“Walk Like an Egyptian was so silly. But solid players have asked, ‘What are you playing at the end?’” Vicki Peterson sees herself as “a bit of a hack player,” but she still made guitar-pop history with the Bangles – and guested with Tom Petty

Vicki Peterson.

Vicki Peterson’s career with The Bangles was built out of playing guitar parts that serve the song. She’s still doing that – although her solo songs have more emotional depth than those from the past.

“I do write personally,” she says. “I don’t worry about bringing things I’ve done into what happens now. I’m not worrying about, ‘Wow, this song sounds like the second Bangles record.’”