"I'm tired," says Gina Shock, over the phone from a New York hotel. Even though it's noon, she's dying for some sleep, since she and the rest of the Go-Go's just spent most of the night on a flight from Los Angeles.
"We had to fly to Chicago," says the Baltimore-born drummer. "That got in there at 4:30, and then we got a 6 a.m. flight to New York. It's been like this every night. I mean, we were just here in New York last week. We played here last Wednesday, and then Thursday we played in Connecticut, Friday we played in San Francisco, then we went to L.A., and now we're back here today.
"I'm telling you, this is crazy!"
Crazy, maybe, but it's work the Go-Go's are glad to do. This is the band's big comeback -- a full-blown reunion accompanied by a 36-song retrospective titled "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's" -- and, as Shock explains, the band is playing a string of radio-sponsored Christmas shows.
"All these folks are playing our records, so we've got to go out there and be supportive, and thank them," she says. "We didn't have much time, so we have to do what needs to be done to support this record."
It's worth noting, by the way, that nobody in or out of the band expected the Go-Go's to reunite this year. "About six months ago, we heard through the grapevine that IRS was putting out a retrospective," Shock recalls. "Like, they didn't even tell us. So we all started calling each other, and thought, 'Man, we'd better get involved in this, or God knows what they'll put out.' Because record companies -- I'm sure you know this -- have a tendency around Christmas time to put out whatever they have in the vaults to make money."
So the five of them -- singer Belinda Carlisle, guitarists Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Cafferty, bassist Kathy Valentine and drummer Shock -- went through the archives, digging through old photos and unreleased recordings, and generally having a blast. "Then we thought, 'Hey, let's sit down and try to write a couple songs,' " Shock says. "In three weeks, we had nine new songs. We were like, 'Jeez, this is all falling into place so easily!' "
If everyone gets along so well, why did the Go-Go's break up in the first place? Shock answers with a single word: "Pressure."
Success, she says, "did happen very quickly for us. We worked awfully hard, let me tell you. But it just seemed like we were in this constant whirlwind of activities -- there was no stopping it. We really didn't have any life outside of this band. It was the Go-Go's or nothing." She laughs. "Even the boyfriends had to pass the test.
"We just needed a break."
Now, almost 10 years later, things are better than ever. "Everybody's so great now," Shock says. "The things that used to make me crazy about people in this band are things I laugh about now. I just love everyone in this band. It's family, you know?"
Go to Go-Go's
To hear excerpts from "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's," call Sundial, The Sun's telephone information service, at (410) 783-1800. In Anne Arundel County, call 268-7736; in Harford County, 836-5028; in Carroll County, 848-0338. Using a touch-tone phone, punch in the four-digit code 6129 after you hear the greeting.
Go-Go's
Appearing as part of the WHFS Holiday Nutcracker
When: Tonight, 7 o'clock
Where: George Mason University's Patriot Center, Fairfax, Va.
Tickets: Sold out