kathy-valentine-all-i-ever-wanted

The Go-Go's Kathy Valentine going on book tour for new memoir

Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine has a new memoir, titled All I Ever Wanted, that will be out March 31:

At twenty-one, Kathy Valentine was at the Whisky in Los Angeles when she met a guitarist from a fledgling band called the Go-Go’s—and the band needed a bassist. The Go-Go’s became the first multi-platinum-selling, all-female band to play instruments themselves, write their own songs, and have a number one album. Their debut, Beauty and the Beat, spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 and featured the hit songs “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The record’s success brought the pressures of a relentless workload and schedule culminating in a wild, hazy, substance-fueled tour that took the band from the club circuit to arenas, where fans, promoters, and crew were more than ready to keep the party going.

For Valentine, the band’s success was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream—but it’s only part of her story. All I Ever Wanted traces the path that took her from her childhood in Texas—where she all but raised herself—to the height of rock ‘n’ roll stardom, devastation after the collapse of the band that had come to define her, and the quest to regain her sense of self after its end. Valentine also speaks candidly about the lasting effects of parental betrayal, abortion, rape, and her struggles with drugs and alcohol—and the music that saved her every step of the way.

To promote All I Ever Wanted, Kathy will head out on a book tour this spring beginning in Austin for SXSW, and at many of the stops she’s lined up some amazing people to talk with her about it. The tour includes stops in Los Angeles (w/ Kathleen Hanna), San Francisco (with Go-Go’s’ Gina Schock), another Austin event (w/ John Doe), Manhattan (4/15 @ NYPL of the Performing Arts w/ former Rolling Stone editor Anthony DeCurtis), Brooklyn (4/20 at Greenlight Books with comedian and Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead), Nashville (w/ Ann Powers), Chapel Hill (w/ Superchunk/Bob Mould drummer Jon Wurster), Cleveland (w/ The Breeders’ Kelly Deal), Boston (w/ Tanya Donelly), and more. More info is here and dates are in the tour poster below.

After the book tour is over, Kathy will meet up with the rest of the Go-Go’s for a summer tour.

kathy-valentine-tourschedule

KATHY VALENTINE – 2020 BOOK TOUR

Wednesday, March 18 – Austin, TX
SXSW/Talk and Book Signing Austin Convention Center, 3rd Floor Room 10C 3:30-4:30

Saturday, March 28 – Woodstock, NY
Woodstock Book Fest 4pm.

Friday, April 3 – Austin
Book People w/John Doe 7pm

Saturday April 4 – San Antonio, TX (schedule TBA)
San Antonio Book Festival

Tuesday April 7 – Los Angeles, CA
Book Soup w/ Kathleen Hanna Offsite at West Hollywood Library, City Council Chambers 7-9pm

Wednesday April 8 – San Francisco, CA
Green Apple Books w/ Gina Schock and Carvell Wallace (1231 9th Ave location) 7:30pm

Wednesday, April 15 – New York, NY
NYPL for the Performing Arts Cafe w/Anthony DeCurtis 7-9pm

Monday, April 20 – Brooklyn, NY
Greenlight Books, offsite at St. Joseph’s College w/ Lizz Winstead 7:30-9:30pm
Info and Tickets

Tuesday, April 21 – Ridgewood, New Jersey
Bookends 6pm

Thursday April 23 – Austin, TX
Cactus Cafe w/Jody Denberg 4-7pm

Sunday April 26 – Houston, TX
Cactus Music w/ Bob Ruggiero 3pm

Monday, April 27 – Chicago, ILL
Anderson’s Book Shop (LaGrange location) 7pm

Saturday, May 2 – Odessa, TX
Books in the Basin Festival Marriott Hotel and Conference Center

Friday, May 8 – Los Angeles, CA
Mom.2 Conference Intercontinental Hotel

Monday, May 11 – Nashville, TN
Parnassus Books w/Ann Powers. Book discussion and signing. 6:30pm

Saturday, May 16 – Georgetown, TX
Lark & Owl Bookstore w/Sarah Bird

Sunday May 17 – Austin, TX
Antone’s Record Shop w/Jesse Sublett 3pm

Tuesday, May 19 – San Antonio, TX
Nowhere Books w/Jenny Lawson 6pm

Friday, May 22 – Waco TX. Fabled Books with/Sarah Hickman
Fabled Books with/Sarah Hickman 7pm

Saturday May 23 – Chapel Hill, NC
Flyleaf Books w/Jon Wurster 6pm

Wednesday May 27 – Cleveland OH
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame w/ Kelly Deal

Thursday, May 28 – Boston, MA
Once Somerville w/Tanya Donelly

Saturday, June 6 – Birmingham, AL
Thank You Books