Interview with Lita Ford; Renowned Guitarist and Vocalist Talks About Her New Live Album, Book and More

The bitch is back! Having ducked out of the music scene for a few years, the original rock queen Lita Ford is back. Marking her return with the brilliant Livin’ Like A Runaway album, the ex-Runaways rocker recorded some of the tracks from the album, along with some of her classic moments, for a new live album, appropriately titled The Bitch Is Back. Ahead of the release of the live disc, I had a chat to Lita about the past, the present and the future.

Firstly Lita, I’ve got to admit, it’s a real honour to interview you because, when I first discovered rock music as a teenager, you were my teenage crush.
Lita: Ha, really? Thank you, that’s awesome to hear.

Awkward confession out of the way, how are things with you?
Lita: Things are great, we’ve just got a bit of downtime at the moment so we’re working on the book getting some more of that done.

Check out the song “Mother”

The book? Tell me more…
Lita: It’s an autobiography about, well, my life, the paths I’ve taken, all the different musical eras. It’s got all my favourite stories in it and we’re just working on getting that together. It covers everything really from me growing up to the Runaways to Lita and all the things I’ve been through and experiences I’ve had.

It must have been a real challenge to pick material that you wanted to include?
Lita: You know what? The hardest thing was how things kept popping out and I’m going crazy thinking “hell, I’ve got to include that… oh no… that needs to go in as well and… hey, do you remember that time…” – every time I think I’ve got everything, one of us remembers something else and we’re back where we started. It’s never-ending.

You dipped out of the music scene for a number of years to concentrate on your personal life so, it would appear that, The Bitch Is Back, is something of a statement of intent from you. Considering the rise in popularity of new female vocalists – Paramore, Halestorm etc., do you feel you have a point to prove to the young pretenders?
Lita: Honestly? I’m not worried about it at all. You’re right, I was gone for so many years but, I’m back and it speaks volumes that people are still interested in me, my music, what I’m doing. People still want me to tour and put out records.

What is your goal as a musician these days?
Lita: I want my crown back. When I left the music industry, I put my crown in a special place and it’s still there. It might be dusty and covered in cobwebs but nobody has taken it and I’m back to take it again.

What did you miss during your time out and how do you think the music industry has changed?
Lita: Stupid little things. Being in a hotel, on a plane, on the road, I missed all of that. It was my life and I really missed it. One thing I will say though, it’s not like riding a bike. You can’t just take time out then jump back in. I think it is more like being a body-builder in so much as you take time out and you lose all your strength and muscle. You can’t just hop back on and expect it to be the same. Fronting a band is like that. You need the right people and elements to build it up. You need the right manager, the right agent, the right drummer, the right guitarist, the right bassist. You can’t just jump right back in and take up where you left off.

When you put together your band this time, what were you looking for? What constituted the “right elements” for Lita Ford?
Lita: I wanted to work together with a group of people and not feel like there was an odd man out. There can’t be an odd man out.

How did you go about putting together your band?
Lita: Well, I started off by moving from Florida back to California. I wanted my band to be with me. I didn’t want to be in one of those situations where I lived in say Los Angeles and my band lived in New Jersey. Also, being in California, musicians are like, a dime a dozen, so it was easy to find musicians who were what I wanted.

Do you remember your first gig back?
Lita: I do. It was at something called Rocklahoma and it was insane. Firstly, what you’ve got to remember is that this is the very first show back after so long away. Right before we went on there was this massive storm and it wiped everything out. There was this massive downpour but, at the same time, there was the weird vibe around the place like everybody was waiting for some big celebrity or something. I couldn’t work out what was going on so I said to the promoter – “who are they excited about? Who is the important person they’re all so excited about?” – and the promoter turned to me and said “Lita, it’s you, they’re all waiting for you…”

Wow, that must have been incredible…
Lita: It was. To me it is important. It does matter because when I’m with my band, that’s all that matters.

Okay, to promote the live album, you’re doing a few club shows, what are your plans for after that?
Lita: Well, we need to get the book out which is scheduled for March 2014 hopefully but, one of my personal goals is to get back to the UK. I was born there and I haven’t played there in so long. I’m talking to some people right now about setting something up. The funniest thing is that, recently, I was sat in Starbucks having a coffee and this gentleman came up to me and he was from the UK and he started going mad at me because I hadn’t played in the UK for so long.

Can we expect a new studio album from you at any point soon?
Lita: Probably not. The thing with the last album is that it took us almost a year to write so, at this moment in time, I can’t see us taking out another year to write a record. Like I said the priorities are getting the book out and touring.

Check out the song “Falling in and out of Love”

During all of your time out of the music industry, I can’t imagine you not writing music. Will any of that ever see the light of day?
Lita: Probably not if I’m being honest. Well, definitely nothing that was written during my divorce but anything that was written before or after my marriage… who knows but it’s not very likely.

Just to finish then. Are there any particular stories that you look back at and really make you smile?
Lita: Well, there is a recent one where we were playing a show and we were ready to go on and the intro was rolling. We looked around and, Bobby, our drummer, wasn’t there. Now he’s always on time so we knew something was up as he was nowhere to be seen. Anyway, the intro finishes and we walk out and I go “hey, we’re supposed to start the show but our drummer has disappeared.” I look around and he’s stood there going “fuck man, I got stuck in the service elevator….”

Haha, brilliant…
Lita: You know what though, if you want any more stories, you’re going to have to read the book….

I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for your time Lita.
Lita: No problem thank you and hopefully we’ll see you in the UK soon!