Kate Pierson

I think there are certain genres of music where people are allowed to go on, but there is something about rock and roll, I guess because it originally started out to be a teenage rebellion.

We have always appealed to people outside of the mainstream. Constantly, we get people coming up to us and saying, 'I was just the freakiest one in high school. I was the only one who kept playing the B-52's.'

There's a very collaborative, collective attitude. That's a very female principle. We try to nurture that aspect of the band.

I think more people feel like they're outside of the mainstream these days - there's more people who are doing their own thing, feeling that it's not bad to be a weirdo and respecting other people's differences. And all that kind of goes into the big ol' B-52 philosophy.

When I was little, I used to think, 'That's the way people in the future are gonna dress! They'll be wearing space suits, and it will be all silver, all the time. It's gonna glitter.'

The Beatles had a huge impact on me. I did 'Strawberry Fields Forever', and we worked it out in an open tuning. That's such a beautiful song, and I think I did it in a different way.

We've known Cyndi Lauper since she was in 'Blue Angel'; we did a TV show with her back in '79 or '80. We don't have any competition; we're complementary.

We have a family dynamic - more like brothers and sisters than friends. So there can be a bit of competition, but there's also love and respect. But there's a thing to not push each other's buttons. You know what the buttons are, so don't push them.

I was doing space girl outfits way before Katy Perry or Gaga!

I rent space on a farm for 15 dollars a month, and I have the use of about a quarter of an acre.

I think it really changes things when you're able to get married. I mean, the Marriage Equality Act was super important. I think you cannot believe it happened as fast as it did. For a lot of gay people, it's very surprising. You thought that this is going to be a struggle forever.

We have quite a few political songs: 'Channel Z,' let's 'Keep This Party Going' on. Our lyrics aren't too hit-you-over-the-head, but they have political undertones. We're active politically.