By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune and other outlets
July 4, 2023
When Belinda Carlisle was a little girl, she dreamed of becoming a travel agent. “The only thing I’ve ever wanted was to see the world,” said Carlisle, who’d go on to become the lead singer for the Go-Go’s. “Then I decided being in a band would be a much better way to see the world.” What she didn’t count on, though, was that the group’s heavy touring schedule didn’t allow her to see everything she wanted to. So, on her current summer tour to promote her new EP “Kismet,” Carlisle is making sure she has days off for exploring.
In a Zoom interview from her Mexico City home, the singer added, “I would say that I’m obsessed with travel.” Indeed, even her Instagram username has the word “travels” in it. For updates on Carlisle’s tour, which includes a Chicago-area concert July 9 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, check out her Facebook page.
Q: Do you remember where you played your earliest shows with the Go-Go’s, and then as a solo artist?
A: I can remember exactly. The first show I did with the Go-Go’s was in 1978 at a legendary punk club called the Masque. We played three songs – well, one song actually twice. The stage was about 12 inches off the ground. It was packed with kids. When we started in ’77, the punk scene (in Los Angeles) was small, but it grew really quickly. Everybody knew each other and was very supportive. Everybody that we knew was in a band and they sucked, so we thought we can be in a band and suck, too. The point wasn’t to be a good musician. It was just to go out there and do it. My first solo show was in Orange County (California). It was a show I did as a warmup before I went out to support Robert Palmer on his [1986] tour. That [Palmer tour] was scary. The audience was not there to see me. But I got through it.
Q: What was your most recent vacation?
A: I just got back from a trip to Southeast Turkey near Syria and Iran. I saw archaeological sites that people in the West don’t even know about. They were so fantastic. Next year I’m going hiking in northern Pakistan. Until the pandemic, I did a trip every year. I just started up again. My husband [Morgan Mason] hates the kind of trips I love. He prefers five-star hotels.
Q: Where are some other places you have been to and loved?
A: I haven’t lived in the United States since 1994. When we decided to leave America, it was like where are we going to go? I didn’t want to stay in L.A. We had been on a holiday to the South of France many times, so we said let’s go to France, and everybody thought we were crazy. We thought we’d stay for six months and ended up staying for 24 years. We used to drive to Austria once a month for skiing or hiking and went to Morocco because it was near France. It was easy. I love India. We love Asia, and lived in Thailand for seven years. We’ve been away from the States for a long time. We know we do crazy things all the time, but this is normal for us.
Q: Did the pandemic affect your decision to move closer to your family?
A: Yes, during the pandemic, my father died and I couldn’t see him. We hadn’t seen our son in a year and a half. We didn’t want to move back to the U.S. and we both really love Mexico. So we moved here. We had never been to Mexico City before and we arrived on a rainy night in August. But we woke up to this most glorious, unbelievable city that’s like a cross between Paris and Madrid, and a little bit of Delhi. The nature is off the charts. We’ve been here for almost two years. And I go back and forth to L.A. for work. That’s a three-hour commute as opposed to the 27-hour flights I had before. When we lived in Thailand and France, all our friends were British or expats. But here, our friends are mostly Mexican.
Q: What foreign languages do you speak?
A: I speak French from living in France for so long. And I’ve been taking Spanish lessons for the past two years on Duolingo. I met a teacher yesterday and I’m starting at the end of the year [after I tour] Australia. My goal is to speak fluently within two years.
Q: Are you recognized when you travel?
A: When I’m in the States, I just blend in and nobody really looks twice at me. At least once a week in Mexico, somebody – usually not American – comes up and recognizes me. My songs are on the radio here and I have somewhat of a profile. They’re usually surprised that I live here.
Q: What childhood trip stands out?
A: My parents were always getting the camper – and it wasn’t a fancy camper. It was just a piece of plywood that we would lay on and look out the window that went to the front of the truck. So that was our view. We handed our dad beers through the window. So bad, but this was before everybody knew about drunk driving. We went to the Grand Canyon and all these places, but the one that stands out is the Vegas Strip in the ’60s. It was incredible, not like how it is now. I can remember it like it was yesterday.
Q: What are some things you do to stay healthy on the road?
A: I’ve been doing Pilates for 30 years and book classes for as many cities as possible. If I can’t find a studio, I have my little mini gym that I bring with me – elastic bands, inflatable balls, that kind of thing. And I walk every day. I love walking and just exploring. I’m a vegetarian and that can be challenging in some places. My rider at venues is full of grains. I don’t like processed foods. I always have protein bars if I’m desperate. I don’t like eating them all the time, but sometimes you need to. I also travel with three humidifiers. As soon as I get to the hotel room, the air conditioner goes off and it’s like a jungle. It’s good for my voice.
© 2023 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
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