Victoria Anne Theresa Peterson Cowsill (born January 11, 1958) is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

musician and songwriter. She has been the lead guitarist for

the Bangles The Bangles are an American all-female band, all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest ...

since their founding in 1981. After their first disbandment in 1989, she has returned to the band for all subsequent reunions. In intervening years, she has performed with other artists, most extensively with the

Continental Drifters The Continental Drifters are an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991 and dissolved in New Orleans, Louisiana, about a decade later, before reuniting in the years since. Though the line-up changed several times, at one p ...

Early life

Peterson described herself as a solo artist in her early years – "I was a kid who brought her guitar to every sleep-over and summer afternoon in the park to play her newest creation to anyone who would listen…" In high school she formed a band that went through various incarnations as Crista Galli, Aishi, the Muze, the Fans, and Those Girls from 1976 to 1980.

Music career

In 1981, she founded the Bangs, later renamed

, with her sister Debbi Peterson and

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. With Debbi Peterson and Vicki Peterson, she founded the Bangles in 1981. Their debut album, ''All Over the Place (The Bangles album), All Over ...

. After the Bangles disbanded in 1989, Peterson played with the

and the Psycho Sisters, in both cases with Susan Cowsill. In addition to performing their own material, the Psycho Sisters freelanced as backing singers (

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn ( Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He was known for his involvement in the luxury casino and hotel industry, prior to being forced to step down in 2018. Early in his care ...

's ''Fluorescent'',

Giant Sand Giant Sand (formerly Giant Sandworms) is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The groups have developed idiosyncratic sound rooted in alternative country, but t ...

's ''Center of the Universe''), and Peterson has contributed harmony vocals to recordings by the

Hoodoo Gurus Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, harmonica). Th ...

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and

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a sol ...

. Additionally, she filled in for a pregnant Charlotte Caffey on the 1994–1995 Go-Go's reunion tour. In 1999 the Bangles reformed and have recorded and played sporadically. Peterson married musician John Cowsill, brother of her Continental Drifters and Psycho Sisters bandmate Susan Cowsill, on October 25, 2003. The couple have no children together. An earlier relationship had ended when her fiancé Bobby Donati died of leukemia in 1991. Peterson lived for several years in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

before relocating back to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In August 2014, after playing together as the Psycho Sisters for more than 20 years, Peterson and Susan Cowsill released their first album, titled ''Up on the Chair, Beatrice''. In 2017, she and John Cowsill joined

Bill Mumy Charles William Mumy Jr. (; born February 1, 1954) is an American actor, writer, producer, and musician. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a child actor whose work included television appearances on ''Bewitched'', ''I Dream of Jeannie'', ''T ...

as the band Action Skulls to release an album (also including posthumous contributions from the bassist Rick Rosas) titled "Angels Hear".

Gear

Vicki Peterson's first guitar was a plastic guitar from Sears. She "got serious" when, at age nine, she became the proud owner of an Electro ES-17 guitar and an 8-watt Rickenbacker amp. Her next few guitars would be a double cutaway Univox Ripper, a 1972

Gibson Les Paul Custom The Gibson Les Paul Custom is a higher-end variation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was developed in 1953 after Gibson had introduced the Les Paul model in 1952. History The 1952 Gibson Les Paul was originally made with a mahogany body, a ma ...

and a 1967

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corpora ...

, which she used on many of the Bangles early recordings. She has also been known to use Carvin guitars and amps, and by the time the Bangles reformed, Peterson also used a Gibson mandolin, a pink Fender Telecaster Thinline, several Daisy Rock Girl Guitars, and

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures and markets musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Fri ...

guitars. When her 72 Les Paul Custom was stolen, Peterson eventually replaced it with a burgundy Les Paul Custom. Peterson's primary amps were Carvin amps, as well as a Marshall combo, a

Fender Twin The Fender Twin and Twin Reverb are guitar amplifiers made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Twin was introduced in 1952, two years before Fender began selling Stratocaster electric guitars. The amps are known for their characterist ...

, a 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb, and a

Fender Super Reverb The Fender Super Reverb is a guitar amplifier made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Fender. It was introduced in 1963 and was discontinued in 1982. The Super Reverb was a Fender Super amplifier with built-in reverb and "vibrato" (a ...

, but as for pedals, she used an

Ibanez Tube Screamer The Ibanez Tube Screamer is an overdrive pedal made by Ibanez. First developed by Maxon as a competitor to the Boss OD-1, it was sold outside of Japan under the Ibanez brand and became popular among guitarists for its characteristic mid-boos ...

. She lists among her influences

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

, and Nancy Wilson.

References

External links

The Bangles official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Vicki 1958 births Living people American lead guitarists American women guitarists American women rock singers The Bangles members Guitarists from Los Angeles 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American women singers Rainy Day (band) members 21st-century American singers 20th-century American women guitarists Cowsill family Redd Kross members