feel that gap.
Do you feel old for your age? Young for your age? Just right? Are you in step with your peers?
I feel young for my age. When I was in college, I used to be called “young Catherine”—my given name is Catherine. Now all my friends are 10 years younger—I'm 10 years older than everyone I know, just about. And I have a few contemporaries from Athens who are my age, but it just seems like, I'm in the room, and I feel young. I feel like, oh, I'm dancing here. I'm in this club. I'm watching a band. Like, yeah, everyone around me is my age, but then I look around, really look around, and everyone is much, much younger. But I don't feel that gap.
My recording engineer is much younger. I just feel this really easy kind of flow with younger people. The only time I really feel the gap is maybe when I go into a store and the people working there are on their phones and not paying any attention.
What do you like about being your age?
What's really great is the music I'm working on. I feel like there's this whole renewal of creativity and I don't have to, if I can say it, give a fuck. I don't really have to worry. Of course I want it to be quality, and I want it to be up to my standards, and I want people to hear it. But I don't feel like I have to worry about commercial prospects.
Whereas only one time really when the band was writing Bouncing off the Satellites, the record company said, “Go back and write a hit.” I'm not going to be hearing that now. So it's a comfortable place to be.
I feel confident and comfortable in my own skin. The only uncomfortable feeling I have is, why the hell am I so old? I can't jive with that. When I say the number, I just really shock myself. When I say it, people gasp, I gasp. It's like, how did I get here? And I think people say that—how did I get here so fast?
Another milestone would be to put out another solo record, and I have a Christmas record I'm working on. I guess a lot of artists have that. They want to get the last bit of creativity out. And some feel like, oh, I'm just done with all that, I just want to relax and retire. But I still feel like I have creativity, and I can do it on my own terms.
What is difficult about being your age?
Well, the feeling that there's an end. The feeling that I'm not going to probably learn to surf, or speak Spanish fluently. I’d better get all the music out that I want to get out. And there is some end, although it's hard to grasp. I know something Carl Jung said, that you'll be very unhappy if you resist your own age. I mean, I feel like I'm appropriate. I grasp my age. It's not like I have to feel old, but it's like I feel in sync with it, in a lot of ways, too. But I think the hardest thing is to see not a halfway point, but an end point.
The B-52s were featured in the SNL 50th anniversary concert. Here’s a clip from their performance:
What is surprising about being your age, or different from what you expected, based on what you were told?
I think we can all remember when we were 18 and someone you met was 30, and you thought, they're old. And I think that, in my mind anyway, I feel like younger people don't feel that way so much anymore when they meet an older person. It's not like older people are venerated particularly like they are in some other countries, but I don't feel that younger people maybe see 30-year-olds and think they are old. I think that has gone away because people don't dress like they're old.
I guess the most surprising thing is that you don't have to be that norm. You don't have to fit in to the old, you don't have to wear old. I used to love these black old lady shoes when I was young. Oh my God, I loved all that kind of stuff and vintage clothing. And now I think that's just people are dressing more currently, and that's surprising to me.
I mean, you can play that role now, but I think a lot of older people don't feel they're in that role, or they need to be that way at all. They don't need to dress their age. That whole notion of, and I see this online all the time, “How to dress your age when you're 30,” you wear this sweater and it's so bogus. It's like, you're 40, wear the other kind of sweater now.
But I remember this woman in New York City, she was probably in her 80s. I'd see her sometimes dressed in her ‘60s clothing. She had a fabulous ‘60s wardrobe, and she was not going to give that up. And she had hats and purses, and she looked totally like mod. But I thought, I'm going to do that.
I'm going to wear whatever the hell I want, and I'm not worrying about, “am I age appropriate.” Especially for rock and roll.
Meeting the rest of the band members and starting the B-52s was a huge force in my life. Before that, I always wanted to be a musician. But after I went to college and I went hitchhiking through Europe, and I then did a Back to the land thing, I wasn't really sure I’d ever be a professional musician—even though I was writing music, and I kept playing music.
What are some age-related milestones you are looking forward to? Or ones you “missed,” and might try to reach later, off-schedule, according to our culture and its expectations?
We have this B-52s documentary being done. So I’m looking forward to seeing that.
Another milestone would be to put out another solo record, and I have a Christmas record I'm working on. I guess a lot of artists have that. They want to get the last bit of creativity out. And some feel like, oh, I'm just done with all that, I just want to relax and retire. But I still feel like I have creativity, and I can do it on my own terms. I mean, yes, time is limited, but still I'm going to enjoy life at the same time.
Check out Kate Pierson’s new video for her song, “Pillow Queen”:
Is there someone who is older than you, who makes growing older inspiring to you? Who is your aging idol and why?
I think Patti Smith might be just a little older, and she's definitely my idol, because she's made growing older just fantastic. She's truly older and wiser, and older and younger at the same time. And Yoko Ono, who keeps making music, and Debbie Harry, who's maybe a year older. She's still rocking, still the coolest chick on the planet.
I recently did a photo session for W Magazine—it was a fabulous fashion spread and it was Debbie Harry, Crystal Waters, Nona Hendryx, Kim Gordon, Apollonia, Pat Benatar, Michelle Phillips, Aimee Mann, and me. I was hanging out with them there at the photo session and it was just a great reunion. Everyone's so glad to see each other. These were all older women, all looking fabulous, all vibrant, still making music, still rocking. So I just look to them really.
What aging-related adjustments have you recently made, style-wise, beauty-wise, health-wise?
Shoes, for sure. I have some shoes that are just not workable anymore. I mean, it's true that your feet spread a little bit as you get older and you don't want your feet to hurt. I think it's just completely insane when I see all these women on TV and in movies, and I never see anyone—any woman in New York City—running like on Sex and the City, women running across puddles and curbs with their super high heels on. I see most women are wearing running shoes and carrying their high heels.
Also, my wife Monica and I both did this: We go to our naturopathic doctor, Linda Lancaster, and once a year we do a goat milk fast. It's to cleanse your system of parasites and anything else. You spend eight days just drinking goat milk and you take capsules and stuff that clears out parasites. We were lucky enough to know our friend who has a goat farm, so we got this fresh goat milk straight from the udder. So that was, wow, that's a lot of goat milk. It's not as bad as it sounds, but it really resets your system.
And I've spent last couple of months with no dairy, no alcohol, no complex carbs, no sugar, although this is not totally strict. I had cake the other day at a birthday party, so, yeah, it's not completely strict. But I did lose some weight.
I guess that's the main adjustment is struggling with keeping your weight, your youthful weight. That's the biggest challenge. And I don't want to use any kind of artificial means. So I've done this. It's a very slow process, but I feel great. I think that's the biggest challenge is keeping your health up. That's the biggest challenge of getting older.
What’s an aging-related adjustment you refuse to make, and why?
Cindy [Wilson], when someone said, “You're still playing and at your age?” she said, “Yeah, I put my dentures on a stool before I go on a stage,” or something funny like that.
I guess I refuse to get in a Jazzy in the supermarket. I'd sooner crawl than get in a Jazzy. mean, I'm glad they're there for people that need them. And obviously some people really need them—I don't want to make fun of people who use them. And if I had to, I guess I would.
I also think I’ll keep taking the stairs. There've been a lot of articles and documentaries about people that live in the Blue Zones that live so long. And one of the things is, they're always climbing stairs, or getting up and down, or squatting and standing up. So I refuse to until it's absolutely necessary, to give up stairs or just kind of take the easy way. I try to use stairs whenever I can and just keep it all moving.
The original version of “Love Shack”…
What turn of events had the biggest impact on your life? What took your life in a different direction, for better or worse?
Meeting the rest of the band members and starting the B-52s was a huge force in my life. Before that, I always wanted to be a musician. But after I went to college and I went hitchhiking through Europe, and I then did a Back to the land thing, I wasn't really sure I’d ever be a professional musician—even though I was writing music, and I kept playing music.
The way The B-52s started was just sort of magic. No one said, “Let's start a band.” We just started jamming one night and it just happened. So I think for all of us, that was kind of a huge, surprising turning point to everybody.
What is your number one regret in life? If you could do it all over again, what is the biggest thing you’d do differently?
I don't think I would do anything differently because I do believe in the hand of fate, I do believe that things kind of—you go with a flow. Sometimes I think, why didn't I do a solo record sooner? Or why, when I was a teenager, instead of college, go to New York City and do my guitar folk singer kind of thing? Why didn't I just pursue that right away, instead of waiting? And yet then I wouldn't have wound up where I am.
I kind of feel like, why would I go back and change anything that could have been maybe better, but could have been not as good? I just am so grateful for the way things turned out, and being in the band, and still being in the band, and still all getting along and loving each other. It's like a great place to be.
What's really great is the music I'm working on. I feel like there's this whole renewal of creativity and I don't have to give a fuck. I don't really have to worry. Of course I want it to be quality, and I want it to be up to my standards, and I want people to hear it. But I don't feel like I have to worry about commercial prospects.
What is high up on your “bucket list?” What do you hope to achieve, attain, or plain enjoy before you die?
Monica and I got a house on a cape, and I've been just loving this new feeling of being by the ocean. And I hadn't really lived by the ocean before—I was kind of like, I'm not a beach person. I don't like to sit on the beach, but I'm loving swimming in the ocean. I mean, there aren't big waves there, and there are shark warnings and all, but I just love swimming in the ocean. So that's something I've experienced that's new. That's just life-changing to me, and experiencing more nature.
Something I would like to participate more in, and I've been a little more involved lately, just protests. When I was in college, I protested against Vietnam and I tried to be involved with civil rights. I see such a horrible turnaround right now, and I look forward to being more active in trying to keep our democracy intact.
I also have a little bit of an urge to travel again, and I would like to go on a safari. I would like to go to Iceland and see the Northern Lights. I traveled so much, and now that I'm going to go back to a lot of places we've been to a million times in the United States, I would like to go back to some other places. Of course everyone loves to go back to Europe, but I would like to experience some places that are really exotic. Monica and I don't ever like to travel the whole super luxury way. We like to rent an Airbnb and walk around on the streets and meet people.
Is there a piece of advice you were given, that you live by? If so, what was it, and who offered it to you?
My voice teacher, Janet Frank, was very, very encouraging. And I think she really helped me preserve and open up my voice. I started going to her in the ‘80s. It's not like a philosophical piece of advice, but: to just relax your throat, learn to sing from the diaphragm. That really saved my voice and helped me to, knock on wood, never lose it. It's powerful and it really enhanced my voice. That practical advice was something that really sustained me for the rest of my career.
I recently did a photo session for W Magazine—it was a fabulous fashion spread and it was Debbie Harry, Crystal Waters, Nona Hendryx, Kim Gordon, Apollonia, Pat Benatar, Michelle Phillips, Aimee Mann, and me. I was hanging out with them there at the photo session and it was just a great reunion. Everyone's so glad to see each other. These were all older women, all looking fabulous, all vibrant, still making music, still rocking. So I just look to them really.
What are your plans for your body when you’re done using it? Burial? Cremation? Body Farm? Other?
I like the idea of the natural composting, but one thing I would like to have is a headstone. Maybe a green burial with a headstone. I've done the ancestry thing, and I love looking at headstones and graveyards. And I also think it's a great historical marker where you can go back and see the dates and names of the people that were buried.
I learned I have great, great, great, great grandparents buried in this cemetery near Blairstown, New Jersey where my ancestors had a farm. It's near the Delaware Water Gap, and the cemetery is called The Dark of the Moon Cemetery. I’m like, woo, I've got to go there. I think it's probably overgrown, maybe not tended, and I don't think I'll be buried there. But I would like to visit.
I like the idea of donating your body to science. I have a song called “If You Give Your Heart to Science,” on my new record Radios & Rainbows. It's about my friend, our good friend of the band, Jeremy Ayres, about how he died and how he gave his body to science.
How do you feel about dying? And what do you expect to happen to your “soul” or “spirit” after you die?
I believe people should be able to choose assisted death or however you would put it. My mother suffered a lot before she died. My father passed kind of peacefully, and we were with him holding his hand. But my mother was struggling. She was uncomfortable. And even though she was in hospice, very good hospice, still, she just wanted to exit. And at one point she asked me if I could help her die, and it was just horrible because I couldn't really do anything.
I would hopefully die peacefully or die with my boots on. There's always that last time on the stage. You got your high heels on and croak—I've seen a couple of examples of that. But, no, I don't want to subject my fans to that. That'd be horrific.
Am I afraid of death? Of course, I think everyone's afraid of being in pain, but I think I'm not afraid of death itself. What I'm afraid of is, I hate the feeling—I guess it's FOMO in a way. Life goes on without you and you're not finishing something. Oh, I left that diary I don't want anyone to read, or I didn't finish getting that something in the house. Just weird things. You feel like, how could you ever finish everything? How could I ever get rid of all the things they talk about, the Swedish death cleaning? How are you going to get rid of all the stuff you have? And leaving it to my wife to try to get rid of, or someone else to get rid of all the stuff. That is a little bit anxiety-producing to me, more than the thought of death. It's like, what am I going to do with all this stuff?
My wife Monica and I both go to our naturopathic doctor, Linda Lancaster, and once a year we do a goat milk fast. It's to cleanse your system of parasites and anything else. You spend eight days just drinking goat milk and you take capsules and stuff that clears out parasites. We were lucky enough to know our friend who has a goat farm, so we got this fresh goat milk straight from the udder. So that was, wow, that's a lot of goat milk. It's not as bad as it sounds, but it really resets your system.
What happens after death? Who really knows? And I think people who think they know are just full of shit. I do love the idea of reincarnation, and I have a feeling maybe that's true. I do believe that your energy is transferred because they say energy doesn't dissipate. Your energy goes into something else. Maybe my energy will go into growing a tree, or maybe there is such a thing as reincarnation; that would be great. So I have hope for that.
It's a little bit scary to think you could possibly linger and maybe not be able to get out of some transitional state. But I love the idea of ghosts and people coming back. And I have another song about that called “Every Day is Halloween.” It's about a spirit who was never seen in her lifetime, but actually when she's a ghost, people see her. They pay attention when they see her as a ghost, and she's actually looking for someone to be the mirror of her soul.
What’s your philosophy on celebrating birthdays as an adult? How do you celebrate yours?
The past few birthdays, I'm sad to say, we haven't really done a big celebration. My wife threw a big party for maybe my 70th, or something. I really like a big bash. But we've been so busy, we haven't, for either of us, been able to plan a big party. Recently we went to a friend's birthday party and it was amazing. It was so much fun. It was outside and they had great food, and it was just not too many people, just the right amount of friends and a couple of new people that I hadn't met. So it was just a beautiful birthday party. I love a birthday party. So my next birthday, and my wife's birthday too, I want to definitely have a party—with cake.
Kate is divine! Just saw the B52s at the Mosswood meltdown in Oakland and every age group was represented and DANCING!
Just thinking of HOW MUCH JOY she has delivered to this world… Thank you!